mediaeval prince

[The cat]

Does anyone know of a mediaeval prince who was shot in the eye by an arrow, had surgery and survived? Not Harold!

[Octavius]

There were stories in circulation that Harold had actually survived the battle. In 1163 Ailred of Rievaulx noted:

"... Harold himself was deprived of the kingdom of England, and either died wretchedly or, as some think, escaped to a life of penitence."

Indeed, some thirty years after the 'Waltham Chronicle', the, fanciful, 'Vita Haroldi' claimed that Edith Swan-neck had made a mistake; that Harold, though seriously wounded, did survive the battle. He was nursed to health by an Arab woman in Winchester. After travels in Europe, he returned to England - eventually ending his days as a hermit at Chester.

Prince Henry (King Henry V) aged 16 was hit in the face with an arrow at the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403) after remarkably successful surgery he was able to survive. An ordinary soldier would have been left to die from such a wound, but Henry had the benefit of the best possible care, and, over a period of several days after the incident, the royal physician crafted a special tool to extract the tip of the arrow without doing further damage. He became King in 1413.

[The cat]

Thank you Octavius. I think that Prince Henry is the chap I was looking for!!