Archbishop of Canterbury

Play

Henry V

Summary

Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury, opens Henry V with a lengthy and famously labyrinthine exposition of the Salic Law, arguing that it does not in fact bar Henry's claim to the French throne through the female line. His motives are not purely patriotic: he and the Bishop of Ely are also manoeuvring to forestall a parliamentary bill that would seize Church lands. Whether Shakespeare intends this as cynical manipulation or legitimate counsel is deliberately ambiguous; Canterbury's argument effectively authorises the entire war with France.

Notable Quotations

"Therefore doth heaven divide / The state of man in divers functions, / Setting endeavour in continual motion; / To which is fixed as an aim or butt / Obedience." *(Henry V, 1.2 — the famous honeybee speech on order and hierarchy)*

"So that, as clear as is the summer's sun, / King Pepin's title and Hugh Capet's claim... bar, as I said, / Your highness having issue male by the female." *(Henry V, 1.2 — untangling the Salic Law)*

Cross-references

• Henry V — the play
• Histories — the genre
• character_prince_hal — King Henry V, whom he counsels to war
• character_french_king — King Charles VI of France, Henry's adversary