in 2 Henry IV (II. ii. 96-100) the poet seems to retain only a confused recollection of it.
I. i. 241. And therefore I will take the Nevils' parts. York's wife was Cecily, youngest sister of Richard Nevil, Earl of Salisbury, and aunt of Warwick. Actually it was the Nevils who took York's part. (Compare note on I. iii. 75-77.)
I. ii. 9. grovel on thy face. Solicit supernatural aid. Compare I. iv. 13, 14.
I. ii. 38. in that chair where kings and queens are crown'd. The 'chair of Scone' at Westminster. The stone of destiny which formed its seat was brought by Edward I from Scotland in 1296.
I. ii. 68. Sir John. Not a title of knighthood, but a common form of address for priests. In such cases it signifies no more than 'Dominie.'
I. ii. 71. I am but Grace. 'Your Grace' being the proper salutation for a Duchess. In Shakespeare, however, it is frequently used in addressing kings and queens, as in the next scene of this play, line 70.
I. iii. 18-22. Mine is, an 't please your Grace, against John Goodman, my Lord Cardinal's man, for keeping my house, and lands, my wife and all, from me. Suf. Thy wife too! that is some wrong indeed. This passage, which is considerably developed from its source in the Contention, shows in its revised form a strong similarity to the opening scene of the play of Sir Thomas More, in which Shakespeare is thought to have had a part. Some of the Jack Cade scenes of the present play likewise betray a close affinity to Sir Thomas More.
I. iii. 23-25. Against the Duke of Suffolk, for enclosing the commons of Melford. Long Melford is a town in the county of Suffolk. The form of oppression represented by the appropriation and fencing in by wealthy citizens of common land was frequent in the sixteenth century. Some of the latest records of
