Act 5, Scene 2

Near Saint Edmunds-bury. The French Camp.

[Enter, in arms, LOUIS, SALISBURY, MELUN, PEMBROKE, BIGOT, and soldiers.]
Louis the Dauphin
2195 My Lord Melun, let this be copied out
2196 And keep it safe for our remembrance:
2197 Return the precedent to these lords again;
2198 That, having our fair order written down,
2199 Both they and we, perusing o'er these notes,
2200 May know wherefore we took the sacrament,
2201 And keep our faiths firm and inviolable.
Earl of Salisbury
2202 Upon our sides it never shall be broken.
2203 And, noble Dauphin, albeit we swear
2204 A voluntary zeal and an unurg'd faith
2205 To your proceedings; yet, believe me, prince,
2206 I am not glad that such a sore of time
2207 Should seek a plaster by contemn'd revolt,
2208 And heal the inveterate canker of one wound
2209 By making many. O, it grieves my soul
2210 That I must draw this metal from my side
2211 To be a widow-maker! O, and there
2212 Where honourable rescue and defence
2213 Cries out upon the name of Salisbury!
2214 But such is the infection of the time,
2215 That, for the health and physic of our right,
2216 We cannot deal but with the very hand
2217 Of stern injustice and confused wrong.—
2218 And is't not pity, O my grieved friends!
2219 That we, the sons and children of this isle,
2220 Were born to see so sad an hour as this;
2221 Wherein we step after a stranger-march
2222 Upon her gentle bosom, and fill up
2223 Her enemies' ranks—I must withdraw and weep
2224 Upon the spot of this enforc'd cause—
2225 To grace the gentry of a land remote,
2226 And follow unacquainted colours here?
2227 What, here?—O nation, that thou couldst remove!
2228 That Neptune's arms, who clippeth thee about,
2229 Would bear thee from the knowledge of thyself,
2230 And grapple thee unto a pagan shore,
2231 Where these two Christian armies might combine
2232 The blood of malice in a vein of league,
2233 And not to spend it so unneighbourly!
Louis the Dauphin
2234 A noble temper dost thou show in this;
2235 And great affections wrestling in thy bosom
2236 Doth make an earthquake of nobility.
2237 O, what a noble combat hast thou fought
2238 Between compulsion and a brave respect!
2239 Let me wipe off this honourable dew
2240 That silverly doth progress on thy cheeks:
2241 My heart hath melted at a lady's tears,
2242 Being an ordinary inundation;
2243 But this effusion of such manly drops,
2244 This shower, blown up by tempest of the soul,
2245 Startles mine eyes and makes me more amaz'd
2246 Than had I seen the vaulty top of heaven
2247 Figur'd quite o'er with burning meteors.
2248 Lift up thy brow, renowned Salisbury,
2249 And with a great heart heave away this storm:
2250 Commend these waters to those baby eyes
2251 That never saw the giant world enrag'd,
2252 Nor met with fortune other than at feasts,
2253 Full of warm blood, of mirth, of gossiping.
2254 Come, come; for thou shalt thrust thy hand as deep
2255 Into the purse of rich prosperity
2256 As Louis himself:—so, nobles, shall you all,
2257 That knit your sinews to the strength of mine.—
2258 And even there, methinks, an angel spake:
2259 Look, where the holy legate comes apace,
2260 To give us warrant from the hand of heaven
2261 And on our actions set the name of right
2262 With holy breath.
[Enter PANDULPH, attended.]
