107 lies … upshot all depends on the final outcome (of the engagement)

  strike hunting term (for shooting an arrow, OED v. 33b), here meaning: advance; fight (v. 1a; 35a). Cf. H5 2.4.54, ‘When Cressy battle fatally was struck’.

  108 wistly Cf. 3.87n.

  whiles … foot while the quarry’s on the move; cf. 1H4 1.3.273, H5 3.1.32–3.

  * * *

  103 Poitiers] (Poyctiers) 105 Calais] (Calice)

  109–13 *It seems likeliest that these lines are misplaced (though attempts to relocate them have failed to convince), or that they were deleted with a mark that the printer either ignored or misinterpreted. Cf. 6.26n. A motto (113) was an explicatory phrase attached to an heraldic emblem. If in performance the picture of the self-sacrificing pelican is to be visible here, it can only be on the shield or breastplate of Prince Edward, or on the colours shrouding Bohemia’s dead body (see 60.3n.). Wherever the picture is visible, its bearing in context would have to be on the King’s failure to send reinforcements to the Prince, implying the Prince’s censure of his father. This reading lies too far from the play’s purport to carry conviction. Duplication of the SP for ‘King’ at 109, ‘Ki.’, may reflect misplacement of the two speeches in the printer’s copy. Oxf removes the lines from the text, placing them with a note at the end of the play. This edn retains them in their Q position, but reflects the difficulty of Q’s placement by printing them within braces. See LN. Cf. the ‘device of antique heraldry’ at 12.27–9.

  109–12 pelican … heart originally a Christian emblem of self-sacrifice; cf. Ham 4.5.145–6 and F King Leir, TLN 512–13. Chambers, ‘Pelican’, describes the pelican as a post-Reformation emblem of ‘true kingship’ and quotes this passage, assuming the device appears ‘on some colours’ (66). Its use as a personal symbol by Queen Elizabeth I would have been familiar to authors and audiences. See LN and Fig. 5.

  113 Sic et vos biblical, as in Erasmus’s Latin version of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew, 7.12, ‘Omnia igitur quæcunque volueritis vt faciant vobis homines, sic & vos facite illis’ (trans. William Tyndale, ‘Therfore whatsoeuer ye wolde that men shulde do to you, euen so do ye to them’, in The New Testament in English after the greek translation annexed with the translation of Erasmus in Latin (1550))

  * * *

  109–13] om. Donovan, Oxf 109 What] Q2; Ki. What Q; Noticing an emblazoned shield What Winny picture’s] picture is Q2 this?] Q2; this. Q; this? pointing to the Colours / Capell SP] (Pr:), Q2 (P.Ed.) 111 might] may Q2 113‘Sic … you’] Capell subst.; Sic & vos, and so should you Q et] Q2; & Q SD] om. Q2

  Sc. 9

  Sc. 9 The scene opens with the ‘planting of Lord Montfort’, ally of King Edward, in Brittany (see 1.133–4n. and LN), and introduces the Countess’s husband, Salisbury (who served in Brittany): see 0.2n. The rest of the scene (and related sections of Scs 11, 13 and 18) is developed from Ch. 135 in Froissart, 306–8. Sir Walter de Manny, a prominent English leader, sought a passport from the Duke of Normandy (historically John, but Charles in the play: see LR, 21n.) to cross France after the siege of Aiguillon (which lies north-west of Toulouse) to rejoin King Edward at Calais. The scene’s two episodes are neatly spliced by assigning Manny’s role to Salisbury; they also serve to bridge the gap between the campaigns in Crécy and Calais, by supplying action for the French characters in the lead-up to the battle of Poitiers. See p. 36.

  0.1MONTFORT anglicized in Q as ‘Mountford’. See LR, 16n.

  0.1, 7coronet ‘crown denoting a dignity inferior to that of the sovereign’ (OED n. 1a) and accordingly a fitting symbol of homage from Montfort to King Edward (see 4–9n.). Cf. 18.100.

