The English finally crossed the Somme south of Pronne, at Bthencourt and Voyennes[28][29] and resumed marching north. [123] Other ballads followed, including "King Henry Fifth's Conquest of France", raising the popular prominence of particular events mentioned only in passing by the original chroniclers, such as the gift of tennis balls before the campaign. The Battle of Agincourt forms a key part of Shakespeare's Henry V. Photo by Nick Ansell / POOL / AFP) Myth: During the Hundred Years War, the French cut off the first and second fingers of any. It seems it was purely a decision of Henry, since the English knights found it contrary to chivalry, and contrary to their interests, to kill valuable hostages for whom it was commonplace to ask ransom. Opie, Iona and Moira Tatem. [23] The army of about 12,000 men and up to 20,000 horses besieged the port of Harfleur. The fighting lasted about three hours, but eventually the leaders of the second line were killed or captured, as those of the first line had been. [20] He initially called a Great Council in the spring of 1414 to discuss going to war with France, but the lords insisted that he should negotiate further and moderate his claims. The longbow. In Gestures: Their Origins and Distribution, Desmond Morris and colleagues note that the digitus infamis or digitus impudicus (infamous or indecent finger) is mentioned several times in the literature of ancient Rome. Fixed formatting. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 ( Saint Crispin's Day ), near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France. The king received an axe blow to the head, which knocked off a piece of the crown that formed part of his helmet. Modern test and contemporary accounts conclude that arrows could not penetrate the better quality steel armour, which became available to knights and men-at-arms of fairly modest means by the middle of the 14th century, but could penetrate the poorer quality wrought iron armour. ), And even if killing prisoners of war did not violate the moral code of the times, what would be the purpose of taking archers captive, cutting off their fingers, and then executing them? Corrections? [113] Barker opined that "if the differential really was as low as three to four then this makes a nonsense of the course of the battle as described by eyewitnesses and contemporaries".[110]. If the two-fingered salute comes from Agincourt, then at what point was it reduced to one finger in North America? Bowman were not valuable prisoners, though: they stood outside the chivalric system and were considered the social inferiors of men-at-arms. It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird". [37], Henry made a speech emphasising the justness of his cause, and reminding his army of previous great defeats the kings of England had inflicted on the French. One of the most renowned. Recent heavy rain made the battle field very muddy, proving very tiring to walk through in full plate armour. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future. [34] The rearguard, leaderless, would serve as a "dumping ground" for the surplus troops. It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows that the gesture is known as giving the bird. And yew all thought yew knew everything! [96] Of the great royal office holders, France lost its constable (Albret), an admiral (the lord of Dampierre), the Master of Crossbowmen (David de Rambures, dead along with three sons), Master of the Royal Household (Guichard Dauphin) and prvt of the marshals. As the English were collecting prisoners, a band of French peasants led by local noblemen began plundering Henrys baggage behind the lines. After the victory, Henry continued his march to Calais and arrived back in England in November to an outpouring of nationalistic sentiment. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future. Most importantly, the battle was a significant military blow to France and paved the way for further English conquests and successes. A complete coat of plate was considered such good protection that shields were generally not used,[75] although the Burgundian contemporary sources distinguish between Frenchmen who used shields and those who did not, and Rogers has suggested that the front elements of the French force used axes and shields. The Battle of Agincourt is well documented by at least seven contemporary accounts, three from eyewitnesses. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. [c], The English made their confessions before the battle, as was customary. This famous English longbow was . [68], Henry's men were already very weary from hunger, illness and retreat. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Bloomsbury Publishing. [56] Some 200 mounted men-at-arms would attack the English rear. With Toby Merrell, Ian Brooker, Philip Rosch, Brian Blessed. [93] In all, around 6,000 of their fighting men lay dead on the ground. Agincourt, Henry V's famous victory over the French on 25 October 1415, is a fascinating battle not just because of what happened but also because of how its myth has developed ever since. When the first French line reached the English front, the cavalry were unable to overwhelm the archers, who had driven sharpened stakes into the ground at an angle before themselves. The French, who were overwhelmingly favored to win the battle, Continue Reading 41 2 7 Alexander L [54] To disperse the enemy archers, a cavalry force of 8001,200 picked men-at-arms,[55] led by Clignet de Brban and Louis de Bosredon, was distributed evenly between both flanks of the vanguard (standing slightly forward, like horns). Omissions? The Face of Battle. [19], Henry V invaded France following the failure of negotiations with the French. When that campaign took place, it was made easier by the damage done to the political and military structures of Normandy by the battle. There is a modern museum in Agincourt village dedicated to the battle. 