Cardinal Pandulph
2263 Hail, noble prince of France!
2264 The next is this,—King John hath reconcil'd
2265 Himself to Rome; his spirit is come in,
2266 That so stood out against the holy church,
2267 The great metropolis and see of Rome:
2268 Therefore thy threatening colours now wind up,
2269 And tame the savage spirit of wild war,
2270 That, like a lion foster'd up at hand,
2271 It may lie gently at the foot of peace
2272 And be no further harmful than in show.
Louis the Dauphin
2273 Your grace shall pardon me, I will not back:
2274 I am too high-born to be propertied,
2275 To be a secondary at control,
2276 Or useful serving-man and instrument
2277 To any sovereign state throughout the world.
2278 Your breath first kindled the dead coal of wars
2279 Between this chastis'd kingdom and myself,
2280 And brought in matter that should feed this fire;
2281 And now 'tis far too huge to be blown out
2282 With that same weak wind which enkindled it.
2283 You taught me how to know the face of right,
2284 Acquainted me with interest to this land,
2285 Yea, thrust this enterprise into my heart;
2286 And come ye now to tell me John hath made
2287 His peace with Rome? What is that peace to me?
2288 I, by the honour of my marriage-bed,
2289 After young Arthur, claim this land for mine;
2290 And, now it is half-conquer'd, must I back
2291 Because that John hath made his peace with Rome?
2292 Am I Rome's slave? What penny hath Rome borne,
2293 What men provided, what munition sent,
2294 To underprop this action? Is't not I
2295 That undergo this charge? Who else but I,
2296 And such as to my claim are liable,
2297 Sweat in this business and maintain this war?
2298 Have I not heard these islanders shout out,
2299 'Vive le roi!' as I have bank'd their towns?
2300 Have I not here the best cards for the game,
2301 To will this easy match, play'd for a crown?
2302 And shall I now give o'er the yielded set?
2303 No, no, on my soul, it never shall be said.
Cardinal Pandulph
2304 You look but on the outside of this work.
Louis the Dauphin
2305 Outside or inside, I will not return
2306 Till my attempt so much be glorified
2307 As to my ample hope was promised
2308 Before I drew this gallant head of war,
2309 And cull'd these fiery spirits from the world,
2310 To outlook conquest, and to will renown
2311 Even in the jaws of danger and of death.—
[Trumpet sounds.]
Louis the Dauphin
2312 What lusty trumpet thus doth summon us?
[Enter the BASTARD, attended.]
Philip the Bastard (Faulconbridge)
2313 According to the fair play of the world,
2314 Let me have audience; I am sent to speak:—
2315 My holy lord of Milan, from the king
2316 I come, to learn how you have dealt for him;
2317 And, as you answer, I do know the scope
2318 And warrant limited unto my tongue.
Cardinal Pandulph
2319 The Dauphin is too wilful-opposite,
2320 And will not temporize with my entreaties;
2321 He flatly says he'll not lay down his arms.
Philip the Bastard (Faulconbridge)
2322 By all the blood that ever fury breath'd,
2323 The youth says well.—Now hear our English king;
2324 For thus his royalty doth speak in me.
2325 He is prepar'd; and reason too he should:
2326 This apish and unmannerly approach,
2327 This harness'd masque and unadvised revel
2328 This unhair'd sauciness and boyish troops,
2329 The king doth smile at; and is well prepar'd
2330 To whip this dwarfish war, these pigmy arms,
2331 From out the circle of his territories.
2332 That hand which had the strength, even at your door,
2333 To cudgel you, and make you take the hatch;
2334 To dive, like buckets, in concealed wells;
2335 To crouch in litter of your stable planks;
2336 To lie, like pawns, lock'd up in chests and trunks;
2337 To hug with swine; to seek sweet safety out
2338 In vaults and prisons; and to thrill and shake
2339 Even at the crying of your nation's crow,
2340 Thinking this voice an armed Englishman;—
2341 Shall that victorious hand be feebled here
2342 That in your chambers gave you chastisement?
2343 No: know the gallant monarch is in arms
2344 And like an eagle o'er his aery towers
2345 To souse annoyance that comes near his nest.—
2346 And you degenerate, you ingrate revolts,
2347 You bloody Neroes, ripping up the womb
2348 Of your dear mother England, blush for shame;
2349 For your own ladies and pale-visag'd maids,
2350 Like Amazons, come tripping after drums,—
2351 Their thimbles into armed gauntlets chang'd,
2352 Their needles to lances, and their gentle hearts
2353 To fierce and bloody inclination.
Louis the Dauphin
2354 There end thy brave, and turn thy face in peace;
2355 We grant thou canst outscold us: fare thee well;
2356 We hold our time too precious to be spent
2357 With such a brabbler.
Cardinal Pandulph
2358 Give me leave to speak.
Philip the Bastard (Faulconbridge)