  0.2 SALISBURY See LR, 7n.

  1 *your Q2’s correction of Q’s ‘our’ has been generally accepted.

  2 Sir … slain The title of Charles to the Duchy of Brittany was upheld by the Parliament of Paris against the counterclaim of Montfort, leading Montfort to seek English aid against Charles: see 1.133–4n. and LN. Charles was captured by the English in 1347 (see Froissart, 323), but several years later was ransomed and released. He did not die until 1364, when he was finally defeated by Montfort’s son. Charles’s reported death here is either a deliberate distortion of the historical record or an error. If the latter, Melchiori, 205 n. 1, suggests that it might have been picked up from Holinshed, 3.372, who, in describing French losses at Crécy, appears to misname Froissart’s ‘therle Lewes of Bloyes, nephue to the Frenche kyng’ (300) as ‘Charles earle of Blois’.

  3 quietly peacefully

  3–4 possessed / In put in possession of (OED v. 8)

  4 Brittain’s See 1.133n.

  4–9 know … friend The coronet is the invention of the playwright(s), which gives Salisbury a reason for seeking the King at Calais: it links the two episodes (from different chapters in Froissart) of Brittany and the passport. Montfort’s pledge of allegiance took place earlier, in 1341, when he paid homage, according to Froissart, by the conventional means of ‘holding hands’ with Edward (see 1.133–4 LN). The coronet also serves as a visual symbol for the audience, contributing to Edward’s new regalia at the end of the play: cf. 18.100, 195 SD.

  5 furtherance assistance

  * * *

  Sc. 9] Warren; ACT IV. / SCENE I. Bretagne. Camp of the English Forces under the Earl of Salisbury; Salisbury’s Tent. / Capell 0.1 Lord] the Lord Q2 MONTFORT] (Mountford) 1 your] Q2; our Q 4 Brittain’s] (Btittaines); Brytanes Q2; Bretagne’s Capell

  7 In sign whereof Cf. 1H6 2.4.58, TS 1.2.274–5.

  9 Never … but i.e. always to be; but = other than (Abbott, 406)

  11 The whole dominions Cf. 1.83nn.

  12 conquering Cf. 5.64n.

  13–43 See LN.

  13 pass get through (unscathed)

  14 to … meet get to Calais (cf. 8.105 and n.) gladly to meet. See Abbott, 382, 405.

  15 certified assured

  16 *That Capell’s convincing emendation of Qq ‘Yet’ has been widely accepted. Brooke explains it as misreading of MS ‘yt’ by the compositor.

  host army

  removed moved

  17 policy plan

  18 Villiers trisyllabic here (and possibly at 42); usually disyllabic, but see 11.1, 49n. See LR, 25n.

  19–43 A classical analogue of this episode is the legend of Marcus Atilius Regulus, Roman consul in the First Punic War, captured by the Carthaginians. The story of Regulus also occurs in Whitney, 114, with the motto ‘Hosti etiam seruanda fides’ (‘Faith is to be kept even with an enemy’). See LN.

  19 thou here signifies address to an inferior in rank; see 1.55, 57n.

  21 a … francs a large round sum, defining Villiers’s level of temptation to break his oath. See 13–43 LN. Only here is a ransom quantified (cf. 12.73, 18.208–9).

  * * *

  8 withal] (with all), Q2 (withall) mine] my Q2 10 Montfort] (Mountfort) 12 SD] Capell subst.; Exit Q; om. Q2 14 to] atCapell Calais] (Calice) 15 Whither] (Whether) 16 That] Capell; Yet Q (and G2v catchword Qc; It Qu) 18 SD] Winny who’s] (whose) 18.1VILLIERS] (Villeirs) 19 knowst] (kuowest) 21 a] an Q2

  23 so … that as it happens

  24 quit released

  an … thyself if indeed you are willing (to accept my proposal); see Abbott, 105, and cf. 10.27.

