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", "Miracle in the Mud: The Hundred Years' War's Battle of Agincourt", The Agincourt Battlefield Archaeology Project, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Agincourt&oldid=1137126379, 6,000 killed (most of whom were of the French nobility), Hansen, Mogens Herman (Copenhagen Polis Centre), This page was last edited on 2 February 2023, at 23:13. Battles were observed and chronicled by heralds who were present at the scene and recorded what they saw, judged who won, and fixed names for the battles. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Without a river obstacle to defend, the French were hesitant to force a battle. You would think that anything English predating 1607, such as the language, Protestantism, or the Common Law, would have been a part of Americas patrimony. [68], Henry's men were already very weary from hunger, illness and retreat. [130][131] Partially as a result, the battle was used as a metaphor at the beginning of the First World War, when the British Expeditionary Force's attempts to stop the German advances were widely likened to it.[132]. Thus, when the victorious English waved their middle fingers at the defeated French, they said, "See, we can still pluck yew! A BBCNews Magazinereportsimilarlytracesthe gesture back toAncient Greek philosophers ( here ). Winston Churchhill can be seen using the V as a rallying call. What does DO NOT HUMP mean on the side of railroad cars? Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured soldiers. David Mikkelson Published Sep 29, 1999. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The latter, each titled Henry V, star Laurence Olivier in 1944 and Kenneth Branagh in 1989. [108] While not necessarily agreeing with the exact numbers Curry uses, Bertrand Schnerb, a professor of medieval history at the University of Lille, states the French probably had 12,00015,000 troops. The key word for describing the battle of Agincourt is mud . [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]. [49], The French vanguard and main battle numbered respectively 4,800 and 3,000 men-at-arms. The battle repeated other English successes in the Hundred Years War, such as the Battle of Crcy (1346) and the Battle of Poitiers (1356), and made possible Englands subsequent conquest of Normandy and the Treaty of Troyes (1420), which named Henry V heir to the French crown. 138). 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. [5] [b] Henry V 's victory at Agincourt, against a numerically superior French army. The brunt of the battle had fallen on the Armagnacs and it was they who suffered the majority of senior casualties and carried the blame for the defeat. This is the answer submitted by a listener: Dear Click and Clack, Thank you for the Agincourt 'Puzzler', which clears up some profound questions of etymology, folklore and emotional symbolism. They had been weakened by the siege at Harfleur and had marched over 200 miles (more than 320 km), and many among them were suffering from dysentery. 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. These numbers are based on the Gesta Henrici Quinti and the chronicle of Jean Le Fvre, the only two eyewitness accounts on the English camp. At least one scholar puts the French army at no more than 12,000, indicating that the English were outnumbered 2 to 1. [125] Shakespeare illustrates these tensions by depicting Henry's decision to kill some of the French prisoners, whilst attempting to justify it and distance himself from the event. It sounds rather fishy to me. An account purporting to offer the historical origins of the obscene middle-finger extended hand gesture (varously known as "flipping the bird," "flipping someone off," or the "one-finger salute") is silly, and so obviously a joke that shouldn't need any debunking. The image makes the further claim that the English soldiers chanted pluck yew, ostensibly in reference to the drawing of the longbow. "[67] On top of this, the French were expecting thousands of men to join them if they waited. Certainly, d'Azincourt was a local knight but he might have been chosen to lead the attack because of his local knowledge and the lack of availability of a more senior soldier. It continued as a series of battles, sieges, and disputes throughout the 14th century, with both the French and the English variously taking advantage. [32] In 2019, the historian Michael Livingston also made the case for a site west of Azincourt, based on a review of sources and early maps. Made just prior to the invasion of Normandy, Olivier's rendition gives the battle what Sarah Hatchuel has termed an "exhilarating and heroic" tone, with an artificial, cinematic look to the battle scenes. Juliet Barker quotes a contemporary account by a monk from St. Denis who reports how the wounded and panicking horses galloped through the advancing infantry, scattering them and trampling them down in their headlong flight from the battlefield. They might also have deployed some archers in the centre of the line. (Even if archers whose middle fingers had been amputated could no longer effectively use their bows, they were still capable of wielding mallets, battleaxes, swords, lances, daggers, maces, and other weapons, as archers typically did when the opponents closed ranks with them and the fighting became hand-to-hand.). [52] The dukes of Alenon and Bar led the main battle. The metallography and relative effectiveness of arrowheads and armor during the Middle Ages. Battle of Agincourt. Take on the burden and expense of caring for them? 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. 42 Share 3.9K views 4 years ago There is an old story that allegedly gives the background of how we came to use the middle finger as an insult along with the alleged origin of the "F-word". . Inthe book,Corbeillpoints to Priapus, a minor deityhedatesto 400 BC, whichlater alsoappears in Rome as the guardian of gardens,according to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Greece and Rome( here ). The Hundred Years' War. [62] 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. Fixed formatting. 