By our standards, Henry was a cruel zealot, quick to judge and fight, frigid and stiff-necked, impatient… — Dan Jones
By our standards, Henry was a cruel zealot, quick to judge and fight, frigid and stiff-necked, impatient, exacting, unforgiving, largely sexless, and mostly humorless. Seen from the perspective of an age that positively embraces vulnerability, Henry can be a hard character to like, or even to admire. Our values are not his. His are not ours. We do not need to pretend otherwise.
p. 359Source: Wikiquote · CC BY-SA 4.0
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It is the view of Henry’s chaplain, perhaps echoing the king’s own, that no besieged people could have prepared themselves “more prudently or with greater security to themselves.” All the same, Henry may reason, in a contest between prudence and cannonballs, the advantage is typically held by the side with the biggest guns.
p. 228
Henry has known John the Fearless long enough to realize that the Duke, while resourceful and on occasion useful, is not a man to be trusted.
p. 294
As he grows up, he will shed any inclination to treat his enemies leniently. Toughness and a near-total lack of sentimentality will become hallmarks of his political character.
p. 121
