Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ ↗
IsThis

HISTORY

The Claim

William Shakespeare's play "Henry V" contains the line "I know thee not, old man."

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

The line is Shakespeare's, but it is not in the play Henry V. Reliable editions place "I know thee not, old man" in Henry IV, Part 2, Act 5, Scene 5, spoken by the newly crowned King Henry V. The claim confuses the character's title with the title of a different play.

Caveats

  • The speaker is King Henry V, but the scene appears in Henry IV, Part 2, not in the separate play Henry V.
  • User-generated videos and quote pages can mislabel Shakespeare lines by conflating character names with play titles.
  • The fuller line often appears as "I know thee not, old man. Fall to thy prayers," which is still attributed to Henry IV, Part 2.

The Receipts

  1. Henry IV, Part 2 - Act 5, scene 5

    Folger Shakespeare Library

  2. Famous Quotes | Henry IV Part II

    Royal Shakespeare Company

  3. Analysing drama - preliminary matters

    Lancaster University

  4. The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth: Act 5, Scene 5

    MIT Global Shakespeares (based on Moby Text)

  5. Henry IV, Part 2: Act 5, Scene 5

    Open Source Shakespeare

  6. Henry IV, Part 2 Translation Act 5, Scene 5

    LitCharts

  7. “I know thee not, old man. Fall to thy prayers.”

    The Play's The Thing (WordPress)

  8. I know thee not, old man

    YouTube

  9. Henry IV Part 2 (Henry V) "I know thee not, old man' by William Shakespeare - Read by Arthur L Wood

    YouTube

Filed Under

Henry VWilliam Shakespeare

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