THE HISTORY BEHIND THE HISTORIES: A Chronology

Date: May 22, 1200

Event: Truce between King John and Philip Augustus

Location: Le Goulet, Normandy

Play: King John

Date: Apr. 1203

Event: Death of Arthur

Location: Rouen

Play: King John

Date: 1209

Event: Pope Innocent III excommunicates King John

Play: King John

Date: Oct. 18/19, 1216

Event: Death of King John

Location: Swineshead, Lincolnshire

Play: King John

Date: Apr.–Sep. 1398

Event: Quarrel, duel, and exile of Bolingbroke and Mowbray

Location: Coventry

Play: Richard II

Date: Feb. 3, 1399

Event: Death of John of Gaunt

Location: Leicester

Play: Richard II

Date: Jul. 1399

Event: Bullingbrook lands in England

Location: Ravenspur, Yorkshire

Play: Richard II

Date: Aug. 1399

Event: Richard II captured by Bullingbrook

Location: Wales

Play: Richard II

Date: Sep. 30, 1399

Event: Richard II abdicates

Location: London

Play: Richard II

Date: Oct. 13, 1399

Event: Coronation of Henry IV

Location: London

Play: Richard II

Date: Jan.–Feb. 1400

Event: Death of Richard II

Location: Pontefract Castle

Play: Richard II

Date: Jun. 22, 1402

Event: Owen Glendower captures Edmund Mortimer

Location: Bryn Glas, Wales

Play: 1 Henry IV

Date: Sep. 14, 1402

Event: Henry Percy defeats Scottish army

Location: Homildon Hill, Yorkshire

Play: 1 Henry IV

Date: Jul. 21, 1403

Event: Battle of Shrewsbury; death of Henry Percy (Hotspur)

Location: Battlefield, near Shrewsbury, Shropshire

Play: 1 & 2 Henry IV

Date: Feb. 1405

Event: Tripartite Indenture between Owen Glendower, Edmund Mortimer, and Northumberland (Henry Percy)

Location: Bangor

Play: Henry IV

Date: May–Jun. 1405

Event: Rebellion of Archbishop of York (Richard Scroop), Earl of Norfolk (Thomas Mowbray) and Lord Bardolph

Location: Yorkshire

Play: 2 Henry IV

Date: Jun. 8, 1405

Event: Trial and execution of Archbishop of York and Earl of Norfolk

Location: York

Play: 2 Henry IV

Date: Mar. 20, 1413

Event: Death of Henry IV

Location: Westminster Abbey

Play: 2 Henry IV

Date: Apr. 9, 1413

Event: Coronation of Henry V

Location: Westminster Abbey

Play: 2 Henry IV

Date: c.1415–16?

Event: Death of Owen Glendower

Location: Wales?

Play: 2 Henry IV

Date: Early Aug. 1415

Event: Execution of Earl of Cambridge, Lord Scroop and Sir Thomas Grey

Location: Southampton

Play: Henry V

Date: Aug. 14–Sep. 22, 1415

Event: Siege of Harfleur

Location: Harfleur, Normandy

Play: Henry V

Date: Oct. 25, 1415

Event: Battle of Agincourt

Location: Agincourt, Pas de Calais

Play: Henry V

Date: Aug. 31, 1422

Event: Death of Henry V

Location: Bois de Vincennes, near Paris

Play: 1 Henry VI

Date: Jan. 18, 1425

Event: Death of Edmund Mortimer

Location: Ireland

Play: 1 Henry VI

Date: Oct. 1428–May 1429

Event: Siege of Orléans

Location: Orléans

Play: 1 Henry VI

Date: Oct. 17 1428

Event: Death of Lord Salisbury

Location: Orléans

Play: 1 Henry VI

Date: Jun. 18, 1429

Event: Capture of Lord Talbot at battle of Patay

Location: Patay, near Orléans

Play: 1 Henry VI

Date: Jul. 18, 1429

Event: Coronation of Charles VII

Location: Rheims Cathedral

Play: 1 Henry VI

Date: Nov. 6, 1429

Event: Coronation of Henry VI as King of England

Location: Westminster Abbey

Play: [1 Henry VI]

