[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]. [130] Critic David Margolies describes how it "oozes honour, military glory, love of country and self-sacrifice", and forms one of the first instances of English literature linking solidarity and comradeship to success in battle. The campaign season was coming to an end, and the English army had suffered many casualties through disease. 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. [86], The only French success was an attack on the lightly protected English baggage train, with Ysembart d'Azincourt (leading a small number of men-at-arms and varlets plus about 600 peasants) seizing some of Henry's personal treasures, including a crown. On February 1, 1328, King Charles IV of France died without an heir. Why do some people have that one extra-long fingernail on the pinkie finger. Nonetheless, so many readers have forwarded it to us accompanied by an "Is this true?" When that campaign took place, it was made easier by the damage done to the political and military structures of Normandy by the battle. The effect of the victory on national morale was powerful. 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. The historian Suetonius, writing about Augustus Caesar, says the emperor expelled [the entertainer] Pylades . Wikipedia. [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 ransoming of prisoners was the only way for medieval soldiers to make a quick fortune, and so they seized every available opportunity to capture opponents who could be exchanged for handsome prices. When the English won the battle the soldiers waved their middle fingers at the French in defiance, thus flipping the bird was born [19], Henry V invaded France following the failure of negotiations with the French. [69] (The use of stakes was an innovation for the English: during the Battle of Crcy, for example, the archers had been instead protected by pits and other obstacles. The decorative use of the image of Priapusmatched the Roman use ofimages of male genitalia for warding off evil. So they were already overcome with fatigue even before they advanced against the enemy". His men-at-arms were stationed in the centre, flanked by wedges of archers who carried longbows that had an effective range of 250 yards (229 metres). Jean de Wavrin, a knight on the French side wrote that English fatalities were 1,600 men of all ranks.
[34] The rearguard, leaderless, would serve as a "dumping ground" for the surplus troops. [39] Curry, Rogers[118] and Mortimer[42] all agree the French had 4 to 5 thousand missile troops. Adam Koford, Salt Lake City, Utah, Now for the facts. [60][61], Accounts of the battle describe the French engaging the English men-at-arms before being rushed from the sides by the longbowmen as the mle developed. Keegan, John.
Battle of Agincourt - The English Really Should Have Lost, But They Won [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. This would prevent maneuvers that might overwhelm the English ranks. The Battle of Agincourt (/dnkr(t)/ AJ-in-kor(t);[a] French: Azincourt [azku]) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 ( Saint Crispin's Day ), near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France. Supposedly, both originated at the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, . before a defensive battle was possible. The 'middle finger salute' is derived from the defiant gestures of English archers whose fingers had been severed by the French at the Battle of Agincourt. Many people who have seen the film question whether giving the finger was done around the time of the Titanic disaster, or was it a more recent gesture invented by some defiant seventh-grader. The English army, led by King Henry V, famously achieved victory in spite of the numerical superiority of its opponent. 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).
Battle of Agincourt - Wikipedia With Toby Merrell, Ian Brooker, Philip Rosch, Brian Blessed. The English finally crossed the Somme south of Pronne, at Bthencourt and Voyennes[28][29] and resumed marching north. This famous weapon was made of the native English yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew." [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. Although it could be intended as humorous, the image on social media is historically inaccurate. [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.
