Lollardy and Oldcastle’s Rising

Lollardy developed from the religious ideas associated with John Wyclif and spread through preaching, manuscript circulation and criticism of church wealth and authority. By the early fifteenth century, English rulers and bishops treated it as a serious threat to religious and political order.

Sir John Oldcastle, a knight connected to Henry V’s circle, became associated with Lollard resistance after his condemnation for heresy. The failed rising of 1414 linked religious dissent with fears of rebellion against the Lancastrian regime.

The Road to Agincourt books use Lollard conspiracy and Oldcastle’s shadow as part of the danger around Henry V’s accession. The context is useful for fiction about heresy, surveillance, treason, royal friendship, clerical authority and political instability before Agincourt.