Henry V

Malcolm Vale is emeritus research fellow in history, St. John’s College, Oxford. He has written extensively on Anglo-French history and the cultural history of northern Europe during the Later Middle Ages. He lives in Oxford, UK.

“The Henry who emerges from this study is not the stereotypical warrior-king feted (or vilified) for his military prowess. He is an altogether more complex figure: decisive in his leadership but collegiate in his approach to government; exceptional in his mastery of administrative detail and his determination to do right by all his subjects. . . . It is a fascinating and persuasive portrait of a controversial monarch and a major contribution to studies of his reign.”—Juliet Barker, Times Literary Supplement“Vale gives us a portrait of Henry V’s kingship and, not surprisingly, it is a good one.”—John Watts, London Review of Books“A superb example of scholarship . . . unsurpassable for what it reveals of what scholars can bring to light . . . erudite. . . . You’ll go more deeply than was previously possible into this phase of the history of England, this particular reign, and a king even greater than the one given voice by William Shakespeare.”—James M. Banner, Jr., Weekly Standard“Here is a book that pushes out the boundaries. We will never know what went on in Henry’s mind. But as a study of how he worked and what one can infer about his thoughts, Malcolm Vale’s book is unlikely to be surpassed."—Jonathan Sumption, Literary Review“Vale’s book is a clearly written study that does an admirable job providing new insights into Henry the man and the late-medieval ruler.”—Alexander Brondarbit, Royal Studies Journal“By giving greater authority to the archival record than most previous historians have done, and by adopting a thematic rather than a chronological approach to his subject, Malcolm Vale has succeeded in penetrating, as never before, the mind and intentions of Henry V. As this highly recommended study develops, the reader is presented with a king no longer primarily a soldier but a much more rounded, multifaceted figure who leads his country through a time of uncertainties social, political, military and religious, justifying the author’s claim to have revealed ‘another Henry V’ in the process.”—Christopher Allmand, author of Henry V“A highly original study of Henry V. It is difficult these days to say anything new about the king: Malcolm Vale manages it.”—Nigel Saul, author of For Honour and Fame: Chivalry in England, 1066–1500