Lord Chief Justice: The Law That Outlasts the King
First appears: Act 1, Scene 2
Falstaff meets the Lord Chief Justice in Act 1, Scene 2, and the Justice attempts, patiently then less patiently, to make him answer for his behaviour at Gad's Hill. Falstaff deflects, misunderstands, changes the subject, and eventually just walks away. The scene establishes two things: that the law exists, and that Falstaff treats it as a conversational obstacle.
His real importance becomes clear in Act 5. When Hal is crowned Henry V, the Lord Chief Justice expects to be dismissed. He once sent the Prince to prison for striking him, something Hal mentions with the tone of a man who has not forgotten it. Instead, Hal confirms him in his role and asks him to stand as a father-figure. It is the clearest signal that the new king will govern differently.
He is the play's moral anchor: patient, unimpressed by rank, and committed to the law in a way nobody else in either play quite matches.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“You speak as having power to do wrong; but answer in the effect of your reputation, and satisfy the poor woman.”
Lord Chief Justice — Act 2, Scene 1
“I then did use the person of your father: the image of his power lay then in me.”
Lord Chief Justice — Act 5, Scene 2