78-116). In the words of Juliet Barker, the battle "cut a great swath through the natural leaders of French society in Artois, Ponthieu, Normandy, Picardy. [94][10][11] The list of casualties, one historian has noted, "read like a roll call of the military and political leaders of the past generation". The Agincourt Carol, dating from around this time and possibly written for Henrys reception in London, is a rousing celebration of the might of the English. [133] Branagh's version gives a longer, more realist portrayal of the battle itself, drawing on both historical sources and images from the Vietnam and Falkland Wars.[134]. A Dictionary of Superstitions.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992 ISBN 0-19-282916-5 (p. 454). [70]), The tightness of the terrain also seems to have restricted the planned deployment of the French forces. Supposedly, both originated at the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, . Giving the Finger - Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. .). People who killed their social betters from a distance werent very well liked, and would likely have paid with their lives as did all the French prisoners, archers or otherwise, whom Henry V had executed at Agincourt, in what some historians consider a war crime. Dear Cecil: Can you confirm the following? Agincourt 1415: The Triumph of the Longbow: Directed by Graham Holloway. Mortimer also considers that the Gesta vastly inflates the English casualties 5,000 at Harfleur, and that "despite the trials of the march, Henry had lost very few men to illness or death; and we have independent testimony that no more than 160 had been captured on the way". Julia Martinez was an Editorial Intern at Encyclopaedia Britannica. [45] A second, smaller mounted force was to attack the rear of the English army, along with its baggage and servants. Without the middle finger it would be impossible for the English soldiers to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore incapable of fighting in the future. In December 1414, the English parliament was persuaded to grant Henry a "double subsidy", a tax at twice the traditional rate, to recover his inheritance from the French. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2019 with bachelor's degrees in English Language and Literature and Medieval Studies. The image makes the claim that the gesture derives from English soldiers at the Battle of Agincourt, France in 1415. Common estimates place the English army at about 6,000, while the French army probably consisted of 20,000 to 30,000 men. . Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The number is supported by many other contemporary accounts. [89] A slaughter of the French prisoners ensued. It may be in the narrow strip of open land formed between the woods of Tramecourt and Azincourt (close to the modern village of Azincourt). On February 1, 1328, King Charles IV of France died without an heir. The "middle finger" gesture does not derive from the mutilation of English archers at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The situation in England, coupled with the fact that France was weakened by its own political crisisthe insanity of Charles VI had resulted in a fight for power among the nobilitymade it an ideal moment for Henry to press his claims. It was a disastrous attempt. [44] There was a special, elite cavalry force whose purpose was to break the formation of the English archers and thus clear the way for the infantry to advance. The pl sound, the story goes, gradually changed into an f, giving the gesture its present meaning. In March 2010, a mock trial of Henry V for the crimes associated with the slaughter of the prisoners was held in Washington, D.C., drawing from both the historical record and Shakespeare's play. Axtell, Roger E. Gestures: The Do's and Taboos of Body Language Around the World. So they were already overcome with fatigue even before they advanced against the enemy". Sumption, thus, concludes that the French had 14,000 men, basing himself on the monk of St. Denis;[119] Mortimer gives 14 or 15 thousand fighting men. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. [citation needed], Immediately after the battle, Henry summoned the heralds of the two armies who had watched the battle together with principal French herald Montjoie, and they settled on the name of the battle as Azincourt, after the nearest fortified place. Shakespeare's version of the battle of Agincourt has been turned into several minor and two major films. The field that the French had to cross to meet their enemy was muddy after a week of rain and slowed their progress, during which time they endured casualties from English arrows. Fighting commenced at 11:00 am, as the English brought their longbows within killing range and the first line of French knights advanced, led by cavalry. The English army, led by King Henry V, famously achieved victory in spite of the numerical superiority of its opponent. King Henry V of England led his troops into battle and participated in hand-to-hand fighting. To meet and beat him was a triumph, the highest form which self-expression could take in the medieval nobleman's way of life." It supposedly describes the origin of the middle-finger hand gesture and, by implication, the insult "fuck you". [121] Mortimer notes the presence of noncombatant pages only, indicating that they would ride the spare horses during the battle and be mistakenly thought of as combatants by the English.[122]. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. The . Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. [8] These included the Duke of York, the young Earl of Suffolk and the Welsh esquire Dafydd ("Davy") Gam. After the initial wave, the French would have had to fight over and on the bodies of those who had fallen before them. The French monk of St. Denis says: "Their vanguard, composed of about 5,000 men, found itself at first so tightly packed that those who were in the third rank could scarcely use their swords,"[63] and the Burgundian sources have a similar passage. Why is the missionary position called that? [74], The plate armour of the French men-at-arms allowed them to close the 1,000 yards or so to the English lines while being under what the French monk of Saint Denis described as "a terrifying hail of arrow shot". He claimed the title of King of France through his great-grandfather Edward III of England, although in practice the English kings were generally prepared to renounce this claim if the French would acknowledge the English claim on Aquitaine and other French lands (the terms of the Treaty of Brtigny). [101] The bailiffs of nine major northern towns were killed, often along with their sons, relatives and supporters. Rather than retire directly to England for the winter, with his costly expedition resulting in the capture of only one town, Henry decided to march most of his army (roughly 9,000) through Normandy to the port of Calais, the English stronghold in northern France, to demonstrate by his presence in the territory at the head of an army that his right to rule in the duchy was more than a mere abstract legal and historical claim. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. The middle finger gesture does not derive from the mutilation of English archers at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The French nobility, weakened by the defeat and divided among themselves, were unable to meet new attacks with effective resistance. "[67] On top of this, the French were expecting thousands of men to join them if they waited. Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. For three hours after sunrise there was no fighting. Tudor re-invention, leading to the quintessential Shakespearean portrayal of "we happy few", has been the most influential, but every century has made its own accretions. In such a "press" of thousands of men, Rogers suggested that many could have suffocated in their armour, as was described by several sources, and which was also known to have happened in other battles. I suppose that the two-fingered salute could still come from medieval archery, even if it didnt come specifically from the Battle of Agincourt, although the example that Wikipedia links to (the fourteenth-century Luttrell Psalter) is ambiguous. It forms the backdrop to events in William Shakespeare's play Henry V, written in 1599. [17] Two of the most frequently cited accounts come from Burgundian sources, one from Jean Le Fvre de Saint-Remy who was present at the battle, and the other from Enguerrand de Monstrelet. Barker, following the Gesta Henrici, believed to have been written by an English chaplain who was actually in the baggage train, concluded that the attack happened at the start of the battle. before a defensive battle was possible. The French were commanded by Constable Charles d'Albret and various prominent French noblemen of the Armagnac party. Military textbooks of the time stated: "Everywhere and on all occasions that foot soldiers march against their enemy face to face, those who march lose and those who remain standing still and holding firm win. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore [soldiers would] be incapable of fighting in the future. [135] The battle also forms a central component of the 2019 Netflix film The King. Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. The Battle of Agincourt (/dnkr(t)/ AJ-in-kor(t);[a] French: Azincourt [azku]) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. While the precise number of casualties is unknown, it is estimated that English losses amounted to about 400 and French losses to about 6,000, many of whom were noblemen. It lasted longer than Henry had anticipated, and his numbers were significantly diminished as a result of casualties, desertions, and disease. Fighting ignorance since 1973. "[129], The play introduced the famous St Crispin's Day Speech, considered one of Shakespeare's most heroic speeches, which Henry delivers movingly to his soldiers just before the battle, urging his "band of brothers" to stand together in the forthcoming fight. Moreover, if archers could be ransomed, then cutting off their middle fingers would be a senseless move. (Its taking longer than we thought.) Opie, Iona and Moira Tatem. [107], Most primary sources which describe the battle have English outnumbered by several times. The historian Suetonius, writing about Augustus Caesar, says the emperor expelled [the entertainer] Pylades . According to contemporary English accounts, Henry fought hand to hand. Im even more suspicious of the alleged transformation of p to f. [77][78][79][80] Rogers suggested that the longbow could penetrate a wrought iron breastplate at short range and penetrate the thinner armour on the limbs even at 220 yards (200m). Its up there with heres something that they dont want you to know.. [21] On 19 April 1415, Henry again asked the Great Council to sanction war with France, and this time they agreed. It sounds rather fishy to me. [23] Thomas Morstede, Henry V's royal surgeon,[24] had previously been contracted by the king to supply a team of surgeons and makers of surgical instruments to take part in the Agincourt campaign. The archers were commanded by Sir Thomas Erpingham, another elderly veteran. When the French rejected Henrys substantial territorial demands, he arrived in Normandy in August 1415 with a force of about 12,000 men and laid siege to the city of Harfleur. It did not lead to further English conquests immediately as Henry's priority was to return to England, which he did on 16 November, to be received in triumph in London on the 23rd. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Some historians trace its origins to ancient Rome. [87] Whether this was part of a deliberate French plan or an act of local brigandage is unclear from the sources. The Battle of Agincourt (October 25, 1415) was a pivotal battle in the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), resulting in an English victory over the French. Its not known whether one displayed the digitus infamis in the same manner that we (well, you) flip the bird today. Before the battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French proposed cutting the middle finger off of captured English soldiers rendering them incapable of shooting longbows. do you regret going to a service academy, peconic bay medical center,