Historical Context: The Divine Appointment of English Kings
An important question that preoccupies the characters in Shakespeare’s “histories” and which links these plays is whether the king of England is divinely appointed—that is, whether he is God’s “deputy anointed in his sight,” as John of Gaunt says in Richard II (1.2.40). If such is the case, then the overthrow, deposition, or, worst of all, murder of a king is akin to blasphemy. In Shakespeare’s works, as in the classical Greek tragedies (such as Aeschylus’s Oresteia trilogy), such an act may cast a long shadow over the reign of the king who deposes or murders his predecessor, and even over his descendants.
This shadow, which manifests itself in the form of literal ghosts in plays such as Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Richard III, also looms over Richard II and its sequels: Henry IV, Part 1; Henry IV, Part 2; and Henry V. In the play that bears his name, Richard II is haunted by a politically motivated murder—not that of an actual king but that of his uncle, Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester. After Richard II’s eventual overthrow, the new king, Henry IV, is, in turn, haunted by his own responsibility for Richard’s overthrow and eventual murder. This shadow hangs over both plays that bear Henry IV’s name. Only after Henry IV’s death does his own son, Henry V, symbolically prove himself worthy to wear the crown and rule as king of England.
Historical Context: The Genealogy of Richard II
Richard II was thrust on to the throne at the very early age of ten, when his grandfather, the much-revered King Edward III, died in 1377. Richard’s father was also named Edward and was known as the “Black Prince.” A promising, warlike, and beloved heir to the throne, he unfortunately died the year before the “old king” Edward III, leaving his son Richard to inherit the kingdom the following year. Richard was thus left with very large shoes to fill. His ascension at an early age meant that he grew up as a ruler, and, spoiled by power (at least according to Shakespeare), allowed himself to become reliant upon influential advisors. At several points in Richard II, he is compared unfavorably to both his illustrious grandfather and his tragically short-lived father.
Richard’s father was the oldest son of King Edward III, and the rigid English laws of succession meant that the oldest son of the king's oldest son must inherit the crown. Thus, young Richard became ruler at ten. However, the Black Prince had six younger brothers, several of whom figure importantly in Richard II. One is John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. He is, obviously, the uncle of Richard II. His son, Henry Bolingbroke, who eventually becomes the usurper of the throne, is therefore Richard’s cousin and a grandson of Edward III. A younger brother of the Black Prince is Edmund of Langley, Duke of York. York is hence Gaunt’s brother and Richard’s uncle, and his son, the Duke of Aumerle, is a cousin to both Richard and Henry Bolingbroke.
A third brother to the Black Prince was Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester. He died under mysterious circumstances shortly before the time at which Richard II takes place. This is the crime for which Gloucester’s widow asks John of Gaunt to take revenge in Richard II, when she protests that, “One vial full of Edward's sacred blood . . . Is cracked, and all the precious liquor spilt" (1.2.17–19). King Richard himself, as well as several other noblemen both inside and outside of the royal family, were either active or passive participants in Gloucester's death. It seems that it was Richard himself who gave the order for his execution. Although no one dares to openly acknowledge the king's complicity, this death haunts the play and symbolically seems to both justify and foreshadow Richard's downfall.
The intra-familial conflicts in this play lay the groundwork for what will, in later years, escalate into a monumental struggle between the houses of York and Lancaster. This conflict will, famously, come to be called the War of the Roses (after the symbols of each house—one a white rose, one a red). John of Gaunt, the uncle of Richard II, is the Duke of Lancaster; therefore, his son Henry Bolingbroke (King Henry IV) and all his descendants will in later years be known as the House of Lancaster. There will be strife between this line of descent and the descendants of Gaunt's brother, Edmund, Duke of York, whose house will be known as the House of York. Shakespeare has already chronicled these struggles in his first history tetralogy, consisting of Henry VI, Part 1; Henry VI, Part 2; Henry VI, Part 3; and Richard III. The conflict will not be laid to rest until (as Shakespeare documents at the end of Richard III) a son of the House of Lancaster marries a daughter of the House of York, and, as Henry VII, founds the Tudor dynasty—the one which was still reigning in Shakespeare’s time, and to which Queen Elizabeth, the ruler at the time this play was written, belonged.
Historical Context: Geography in Richard II
There is a great deal of hustle, bustle, and moving from one place to another in Richard II, though this is nothing compared to the even more complicated geopolitical business that fills the Henry plays that follow it. A map of medieval Britain, such as the one found in the Riverside Shakespeare edition of Shakespeare's plays, can be very helpful in keeping track of the places and movements in Richard II, although it is by no means necessary for a deep understanding the play. For those who are interested, the important place names and basic trajectories of motion that occur over the course of the play are listed below.
The King's Court is in the capital city of London, which is located in the southeast part of England. Westminster Hall is in London—this is where Bolingbroke puts Bagot and Aumerle on trial in act 4, scene 1. Near the city of London is Windsor Castle, where King Richard and his allies spend time at the beginning of the play, and where Bolingbroke resides in act 5, after he becomes king. Plashy, the home of the Duchess of Gloucester, is also near London; so is Langley, the residence of the Duke of York (where Queen Isabel resides after Bolingbroke invades England in act 2, scene 2, and before she goes to London to meet Richard in act 5, scene 1).
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