Editing House of Lancaster (section)

===Shakespeare's history plays===

{{Quote box|align=right|quote=<poem>
"This royal throne of kings, this sceptr’d isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house
Against the envy of less happier lands;
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England...
</poem>
|source=—John of Gaunt's speech in ''[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]'', <br>Act II, Scene I, 40–50<ref>{{Harvnb|Davies|1999|p=508}}</ref>
}}

Historians have been dismayed by Shakespeare's influence on the perception of the later medieval period exceeding that of academic research.<ref>{{Harvnb|Davies|1999|p=506}}</ref> While the chronology of Shakespeare's [[Shakespearean history|history plays]] runs from [[King John (play)|King John]] to [[Henry VIII (play)|Henry VIII]], they are dominated by eight plays in which members of the House of Lancaster play a significant part, voicing speeches on a par with those in [[Hamlet]] and [[King Lear]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Davies|1999|p=507}}</ref> These plays are:
* ''[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]''
* ''[[Henry IV, Part 1]]''
* ''[[Henry IV, Part 2]]''
* ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]''
* ''[[Henry VI, Part 1]]''
* ''[[Henry VI, Part 2]]''
* ''[[Henry VI, Part 3]]''
* ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]''.

According to the historian [[Norman Davies]], the plays were constrained by the political and religious requirements of Tudor England. While they are factually inaccurate, they demonstrate how the past and the House of Lancaster are remembered in terms of myth, legend, ideas and popular misconceptions. Shakespeare avoided contentious political and religious issues to dubiously illustrate Tudor England as having rejected medieval conflict and entered an era of harmony and prosperity. The famous patriotic "sceptr'd isle" speech is voiced by John of Gaunt, a man who spent the majority of his life in Aquitaine, and is a piece of poetic licence that illustrates English prejudices. ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]'' is one-sided with little sympathy for the French.<ref>{{Harvnb|Davies|1999|p=509}}</ref> Many of these historical lines illustrate historical myth rather than realism.<ref>{{Harvnb|Belsey|1992|p=103}}</ref>