maker, is probably here confused with his father-in-law, from whom he derived his title. The earlier Earl, who died in 1439, appears in The First Part of Henry VI as a general on service in France. This is perhaps an indication that the authors of the Contention and of the First Part were not the same. (Actually the King-maker did not become Earl of Warwick till 1449. In the historical year of this scene, 1445, the earldom was held by the young son of the Earl who fought in France.)
I. i. 125. For Suffolk's duke, may he be suffocate. Poor puns are frequent in this play.
I. i. 134, 135. That Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth For costs and charges in transporting her. A tax of one-fifteenth on personal property. The lines are suggested by Holinshed: 'for the fetching of hir, the marquesse of Suffolke demanded a whole fifteenth in open parliament.' In the concluding scene of the First Part (V. v. 92 f.), King Henry authorizes Suffolk to levy a greater tax:
‘For your expenses and sufficient charge,
Among the people gather up a tenth.’
I. i. 144, 145. If I longer stay, We shall begin our ancient bickerings. Allusion to the quarrels of Gloucester and the Cardinal in the First Part. This is one of the passages added by the reviser.
I. i. 153. heir apparent to the English crown. A misuse of the term, according to modern practice, for Gloucester was heir presumptive, not heir apparent; i.e. his right to succeed was contingent upon the chance that Henry would leave no lineal heir.
I. i. 155. all the wealthy kingdoms of the west. Perhaps an anachronistic allusion to the golden realms of Spanish America.
I. i. 166, 167. Why should he then protect our sovereign, He being of age to govern of himself? King
