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Henry V
Edmund Mortimer is Richard Plantagenet’s uncle and an enemy of Henry V and the entire House of Lancaster (meaning all of Henry V’s descendants). When King Henry IV (Henry V’s father) deposed Richard II to claim the English throne, some nobles tried to oust Henry IV and replace him with Mortimer. Ever since, Mortimer has been kept in a prison cell, while his brother—Plantagenet’s father—was charged with treason and executed. In Henry VI Part 1, Mortimer is on death’s door, but he uses his final moments to urge his nephew to reclaim the crown.
Edmund Mortimer Quotes in Henry VI Part 1
The Henry VI Part 1 quotes below are all either spoken by Edmund Mortimer or refer to Edmund Mortimer. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 4, Scene 1 Quotes
EXETER: Well didst thou, Richard, to suppress thy voice;
For, had the passions of thy heart burst out,
I fear we should have seen decipher’d there
More rancorous spite, more furious raging broils,
Than yet can be imagined or supposed.
But howsoe’er, no simple man that sees
This jarring discord of nobility,
This shouldering of each other in the court,
This factious bandying of their favourites,
But that it doth presage some ill event.
‘Tis much when sceptres are in children’s hands;
But more when envy breeds unkind division;
There comes the rain, there begins confusion.
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Edmund Mortimer Character Timeline in Henry VI Part 1
The timeline below shows where the character Edmund Mortimer appears in Henry VI Part 1. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 2, Scene 5
Edmund Mortimer, Plantagenet’s uncle, has been in prison for years, since the time of Henry IV (Henry...
(full context)
Plantagenet arrives, and Mortimer embraces him (though he is so frail that it is difficult to do so). As...
(full context)
With a pained sigh, Mortimer explains: after King Edward III died, his grandson King Richard II took over, as Richard...
(full context)
When Henry IV learned of the plan to install Mortimer as king, he had Mortimer jailed. Years later, Plantagenet’s father Richard, Earl of Cambridge, gathered...
(full context)
Quietly, Mortimer hints to Plantagenet that he is the rightful heir to the throne. But though Mortimer...
(full context)