Plucking The Yew - Jerry Pournelle This article was. They were successful for a time, forcing Henry to move south, away from Calais, to find a ford. [23] The army of about 12,000 men and up to 20,000 horses besieged the port of Harfleur. However, the lack of archaeological evidence at this traditional site has led to suggestions it was fought to the west of Azincourt. Theodore Beck also suggests that among Henry's army was "the king's physician and a little band of surgeons". Probably each man-at-arms would be accompanied by a gros valet (or varlet), an armed servant, adding up to another 10,000 potential fighting men,[7] though some historians omit them from the number of combatants. The English had very little food, had marched 260 miles (420km) in two and a half weeks, were suffering from sickness such as dysentery, and were greatly outnumbered by well-equipped French men-at-arms. The battle probably lasted no longer than three hours and was perhaps as short as half an hour, according to some estimates. 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. The Battle of Agincourt took place during the the Hundred Years' War, a conflict which, despite its name, was neither one single war nor did it last one hundred years. And for a variety of reasons, it made no military sense whatsoever for the French to capture English archers, then mutilate them by cutting off their fingers. "Guardian newspaper:French correction: Henry V's Agincourt fleet was half as big, historian claims, 28 July 2015", "Living Dictionary of the French Language", "Limitations imposed by wearing armour on Medieval soldiers' locomotor performance", "High Court Rules for French at Agincourt", "High Court Justices, Legal Luminaries Debate Shakespeare's 'Henry V', "The Development of Battle Tactics in the Hundred Years War", "Historians Reassess Battle of Agincourt", The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, "Henry V's Greatest Victory is Besieged by Academia", The Little Grey Horse Henry V's Speech at Agincourt and the Battle Exhortation in Ancient Historiography, "The Battle of Agincourt: An Alternative location? 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). They shadowed Henry's army while calling a semonce des nobles,[30] calling on local nobles to join the army. Fighting ignorance since 1973. Agincourt came on the back of half a century of military failure and gave the English a success that repeated victories such as Crcy and Poitiers. In the other reference Martial writes that a certain party points a finger, an indecent one, at some other people. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future. 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. The version that I tell explains the specific British custom of elevating two fingers as a rude gesture. The terrain favoured Henrys army and disadvantaged its opponent, as it reduced the numerical advantage of the French army by narrowing the front. The French monk of St. Denis describes the French troops as "marching through the middle of the mud where they sank up to their knees. [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. The army was divided into three groups, with the right wing led by Edward, Duke of York, the centre led by the king himself, and the left wing under the old and experienced Baron Thomas Camoys. The one-finger salute, or at any rate sexual gestures involving the middle finger, are thousands of years old. |. 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. 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. Axtell, Roger E. Gestures: The Dos and Taboos of Body Language Around the World.New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1991 ISBN 0-471-53672-5 (pp. [47] Although it had been planned for the archers and crossbowmen to be placed with the infantry wings, they were now regarded as unnecessary and placed behind them instead. A truce had been formally declared in 1396 that was meant to last 28 years, sealed by the marriage of the French king Charles VIs daughter to King Richard II of England. The image makes the further claim that the English soldiers chanted pluck yew, ostensibly in reference to the drawing of the longbow. This claim is false. [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. [87] Whether this was part of a deliberate French plan or an act of local brigandage is unclear from the sources. [93] Among them were 90120 great lords and bannerets killed, including[95] three dukes (Alenon, Bar and Brabant), nine counts (Blmont, Dreux, Fauquembergue, Grandpr, Marle, Nevers, Roucy, Vaucourt, Vaudmont) and one viscount (Puisaye), also an archbishop. The Battle of Agincourt originated in 1328.
The Battle Of Agincourt: What Really Happened? | HistoryExtra When did the middle finger become offensive? - BBC News [91] Such an event would have posed a risk to the still-outnumbered English and could have easily turned a stunning victory into a mutually destructive defeat, as the English forces were now largely intermingled with the French and would have suffered grievously from the arrows of their own longbowmen had they needed to resume shooting. The two armies spent the night of 24 October on open ground. Since then there had been tension between the nobility and the royal house, widespread lawlessness throughout the kingdom, and several attempts on Henry Vs life. 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. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1991 ISBN 0-471-53672-5 (pp. They were blocking Henry's retreat, and were perfectly happy to wait for as long as it took. [Adam attaches the following memo, which has been floating around the Internet for some time.] Thinking it was an attack from the rear, Henry had the French nobles he was holding prisoner killed. [38], The French army had 10,000 men-at arms[39][40][41] plus some 4,0005,000 miscellaneous footmen (gens de trait) including archers, crossbowmen[42] (arbaltriers) and shield-bearers (pavisiers), totaling 14,00015,000 men. John Keegan argues that the longbows' main influence on the battle at this point was injuries to horses: armoured only on the head, many horses would have become dangerously out of control when struck in the back or flank from the high-elevation, long-range shots used as the charge started. It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird". The English men-at-arms in plate and mail were placed shoulder to shoulder four deep. And where does the distinction between one and two fingers come from? It lasted longer than Henry had anticipated, and his numbers were significantly diminished as a result of casualties, desertions, and disease. He considered a knight in the best-quality steel armour invulnerable to an arrow on the breastplate or top of the helmet, but vulnerable to shots hitting the limbs, particularly at close range. The struggle began in 1337 when King Edward III of England claimed the title King of France over Philip VI and invaded Flanders. 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. [62] Le Fvre and Wavrin similarly say that it was signs of the French rearguard regrouping and "marching forward in battle order" which made the English think they were still in danger. This material may not be reproduced without permission. This head-lowered position restricted their breathing and their vision. [70]), The tightness of the terrain also seems to have restricted the planned deployment of the French forces. [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.
