ACT I.

SCENE I.

London. A Room of State in the Palace.

Flourish of Trumpets: then hautboys. Enter, on one side, King HENRY, Duke of GLOSTER, SALISBURY, WARWICK, and Cardinal BEAUFORT; on the other, Queen MARGARET, led in by SUFFOLK; YORK, SOMERSET, BUCKINGHAM, and others, following.

Suf. As by your high imperial majesty

I had in charge at my depart for France,

As procurator to your excellence,

To marry princess Margaret for your grace;
So, 2 in the famous ancient city, Tours,

In presence of the kings of France and Sicil,

The dukes of Orleans, Calaber, Bretaigne, and Alençon,
Seven earls, twelve barons, and twenty reverend bishops,

I have perform'd my task, and was espous'd:

And humbly now upon my bended knee,

In sight of England and her lordly peers,

Deliver up my title in the queen 3

4

To your most gracious hands, that are the substance

Of that great shadow I did represent;

The happiest gift that ever marquess gave,

The fairest queen that ever king receiv'd.

K. Hen. Suffolk, arise. Welcome, queen Margaret:

I can express no kinder sign of love,

Than this kind kiss. O Lord! that lends me life,

Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness;

For thou hast given me, in this beauteous face,

A world of earthly blessings to my soul,

If sympathy of love unite our thoughts.

2) Das So, mit welchem der Nachsatz beginnt, entspricht dem As, das den Vordersatz anfängt: As I had in charge - so I have perform'd my task.

3) das Anrecht, das er auf den Besitz Margarethens durch die Procurationsvermählung sich erworben hatte.

*) that bezieht sich auf ein in your hands steckendes you: Suffolk hatte bei der Vermählung in Tours nur den Schatten Heinrichs vorgestellt.

Q. Mar. Great king of England, and my gracious lord,

The mutual conference that my mind hath had

By day, by night, waking, and in my dreams,

In courtly company, or at my beads,
With you mine alderliefest sovereign,

6

Makes me the bolder to salute my king

With ruder terms, such as my wit affords,
And over-joy of heart doth minister.

K. Hen. Her sight did ravish, but her grace in speech,
Her words y-clad with wisdom's majesty,

Makes me from wondering fall to weeping joys; 8

Such is the fulness of my heart's content.
Lords, with one cheerful voice welcome my love.

All. Long live queen Margaret, England's happiness!
Q. Mar. We thank you all.

Suf. My lord protector, so it please your grace,
Here are the articles of contracted peace,

Between our sovereign, and the French king Charles,

For eighteen months 10 concluded by consent.

[Flourish.

Glo. [Reads.],,Imprimis: It is agreed between the French king, Charles, and William de la Poole, marquess of Suffolk, ambassador for Henry king of England, that the said Henry shall espouse the lady Margaret, daughter unto Reignier king of Naples, Sicilia, and Jerusalem; and crown her queen of England ere the thirtieth of May next ensuing. That the duchy of Anjou and the country of Maine shall be released and delivered to the king her father"

K. Hen. Uncle, how now? 11
Glo.

Item,

Pardon me, gracious lord;

Some sudden qualm hath struck me at the heart,
And dimm'd mine eyes, that I can read no further.
K. Hen. Uncle of Winchester, I pray, read on.

5) mutual ist hier nicht = gegenseitig, sondern wie oft bei Sh. innig, mit Einverständniss begabt.

6) alderliefest, das Steevens richtig mit dearest of all erklärt, ist ein Ueberbleibsel aus dem ältern Englisch. Chaucer hatte noch mehrere Zusammensetzungen mit alder d. h. of all; so alderfirst, alderlast, alderbest, während Sh.'s Zeitgenossen nur noch alderliefest kennen.

7) ruder terms = schlichtere, kunstlosere Ausdrücke, als der König sie gebraucht hat. 8) weeping joys Freudenthränen, eigentlich Freude, die sich in Thränen äussert.

9) Die Fol. hat hier die Bühnenweisung All kneel.

10) In den Qs. Till term of eighteen months be full expired, ein Vers, den die Fol. erst weiterhin hat.

11) Der König fragt den Herzog von Gloster, was ihm zustosse, da er so plötzlich mitten in der Vorlesung innehält. Die Qs. hatten vorher die Bühnenweisung: Duke Humphrey lets it fall..

,,It is further agreed between them,

that the duchies

Win. Item, of Anjou and Maine 12 shall be released and delivered over to the king her father; and she sent over of the king of England's own proper cost and charges, without having any dowry."

K. Hen. They please us well.

Lord marquess, kneel down:

We here create thee the first duke of Suffolk,
And girt thee with the sword.

Cousin of York,
We here discharge your grace from being regent
I' the parts of France, till term of eighteen months.
Be full expir'd. -Thanks, uncle Winchester,
Gloster, York, Buckingham, Somerset,
Salisbury, and Warwick, 13

We thank you all for this great favour done,
In entertainment to my princely queen.

Come, let us in; and with all speed provide

To see her coronation be perform'd.

[Exeunt King, Queen, and Suffolk.

