Archbishop of Canterbury: The Churchman Who Made the War Happen

Canterbury opens the play with the Bishop of Ely discussing a bill in parliament that would strip the church of half its wealth and give it to the crown. His solution is to offer Henry money for a war and a legal justification to go with it. The Salic law speech that follows, establishing Henry's claim to the French throne through nine generations of genealogy, runs to sixty-five lines.

The argument is real (English lawyers did make this case before the actual Henry V's campaign) but Shakespeare writes it with enough density to make it feel almost deliberately absurd. Ely listens and agrees at every stage. Henry asks if the claim is righteous and Canterbury says yes, adding 'the sin upon my head.'

He is telling the king to invade France with the full blessing of the church, largely because a war will protect the church's assets. The play shows you exactly what is happening and then gives you the Crispin's Day speech anyway.