Date: May 23, 1430

Event: Capture of Joan of Arc

Location: Compiégne, near Soissons

Play: 1 Henry VI

Date: May 30, 1431

Event: Execution of Joan of Arc

Location: Saint-Ouen, near Paris

Play: 1 Henry VI

Date: Dec. 16, 1431

Event: Coronation of Henry VI as King of France

Location: Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris

Play: 1 Henry VI

Date: Sep. 14, 1435

Event: Death of Duke of Bedford

Location: Rouen

Play: 1 Henry VI

Date: Summer–Autumn 1441

Event: Arrest and trial of Eleanor Cobham and accomplices

Location: London

Play: 2 Henry VI

Date: May 20, 1442

Event: Lord Talbot created Earl of Shrewsbury

Location: Paris

Play: 2 Henry VI

Date: Apr. 23, 1445

Event: Marriage of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou

Location: Titchfield, Hampshire

Play: 2 Henry VI

Date: Feb. 23, 1447

Event: Death of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester

Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Play: 2 Henry VI

Date: Apr. 11, 1447

Event: Death of Cardinal Beaufort

Location: Winchester

Play: 2 Henry VI

Date: May 2, 1450

Event: Death of Earl of Suffolk

Location: English Channel

Play: 2 Henry VI

Date: Jun.–Jul. 1450

Event: Rebellion of Jack Cade

Location: Kent and London

Play: 2 Henry VI

Date: Spring 1452

Event: Richard, Duke of York, marches on London

Location: London

Play: 2 Henry VI

Date: Jul. 17, 1453

Event: Death of Lord Talbot at battle of Cantillon

Location: Cantillon, Gascony

Play: 1 Henry VI

Date: May 22, 1455

Event: First battle of St. Albans

Location: St. Albans, Hertfordshire

Play: 2 Henry VI

Date: Jul. 10, 1460

Event: Battle of Northampton

Location: Northampton

Play: [3 Henry VI]

Date: Oct. 1460

Event: Richard, Duke of York, holds Parliament

Location: London

Play: 3 Henry VI

Date: Dec. 30, 1460

Event: Battle of Wakefield

Location: Wakefield, Yorkshire

Play: 3 Henry VI

Date: Feb. 2, 1461

Event: Battle of Mortimer’s Cross

Location: Near Wigmore, Herefordshire

Play: 3 Henry VI

Date: Mar. 29, 1461

Event: Battle of Towton

Location: Near Tadcaster, Yorkshire

Play: 3 Henry VI

Date: Jun. 28, 1461

Event: Coronation of Edward IV

Location: Westminster Abbey

Play: 3 Henry VI

Date: May 1, 1464

Event: Marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville

Location: Northamptonshire

Play: 3 Henry VI

Date: Jul. 1465

Event: Henry VI captured

Location: Lancashire

Play: 3 Henry VI

Date: Jul. 26, 1469

Event: Battle of Edgecote Moor

Location: Near Banbury, Oxfordshire

Play: 3 Henry VI

Date: Oct. 1470–Apr./ May 1471

Event: Readeption (restoration) of Henry VI

Location: London

Play: 3 Henry VI

Date: Apr. 14, 1471

Event: Battle of Barnet; death of Warwick

Location: Barnet, near London

Play: 3 Henry VI

Date: May 4, 1471

Event: Battle of Tewkesbury; death of Edward, Prince of Wales

Location: Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire

Play: 3 Henry VI

Date: May 21, 1471

Event: Death of Henry VI

Location: Tower of London

Play: 3 Henry VI

Date: Jul. 12, 1472

Event: Marriage of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to Anne

Location: Westminster Abbey

Play: Richard III

Date: Feb. 18, 1478

Event: Death of Duke of Clarence

Location: Tower of London

Play: Richard III

Date: Apr. 9, 1483

Event: Death of Edward IV

Location: Westminster

Play: Richard III

Date: Jun. 1483

Event: Death of Lord Hastings

Location: Tower of London

Play: Richard III

Date: Jul. 6, 1483

Event: Coronation of Richard III

Location: Westminster Abbey

Play: Richard III

Date: Nov. 2, 1483

Event: Death of Duke of Buckingham

Location: Salisbury

Play: Richard III

Date: Mar. 16, 1485

Event: Death of Queen Anne

Location: Westminster

Play: Richard III

Date: Aug. 22, 1485

Event: Battle of Bosworth Field

Location: Leicestershire

Play: Richard III

Date: Oct. 30, 1485

Event: Coronation of Henry VII

Location: Westminster Abbey

Play: [Richard III]

Date: Jan. 18, 1486

Event: Marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York

Location: Westminster Abbey

Play: [Richard III]

Date: Jun. 1520

Event: Meeting of Henry VIII and Francis I

Location: “Field of the Cloth of Gold,” near Calais, France

Play: [Henry VIII]

Date: May 17, 1521

Event: Death of Duke of Buckingham

Location: Tower Hill, London

Play: Henry VIII

Date: Nov. 29, 1530

Event: Death of Wolsey

Location: Leicester

Play: Henry VIII

Date: Jan. 25, 1533

Event: Marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Bullen (Boleyn)

Location: Whitehall

Play: Henry VIII

Date: Jun. 1, 1533

Event: Coronation of Anne Bullen (Boleyn)

Location: Westminster Abbey

Play: Henry VIII

Date: Sep. 7, 1533

Event: Birth of Princess Elizabeth

Location: Greenwich Palace

Play: Henry VIII

Date: Sep. 10, 1533

Event: Christening of Princess Elizabeth

Location: Greenwich Palace

Play: Henry VIII