Parliamentary rolls
Extract of a speech made by Chancellor Henry Beaufort, bishop of Winchester, at the opening of the Parliament of November 1414. The speech hinted at Henry’s growing aspirations for war in pursuit of English claims to the French throne and to lands in France.
Catalogue reference: C 65/75 m.14
Translation
…our most sovereign lord the king desires especially that good and wise action should be taken against his enemies outside the realm, and furthermore how he will strive for the recovery of the inheritance and right of his crown outside the realm, which has for a long time been withheld and wrongfully retained, since the time of his progenitors and predecessors kings of England, in accordance with the authorities who wish that ‘unto death shalt thou strive for justice’, and ‘that which is altogether just shalt thou follow’
Parliamentary rolls are accessible online at British History Online (subscription service only).