Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future. Kill them outright and violate the medieval moral code of civilized warfare? giving someone the middle 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 Face of Battle.New York: Penguin Books, 1978 ISBN 0-140-04897-9 (pp. It was a disastrous attempt. Another verse begins: You love to be sodomized, Papylus . 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. Upon his death, a French assembly formed to appoint a male successor. 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. [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. And where does the distinction between one and two fingers come from? The effect of the victory on national morale was powerful. The next day the French initiated negotiations as a delaying tactic, but Henry ordered his army to advance and to start a battle that, given the state of his army, he would have preferred to avoid, or to fight defensively: that was how Crcy and the other famous longbow victories had been won. 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 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. If the two-fingered salute comes from Agincourt, then at what point was it reduced to one finger in North America? King Charles VI of France did not command the French army as he suffered from psychotic illnesses and associated mental incapacity. New York: Penguin Books, 1978 ISBN 0-140-04897-9 (pp. "[67] On top of this, the French were expecting thousands of men to join them if they waited. The image makes the claim that the gesture derives from English soldiers at the Battle of Agincourt, France in 1415. [106] This lack of unity in France allowed Henry eighteen months to prepare militarily and politically for a renewed campaign. There had even been a suggestion that the English would run away rather than give battle when they saw that they would be fighting so many French princes. [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". 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! It goes on to state thatafter an unexpected victory, the English soldiersmocked thedefeatedFrenchtroopsbywavingtheir middle fingers( here ). It established the legitimacy of the Lancastrian monarchy and the future campaigns of Henry to pursue his "rights and privileges" in France. Barker states that some knights, encumbered by their armour, actually drowned in their helmets.[64]. 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. Contemporary chroniclers did not criticise him for it. 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). When the English won the battle the soldiers waved their middle fingers at the French in defiance, thus flipping the bird was born The "middle finger" gesture does not derive from the mutilation of English archers at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. [126], Shakespeare's depiction of the battle also plays on the theme of modernity. Most importantly, the battle was a significant military blow to France and paved the way for further English conquests and successes. The play focuses on the pressures of kingship, the tensions between how a king should appear chivalric, honest, and just and how a king must sometimes act Machiavellian and ruthless. 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. Upon hearing that his youngest brother Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester had been wounded in the groin, Henry took his household guard and stood over his brother, in the front rank of the fighting, until Humphrey could be dragged to safety. There is a modern museum in Agincourt village dedicated to the battle. This famous weapon was made of the native English yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as plucking the yew. Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, See, we can still pluck yew! Over the years some folk etymologies have grown up around this symbolic gesture. 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. 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). [51] Albret, Boucicaut and almost all the leading noblemen were assigned stations in the vanguard. [68], Henry's men were already very weary from hunger, illness and retreat. [39] Curry, Rogers[118] and Mortimer[42] all agree the French had 4 to 5 thousand missile troops. [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. Early in the morning on October 25 (the feast day of St. Crispin), 1415, Henry positioned his army for battle on a recently plowed field bounded by woods. The battlefield was a freshly plowed field, and at the time of the battle, it had been raining continuously for several days. News of the contrivance circulated within Europe and was described in a book of tactics written in 1411 by. In his 2007 film adaptation, director Peter Babakitis uses digital effects to exaggerate realist features during the battle scenes, producing a more avant-garde interpretation of the fighting at Agincourt. The Hundred Years War was a discontinuous conflict between England and France that spanned two centuries. A Dictionary of Superstitions. Departing from Harfleur on October 8, Henry marched northward toward the English-held port of Calais, where he would disembark for England, with a force of 1,000 knights and men-at-arms and 5,000 archers. Why is the missionary position called that? Adam Koford, Salt Lake City, Utah, Now for the facts. The recently ploughed land hemmed in by dense woodland favoured the English, both because of its narrowness, and because of the thick mud through which the French knights had to walk. Henry would marry Catherine, Charles VI's young daughter, and receive a dowry of 2million crowns. David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994. Archers were not the "similarly equipped" opponents that armored soldiers triumphed in defeating -- if the two clashed in combat, the armored soldier would either kill an archer outright or leave him to bleed to death rather than go to the wasteful effort of taking him prisoner. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future. Its origins can be traced back to 1066 . 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. Moreover, with this outcome Henry V strengthened his position in his own kingdom; it legitimized his claim to the crown, which had been under threat after his accession. In pursuit of his claim to the French throne, Henry V invaded Normandy with an army of 11,000 men in August 1415. After several decades of relative peace, the English had resumed the war in 1415 amid the failure of negotiations with the French. Its up there with heres something that they dont want you to know.. "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? [97] According to the heralds, 3,069 knights and squires were killed,[e] while at least 2,600 more corpses were found without coats of arms to identify them. 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. 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. Clip from the 1944 movie "Henry V" (137 min). The town surrendered on 22 September, and the English army did not leave until 8 October. [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. The English finally crossed the Somme south of Pronne, at Bthencourt and Voyennes[28][29] and resumed marching north. [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. 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. [27], During the siege, the French had raised an army which assembled around Rouen. Keegan, John. 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. The main part of the speech begins "This day is called the feast of . 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. . Nicolle, D. (2004). 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). [70]), The tightness of the terrain also seems to have restricted the planned deployment of the French forces. The 'middle finger salute' did not derive from the defiant gestures of English archers whose fingers had been severed at the Battle of Agincourt. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The battle remains an important symbol in popular culture. 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 Battle of Agincourt was dramatised by William Shakespeare in Henry V featuring the battle in which Henry inspired his much-outnumbered English forces to fight the French through a St Crispin's Day Speech, saying "the fewer men, the greater share of honour". Without a river obstacle to defend, the French were hesitant to force a battle. The Burgundians seized on the opportunity and within 10 days of the battle had mustered their armies and marched on Paris. The Hundred Years' War. 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. [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].
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