The late fourteenth century, from the reign of Richard II to the ‘revolution’ of 1399, inspired Shakespeare and remains of great interest today. Influential and instrumental in the events of this era was the Percy family of Northumberland. Richard Lomas offers a complete study of the Percys and their strategies, from diplomacy and war to king-making. Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland; his eldest son, Sir Henry Percy, known since as ‘Hotspur’; and his younger brother, Thomas Percy, Earl of Worcester all played crucial roles in this period. The book examines in compelling detail the rising fortunes of the family, particularly the Earl of Northumberland’s expansion of the Percy estate and his brother’s successful career as a diplomat and a courtier. It also offers an explanation of the Percys’ decision to throw in their lot with Henry Bolingbroke who succeeded the throne as Henry IV, and charts their growing disillusionment and subsequent disastrous, fatal rebellions against the King in 1403, 1405 and 1408.
Richard Lomas, now retired, was a Lecturer in History at Durham University. His previous book, A Power in the Land: The Percys, was published in 1999.
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