Winchester (1 Henry VI)

Play

Henry VI, Part 1

Summary

Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester and later Cardinal, is Gloucester's cunning and ambitious rival for control of the young king and the English government. His factional squabbling with Gloucester paralyzes English leadership during the critical wars in France, and his elevation to Cardinal — achieved by illicit dealings with Rome — is depicted as a symptom of England's moral decay.

Notable Quotations

"Each one already blazing by our meeds, / My book preferr'd before his head, that's — / But I'll follow. No, prelate; such is thy audacious wickedness, / Thy lewd, pestiferous and dissentious pranks, / As very infants prattle of thy pride." *(3.1)*

"Abominable Gloucester! guard thy head, / For I intend to have it ere long." *(3.1)*

Cross-references

• Henry VI, Part 1 — the play
• Gloucester (1 Henry VI) — his great rival
• King Henry VI — the king both seek to influence
• Histories