AS SHAKESPEARE WROTE, HENRY V's VICTORY AT Agincourt was certainly a great English triumphant defeat of the opposing French army. However, as the Bard was more interested in getting bums on seats in the Globe (of which he was a major shareholder) he was more interested in supplying the groundlings and others with a good show rather than concentrating on historical honesty. This means that the play Henry V is somewhat inaccurate when it comes to telling what really happened on that drizzly but dramatic day: October 25th 1415.
Medieval picture of the Battle of Agincourt
This battle happened to be one of a series which happened during the Hundred Years War (actually 116 Years: 1337-1453 when England and France fought over the French throne). The Battle of Agincourt came just over one month after Henry V had captured Harfleur and was on his way back to England.
After Harfleur, Henry had aimed to march his army along the north-east coast of France to the English-held town of Calais and then cross the English Channel (La Manche -the Sleeve to the French) to be home in time for tea and crumpets. Unfortunately for him, the French insisted on attacking and ambushing him en route. The losses that these attacks, together with many of his men dying of dysentery - "the bloody flux" - meant that by the time he reached Agincourt (Azincourt to the French) Henry had only five thousand men left alive. This "few, this happy few" was about one-third of the original size of the army he had brought over to France two months earlier.
Henry V's route to Agincourt via Harfleur (Aug-October 1415)
The night before the battle had been rainy. This meant that both sides agreed to wait until mid-morning so that the ground could dry out a little, at least on the top surface. This hanging around waiting for the hostilities to break out was somewhat unnerving for Henry's reduced forces, especially when they saw that they were facing a well-armed unknown to them, poorly-led enemy. This was why Henry had to give his men such a rousing pre-battle speech.
An inaccurate Medieval picture of the Battle of Agincourt
Half-way through the morning, Henry gave the order that his archers should open fire. Immediately, the archers, the bulk of his army, began to rain down thousands and thousands of arrows on the French army which consisted mainly of infantry and heavy cavalry. Henry's archers and arrows - called "the machine-gun of the Middle Ages" by some historians, caused havoc among the crowded French forces. As the unprotected horses were stung by the arrows, they reared up and sent the other horses crashing to the ground in a ripple effect. As a result, the heavily armed knights fell onto the muddy churned up ground with them and found it difficult to stand up as the mud tended to suck their smooth plate armour back down.
Therefore, these French knights were easy targets for the English archers who, having fired off their thousands of arrows, now swarmed in and attacked the fallen Frenchmen with their daggers, swords and mallets. If this wasn't bad enough for the Constable of France and his men, the French knights in the front lines were being crowded by the lines of men behind them who also wanted to push forward to attack the "weak and niggardly" army and win some glory for themselves.
Battle plan of the battle. Note how the two wooded areas cramp the French army.
Bottom line: the French didn't have a chance to win. Their army was confined between two wooded areas, (see map) and they were being attacked by the English from the front and being pushed and harried by their own men from the rear. In addition, the English archers - about 4,500 of them were firing ten arrows a minute in the opening stages of the battle. This meant that as the 45,000 arrows per minute arrow-storm was raining down, the Frenchmen didn't dare look up for fear of being hit in the eye by an arrow.
And then from below, once they had fallen down in the sticky muddy or been thrown by their pierced and hysterical horses, they were sitting ducks for the opposing English ex-archers, now infantrymen. The result was that thousands of Frenchmen were killed that day as opposed to tens or hundreds of Englishmen. (I have to be vague here as no strict records were taken at the time.)
Street signs in Agincourt today. (Author's photos)
According to Henry V, in the last scene of Act IV, ten thousand Frenchmen were killed and only four English nobles and twenty-five soldiers suffered the same fate. This last number is certainly not true, but it does give an idea of the ratio of casualties that happened on that grim day. Juliet Barker, an Agincourt expert, writes that 112 English casualties can definitely be identified, while other sources claim that the number of English dead ranged from four to sixteen hundred.
Memorials to the battle on the battlefield today. (Author's photos)
Another point where our William strayed from the truth may be seen in Henry's famous pre-battle speech, "We few, we happy few." of the eight nobles the king refers to, only three of them, the Dukes of Gloucester, York and Sir Thomas Erpingham were definitely there at the time. The others were probably left behind as part of the garrison at Harfleur, or they remained in England in order to prevent the Scottish, France's ally from attacking England during the king's prolonged absence.
(Above) Agincourt Museum today.
