"1st Earl of Northumberland" 1368 - 1409 [Printed for The Duke of Northumberland by H.C. Coates & Son, Alnwick] Henry, 4th Lord Percy (b. 1342), was twenty-six years of age when he succeeded. He had already seen service in the French wars in 1359 and 1363. In 1368 he was at Calais with King Edward, and also commanded an army in Poitu. In 1369 he returned to England sick, but again served for a period until a truce was concluded in 1376. In 1377 he was Commander-in-Chief of the forces sent to garrison the French towns in English occupation. About this period he became a supporter of the reformer Wycliffe, and openly took his part when he was summoned before the Convocation in 1377. The mob of London, enraged by his conduct, broke into his house and murdered a priest whom they mistook for him. He officiated as Marshall of England at the Coronation of Richard II in 1377, when he was created Earl of Northumberland. In the same year he led an army of 10,000 men into Scotland to revenge the burning of Roxburgh by the Scots, and ravaged the lands of the Earl of March. In 1378 he besieged Berwick with a large force. Though defended by only forty-eight men, Berwick Castle held out for eight days, when it was captured and the whole garrison put to the sword. Here the Earl's son, Henry, a lad of only twelve years of age, greatly distinguished himself and earned his sobriquet of "Hotspur". Hostilities with the Scots continued intermittently, in which the Earl displayed remarkable ability and resource. In 1388 occurred the famous Battle of Otterburn. "Hotspur", while engaged in personal combat in front of Newcastle, had been unhorsed and his pennon had been captured. The Scottish army thereupon retired up Redesdale, pursued by "Hotspur" and his brother Ralph, with an army of 600 knights and squires and 8,000 infantry. "Hotspur" insisted on making a night attack, that most hazardous of all military operations, without giving his men any rest after a march of thirty-two miles, and in consequence was totally defeated and taken prisoner. He was ransomed soon afterwards. In 1399 the Earl and his son were suspected of harboring treasonable designs against Richard II, and he was summoned to appear before the King. As he refused to do so, he was proclaimed a traitor, whereupon he and other powerful barons raised the standard of revolt, deposed Richard and placed Henry IV on the throne. Border warfare continued, Hotspur and Douglas being the principal protagonists on either side, until the signal defeat of the Scots under Douglas at Homildon Hill in 1402. Differences with the King concerning the ransom of the prisoners taken in this battle, and concerning claims for certain payments due from the King to Northumberland and his son, led in 1403 to the famous Rising of the Percys, immortalized by Shakespeare in his Henry IV, which terminated in the fatal Battle of Shrewsbury on July 21st, where Hotspur was killed. His father thereupon surrendered to the King at York and was pardoned, though he remained a prisoner for some time. In the meantime a rumor had spread that the King was dead and the Earl at liberty, and his northern retainers assembled in force and tried to hold Alnwick and his other castles against the King's forces, but on the threat to use cannon against them they were surrendered. In 1404 Northumberland was liberated, and in the following year he again raised the standard of rebellion, in which he was joined by the Archbishop of York, who, however, was defeated before the Earl could join him. Northumberland fled to Berwick, and the King advanced northward with a large army to reduce his strongholds. Prudhoe and Wartwort both fell, but Alnwick refused to surrender. The King passed on to Berwick, which yielded at the first discharge from a gun of large calibre, and on his return Alnwick surrendered to him. The Earl had sought refuge in Scotland, where he continued to conspire with Owen Glendower against Henry. In 1409 he made his last effort, leading a force of his own retainers and a few Scots into Yorkshire. This forlorn hope met with a crushing defeat at Bramham Moor, where the Earl was killed. He was succeeded by his grandson Henry, the son of Hotspur.  Please place in the Subject Line: WEBPAGE-HISTORY 
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