When Does "Henry IV Part 1" (1596) Take Place?
"The History of Henrie the Fourth" (retroactively released simply as "Henry IV Part 1") is a historical fiction stageplay written by William Shakespeare and performed as early as 1596 (according to most scholars).
It takes place in the years:
We know this because very early in the play there is discussion of recent news of the Battle of Homildon Hill, which occurred in the real world on September 14th, 1402 AD.
1402 AD - 1403 AD
We know this because very early in the play there is discussion of recent news of the Battle of Homildon Hill, which occurred in the real world on September 14th, 1402 AD.
In act 1 scene 1, the real-world Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, says, "yesternight, ... there came / A post from Wales loaden with heavy news" then "On Holy-rood Day the gallant Hotspur ... and brave Archibald, / That ever valiant and approvèd Scot, / At Holmedon met, where they did spend / A sad and bloody hour". If news (by "post") of the battle at Holmedon/Homildon has reached the real-world English King Henry IV (previously Duke Bolingbroke) just "yesternight", i.e. the previous night, it must have been within recent days or weeks. So the play opens in mid to late September of 1402 AD.
Act 5 scene 3 and act 5 scene 4 depict the famous and tragic Battle of Shrewsbury, which happened in the real world on July 21st, 1403 AD. The narrative ends just after the conclusion of the battle, in act 5 scene 5. King Henry IV says, "Three knights upon our party slain today, / A noble earl, and many a creature else / Had been alive this hour..." The words "today" and "this hour" and the following parts in which he learns of more dead compatriots clearly mean the battle has only just ended so we are still in July, as the play ends.
It is the chronological second play in the Henriad universe, one of Shakespeare's only two timelines.
It was adapted to television in 1979 and then again in 2012.
