Act I

The rebellion that was raised against King Henry IV by Hotspur (Henry Percy) and his uncle (Thomas Percy, earl of Worcester) is nearly over: Hotspur has been killed in the battle of Shrewsbury by the king's newly reformed son, Prince Hal; Worcester has been executed; and the Scots leader, Douglas, has been captured but released for his bravery in combat. (The rebellion of the Percys against King Henry IV, as well as the dissolute life of Prince Hal, is the subject of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part One.) The king is now intent upon defeating those who are left of the rebels' allies, namely: the earl of Northumberland (Hotspur's father), Archbishop Scroop, and the Welsh leader Owen Glendower. Meanwhile Northumberland, who played "craftysick" (Ind.37) thereby avoiding the fighting at Shrewsbury, hears rumors that the rebels have won the battle and that his son, Hotspur, is still alive...