1. The Madness of King Henry.
1. The Madness of King Henry.
At an early age Henry had demonstrated a tendency to be easily influenced by 'unsuitable' people and to be wilful. For this reason, in 1432, Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick requested that, "[Since the king] has been distracted by some from his learning, and spoken to about unsuitable matters, the earl, fearing the harm that may befall the king if such contacts be allowed, desires that, in all conversation men may have with the king, he [or his assignees] be present and privy to it". This request was subsequently granted by the minority council. In addition to this, as the chronicles of Pierro da Monte and J. Blacman state, Henry VI was "continually occupied either in prayer or the reading of Scriptures or of chronicles, whence he drew not a few wise utterances to the spiritual comfort of himself and others". As Blacman explains, Henry VI was "remote and self-absorbed [king], not conversing easily with his entourage or readily sharing their mundane concerns. It is a detached otherworldliness which, as Blacman himself hinted, could readily lapse into the withdrawal and mental prostration which were the main symptoms of Henry's periods of insanity". Eventually, these features would give rise to a certain lack of confidence in Henry's mental capacity to rule.
Henry VI's first known episode of insanity occurred in 1445, during his wedding with Margaret of Anjou, the niece of King Charles VII of France. Contemporaries said Henry appeared to be in a "fever" during the mass and disconnected in his speech after it. A few days after, he ran away from one of his chamberlains while shouting that he had been betrayed; the traitors, the king yelled, were to deliver him to his French enemies. It took several men to restrain the insane king, who suddenly stood still in the ground and did no react to any voice, as he fell into an inertia; a torpor from which he could not be roused. Although Henrys recovered from this episode two days later, he was to suffer from intermittent episodes of mental illness throughout his life.
From then on, bouts of mental illness continued throughout the king's life. They became more frequent but of a short duration, although all were severely physically and mentally disabling. At times he was paranoid, grandiose and indecisive; after, he was apathetic, lacking interest and had hallucinations and religious delusions. During one bout in 1446, he could not remember his name and did not know he was king. When his wife came to visit him, he asked his servants who she was. During an episode in 1449–50 he recognized all the officers of his household, but did not know his wife nor his children; in fact, he was persistently afraid of them. Apparently, the only person he trusted was his uncle, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. Ironically, Gloucester would later be accused of using witchcraft to induce the King's condition. Jealousy may have motivated these accusations or they may be viewed as a ploy to discredit Gloucester (which led to his fall in 1447). Sometimes Henry VI ran wildly through the corridors of his residence, mad with fear, and guards had to be posted close to all the windows; from time to time he was unable to move his limbs or even hold his own head up, staying in a slouched position when unsupported. When he heard of the final loss of Bordeaux in August 1453, Henry experienced a mental breakdown and became completely unresponsive to everything that was going on around him for eighteen months. He even failed to respond to the birth of her third daughter, Mary. When he came out of this mental state in 1454 after more than a year of being totally unresponsive to the world around him, he had no sense of what time had passed.
By 1454 Henry VI had recovered enough and was in good health for the next few years (even if he was never quite the same, exhibiting odd behavior for the rest of his life) until the next relapse in 1460, when he experienced many minor episodes about which there is limited evidence; however, he was mysteriously indisposed and unable to attend parliament. Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, stated that "our king is stupid and out of his mind: he does not rule but is ruled. The government is in the hands of the queen and her paramours". However, Henry VI recovered and, by 1461, he was in good health again, even if he had moments of panic during 1461 and 1462 and he repeatedly requested all knives to be removed from himself and his courtiers. It is said that the king was only responsive to the Duke of Somerset. However, his final plunge into madness (1463) would rend him unable to reign for the rest of his life.
At an early age Henry had demonstrated a tendency to be easily influenced by 'unsuitable' people and to be wilful. For this reason, in 1432, Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick requested that, "[Since the king] has been distracted by some from his learning, and spoken to about unsuitable matters, the earl, fearing the harm that may befall the king if such contacts be allowed, desires that, in all conversation men may have with the king, he [or his assignees] be present and privy to it". This request was subsequently granted by the minority council. In addition to this, as the chronicles of Pierro da Monte and J. Blacman state, Henry VI was "continually occupied either in prayer or the reading of Scriptures or of chronicles, whence he drew not a few wise utterances to the spiritual comfort of himself and others". As Blacman explains, Henry VI was "remote and self-absorbed [king], not conversing easily with his entourage or readily sharing their mundane concerns. It is a detached otherworldliness which, as Blacman himself hinted, could readily lapse into the withdrawal and mental prostration which were the main symptoms of Henry's periods of insanity". Eventually, these features would give rise to a certain lack of confidence in Henry's mental capacity to rule.
Henry VI's first known episode of insanity occurred in 1445, during his wedding with Margaret of Anjou, the niece of King Charles VII of France. Contemporaries said Henry appeared to be in a "fever" during the mass and disconnected in his speech after it. A few days after, he ran away from one of his chamberlains while shouting that he had been betrayed; the traitors, the king yelled, were to deliver him to his French enemies. It took several men to restrain the insane king, who suddenly stood still in the ground and did no react to any voice, as he fell into an inertia; a torpor from which he could not be roused. Although Henrys recovered from this episode two days later, he was to suffer from intermittent episodes of mental illness throughout his life.
From then on, bouts of mental illness continued throughout the king's life. They became more frequent but of a short duration, although all were severely physically and mentally disabling. At times he was paranoid, grandiose and indecisive; after, he was apathetic, lacking interest and had hallucinations and religious delusions. During one bout in 1446, he could not remember his name and did not know he was king. When his wife came to visit him, he asked his servants who she was. During an episode in 1449–50 he recognized all the officers of his household, but did not know his wife nor his children; in fact, he was persistently afraid of them. Apparently, the only person he trusted was his uncle, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. Ironically, Gloucester would later be accused of using witchcraft to induce the King's condition. Jealousy may have motivated these accusations or they may be viewed as a ploy to discredit Gloucester (which led to his fall in 1447). Sometimes Henry VI ran wildly through the corridors of his residence, mad with fear, and guards had to be posted close to all the windows; from time to time he was unable to move his limbs or even hold his own head up, staying in a slouched position when unsupported. When he heard of the final loss of Bordeaux in August 1453, Henry experienced a mental breakdown and became completely unresponsive to everything that was going on around him for eighteen months. He even failed to respond to the birth of her third daughter, Mary. When he came out of this mental state in 1454 after more than a year of being totally unresponsive to the world around him, he had no sense of what time had passed.
By 1454 Henry VI had recovered enough and was in good health for the next few years (even if he was never quite the same, exhibiting odd behavior for the rest of his life) until the next relapse in 1460, when he experienced many minor episodes about which there is limited evidence; however, he was mysteriously indisposed and unable to attend parliament. Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, stated that "our king is stupid and out of his mind: he does not rule but is ruled. The government is in the hands of the queen and her paramours". However, Henry VI recovered and, by 1461, he was in good health again, even if he had moments of panic during 1461 and 1462 and he repeatedly requested all knives to be removed from himself and his courtiers. It is said that the king was only responsive to the Duke of Somerset. However, his final plunge into madness (1463) would rend him unable to reign for the rest of his life.
