French history in the English-speaking theatre is shot to death by a man in the hire of Henry I, Duke of Guise, leader of the Catholic League, an event which precipitates the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre in August 1572. William Shakespeare wrote "The Life and Death of King John" (1596), "Henry V" (1599), "Henry VI, part 1" (1592), "Henry VI, part 2" (1591), and "Henry VI, part 3" (1591), based on events during the reigns of John of England, king from 1199 to 1216, Henry V of England, king from 1413 to 1422, Henry VI of England, king from 1422 to 1461 and from 1470 to
Ralph Hastings (died 1495) to the crown by the attainder on 4 November 1461 of Sir William Vaux, later slain at Tewkesbury. He held numerous offices during the reign of Edward IV, including Keeper of the Lions and Leopards in the Tower of London. In 1470 he was Controller of Customs in Lynn, Norfolk, as well as Controller of Petty Customs in London. He was High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1471, and represented the county in Parliament as Knight of the Shire in 1472. In 1472 he and his eldest brother, William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, were granted licence to found a guild at