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. Although the French initially pushed the English back, they became so closely packed that they were described as having trouble using their weapons properly. And where does the distinction between one and two fingers come from? [citation needed]. Loades, M. (2013). The Battle of Agincourt was another famous battle where longbowmen had a particularly important . The French knights were unable to outflank the longbowmen (because of the encroaching woodland) and unable to charge through the array of sharpened stakes that protected the archers. The Roman gesturemadeby extending the third finger from a closed fist, thus made the same threat, by forming a similarly phallic shape. The French were commanded by Constable Charles d'Albret and various prominent French noblemen of the Armagnac party. Some notable examples are listed below. The battle remains an important symbol in popular culture. [92], The French had suffered a catastrophic defeat. Apparently Henry believed his fleeing army would perform better on the defensive, but had to halt the retreat and somehow engage the French Despite the lack of motion pictures and television way back in the 15th century, the details of medieval battles such as the one at Agincourt in 1415 did not go unrecorded. This use of stakes could have been inspired by the Battle of Nicopolis of 1396, where forces of the Ottoman Empire used the tactic against French cavalry. . King Charles VI of France did not command the French army as he suffered from psychotic illnesses and associated mental incapacity. The Burgundians seized on the opportunity and within 10 days of the battle had mustered their armies and marched on Paris. Singer Robbie Williams insults the viewer. After a difficult siege, the English forces found themselves assaulted by a massive French force. 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. The deep, soft mud particularly favoured the English force because, once knocked to the ground, the heavily armoured French knights had a hard time getting back up to fight in the mle. But lets not quibble. [127], Shakespeare's play presented Henry as leading a truly English force into battle, playing on the importance of the link between the monarch and the common soldiers in the fight. By most contemporary accounts, the French army was also significantly larger than the English, though the exact degree of their numerical superiority is disputed. Keegan, John. The number is supported by many other contemporary accounts. [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. With Toby Merrell, Ian Brooker, Philip Rosch, Brian Blessed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1991 ISBN 0-471-53672-5 (pp. As the mle developed, the French second line also joined the attack, but they too were swallowed up, with the narrow terrain meaning the extra numbers could not be used effectively. The city capitulated within six weeks, but the siege was costly. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here . The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 ( Saint Crispin's Day ), near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France. This claim is false. before a defensive battle was possible. A list of English archers killed at Agincourt, as recorded in the village's museum, The story of the battle has been retold many times in English, from the 15th-century, Dates in the fifteenth century are difficult to reconcile with modern calendars: see, The first known use of angled stakes to thwart a mounted charge was at the Battle of Nicopolis, an engagement between European states and Turkish forces in 1396, twenty years before Agincourt. [90] In his study of the battle John Keegan argued that the main aim was not to actually kill the French knights but rather to terrorise them into submission and quell any possibility they might resume the fight, which would probably have caused the uncommitted French reserve forces to join the fray, as well. Then they had to walk a few hundred yards (metres) through thick mud and a press of comrades while wearing armour weighing 5060 pounds (2327kg), gathering sticky clay all the way. After the battle, the English taunted the survivors by showing off what wasn't cut off. The two candidates with the strongest claims were Edward III of England, who was the son of Charles's sister, and Philip, Charles's paternal . Axtell, Roger E. Gestures: The Do's and Taboos of Body Language Around the World. A Dictionary of Superstitions.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992 ISBN 0-19-282916-5 (p. 454). Soon after the victory at Agincourt, a number of popular folk songs were created about the battle, the most famous being the "Agincourt Carol", produced in the first half of the 15th century. Henry managed to subjugate Normandy in 1419, a victory that was followed by the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, which betrothed Henry to King Charles VIs daughter Catherine and named him heir to the French crown. Do you return these prisoners to your opponents in exchange for nothing, thereby providing them with trained soldiers who can fight against you another day? The French could not cope with the thousands of lightly armoured longbowmen assailants (who were much less hindered by the mud and weight of their armour) combined with the English men-at-arms. [104] Henry returned a conquering hero, seen as blessed by God in the eyes of his subjects and European powers outside France. [b] The unexpected English victory against the numerically superior French army boosted English morale and prestige, crippled France, and started a new period of English dominance in the war that would last for 14 years until France defeated England in the Siege of Orlans in 1429. Turning to our vast classical library, we quickly turn up three references. But frankly, I suspect that the French would have done a lot worse to any captured English archers than chopping off their fingers. The original usage of this mudra can be traced back as far as the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. [84] The exhausted French men-at-arms were unable to get up after being knocked to the ground by the English. The Battle of Agincourt took place on October 25, 1415. He contrasts the modern, English king and his army with the medieval, chivalric, older model of the French. [7] Barker, who believes the English were outnumbered by at least four to one,[120] says that the armed servants formed the rearguard in the battle. One popular "origin story" for the middle finger has to do with the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. But frankly, I suspect that the French would have done a lot worse to any captured English archers than chopping off their fingers. [34][d] The French apparently had no clear plan for deploying the rest of the army. In pursuit of his claim to the French throne, Henry V invaded Normandy with an army of 11,000 men in August 1415. [106] This lack of unity in