OCT. 25 1415: THE BATTLE OF AGINCOURT We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he neer so vile, This day shall gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursd they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispins day. youtube/watch?v=680NlRI3v2I THE BATTLE OF AGINCOURT was a major English victory in the Hundred Years War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispins Day), near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France. Henry Vs victory at Agincourt, against a numerically superior French army, crippled France and started a new period in the war during which Henry married the French kings daughter and then Henrys son, Henry VI, was made heir to the throne of France. Henry V led his troops into battle and participated in hand-to-hand fighting. The French king of the time, Charles VI, did not command the French army himself as he suffered from severe, repeating illnesses and moderate mental incapacitation. Instead, the French were commanded by Constable Charles dAlbret and various prominent French noblemen of the Armagnac party. The battle is notable for the use of the English longbow, which Henry used in very large numbers, with English and Welsh archers forming most of his army. The battle is also the centrepiece of the play Henry V, by William Shakespeare. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Agincourt WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE bbc.co.uk/history/people/william_shakespeare St. Crispens Day Speech Shakespeares HENRY V ... C. 1599 Although Shakespeare penned this work nearly two hundred years after the Battle of Agincourt (1415), it remains the finest dramatic interpretation of what leadership meant to the men in the Middle Ages. Prior to the Battle, Henry V had led his English footmen across Northwestern France, seizing Calais and other cities in an attempt to win back holds in France that had once been in English possession and to claim the French crown through the obscure but powerful Salig Law. The French, aware of Henrys troops weaking condition because of their distance from England and the attacks of Dystentary that had plagued the dwindling band, moved between King Henry and Calais, the port he needed to reach in order to return to England. The troops followed Henrys band along the rivers, preventing their crossing and daring them to a battle they thought they could not win. The English knights fought on foot after the manner devised by Edward III. Archers were to be used in support, the English and Welsh longbows having established their credentials both at Crecy (1347) and at Poiters (1356). But here the French seemed to have sufficient numbers to deal with even this threat, and they refused to allow Henry pass, angered by the English seizure of the cities. Morale in the English line as they looked upon the overwhelming force of heavily armoured, highly skilled French knights must have been extremely low. King Henry, rising to the occasion, spoke words of encouragement that rallied the English troops and carried them to a victory. As a result of the victory the French Princess Catherine was betrothed to Henry V, and France and England were at peace for the remainder of Henrys short life. He perished of dysentery in 1422, but was survived by his son (Henry VI) and was buried at Westminster Abbey, close to the shrine of Edward the Confessor. Although the speech below is a work of fiction, it is evocative of the spirit with which Henry--and all strong medieval kings--ruled through the strength of their convictions and by force of their personality. gonderzone.org/Library/Knights/crispen.htm St. Crispens Day Speech William Shakespeare, 1599 Enter the KING WESTMORELAND. O that we now had here But one ten thousand of those men in England That do no work to-day! KING. Whats he that wishes so? My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin; If we are markd to die, we are enow To do our country loss; and if to live, The fewer men, the greater share of honour. Gods will! I pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, I am not covetous for gold, Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; It yearns me not if men my garments wear; Such outward things dwell not in my desires. But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive. No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England. Gods peace! I would not lose so great an honour As one man more methinks would share from me For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more! Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host, That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart; his passport shall be made, And crowns for convoy put into his purse; We would not die in that mans company That fears his fellowship to die with us. This day is calld the feast of Crispian. He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, Will stand a tip-toe when this day is namd, And rouse him at the name of Crispian. He that shall live this day, and see old age, Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, And say To-morrow is Saint Crispian. Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars, And say These wounds I had on Crispians day. Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot, But hell remember, with advantages, What feats he did that day. Then shall our names, Familiar in his mouth as household words- Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester- Be in their flowing cups freshly remembred. This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall neer go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered- We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he neer so vile, This day shall gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now-a-bed Shall think themselves accursd they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispins day.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 13:07:10 +0000
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