Abstract
As Prince of Wales, Henry V (1386-1422, r. 1413-1422) was struck in the face by an archer’s arrow during the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403), the decisive clash that secured his father Henry IV’s hold on the English throne. Just sixteen and commanding the rear division, the young prince yanked the shaft from his cheek and fought on, despite a bodkin-point arrowhead lodged six inches deep below his eye. His bravery helped turn the tide of battle and reinforced the legitimacy of the new Lancastrian dynasty.
The retained arrowhead, imbedded in bone in the prince’s head, threatened his life from deep infection. A call went out for John Bradmore, royal surgeon, whose skill had earned Henry IV’s trust in 1399 after saving a household official who had disemboweled himself in an attempted suicide. The surgeon met the wounded prince at Kenilworth Castle. A skilled metalsmith, Bradmore devised specialized forceps with serrated tips and a screw mechanism to grip and remove the embedded arrowhead.
Henry survived and healed, the only remnant of his injury a facial scar. He would go on to become the hero of Agincourt (1415) and England’s most celebrated warrior-king, his legacy immortalized by Shakespeare and the paragon of kingly valor.
Hand-to-Hand Combat and the Longbow
The future King Henry V was born amid the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453), a dynastic struggle between England and France. When French King Charles IV died in 1328 without a male heir, Edward III of England (1312-1377; r. 1327-1377) declared war in 1337 to press his claim to the French throne through his mother, Isabella of France. 1
The destruction of the French fleet at Sluys in 1340 secured English control of the Channel and brought the war to French soil. Fourteenth-century warfare was brutal hand-to-hand combat. Soldiers wielded maces, axes, swords, and lances to kill or disable opponents. Noblemen typically wore chain mail and visored helmets, later evolving into full plate armor. Lower-ranking men-at-arms used partial plate, open-faced helms, or quilted gambesons. Because blades dulled quickly against armor, swordsmen aimed their thrusts at exposed joints or gaps in protection—especially at the legs, wrists, and neck. Battles were punishing and typically brief, limited by the physical strain of fighting in armor. Infantry often came from laboring classes—stonemasons, blacksmiths, and farmers—who possessed the strength and endurance for sustained combat. 2
England’s great battlefield advantage was the longbow. Skilled archers could draw bows with a force often exceeding 100 pounds and shoot accurately at over 100 yards. Bodkin-point arrowheads were crafted to puncture mail and plate armor, and massed volleys could devastate enemy ranks from long distances. Longbowmen proved decisive at Crécy (1346) and Poitiers (1356), where disciplined English formations withstood larger French forces. At Poitiers, the capture of King John II forced the Treaty of Brétigny (1360), whose terms granted England full sovereignty over vast territories in western France.3,4
Brétigny was the highwater of English territorial control in France. English dominance began to recede in 1369 when the French King Charles V repudiated the terms of the treaty. Under the command of Bertrand du Guesclin, French forces used sieges and small-scale raids (petites guerres, lit. “little wars”) to wear the English down, avoiding the pitched battles that led to the disasters at Crécy and Poitiers. 5
Just as Charles and du Guesclin were pushing back, in 1376 England suffered the devastating loss of Edward, the Black Prince, the premier military leader of his generation Only 16 when he distinguished himself at Crécy, he later commanded the English to their decisive victory at Poitiers. The heir apparent was also the hope for maintaining English preeminence in France. But his death and that of the king himself in 1377 left the crown to the Black Prince’s ten-year-old son, Richard II, at a moment when English fortunes were already in decline. 6
Rebellion and the Rise of Henry IV
To restore the treasury, depleted by decades of war, Parliament implemented a series of poll taxes on the citizenry. The 1380 poll tax, a flat levy of one shilling on everyone over the age of 15, was seen as especially unjust. The reaction against the tax triggered the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, an uprising that ended with the death of its leader, Wat Tyler, and a wave of executions of his collaborators. 7 Richard II’s dependence on unpopular advisors created resentment in Parliament. In 1388, an alliance of powerful nobles called the Lords Appellant, seized control in the Merciless Parliament and condemned several royal favorites to death. 6
By 1397, Richard II had reasserted control and neutralized his rivals among the Lords Appellant. The Duke of Gloucester was killed in captivity at Calais; the Earl of Arundel, executed; the Earl of Warwich, exiled. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and uncle to the king, remained loyal. His son, Henry of Bolingbroke and heir to the House of Lancaster, had initially supported the Appellants but later distanced himself. Bolingbroke benefited from royal favor and received the dukedom of Hereford.