Two memorial crosses for 1915
(left) and 1415 Agincourt (below).
Today, when you visit the battlefield, as I did several years ago, it is very hard to imagine this scene of mass death and pain that happened some six hundred years ago. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the wheat was swaying gently in the breeze. The small village of Agincourt with its special museum was going about its quiet rural business, while in the centre, another monument to the fallen French of 1915 stood there, a grim reminder that fighting still goes on. Except this time, the English and French were allies, not sworn enemies.
The battlefield today
The author with a full-size bow similar to that Henry's archers would have used. (Photo: Derek Greenacre)
Next time: "Henry V" Films.
For comments: Facebook or: wsdavidyoung@gmail.com
This battle happened to be one of a series which happened during the Hundred Years War (actually 116 Years: 1337-1453 when England and France fought over the French throne). The Battle of Agincourt came just over one month after Henry V had captured Harfleur and was on his way back to England.
After Harfleur, Henry had aimed to march his army along the north-east coast of France to the English-held town of Calais and then cross the English Channel (La Manche -the Sleeve to the French) to be home in time for tea and crumpets. Unfortunately for him, the French insisted on attacking and ambushing him en route. The losses that these attacks, together with many of his men dying of dysentery - "the bloody flux" - meant that by the time he reached Agincourt (Azincourt to the French) Henry had only five thousand men left alive. This "few, this happy few" was about one-third of the original size of the army he had brought over to France two months earlier.
The night before the battle had been rainy. This meant that both sides agreed to wait until mid-morning so that the ground could dry out a little, at least on the top surface. This hanging around waiting for the hostilities to break out was somewhat unnerving for Henry's reduced forces, especially when they saw that they were facing a well-armed unknown to them, poorly-led enemy. This was why Henry had to give his men such a rousing pre-battle speech.
Half-way through the morning, Henry gave the order that his archers should open fire. Immediately, the archers, the bulk of his army, began to rain down thousands and thousands of arrows on the French army which consisted mainly of infantry and heavy cavalry. Henry's archers and arrows - called "the machine-gun of the Middle Ages" by some historians, caused havoc among the crowded French forces. As the unprotected horses were stung by the arrows, they reared up and sent the other horses crashing to the ground in a ripple effect. As a result, the heavily armed knights fell onto the muddy churned up ground with them and found it difficult to stand up as the mud tended to suck their smooth plate armour back down.
Therefore, these French knights were easy targets for the English archers who, having fired off their thousands of arrows, now swarmed in and attacked the fallen Frenchmen with their daggers, swords and mallets. If this wasn't bad enough for the Constable of France and his men, the French knights in the front lines were being crowded by the lines of men behind them who also wanted to push forward to attack the "weak and niggardly" army and win some glory for themselves.
Bottom line: the French didn't have a chance to win. Their army was confined between two wooded areas, (see map) and they were being attacked by the English from the front and being pushed and harried by their own men from the rear. In addition, the English archers - about 4,500 of them were firing ten arrows a minute in the opening stages of the battle. This meant that as the 45,000 arrows per minute arrow-storm was raining down, the Frenchmen didn't dare look up for fear of being hit in the eye by an arrow.
And then from below, once they had fallen down in the sticky muddy or been thrown by their pierced and hysterical horses, they were sitting ducks for the opposing English ex-archers, now infantrymen. The result was that thousands of Frenchmen were killed that day as opposed to tens or hundreds of Englishmen. (I have to be vague here as no strict records were taken at the time.)
According to Henry V, in the last scene of Act IV, ten thousand Frenchmen were killed and only four English nobles and twenty-five soldiers suffered the same fate. This last number is certainly not true, but it does give an idea of the ratio of casualties that happened on that grim day. Juliet Barker, an Agincourt expert, writes that 112 English casualties can definitely be identified, while other sources claim that the number of English dead ranged from four to sixteen hundred.
Another point where our William strayed from the truth may be seen in Henry's famous pre-battle speech, "We few, we happy few." of the eight nobles the king refers to, only three of them, the Dukes of Gloucester, York and Sir Thomas Erpingham were definitely there at the time. The others were probably left behind as part of the garrison at Harfleur, or they remained in England in order to prevent the Scottish, France's ally from attacking England during the king's prolonged absence.
Two memorial crosses for 1915
(left) and 1415 Agincourt (below).
Next time: "Henry V" Films.
For comments: Facebook or: wsdavidyoung@gmail.com
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