Henry VI, Part 1, often referred to as 1 Henry VI, is a history play by William Shakespearepossibly in collaboration with Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashebelieved to have been written in 1591. It is set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England.
Whereas Henry VI, Part 2 deals with the King's inability to quell the bickering of his nobles and the inevitability of armed conflict and Henry VI, Part 3 deals with the horrors of that conflict, Henry VI, Part 1 deals with the loss of England's French territories and the political machinations leading up to the Wars of the Roses, as the English political system is torn apart by personal squabbles and petty jealousy.