In 1398, he and Thomas Mowbray, caught in the treacherous politics of Richard’s court, accused each other of treason. Richard banished Mowbray for life and Bolingbroke for 10 years. When Gaunt died in February 1399, Richard seized the Lancastrian estates, denying Bolingbroke his inheritance and creating a political crisis that would soon engulf the realm. 6
In May Richard made a crucial mistake. He decided to head an army to subdue rebellious Gaelic lords, leaving a power vacuum at home. Bolingbroke’s disinheritance had alarmed the nobility, providing broad support for his return. He landed in Yorkshire in June, declaring initially he was only seeking the restoration of his inheritance. But as noble support and defections mounted, his campaign evolved into a successful bid for the crown. Richard II hurried back from Ireland only to find his authority collapsed. He surrendered at Flint Castle and was taken into custody.
In September, Parliament accepted his abdication, and Bolingbroke was crowned Henry IV. The new king faced formidable challenges to his rule. A loyalist plot to restore Richard, the Epiphany Rising, was swiftly suppressed, and the conspirators were executed. 6
The Welsh revolt began in 1400, when Owain Glyndŵr declared himself Prince of Wales, directly contesting Henry of Monmouth, the royal son and thus the traditional holder of the title. By 1402, Glyndŵr captured Edmund Mortimer, who until then was a royal supporter whose nephew and ward was a direct heir of Richard II. The king, however, refused to pay Mortimer’s ransom, likely due to the latter’s potential claim to the throne. Mortimer defected to Glyndŵr in opposition to Henry and even married Glyndŵr’s daughter Catrin.
That same year, the Percys, who had helped Henry IV to the throne, also came to oppose their erstwhile ally. They had defended the realm from a Scottish invasion from the north, defeating them at Homildon Hill. The Percys had financed the campaign against the Scots from their own purse, so they expected autonomy and the customary right to ransom high-ranking prisoners. 8
Royal privilege won out, however, and Henry IV claimed the right of ransom for himself. The slight deepened their grievances over finances and Mortimer’s capture. In July 1403, Henry Percy (“Hotspur”) and his uncle, the Earl of Worcester, raised arms against the king. Henry IV marched swiftly to confront them, and the two forces met near Shrewsbury. The king divided his army into three divisions, one led by his 16-year-old son, Prince Henry (later Henry V). It was the first English battle where both sides deployed longbowmen, with devastating casualties.
During the fighting, Prince Henry was struck in the face by a bodkin-point arrow. The shaft was removed, but the arrowhead remained lodged deep in his head. Despite his injury, he remained on the field until victory was secured. Hotspur was killed in combat, and Worcester was captured and executed. 8
Extracting the “Seeing-Eye Arrowhead”
The arrow wound to Prince Henry posed a grave risk of infection and would have likely proven fatal without skilled intervention. 9 John Bradmore (d. 1412), a respected surgeon in royal service, was summoned to treat the prince. Historian Shiela Lang located Bradmore’s Latin descriptions of the wound and treatment in his treatise Philomena. 10
In medieval England, surgeons ranked below university-trained physicians but above apothecaries and barbers. While barbers vastly outnumbered surgeons and handled routine procedures such as bloodletting and wound care, surgeons emphasized anatomical knowledge and specialized skill. Historians Justin Colson and Robert Ralley describe this enduring rivalry between the two professions across the 14th and 15th centuries. 11
The Barber’s Company, formally recognized in 1308, had hundreds of members. By contrast, the Guild of Surgeons, founded by Thomas Morstede in 1435, had far fewer numbers. Surgeons like Bradmore distinguished themselves through royal patronage and elite clientele. Historian John Flint South noted that while barbers gained institutional power through a royal charter in 1462, surgeons likely retained greater professional esteem. 12
Historian Michael Livingston summarizes modern anatomical interpretations of the path of the arrow. Because there is no mention of impaired vision, the entry wound likely lay below the infraorbital rim. It also did not obstruct the nasal passages, jaw, or mouth, suggesting a path directly posterior, rather than obliquely into the nasopharynx or oropharynx. Aware that such penetration might threaten the brain or spinal cord, Bradmore feared the development of seizures. But the prince remained neurologically intact, evidence that neurological structures were free from injury. 9
There are no notes of copious bleeding, implying that the arrowhead missed major vascular structures. However, Bradmore explicitly recorded that the shaft broke off, leaving the arrowhead “in posteriori parte ossis capiti secundum mensuram 6 uncharum”—in the posterior part of the skull at a depth of six inches. 9 With medieval measurements—one inch equaling the length of three barleycorns placed end-on-end—the depth roughly corresponds to a modern six-inch scale. If measured from the prince’s left nasal side (the presumed point of entry), the arrowhead could have lodged as high as the sphenoid sinus or as low as the upper cervical vertebrae.
