Lord Fitzwater in Richard II

Lord Fitzwater appears as a minor but significant agent of Bolingbroke’s rise to power. He emerges during the deposition proceedings in Westminster Hall, where he functions as an accuser and enforcer of the new political order. Fitzwater’s primary dramatic moment comes when he challenges the Duke of Aumerle in the formal deposition scene, throwing down his gage and demanding that Aumerle answer for his alleged role in the Duke of Gloucester’s death. His challenge carries the language of chivalry and honor—he swears “by that fair sun which shows me where thou stand’st” that he heard Aumerle confess to the crime—but it is, in fact, an act of political theater designed to legitimize Bolingbroke’s new regime by casting the old regime’s supporters as traitors who must answer for past wrongs.

The irony of Fitzwater’s position lies in his invocation of legal and honorable procedure even as he serves a usurper. He operates within the framework of chivalric combat and sworn testimony, yet his accusations serve the political consolidation of a king whose claim rests on force rather than rightful succession. By the final scene, when he reports to Henry IV at Windsor Castle, Fitzwater has fully transitioned into the role of the new king’s agent, bringing news of executed traitors and the capture of dangerous conspirators. His lines reveal a man who has moved seamlessly from the old court to the new one, profiting from the violent transfer of power by executing the king’s will—both literal and figurative—against the enemies of the newly established regime.

What distinguishes Fitzwater from more developed characters is his complete absence of moral reflection on the transition he represents. He does not struggle with loyalty or conscience as York does; he does not resist as the Bishop of Carlisle does. Instead, he performs the functions required of him by each successive holder of power, suggesting that in Shakespeare’s political world, men like Fitzwater are the true instruments of historical change—neither noble rebels nor tragic victims, but efficient operators who facilitate the machinery of usurpation and consolidation through violence and the performance of legality.