Henry IV (1367-1413)

An illustration from a 14th-century manuscript of French historian Jean Froissart's Chronicles. The picture shows Richard II of England as a prisoner in the Tower of London, England. The king is relinquishing his crown and sceptre to Henry, Duke of Lancaster, who subsequently became king as Henry IV.

King of England from 1399, the son of John of Gaunt. In 1398 he was banished by Richard II but returned in 1399 to head a revolt and be accepted as king by Parliament. He was succeeded by his son Henry V.

He had difficulty in keeping the support of Parliament and the clergy, and had to deal with baronial unrest and Owen Glendower's rising in Wales. In order to win support he had to conciliate the Church by a law for the burning of heretics, and to make many concessions to Parliament. The Percy family was defeated at Shrewsbury in 1403, and the Earl of Northumberland was beaten at Bramham Moor in 1408.