2359 No, I will speak.
Louis the Dauphin
2360 We will attend to neither.—
2361 Strike up the drums; and let the tongue of war,
2362 Plead for our interest and our being here.
Philip the Bastard (Faulconbridge)
2363 Indeed, your drums, being beaten, will cry out;
2364 And so shall you, being beaten: do but start
2365 And echo with the clamour of thy drum,
2366 And even at hand a drum is ready brac'd
2367 That shall reverberate all as loud as thine:
2368 Sound but another, and another shall,
2369 As loud as thine, rattle the welkin's ear,
2370 And mock the deep-mouth'd thunder: for at hand,—
2371 Not trusting to this halting legate here,
2372 Whom he hath us'd rather for sport than need,—
2373 Is warlike John; and in his forehead sits
2374 A bare-ribb'd death, whose office is this day
2375 To feast upon whole thousands of the French.
Louis the Dauphin
2376 Strike up our drums, to find this danger out.
Philip the Bastard (Faulconbridge)
2377 And thou shalt find it, Dauphin, do not doubt.
[Exeunt.]

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Notes

TLN 2200cultural context
“took the sacrament, And keep our faiths firm and inviolable”
Louis has the terms of the alliance written down and sworn on the sacrament — that is, the Eucharist, holy communion. Taking an oath on the consecrated host was the most binding vow a Christian could make, far stronger than a simple handshake or verbal pledge. Breaking such an oath was not just a breach of contract but a mortal sin.
TLN 2206rhetorical device
“sore of time Should seek a plaster by contemn'd revolt, And heal the inveterate canker of one wound By making many”
Salisbury describes the political crisis as a wound and the revolt against John as a 'plaster' (a bandage or poultice). An 'inveterate canker' is a long-festering ulcer or infected sore. His point — that trying to cure one wound by opening many more is absurd — is a sustained medical metaphor for political rebellion. 'Contemn'd' means despised, regarded with contempt.
TLN 2228classical allusion
“Neptune's arms, who clippeth thee about, Would bear thee from the knowledge of thyself, And grapple thee unto a pagan shore”
Neptune was the Roman god of the sea, and his 'arms' are the ocean surrounding England. Salisbury wishes the sea would carry England to some distant 'pagan shore' — outside Christendom — so that these two Christian armies could combine against a common enemy rather than turn on each other. 'Clippeth' means 'embraces' or 'encircles.'
TLN 2264historical topical
“King John hath reconcil'd Himself to Rome; his spirit is come in, That so stood out against the holy church”
Pandulph announces that King John has submitted to the Pope. Earlier in the play Pandulph excommunicated John for refusing to accept the Pope's choice of Archbishop of Canterbury. Now John has surrendered his crown as a vassal to Rome and received it back from Pandulph, ending the excommunication. Having got what he came for, Pandulph expects Louis to stand down.
historical King John, the Pope, and the Interdict
TLN 2268archaic vocab
“thy threatening colours now wind up, And tame the savage spirit of wild war”
'Colours' are military battle-flags (the banners that identified an army and showed it was in the field). To 'wind up' the colours is to roll or furl them away — the standard gesture for standing down a force. Pandulph is telling Louis to put his flags away and withdraw.
TLN 2274archaic vocab
“too high-born to be propertied, To be a secondary at control, Or useful serving-man and instrument To any sovereign state throughout the world”
'Propertied' here means 'treated as a mere piece of property' or 'used as a tool.' Louis is saying he is too nobly born to be managed or manipulated like an instrument — anyone's puppet, whether Rome's or anyone else's. 'Secondary at control' means a subordinate under someone else's authority. He has a hereditary claim and his own army; he refuses to be switched off like a weapon that has served its purpose.
TLN 2278rhetorical device
“Your breath first kindled the dead coal of wars Between this chastis'd kingdom and myself, And brought in matter that should feed this fire; And now 'tis far too huge to be blown out With that same weak wind which enkindled it”
Louis turns a single fire-metaphor against Pandulph with pointed logic: it was the legate's own persuasion ('breath') that blew a dead coal into a blaze of war, and now the same breath cannot blow it out. The word 'matter' means fuel — the material cause that feeds a fire. The argument is unanswerable: you cannot un-ring a bell, and the legate who started the war has no authority to end it.