  25 this it is this is the proposition; see 17n.

  procure used throughout in relation to the passport: cf. 13.67, 18.119; also death-procuring, 18.146.

  passport a paper signed by a person in authority permitting the bearer to travel to, from or through their country with the privilege of being protected from harm or arrest, and for a specific purpose and time (OED n. passport 1a; also OED safe-conduct n. 1a)

  26 Of … of This formula recurs verbatim at H5 1.2.70 (Merriam). Cf. 34n.

  Charles At this date (1346), the Duke of Normandy was in fact still Charles’s father, John: see LR, 21n., LR, 22n.

  27 recourse freedom of access; cf. 18.92.

  Calais See 8.105n.

  28 countries regions, districts

  where … do i.e. where Charles has authority to issue a passport

  31 students once together Froissart’s description of the prisoner is as ‘kynne to the duke of Normandy’ (see 13–43 LN), a relative rather than close friend. The close bond between students is explored by Shakespeare in LLL and Ham.

  34 2I … him recurs verbatim at H5 3.6.85–6 (Merriam). Cf. 26n. on Of … of.

  35 post hasten

  36 faith i.e. his honour as a man of probity

  37 compass my desire achieve what I want. Cf. 11.59, 18.140; also 2.585n.

  * * *

  24 an] (and) 27 Calais] (Callis) 31 were] wert Q2 33 sayst] (saiest) 36 goest] go’st Capell

  39 that i.e. Villiers’s oath

  warrant guarantee: probably monosyllabic ‘war’nt’, throwing final stress of the line on to me

  43 English emphasis on French disloyalty and bad faith was part of a national stereotype, which became acutely pertinent with the French King Henry IV’s conversion to Catholicism in July 1593. Cf. 8.14n. and see p. 18. The scene ends without the rhyming couplet that such a line seems to invite (see 8.107–8n.).

  once just this once

  Sc. 10

  Sc. 10 The scene’s order of events follows both Holinshed and Froissart; verbal details suggest consultation of both chronicles, with some bias towards Froissart. The account of the siege of Calais is condensed, bringing its beginning and end together and giving a sense of continuous action. Cf. the siege of Harfleur in H5 3.3.

  0.1 DERBY contributed to the siege of Calais only near its end in 1347, by securing Nieulay Bridge (anglicized as ‘Newlande’ in the chronicles: see Froissart, 326, and Holinshed, 3.377)

  1–9 The opening lines compress several events from the siege: see LN.

  1, 26proffered offered

  1 league peace terms; as in Sc. 6, Edward lays the onus of his own aggression on the French.

  3–5 Cf. Froissart, 325–6, ‘he had so constrayned the towne that hit coulde nat longe endure for defaute of vitayls’.

  3 entrench ourselves dig ourselves in. Cf. Sharrock, sig. C4r, ‘the king his tentes remoues, & backward goes, / To Caleys shoares, and towne with trench, and bulwarke round doth close’; also 8.74 and n.

  4, 21, 31victuals pronounced ‘vittles’: provisions

  * * *

  42 SD] Capell; opp. 41 Q (Exit.) Sc. 10]Warren; SCENE II. Picardy. The English Camp before Calais. Capell 2 their] the Q2 4 victuals] (vituals)

  5 succour Cf. Holinshed, 3.377, ‘his enimies could come neither to succour the towne, nor to annoie his host’; also 2.2n.

  accursed accursèd

  6 ‘We must starve out a town we cannot take by direct assault.’ The play’s third and last siege begins (cf. Scs 2 and 3). Cf. Froissart, 324, ‘The kynge of Englande sawe well howe he coude nat get Calays but by famyne’ (‘famine’ not in Holinshed: see 3.375); also Sharrock, sig. C4v, ‘the king his siege at Caleis doth not rayse, / Th’inhabitant … / With greedy famine fell’.

