NORTHUMBERLAND Then thus: I have from Le Port Blanc,
A bay in Brittany, received intelligence
That Harry Duke of Hereford, Rainold Lord Cobham,
Thomas, son and heir to the Earl of Arundel,
That late broke from the Duke of Exeter,
His brother, Archbishop late of Canterbury,
Sir Thomas Erpingham, Sir Thomas Ramston,
Sir John Norbery, Sir Thomas Waterton and Francis Coint,
All these, well furnished by the Duke of Brittany
With eight tall ships, three thousand men of war,
Are making hither with all due expedience
And shortly mean to touch our northern shore.
Perhaps they had ere this, but that they stay
The first departing of the King for Ireland. (2.1.277-290)
This is hard for the actor playing Northumberland, and not just because of all those names: he’s doing a big reveal—there’s going to be an invasion!—but that crucial piece of information comes at the end of that big list of names which will mean nothing to the audience, but to which Ross and Willoughby will have to react in some way: wow, Sir Thomas Erpingham! Francis Coint! What’s the takeaway, as it were? Bolingbroke is leading an invasion. He’s coming from Brittany—and he has the backing, financial and political, of the Duke of Brittany, who has well furnished him, provided him, with eight tall ships and three thousand men of war. There’s an army coming, and it’s a large, well-equipped one. There are powerful, well-connected men who have already allied themselves with Bolingbroke, at some cost and danger to themselves. (Like other lists—notably the list of the dead after Agincourt in Henry V, in the future both historically and dramatically, and such lists in chronicles—it’s ordered hierarchically, from the lords through the knights to plain Mr Coint, who is presumably a gentleman worth having on your side.) This invasion force is on its way, making hither with all due expedience, speed; they will soon make landfall in the north. They could have been here already, but they’ve been holding off, waiting for the King to leave for Ireland.
And then Northumberland draws breath. That’s it, the news is out. This is a plot that’s clearly been brewing for a long time, with careful, well-advanced planning and good lines of communication. Game on.
