has ever reigned in England," and both his formidable figure and lasting fame tend to make historians and the general public believe they know him better than may be possible.
One twentieth-century scholar who has rendered a powerful portrayal of Henry is J. J. Scarisbrick, who describes the king as "a rumbustious, noisy, unbuttoned, prodigal man - the 'bluff king Hal' of legend - exulting in his magnificent physique, boisterous animal exercise, orgies of gambling and eating, lavish clothes." He goes on to call him "a formidable, captivating man who wore regality with splendid conviction . . . highly-strung and unstable; hypochondriac and possessed of a strong streak of cruelty." While the description brings Henry alive for Scarisbrick's readers, it does not entirely agree with other accounts and in some ways reduces Henry's greatness by emphasizing both his frivolity and his capriciousness.
Starkey addresses the issue of Henry's "addiction to sport in all its forms: jousting, hunting, hawking, tennis." He notes, "This was not altogether a bad thing . . . and only a handful of wimp humanists thought it was," since even the most sedate gentlemen of Henry's time considered such activities "the mainstay of an agreeable country existence." Modern leaders are often criticized for spending more time than necessary lounging on the golf course or holding a fishing line; compared to that of even the most indolent contemporary leader, Henry's schedule does appear to make him particul
...