BOLINGBROKE Mistake not, uncle, further than you should.
YORK Take not, good cousin, further than you should,
Lest you mistake. The heavens are o’er our heads.
BOLINGBROKE I know it, uncle, and oppose not myself
Against their will.
Enter Percy
But who comes here?
Welcome, Harry. What, will not this castle yield?
PERCY The castle royally is manned, my lord,
Against thy entrance.
BOLINGBROKE Royally?
Why, it contains no king.
PERCY Yes, my good lord,
It doth contain a king. King Richard lies
Within the limits of yon lime and stone
And with him are the Lord Aumerle, Lord Salisbury,
Sir Stephen Scroop, besides a clergyman
Of holy reverence too, who, I cannot learn.
NORTHUMBERLAND O, belike it is the Bishop of Carlisle. (3.3.15-29)
No need to overreact, uncle, says Bolingbroke, not unreasonably (he doesn’t need his supporters scrapping with each other and pulling rank). Well don’t go too far too fast, cousin (that is, nephew), York retorts: don’t take, that is, claim or seize, more than you’re entitled to, unless you mistake, not simply misunderstanding, but transgressing. (A reminder that the claim that Bolingbroke is pursuing—even if York’s the only one who still believes it—is that of his lands and titles as duke of Lancaster, inherited from his father John of Gaunt, not the crown.) Be careful; don’t overstep the bounds of legitimate grievance, or get above yourself. The heavens are o’er our heads, that is, the eye of God is on us—and we mustn’t overreach, or seek to rise too high. God is our judge. I know it, uncle, and oppose not myself against their will, God’s will: characteristically, Bolingbroke leaves a little room for interpretation, the suggestion that his claiming the throne could indeed be the will of God, divinely ordained.
And here’s Percy, Hotspur, Northumberland’s son, sent ahead to find out what’s going on. Will not this castle yield? Aren’t we going to be able to walk straight in and take possession? But no, the castle royally is manned, and held—perhaps even fortified—against thy entrance. Royally? Why, it contains no king. Interestingly ambiguous. Is Bolingbroke unable to believe that Richard’s made it to Flint before him, knowing that he was so ill-prepared? Or is he denying that he is the King? Percy remains flatly literal, correcting Bolingbroke: it doth contain a king. King Richard’s in there, with Aumerle (does York react here, to the naming of his son?), Salisbury, and Scroop (so, we know Richard made it to Flint as planned, but also that he hasn’t acquired any other supporters of note along the way). Oh, and a clergyman I didn’t recognise—a nice little character note for future Hotspur, that he’s impatient, not good at detail, and more inclined to recognise potential fighting men than bishops? Whatever, it allows Northumberland to make one of his typical look-at-me-don’t-forget-about-me interjections: that’ll be the Bishop of Carlisle. (One could imagine both Bolingbroke and Percy rolling their eyes a bit; bishops really don’t count when you’re making a rapid siege calculation. Shut up, Northumberland, stop being so needy.)
Historically Richard went to Conwy, but was captured by Bolingbroke and brought to Flint. Shakespeare relocates their first encounter to Flint itself.
