While we're being technical, we should also note that Shakespeare conflates two historical figures – Lord Edmund Mortimer, who was captured by Glendower and his nephew, Edmund, the Fifth Earl of March – into one character. The battle with the Scots at Holmedon (1402) came after the skirmish with the Welsh that resulted in Mortimer's capture (1401). (History snack: Technically, Shakespeare collapses events from the first couple of years of Henry's reign.In the meantime, given that the Scottish, the Welsh, and the Percy family are all acting up and giving Henry a big headache, the King's little trip to Jerusalem is going to have to wait while he deals with problems at home.Hotspur's been summonsed to the court so the king can straighten him out. Westmoreland says Hotspur's uncle, Worcester, is the reason why Hotspur's acting like such a punk about the prisoners.(Traditionally, the king's got dibs on all important captives.) Henry continues to admire Hotspur, even though Hotspur's dissed the king by refusing to give Henry his important prisoners.Wouldn't it be great, asks King Henry, if it turned out that some mischievous fairies had switched Prince Hal and Hotspur at birth? That way, Hotspur would be the king's son instead of Hal.King Henry and Westmoreland agree that Hotspur is awesome – he's the embodiment of "honour" and acts more like a prince than King Henry's own good-for-nothin' kid, Prince Hal.Hotspur's army has also taken out 10,000 Scottish soldiers and 22 knights. Then, King Henry tells us that Sir Walter Blunt has just arrived at the palace from the battle at Holmedon, revealing that Hotspur has defeated Douglas in battle and taken him prisoner.Check out this map of Britain – it's got all the important locations in the play.)
Messages were carried via horseback and it's a lengthy ride from Northumberland to London. (Remember, there was no such thing as text-messaging or Twitter.It's a real nail-biter and news of the outcome hasn't yet reached London since the messenger departed from the battlefield before the fight was over. Hotspur) has been duking it out with the leader of the Scottish forces, the Earl of Douglas. Westmoreland also says there's more not-so-good news from the battle at Holmedon (in Northumberland near the border of Scotland).What's worse, 1,000 of Mortimer's English soldiers have been slaughtered in combat and the Welshwomen have mutilated the genitals of the corpses. Westmoreland gives us the low-down – in a skirmish with the Welsh rebels, Edmund Mortimer, the Earl of March, has been taken captive by the Welsh leader, Owen Glendower.But, he says it's too bad he can't do this yet – he's recently learned some bad news that will force him to put the rumble in the Holy Land on hold.But, he's looking forward to uniting English soldiers in a crusade against the "pagans" in the Holy Land.
He says he's totally spent from all the civil warfare the country has endured. King Henry delivers a lengthy speech to his council at his palace in London.
Read the full text of Henry IV Part 1 Act 1 Scene 1 with a side-by-side translation HERE.