Henry Percy ( Hotspur ) Sir Henry Percy KG ( 20 May 1364 – 21 July 1403 ) , commonly known as Sir Harry Hotspur , or simply Hotspur , was a late mediaeval English nobleman . He was known as one of the most valiant knights of his day , and was a significant captain during the Anglo - Scottish wars . He later led successive rebellions against Henry IV of England , and was slain at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 at the height of his career . Career . Henry Percy was born 20 May 1364 at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland , the eldest son of Henry Percy , 1st Earl of Northumberland , and Margaret Neville , daughter of Ralph de Neville , 2nd Lord Neville of Raby , and Alice de Audley . He was knighted by King Edward III in April 1377 . In 1380 he was in Ireland with the Earl of March , and in 1383 travelled in Prussia . He was appointed warden of the east march either on 30 July 1384 or in May 1385 , and in 1385 accompanied Richard II on an expedition into Scotland . ' As a tribute to his speed in advance and readiness to attack ' on the Scottish borders , the Scots bestowed on him the name ' Haatspore ' . In April 1386 he was sent to France to reinforce the garrison at Calais , and led raids into Picardy . Between August and October 1387 he was in command of a naval force in an attempt to relieve the siege of Brest . In appreciation of these military endeavours he was made a Knight of the Garter in 1388 . Reappointed as warden of the east march , he commanded the English forces against James Douglas , 2nd Earl of Douglas , at the Battle of Otterburn on 10 August 1388 , where he was captured , but soon ransomed for a fee of 7000 marks . During the next few years Percy ' s reputation continued to grow . He was sent on a diplomatic mission to Cyprus in June 1393 , and appointed deputy to John of Gaunt , 1st Duke of Lancaster , in the Duchy of Aquitaine . He returned to England in January 1395 , taking part in Richard II ' s expedition to Ireland , and was back in Aquitaine the following autumn . In the summer of 1396 he was again in Calais . His military and diplomatic service brought Percy substantial marks of royal favour in the form of grants and appointments , but despite this the Percy family determined to support Henry Bolingbroke , the future Henry IV , on his return from exile in June 1399 . Percy and his father joined Bolingbroke ' s forces at Doncaster , and marched south with them . After King Richard ' s deposition , Percy and his father were ' lavishly rewarded ' with lands and offices . Under the new king , Percy had extensive civil and military responsibility in both the east march towards Scotland and in north Wales , where he was appointed High Sheriff of Flintshire in 1399 . He was however under increasing pressure in north Wales as a result of the rebellion of Owain Glyn Dŵr . In March 1402 Henry IV appointed Percy royal lieutenant in north Wales , and on 14 September 1402 Percy , his father , and the Earl of Dunbar and March were victorious against a Scottish force at the Battle of Homildon Hill , taking prisoner among others Archibald Douglas , 4th Earl of Douglas . Rebellion and death . The Percys had become increasingly discontented with Henry IV , however . Among their grievances was the King ' s failure to pay the wages due to them for defending the Scottish border , his favour towards Dunbar , his demand that the Percys hand over their Scottish prisoners , his failure to put an end to Owain Glyn Dŵr ' s rebellion through a negotiated settlement , his increasing promotion of his son Prince Henry ' s military authority in Wales , and his failure to ransom the Percys ' kinsman , Henry Percy ' s brother - in - law , Sir Edmund Mortimer ( 1376 – 1409 ) , whom the Welsh had captured in June 1402 , and who had a claim to the crown as the grandson of Lionel , Duke of Clarence , second surviving son of King Edward III . Spurred on by these grievances , in the summer of 1403 the Percys rebelled and took up arms against the King . According to Bean , it is clear that the Percys were in collusion with Glyndŵr . On his return to England shortly after the victory at Homildon Hill , Henry Percy issued proclamations in Cheshire accusing the King of ' tyrannical government ' . Joined by his uncle , Thomas Percy , Earl of Worcester , he marched to Shrewsbury where he intended to do battle against a force there under the command of the Prince of Wales . However the army of his father , Henry Percy , Earl of Northumberland was , for reasons never fully explained , slow to move south as well , and it was without Northumberland ' s assistance that Henry Percy and Worcester arrived at Shrewsbury on 21 July 1403 , where they found the King with a large army . The ensuing battle was fierce , with heavy casualties on both sides , but when Henry Percy himself was struck down and killed , his own forces fled . The Earl of Worcester was executed two days later . Prince Henry , upon being brought Percy ' s body after the battle , is said to have wept . The body was taken by Thomas Neville , 5th Baron Furnivall ( d . 1407 ) , to Whitchurch , Shropshire for burial ; however when rumours circulated that Percy was still alive , the King ' had the corpse exhumed and displayed it , propped upright between two millstones , in the market place at Shrewsbury ' . That done , the King dispatched Percy ' s head to York , where it was impaled on one of the city ' s gates ; his four quarters were sent to London , Newcastle upon Tyne , Bristol , and Chester before they were finally delivered to his widow . She had him buried in York Minster in November of that year . In January 1404 , Percy was posthumously declared a traitor , and his lands were forfeited to the Crown . Marriage and issue . Henry Percy married Elizabeth Mortimer , the eldest daughter of Edmund Mortimer , 3rd Earl of March , and his wife , Philippa , the only child of Lionel , 1st Duke of Clarence , and Elizabeth de Burgh , Countess of Ulster , and by her had two children : Sometime after 3 June 1406 Elizabeth Mortimer married as her second husband , Thomas de Camoys , 1st Baron Camoys , by whom she had a son , Sir Roger Camoys . Thomas Camoys distinguished himself as a soldier in command of the rearguard of the English army at the Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415 . Shakespeare and Henry Percy . Henry Percy , ' Hotspur ' , is one of Shakespeare ' s best - known characters . In " Henry IV , Part 1 " Percy is portrayed as the same age as his rival , Prince Hal , by whom he is slain in single combat . In fact he was 23 years older than Prince Hal , the future King Henry V , who was a youth of 16 at the date of the Battle of Shrewsbury .