France allowed Henry eighteen months to prepare militarily and politically for a renewed campaign. The French army blocked Henry's way to the safety of Calais, and delaying battle would only further weaken his tired army and allow more French troops to arrive. [31] This entailed abandoning his chosen position and pulling out, advancing, and then re-installing the long sharpened wooden stakes pointed outwards toward the enemy, which helped protect the longbowmen from cavalry charges. The version that I tell explains the specific British custom of elevating two fingers as a rude gesture. Barker, Sumption and Rogers all wrote that the English probably had 6,000 men, these being 5,000 archers and 9001,000 men-at-arms. This moment of the battle is portrayed both as a break with the traditions of chivalry and as a key example of the paradox of kingship. For three hours after sunrise there was no fighting. [76] Modern historians are divided on how effective the longbows would have been against plate armour of the time. The archers were commanded by Sir Thomas Erpingham, another elderly veteran. According to most chroniclers, Henry's fear was that the prisoners (who, in an unusual turn of events, actually outnumbered their captors) would realise their advantage in numbers, rearm themselves with the weapons strewn about the field and overwhelm the exhausted English forces. Rogers, Mortimer[117] and Sumption[41] all give more or less 10,000 men-at-arms for the French, using as a source the herald of the Duke of Berry, an eyewitness. To meet and beat him was a triumph, the highest form which self-expression could take in the medieval nobleman's way of life." 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. After the victory, Henry continued his march to Calais and arrived back in England in November to an outpouring of nationalistic sentiment. [33], Early on the 25th, Henry deployed his army (approximately 1,500 men-at-arms and 7,000 longbowmen) across a 750-yard (690m) part of the defile. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. 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. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future. [107], Most primary sources which describe the battle have English outnumbered by several times. There is a modern museum in Agincourt village dedicated to the battle. While numerous English sources give the English casualties in double figures,[8] record evidence identifies at least 112 Englishmen killed in the fighting,[103] while Monstrelet reported 600 English dead. In the ensuing negotiations Henry said that he would give up his claim to the French throne if the French would pay the 1.6million crowns outstanding from the ransom of John II (who had been captured at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356), and concede English ownership of the lands of Anjou, Brittany, Flanders, Normandy, and Touraine, as well as Aquitaine. The English eyewitness account comes from the anonymous author of the Gesta Henrici Quinti, believed to have been written by a chaplain in the King's household who would have been in the baggage train at the battle. [85], The French men-at-arms were taken prisoner or killed in the thousands. [18] A recent re-appraisal of Henry's strategy of the Agincourt campaign incorporates these three accounts and argues that war was seen as a legal due process for solving the disagreement over claims to the French throne. By 1415, negotiations had ground to a halt, with the English claiming that the French had mocked their claims and ridiculed Henry himself. Despite the numerical disadvantage, the battle ended in an overwhelming victory for the English. The Battle of Agincourt is one of England's most celebrated victories and was one of the most important English triumphs in the Hundred Years' War, along with the Battle of Crcy (1346) and Battle of Poitiers (1356). Its not known whether one displayed the digitus infamis in the same manner that we (well, you) flip the bird today. [87] Whether this was part of a deliberate French plan or an act of local brigandage is unclear from the sources. Supposedly, both originated at the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, . News of the contrivance circulated within Europe and was described in a book of tactics written in 1411 by. The Face of Battle.New York: Penguin Books, 1978 ISBN 0-140-04897-9 (pp. Jean de Wavrin, a knight on the French side wrote that English fatalities were 1,600 men of all ranks. I thought the French threatened to cut off the primary finger of the English longbowmen (the middle finger was neeed the most to pull the bowstring). However, the lack of archaeological evidence at this traditional site has led to suggestions it was fought to the west of Azincourt. 1.3M views 4 months ago Medieval Battles - In chronological order The year 1415 was the first occasion since 1359 that an English king had invaded France in person. It supposedly describes the origin of the middle-finger hand gesture and, by implication, the insult "fuck you". This famous English longbow was . The battle probably lasted no longer than three hours and was perhaps as short as half an hour, according to some estimates. These heralds were not part of the participating armies, but were, as military expert John Keegan describes, members of an "international corporation of experts who regulated civilized warfare." The trial ranged widely over whether there was just cause for war and not simply the prisoner issue. Theodore Beck also suggests that among Henry's army was "the king's physician and a little band of surgeons". Last, but certainly not least, wouldn't these insolent archers have been bragging about plucking a bow's string, and not the wood of the bow itself? It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. In the ensuing campaign, many soldiers died from disease, and the English numbers dwindled; they tried to withdraw to English-held Calais but found their path blocked by a considerably larger French army. It was often reported to comprise 1,500 ships, but was probably far smaller. . Participating as judges were Justices Samuel Alito and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It goes on to state thatafter an unexpected victory, the English soldiersmocked thedefeatedFrenchtroopsbywavingtheir middle fingers( here ). [89] A slaughter of the French prisoners ensued. Contemporary accounts describe the triumphal pageantry with which the king was received in London on November 23, with elaborate displays and choirs attending his passage to St. Pauls Cathedral.