That fair Queen Isabel, his grandmother,
Was lineal of the Lady Ermengare,
Daughter to Charles the aforesaid Duke of Lorraine:
By the which marriage the line of Charles the Great 84
Was re-united to the crown of France.
So that, as clear as is the summer's sun,
King Pepin's title, and Hugh Capet's claim,
King Lewis his satisfaction, all appear 88
To hold in right and title of the female:
So do the kings of France unto this day;
Howbeit they would hold up this Salique law
To bar your highness claiming from the female;
And rather choose to hide them in a net 93
Than amply to imbar their crooked titles
Usurp'd from you and your progenitors.
K. Hen. May I with right and conscience make this claim? 96
Cant. The sin upon my head, dread sovereign!
For in the book of Numbers is it writ:
'When the man dies, let the inheritance
Descend unto the daughter.' Gracious lord, 100
Stand for your own; unwind your bloody flag;
Look back into your mighty ancestors:
Go, my dread lord, to your great-grandsire's tomb,
From whom you claim; invoke his warlike spirit, 104
And your great-uncle's, Edward the Black Prince,
Who on the French ground play'd a tragedy,
Making defeat on the full power of France;
Whiles his most mighty father on a hill 108
Stood smiling to behold his lion's whelp
Forage in blood of French nobility.
82 lineal: direct descendant
88 King Lewis his: King Lewis'
93 them: themselves
94 Cf. n.
98 Numbers; cf. Numb. 27. 8.
106-114 Cf. n.
