Background
He was born about 1378 at Caister, Norfolk, where his family held large properties.
He was born about 1378 at Caister, Norfolk, where his family held large properties.
Fastolf served, chiefly in France, under kings Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI. He fought at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and a year later led an expedition that brought the English to the gates of Paris. He remained in France almost continuously until 1440, capturing many towns, castles, and noble prisoners, for which he received various high offices, ransoms, and honors. He served as regent in Normandy in 1423 and as governor of Anjou and Maine from 1423 to 1426.
In 1429 Fastolf defeated the French at the Battle of the Herrings near OrléansOrleans (the battle being so named because of the fish in the convoy that Fastolf was delivering to the English army). Later that year, after a setback in the Battle of Patay, he was unjustly accused of cowardice and expelled from the Order of the Garter. He was quickly absolved, however, and all his honors and commands were restored. It was apparently from a French chronicle of those charges that Shakespeare derived his great comic character.
In 1440 Fastolf returned to England and settled down to administer his estates. During his last years he built a magnificent castle at Caister, where he died on Nov. 6, 1459.