  7 promised aid See 1–9 LN.

  stand aloof i.e. decline Edward’s offer of a league (1) (OED aloof adv. 3, citing Ham 5.2.224). Cf. 1H6 4.2.52, ‘And make the cowards stand aloof at bay’, and 5.3.150.

  8 retired withdrawn

  9 It … of they will regret (OED repent v. 2b)

  stubborn will Cf. 35.

  9.1–35 For the topicality of this episode, see pp. 16–18.

  9.1 *The ‘poor Frenchmen’, reduced from Froissart (see 12–21n.) to a theatrically viable ‘six’, match the six burghers in Sc. 18. See LR, 31n. Their entrance has been delayed, following Capell. Q has the citizens enter before Derby speaks, but it seems unlikely that they could remain unobserved until 10.

  12–21 Cf. Froissart, 305, ‘Whan the capten of Calys sawe the maner and thorder of thenglysshmen, than he constrayned all poore and meane peple to yssue out of the towne: and on a Wednysday ther yssued out of men, women, and chyldren, mo than xvii. C. and as they passed through the hoost they were demaunded why they departed, and they answered and sayde, bycause they had nothyng to lyve on.’ See also Holinshed, 3.375.

  12 patterns models, images (OED n. 2a, b); possibly picking up ragged (10)

  13 *The punctuation adopted follows the hint of Q’s comma after men; an alternative would be ‘What are you? Living… ’.

  gliding ghosts Cf. JC 1.3.63, Soliman and Perseda, 5.4.150–1, and Cornelia, 3.1.75–6; with reference to the ghosts of Edward the third and the Black Prince, cf. Woodstock, 5.1.117–18, ‘My father Edward and my warlike brother / Both gliding by my bed’.

  * * *

  9.1] Capell; after 6 Q six] some / Capell; divers / Collier 11]Q2 lines seemes / Calice. / Calais] (Callis) 12 patterns] partners Q2 13 What,] Q2; What Q you] ye Q2; ye? Capell; you, WP; you? Moore Smith

  15, 27 SPs *Q’s ‘Poore’ and ‘So’, the latter a misprint or misreading, have been normalized, allowing for one spokesman or two.

  15 breathe live, endure (OED v. 4b, citing 3H6 3.1.81)

  16 Far worse than Cf. 2.617 and see p. 68.

  sleep of death ‘[an] allusion to a common Christian belief’ (Dent2, S526; also S527)

  17 distressed distressèd

  18 diseased diseasèd

  20 captain ‘John de Vienne’ in the chronicles: see LR, 30n. and 12–21n. In the chronicles only one captain negotiates for the townspeople: it is therefore presumably he who enters at 61.1.

  21 Cf. Holinshed, 3.375, ‘this was doone of purpose to spare vittels’.

  22 an alexandrine; Melchiori suggests no doubt is ‘Hypermetrical for emphasis’.

  23 speed prosper

  25–6 imperative and peremptory to heighten theatrical tension and add force to Edward’s final show of mercy: cf. 69–71.

  26 truce Cf. 18.9; also 2.23n.

  27 An if if indeed; cf. 9.24n.

  vouchsafe elliptical: agree, condescend (to change your mind and let us go) (OED v. 7, citing this line)

  29 For similar cadence and rhythm, cf. 3H6 2.5.123, ‘Sad-hearted men, much overgone with care’.

  silly helpless

  * * *

  15 SP] (Poore:), Parfitt; 1. F. / Capell 22 no doubt] om. Capell 24 enemies.] Armstrong2; enemies Q; enemies, Q2; enemies: Collier 25 ye] you Q2 27 SP] Q2 (Poore.), Parfitt; So: Q; 1. F. / Capell; 2 Fr. / Collier 27 An] (And)

  31–2 Cf. Froissart, 305, ‘Than the kyng … suffred them to passe through his host without danger, and gave them mete and drinke to dyner, and every person ii.d. [twopence] sterlyng in almes.’ See also Holinshed, 3.375.

