Crimes In Shakespeare's Henry V

Henry V, like most characters created by Shakespeare, is very complex, and cannot by defined in black and white or as good or bad. However, he is the sum of his actions, and his actions and decisions during the campaign during the campaign in France lead him to be classified as a war criminal. A politician who works for his own good and through that, the good of his country, Henry’s decisions are often cold and calculated, designed to manipulate those around him.
The list of crimes that can be committed in battle is vast, and the Geneva Convention separates the classification of offences into sections including crimes against peace and crimes during war, of which both were committed by Henry. The morality of his war comes into the questions

the moment that plans are made and he steps onto French soil, as the claim that Henry has on the French throne is very weak. The bishop tells Henry “Which Salique land the French unjustly gloze to be the realm of France and Pharamond the founder of this law and female bar. Yet their own authors faithfully affirm that the land Salique is in Germany…” (1.2. 40-44). He then goes on to list all the instances when Salic law did not bar Kings from justifying their own claim to the throne. Under official French Salic law, Henry has no justifiable claim to France, making the campaign he wages a crime against peace. After the battle campaign begins, the war crime Henry perpetrates is the killing of the hostages taken. Henry listens to Exeter recount the deaths of Suffolk and York, and then hears the alarm of the French. He realizes that the French are regrouping and orders every man to kill his prisoners (4.6). Then, angered the dead young boys massacred by the French at the base camp, he proclaims “…we’ll cut the throats of those we have, and not a man of them that we shall take shall taste our mercy. Go and tell them so.” (4.7. 65-67). It is arguable that the second order was made in anger at the terrible crime before him, but the murder of prisoners of war and hostages is a war crime, and Henry was not so emotional the first time he ordered for it. He also threatens the careless and needless destruction of Harfleur when he addressed the Governor of the town. Henry tells him that unless he surrenders, the English soldiers will be uncontrollable and pillage the town, raping women and children and killing innocents, an outcome that would result from his own decisions and actions (H5. 3.3. 1-43). It is unlikely that Henry would be able to control his soldiers to such an extent, and as a monarch, he knows the dangers of empty threats. He is able to use this threat to manipulate the governor by telling him the fate of his town would be his direct result of his decision.
Henry’s decisions are often made very consciously for very specific purposes, often to illicit specific reactions or achieve his own agenda; he becomes different people for different people.

On the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, he disguises himself and walks amongst his men in order to gauge the sentiment amongst them. To Pistol, he insults ‘the King’, but to Williams and Bates, he praises ‘the King’ and justifies the war (4.1). Depending on the men’s pre-existing opinions, Henry changes his attitude to convince his men of the validity of the war as well as the range of his responsibility. When he speaks to Katharine to woo her, he becomes the perfect suitor, full of sweet words and clumsy enough to be charming as he attempts to speak French. He tells Katharine before this attempt that the language “…will surely hang upon [his] tongue like a newly-married wife upon her husband’s neck…”, but it is more likely that as the King of England Henry is fluent in French and is lying. In front of the nobility of his court, Henry is fully and completely a strong leader. This can be seen from the second scene of the play, where he calls the bishops into the throne room and asks him “May I with right and conscience make this claim [to France]?” (H5. 1.2. 96-97) He gets the bishops, who have their own motivations, to proclaim in front of the whole court that he does, in fact, have a solid claim to the French throne. The bishops’ lengthy and rambling explanations contrasted by Henry’s pinpoint questioning and conclusion highlight his assertive and commanding nature. He changes for each situation, sometimes drastically, becoming an

actor.
Henry also stages many situations in which he places himself in order to consolidate his power and influence people’s opinions of him. At Southampton, before they leave for France, Henry meets with his court as it prepares for war, and is faced with an assassination attempt, but “the King hath note of all that they intend by interception that they dream not of.” (2.2. 6-7) Henry uses this intelligence network to create a public scene in which the three traitors are arrested. The entire court is present for the revelation that the three nobles have committed treason. They are made an example of, and at the end of Henry’s eloquent condemnation of their actions, he tells them that his anger is not because they wished to kill him, but because they “would have sold…their whole kingdom into desolation” (2.2. 170-173). We see another staged situation prior to this, when Henry responds to the Dauphin’s gift of tennsi balls. His words carefully chosen, he delivers a response as full of wordplay as it is of threats. In doing so, Henry makes the nobles respect him even more, as he shows his command of statecraft and well-timed intimidation. It is also very likely that Henry’s motivation for going to battle in France was to unite all the nobles around him in the face of a common enemy and establish extra support for his status as monarch through a successful campaign.
A very complex character, Henry V’s true nature is hidden to the nature, as his true thoughts on matters and personality must be determined through his actions and words to others. But for someone who intimidates cities in one breath and professes love in the next, this is truly difficult. Amongst his many actions is the slaughter of prisoners at Agincourt and amongst his words are the ghastly threats he made at Harfleur, two controversial incidents that certainly brand Henry a war criminal.