TLN 2288historical topical
“by the honour of my marriage-bed, After young Arthur, claim this land for mine”
Louis's invasion of England rests on his wife's title. He married Blanche of Castile, King John's niece, and argues that if Arthur's claim as John's elder-line heir fails, the next right descends through Blanche to him. 'After young Arthur' means his claim is ranked second to Arthur's — and since Arthur is dead, he considers himself next.
historical The Angevin succession and Arthur's claimhistorical King John, the Pope, and the Interdict
TLN 2299archaic vocab
“Vive le roi!”
French for 'Long live the king!' — the standard acclamation shouted to a monarch in France. Louis is reminding Pandulph that English towns greeted him with the French royal salute: the people have already acclaimed him king. 'Bank'd their towns' means he has sailed along their coasts or entered their harbors — that is, he has physically taken possession of them.
TLN 2326rhetorical device
“This apish and unmannerly approach, This harness'd masque and unadvised revel, This unhair'd sauciness and boyish troops, The king doth smile at; and is well prepar'd To whip this dwarfish war, these pigmy arms”
The Bastard heaps insults on the French invasion through a rapid series of belittling terms: 'apish' (imitating without understanding, like a monkey), 'unadvised' (rash, thoughtless), 'unhair'd' (beardless, young), 'dwarfish,' 'pigmy.' 'Harness'd masque' treats the armored invasion as nothing more than a theatrical costume-party. The effect is a rhetorical technique called congeries — stacking up synonymous insults to overwhelm the target.
TLN 2333archaic vocab
“make you take the hatch; To dive, like buckets, in concealed wells; To crouch in litter of your stable planks”
These three lines describe the French hiding in humiliating places from English power. 'Take the hatch' means to leap over a low gate or half-door — the kind of panicked scramble a fugitive makes over a farm gate. 'Dive, like buckets, in concealed wells' pictures men dropping themselves into hidden wells for cover. 'Litter of your stable planks' means cowering among the straw and boards of a stable floor.
TLN 2347classical allusion
“bloody Neroes, ripping up the womb Of your dear mother England”
Nero was the Roman emperor most infamous for murdering his own mother, Agrippina. The Bastard calls the English rebel lords 'bloody Neroes' — men who are metaphorically tearing open the womb of their mother-country by inviting a foreign army in. Joining the French side is cast as the supreme unnatural crime: matricide.
classical Nero, the emperor who killed his mother
TLN 2350classical allusion
“Like Amazons, come tripping after drums,— Their thimbles into armed gauntlets chang'd, Their needles to lances”
The Amazons were a legendary race of warrior women from classical mythology — female fighters who set aside the domestic world for battle. The Bastard is shaming the English rebel lords by saying even their wives and serving-girls, their 'pale-visag'd maids,' have been swept up in martial fever and transformed into Amazons: thimbles (the sewing tool) become gauntlets, needles become lances. If women are turning into soldiers, surely the men should not be running the wrong way.
TLN 2357archaic vocab
“such a brabbler”
A 'brabbler' is a loud, quarrelsome brawler — someone who bickers and argues clamorously rather than fighting. Louis dismisses the Bastard's whole speech as noise: the word is contemptuous, reducing the Bastard's formal ambassadorial challenge to mere domestic squabbling. Louis's coolness ('We hold our time too precious... With such a brabbler') is itself a pointed counter-insult.
TLN 2369archaic vocab
“rattle the welkin's ear”
'Welkin' is an archaic English word for the sky or heavens — cognate with Old English 'wolcen' (cloud). The Bastard says John's army will make a noise so loud it rattles heaven's ear itself. The image is hyperbole: even the sky will hear the English drums answering the French.
TLN 2373rhetorical device
“in his forehead sits A bare-ribb'd death, whose office is this day To feast upon whole thousands of the French”
The Bastard ends his speech with a personification of Death as a skeleton — 'bare-ribb'd' means stripped of flesh, so only the ribs show — sitting in John's forehead like a herald announcing what is coming. Death's 'office' is his duty or function, and today that function is to eat thousands of French soldiers. The image turns the approaching battle into a feast for death, and John himself into death's emblem.