  31 appointed allocated to

  32 five crowns A crown was worth five shillings, so substantially more than Froissart’s ‘ii.d.’. Cf. 4.49n.

  33–5 Cf. Virgil’s prophetic phrase describing Roman imperial policy: see 6.24–6n.

  33 proverbial: the metaphor is picked up from 2.561–3 (see n.), effecting a link between the sieges of the Countess and of Calais.

  34 *flesh Delius’s emendation to flesh (OED v. 3a, ‘To plunge (a weapon, etc.) into the flesh’, first citing 2Tam, 4.1.25–6) is attractive, and has been adopted by several editors. Cam compares 1H6 4.4.148, ‘Did flesh his puny sword in Frenchmen’s blood’. Q’s ‘fresh’ could only mean refresh, strengthen (OED v. 1a), which is less convincing in context.

  35 wilful stubbornness Cf. 9.

  perverse obstinate

  35.1 Lord PERCY See LR, 10n.

  36–56 from Froissart: see LN.

  37 *commends her Capell’s emendation of Q’s ‘comes heere’ smoothes the metre and affords a suitable formula of greeting. The error of ‘comes’ for commends is hard to account for, but might derive from failure to note a tilde over the ‘e’. Defenders of Q explain that Percy is anticipating the news of the Queen’s approach at 57–9, but the use of here for ‘hither’ is unidiomatic except in phrases describing present action, such as Here comes (2.190, 350, 459, 13.20), Here we/am I come (3.83, 6.66) or what/who comes here (17.18, 18.63); see OED here adv. 7a.

  38 vicegerent ‘A person appointed by a king or other ruler to act in his place’ (OED n. 1a); unidentified, but see 3.199 LN, LR, 10n.

  39 this happy tidings i.e. good news (OED tidings n. 2b: plural form as singular)

  41, 67belike no doubt (sarcastic); cf. 5.27.

  * * *

  32 SD] Capell subst. 34 flesh] Delius; fresh Q 36 Lord] Capell; Ki: Lord Q 37 commends her] Capell; comes heere Q 41 belike] (belike) Q2

  43 fruitful effective, productive; cf. 1.42n. Q2’s ‘faithfull’ looks like careless vulgarization.

  44 travail Q’s form ‘trauell’ was used indifferently for modern ‘travel’ (journey) and ‘travail’ (toil), both apposite here, with a possible third reference to the Queen’s approaching childbirth (OED travail n.1 4). Cf. 8.69n.

  45 Froissart, 331, mentions ‘the quene beynge great with chylde’ later in 1347, at the end of the siege, when she pleads for mercy on behalf of the six burghers: see 18.39–55. The Queen’s later pregnancy is anticipated here, evoking the remarkable image of a pregnant queen on the battlefield: see LN.

  in arms armed, prepared to fight: see 36–56 LN.

  46 Vanquished, subdued a common tautology; cf. Holinshed, 3.395, summing up Edward the third’s victories over King John of France and King David of Scotland: ‘For both kings were subdued in fight, vanquished, and taken prisoners’.

  48 What who; what rank of man

  49–53 This episode anticipates Hotspur’s refusal to surrender the prisoners he took at Humbleton to King Henry IV, handled at greater length and to greater effect by Shakespeare in 1H4 1.1.70–106, 1.3.22–125. Cf. also Horatio’s disputed capture of Balthazar in Spanish Tragedy, 1.2.152–97.

  49 *squire ‘young man of good birth attendant upon a knight’ (OED n. 1a). Q’s spelling ‘Esquire(s)’ is merely conventional (also at 12.70; 17.51, 57; 18.65, 67, though Q uses ‘squirs’ at 16.0.1 in a very tight line); metre and the use of the article ‘a’ rather than ‘an’ indicate monosyllabic pronunciation, as spelt by Q2 without the initial vowel. The disyllabic form is correctly used at 2H6 5.1.75.