Livingston proposes the arrow struck the prince head-on—perhaps as he looked upward with his visor raised to scan the battlefield or catch a breath of air. In modern trauma terms, this was a classic “seeing-eye” projectile: a missile that miraculously missed all vital structures. The prince was a lucky survivor.
Bradmore’s skill as a metalsmith proved critical. He met the prince at Kenilworth Castle, where the royal household had relocated him after the battle. There, he used a custom-designed extractor: a slender pair of forceps with serrated tips and a screw mechanism to force the blades apart and grip the hollow base of the arrowhead. 9 To retrieve the missile, Bradmore enlarged the wound, guided the forceps along the arrow’s path, and seated the tips in the base. By turning the screw to expand the blades, he gripped the bodkin securely and extracted it. He then flushed the wound with wine, applied rose honey and salves, and maintained frequent dressing changes. The prince was confined for approximately 80 days but made a full recovery. 9
Bradmore later documented the procedure in his surgical treatise Philomena as one of six case studies. Lang’s research reveals that his brother Nicholas was also a surgeon, an indication that the Bradmore family had a tradition of medical practice. Beyond his practice, records show he owned property in London, served as churchwarden of St. Botolph without Aldersgate, and held duties as a “searcher” (a collector of duties from imports from incoming merchant ships) of the Port of London from 1408. 10
Bradmore’s career illustrates the intersection of surgical innovation, royal patronage, and professional ambition in late medieval England. His success at Shrewsbury not only saved the life of a wounded prince but preserved the future of England’s greatest warrior-king.
Ascendancy of Henry V, Agincourt, and an Enduring Legacy
The Percys were neutralized after their defeat at Shrewsbury but again sought to unseat Henry IV by allying with Glyndŵr and Mortimer in the Tripartite Indenture. The plan failed. Percy fled to Scotland, returning in 1408 with a small force. He was defeated and killed at Bramham Moor; his head was displayed on London Bridge. 8
Prince Henry assumed command in Wales, systematically retaking castles and enforcing blockades. By 1410, the rebellion had collapsed. Glyndŵr vanished from the historical record by 1415. Mortimer’s lineage later merged with the House of York, perpetuating the dynastic rivalry among Edward III’s descendants in the Wars of the Roses (1455-1487). 13
Henry IV died in 1413, and the Prince of Wales became King Henry V. He quickly revived England’s claim to the French crown, citing the precedent of Edward III. In 1415, Henry invaded France, culminating in a stunning victory at Agincourt. With a smaller, exhausted army, he defeated a much larger French force through masterful use of terrain, disciplined longbow volleys, and superior tactics—killing thousands of French knights and nobles. 14
From 1417 to 1419, Henry conquered Normandy and much of northern France. His greatest diplomatic triumph followed in 1420 with the Treaty of Troyes, which recognized him as heir and regent of France, disinheriting the dauphin Charles. His marriage to Catherine of Valois, daughter of King Charles VI, nominally united the crowns of England and France. 13
Henry’s military brilliance and diplomatic acumen brought England nearer than at any time in restoring Edward III’s dominance over France. Yet he did not live to see that vision fulfilled. After a series of illnesses, he died prematurely in 1422 at age thirty-five, just seven weeks before Charles VI’s death would have delivered him the French crown. The tenuous Anglo-French union passed to his infant son, Henry VI, under a regency quickly undermined by internal English conflict and the resilience of the French monarchy that was fortified by figures like Joan of Arc. 13
Shakespeare and Hollywood aside, Henry the teenager withstood the torment of an operation to remove an arrowhead deep in his face, early proof he had the mettle to become England’s greatest warrior-king, the embodiment of the victory at Agincourt and the courage of a nation at war. 15
Footnotes
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.