Late Middle Ages · Europe · Politics

1422

Henry V Dies of Dysentery

August 31, 1422

The conqueror of France, thirty-five years old, wasted away at Vincennes from the same bloody flux that killed half his army. He left an infant son and an unfinished war. His embalmers struggled with a corpse so emaciated the gold funeral mask barely fit. His death at the height of English power ensured the dual monarchy would be governed by regents, fatally undermining its momentum.