In the wake of Richard's deposition, Lancastrian propaganda had painted a picture of near-universal approbation for Henry's accession to the throne, but the reality was more sobering. Between 1400 and 1405, people from all walks of life were charged with treason for criticising Henry's kingship and for voicing in public dangerous questions about his dynastic legitimacy and right to rule. Although Richard had perished in captivity in early 1400, in taverns, streets and marketplaces around England people were saying that he was still alive, living in exile in Scotland or elsewhere, and that he would soon return to reclaim his rightful throne. Some added that if Richard were indeed dead, then it was not Henry but Edmund Mortimer, the earl of March, who was the true king. Henry was also called false and dishonest because by imposing heavy taxes on his new subjects, he had broken his promises to ‘live of his own’ and to rule for the common good. The money was sorely needed to fight Welsh rebels and Scots aggression, but early military setbacks threatened to expose Henry as a weak king who could not protect his subjects. Disillusion was further fuelled by accusations that taxes were being frittered away on lavish living in the royal household. Philip Repingdon, Henry's confessor, even rebuked the king in a public letter lamenting that the people's early euphoria had been replaced by despair because ‘in the place of the law, tirannica voluntas now suffices’.

In 1399, as part of the process of reconciling a fractured political community and establishing himself as a just sovereign, Henry had vowed that he would not treat verbal criticism as treason in the way that Richard had done. This promise was soon sacrificed at the altar of political necessity as Henry's need to defend his regality and manly honour led him to take measures designed to stop the mouths of his detractors by whatever means were necessary. This included using the jurisdiction of the Court of Chivalry to deal with purely domestic matters, contrary to Henry's earlier promises and the new treason statute passed in the 1399 parliament. Accordingly, on 1 February 1401 a writ sealed with the king's personal signet was issued to Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland and Constable of England since 1399.