Glo. Brave peers of England, pillars of the state,
To you duke Humphrey must unload his grief,
Your grief, the common grief of all the land.
What! did my brother Henry spend his youth,
His valour, coin, and people, in the wars?
Did he so often lodge in open field,
In winter's cold, and summers parching heat,
To conquer France, his true inheritance?
And did my brother Bedford toil his wits,
To keep by policy what Henry got?
Have you yourselves, Somerset, Buckingham,
Brave York, Salisbury, and victorious Warwick,
Receiv'd deep scars in France and Normandy?
Or hath mine uncle Beaufort, and myself,
With all the learned council of the realm,
Studied so long, sat in the council-house

Early and late, debating to and fro

How France and Frenchmen might be kept in awe?

And hath his highness in his infancy

12) Malone weist auf den Widerspruch hin, dass Winchester in dem Vortrage liest, the dutchies of Anjou and Maine, während Gloster vorher dieselben Worte the dutchy of Anjou and the county of Maine gelesen hatte. Es ist das vielleicht nicht, wie Malone annimmt, eine Nachlässigkeit Sh.'s, als vielmehr eine Andeutung, dass Winchester das von Gloster bereits Vorgelesene nur flüchtig und ungefähr wiederholt, wie er auch delivered over liest, wo Gloster nur delivered gelesen hatte.

13) So theilt die Fol. die vorhergehenden Verse ab. Die meisten Hgg. setzen dafür: Cousin of York, we here discharge your grace || From being regent in the parts of France, Till term of eighteen months be full expired. || Thanks, uncle Winchester, Gloster, York and Buckingham, || Somerset, Salisbury and Warwick.

Car. Nephew, what means this passionate discourse?

This peroration with such circumstance? 17

For France, 't is ours; and we will keep it still.

Glo. Ay, uncle; we will keep it, if we can;

But now it is impossible we should.
Suffolk, the new-made duke that rules the roast,
Hath given the duchy 19 of Anjou, and Maine,
Unto the poor king Reignier, whose large style
Agrees not with the leanness of his purse. 20

18

Sal. Now, by the death of him that died for all,
These counties were the keys of Normandy.
But wherefore weeps Warwick, my valiant son?

War. For grief, that they are past recovery;

For, were there hope to conquer them again,
My sword should shed hot blood, mine eyes no tears.
Anjou and Maine! myself did win them both;

Those provinces these arms of mine did conquer:
And are the cities that I got with wounds,
Deliver'd up again with peaceful words? 21
Mort Dieu!

York. For Suffolk's duke, may he be suffocate, 22

Die Krö

14) Been fügte zuerst Steevens vor crowned, wie die Fol. zweisylbig las, ein, während die frühern Hgg. seit Rowe in der vorigen Zeile was für hath setzten. nung des jungen Heinrichs VI. kam in K. Henry VI. First Part (A. 4, Sc. 1) vor. 15) books of memory Geschichtsbücher, Chroniken, Annalen.

ist das folgende characters of your renown aufzufassen.

16) Alles vernichtend, als ob es früher nie dagewesen wäre.

In Verbindung damit

18) roast = Braten, steht in der Redensart to rule the roast = regieren, für Bratspiess: der den Bratspiess zu wenden hat.

19) So die Fol. Manche Hgg. entlehnen aus den Qs. dafür dutchies.

20) Sh. hatte hier Holinshed vor Augen: for King Regner, her father, for all his long style, had too short a purse to send his daughter honourably to the king her spouse. 21) wounds und words sind einander auch im Gleichklange gegenübergestellt.

22) Wortspiel zwischen Suffolk und suffocate, letzteres die von Sh. bei Verben auf -ate häufig gebrauchte Participialform für suffocated.

That dims the honour of this warlike isle!

France should have torn and rent my very heart,
Before I would have yielded to this league.

I never read but England's kings have had
Large sums of gold, and dowries, with their wives;
And our king Henry gives away his own,

To match with her that brings no vantages.

Glo. A proper jest, and never heard before,
That Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth,
For costs and charges in transporting her! 23

She should have stay'd in France, and starv'd in France,
Before

Car. My lord of Gloster, now you grow too hot. It was the pleasure of my lord the king.

Glo. My lord of Winchester, I know your mind: 'T is not my speeches that you do mislike,

But 't is my presence that doth trouble ye.
Rancour will out: Proud prelate, in thy face
I see thy fury. If I longer stay,

We shall begin our ancient bickerings. 24
Lordings, farewell; and say, when I am gone,
I prophesied, France will be lost ere long.

25

Car. So, there goes our protector in a rage.
'T is known to you he is mine enemy;
Nay, more, an enemy unto you all,

And no great friend, I fear me, to the king.
Consider, lords, he is the next of blood,
And heir apparent to the English crown:
Had Henry got an empire by his marriage,
And all the wealthy kingdoms of the west,
There's reason he should be displeas'd at it.
Look to it, lords: let not his smoothing words
Bewitch your hearts; be wise, and circumspect.
What though the common people favour him,
Calling him „Humphrey the good Duke of Gloster;"
Clapping their hands, and crying with loud voice
Jesu maintain your royal excellence!"

With

"God preserve the good duke Humphrey !"

[Exit.

23) Sh. entlehnte diese Notiz aus Holinshed: for the fetching of her the marquess of Suffolk demanded a whole fifteenth in open parliament, d. h. ein Fünfzehntel der Besteuerung des Volkes.

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2) solches Handgemenge oder Scharmützel, wie es in K. Henry VI. First Part (A. 1, Sc. 3) geschildert war. bickering Hader, Scharmützel, gebraucht Holinshed öfter. 25) gedenkt, wenn ich todt bin, meiner Prophezeiung, dass Frankreich uns in Kurzem verloren gehen wird.