The Hotspur Trilogy

Major Characters
 

Sir Harry Percy: The greatest knight in England (and perhaps  anywhere), victorious  in jousts as well as war, he serves as senior military commander, often confronting the Scots—who admire his audacity and courage and nickname him Hotspur, claiming his devotion to duty means his spurs must never cool. While sharing camaraderie with his Scottish opponents off the field, he tends to spar with his father and power-obsessed aristocrats, including kings, over issues of right and wrong. Paired in arranged marriage as a child and estranged from his wife, he secretly yearns for love.

 

King Richard II: After coming to the throne as a boy, Richard II is as flamboyant, pampered, and charming as he is venal. Inured in the belief that the king is above the law, despite Parliament’s long-standing claims to the contrary, he refuses to listen to Harry or his more principled advisors and invites danger he never contemplated.

 

Henry Bolingbroke–King Henry IV: Duke of Lancaster, grandson of Edward III, and cousin of Richard II, Henry Bolingbroke, England’s leading lord, has the world at his fingertips, unless he allows craven weakness to undermine his vast potential. Robbed of his estate by Richard II, he finds favor abroad and comes home to launch a campaign to drain the proverbial swamp in London and improve Richard’s rule. But that interest soon gives way to desires for retribution and to seize the throne for himself.   

 

Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland:  One of the wilier politicians of his day, Henry Percy ascended from the ranks of middling barons to become an earl. A straight-standing, veteran campaigner, he has all the majesty of an ageing eagle and, like an eagle, hopes to soar even higher—if his idealistic son doesn’t ruin everything. Yet, despite their frequent differences, he remains staunchly proud of Harry.   

 

Lord Thomas Percy, Earl of Worcester: Younger brother of the Earl of Northumberland, Thomas Percy is a seasoned soldier, diplomat, and statesman. Unmarried and childless, he helped raise Harry and continues to be devoted to him, although his bond with his nephew can test his loyalty to the Crown. 

 

Lady Elizabeth Mortimer Percy: Wealthy, beautiful, and trapped in an unloving marriage to Harry, she craves status at the palace. Taking advantage of unexpected circumstances, she repudiates Harry and finds romance with a prominent royal courtier.

 

Thomas Neville-Lord Furnival: Harry’s cousin and friend, he readily joins Harry in tourneys and adventures and finds his values far more aligned with Harry’s than with those of his ambitious older brother, Ralph. 

 

Ralph Neville: Earl of Westmorland and kinsman to Richard II, Henry Bolingbroke, and Harry, he revels in life-or-death intrigues, managing to not only survive but enlarge his fortune at every turn. He often disdains Harry, sometimes demonstrates affection for him, too.

 

Lady Ciarry Fitzwyatt: Intelligent and cheerful, alternately pensive and blithely outspoken, Ciarry DeCorbett Fitzwyatt hides a steely determination under a petite frame, winsome smile, and halo of red hair. An ex-abbess, scholar and writer as well as a farmer, she can shoot like an archer, ride like a chevalier, and bows to no man—until she meets Harry. 

 

John Hardyng and Thomas Knayton: Although Harry’s squires, they are more like brothers than servants.  A daring warrior in his own right, Knayton leads armies in Harry’s absence, though he eschews knighthood. Fond of well-stocked libraries, Hardyng grew up in Harry’s household, where he acquired skills as a secretary and man-at-arms. Like Knayton, he would follow Harry anywhere, no matter the cost.

 

Adam Usk: A lawyer, intellectual, and chronicler as well as a priest, he gets swept along in the tumultuous events of his day and makes a fast friend in Harry, even though they sometimes disagree over answers to morally complicated questions.

 

John Kynge: Harry’s chaplain and friend, a secretary and sometime-physician, he can wield an axe as well as preside at Mass and advocates an end to corruption—whether in the royal court or the Catholic Church.

 

Agnes Bymiller: An older woman, uneducated but endowed with a find mind, she works as a baker and gristmill assistant and harbors a secret that still comforts her in adversity: A great king once loved her. When Harry saves her from hanging, she becomes a surrogate mother to him and his boisterous companions.

 

Sir John Montgomery: After capturing Harry in battle in 1388, Montgomery, an ardent Scotsman,  discovered he had acquired not only a hostage—whose ransom money might build a better castle—but a lifelong friend, whom he continues to rely on to bring peace to troubled borders, especially when  monarchs cannot be trusted.  

 

Earl Archambeau Douglas: About the same age as Harry and charged with a nearly identical task of defending his homeland  (Scotland, in his case), Archambeau Douglas shares another characteristic with Harry: He, too, is the son of a proud, powerful, and oft-critical nobleman, a crusty old earl aptly known as Archibald “the Grim.” Inheriting the vast Douglas domains, he takes up the mantle of Lowlands Scottish leadership. Although he, too, is a product of the Borders, he is more cosmopolitan than Harry, having been raised by French tutors and speaking with little trace of Anglo-Scots Borders dialect.

 

Sister Etheldreda:  A middle-aged physician she belongs to the Holystone priory of Augustinian canonesses, who mix monastic life with service to the rural community, engaging in healing, teaching, and similar ministries. Her intelligence and education mean that even nobles like Harry defer to her on subjects where her knowledge exceeds theirs. She shares a deep friendship with Ciarry, her equally independent and free-thinking neighbor.