MEN OF IRON
by Ernie Howard Pyle
INTRODUCTION
The year 1400 opened with more than usual peacefulness in
England. Only a few months before, Richard II--weak, wicked, and
treacherous --had been dethroned, and Henry IV declared King in
his stead. But it was only a seeming peacefulness, lasting but
for a little while; for though King Henry proved himself a just
and a merciful man--as justice and mercy went with the men of
iron of those days--and though he did not care to shed blood
needlessly, there were many noble families who had been benefited
by King Richard during his reign, and who had lost somewhat of
their power and prestige from the coming in of the new King.
Among these were a number of great lords--the Dukes of Albemarle,
Surrey, and Exeter, the Marquis of Dorset, the Earl of
Gloucester, and others--who had been degraded to their former
titles and estates, from which King Richard had lifted them.
These and others brewed a secret plot to take King Henry's life,
which plot might have succeeded had not one of their own number
|