A Short History of "Flipping the Bird" - OddFeed 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. ", "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. The key word for describing the battle of Agincourt is mud . [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). This battle concluded with King Harold of England dying at the hands of the Norman King William, which marked the beginning of a new era in England. England had been fraught with political discord since Henry IV of the house of Lancaster (father of Henry V) had usurped the throne from Richard II in 1399. [124], The most famous cultural depiction of the battle today is in Act IV of William Shakespeare's Henry V, written in 1599. (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.). Henry threatened to hang whoever did not obey his orders. 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. The Duke of Brabant (about 2,000 men),[65] the Duke of Anjou (about 600 men),[65] and the Duke of Brittany (6,000 men, according to Monstrelet),[66] were all marching to join the army. After several decades of relative peace, the English had resumed the war in 1415 amid the failure of negotiations with the French. [93] Entire noble families were wiped out in the male line, and in some regions an entire generation of landed nobility was annihilated. For three hours after sunrise there was no fighting. This famous weapon was made of the . 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 English numbered roughly 5,000 knights, men-at-arms, and archers. [26] He also intended the manoeuvre as a deliberate provocation to battle aimed at the dauphin, who had failed to respond to Henry's personal challenge to combat at Harfleur. Battle of Agincourt, (October 25, 1415), decisive battle in the Hundred Years War (13371453) that resulted in the victory of the English over the French. The . [110][111][112] Ian Mortimer endorsed Curry's methodology, though applied it more liberally, noting how she "minimises French numbers (by limiting her figures to those in the basic army and a few specific additional companies) and maximises English numbers (by assuming the numbers sent home from Harfleur were no greater than sick lists)", and concluded that "the most extreme imbalance which is credible" is 15,000 French against 8,0009,000 English. The battlefield was a freshly plowed field, and at the time of the battle, it had been raining continuously for several days. 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. Take on the burden and expense of caring for them? 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. It sounds rather fishy to me. 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [5] [b] Henry V 's victory at Agincourt, against a numerically superior French army. 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 . [27], During the siege, the French had raised an army which assembled around Rouen. (Its taking longer than we thought.) 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. 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. 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. By most contemporary accounts, the French army was also significantly larger than the English, though the exact degree of their numerical superiority is disputed. Bowman were not valuable prisoners, though: they stood outside the chivalric system and were considered the social inferiors of men-at-arms. Updates? Send questions to Cecil via cecil@straightdope.com. The city capitulated within six weeks, but the siege was costly. 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. 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. And I aint kidding yew. Common estimates place the English army at about 6,000, while the French army probably consisted of 20,000 to 30,000 men.
What Is the History of the Middle Finger? | Snopes.com By 24 October, both armies faced each other for battle, but the French declined, hoping for the arrival of more troops. And although the precise etymology of the English word fuck is still a matter of debate, it is linguistically nonsensical to maintain that that word entered the language because the "difficult consonant cluster at the beginning" of the phase 'pluck yew' has "gradually changed to a labiodental fricative 'f.'" King Henry V of England led his troops into battle and participated in hand-to-hand fighting. The approximate location of the battle has never been disputed, and the site remains relatively unaltered after 600 years. In another of his books Morris describes a variety of sexual insults involving the middle finger, such as the middle-finger down prod, the middle-finger erect, etc., all of which are different from the classic middle-finger jerk. 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. However, a need to reassert his authority at home (as well as his own ambition and a sense of justice) led Henry V to renew English claims in France. 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. [43], The French were organized into two main groups (or battles), a vanguard up front and a main battle behind, both composed principally of men-at-arms fighting on foot and flanked by more of the same in each wing.
The Battle of Agincourt - The European Middle Ages
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