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? Several heralds, both French and English, were present at the battle of Agincourt, and not one of them (or any later chroniclers of Agincourt) mentioned anything about the French having cut off the fingers of captured English bowman. 33-35). [50] Both lines were arrayed in tight, dense formations of about 16 ranks each, and were positioned a bowshot length from each other. To meet and beat him was a triumph, the highest form which self-expression could take in the medieval nobleman's way of life." Upon his death, a French assembly formed to appoint a male successor. [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]. 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. [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. Nicolle, D. (2004). On October 25, 1415, during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) between England and France, Henry V (1386-1422), the young king of England, led his forces to victory at the Battle of . Maybe it means five and was a symbol of support for Henry V? Why not simply kill them outright in the first place? [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 town surrendered on 22 September, and the English army did not leave until 8 October. The f-word itself is Germanic with early-medieval roots; the earliest attested use in English in an unambiguous sexual context is in a document from 1310. Shakespeare's version of the battle of Agincourt has been turned into several minor and two major films. [126], Shakespeare's depiction of the battle also plays on the theme of modernity. [82], The surviving French men-at-arms reached the front of the English line and pushed it back, with the longbowmen on the flanks continuing to shoot at point-blank range. The English men-at-arms in plate and mail were placed shoulder to shoulder four deep. French chroniclers agree that when the mounted charge did come, it did not contain as many men as it should have; Gilles le Bouvier states that some had wandered off to warm themselves and others were walking or feeding their horses. [124], The most famous cultural depiction of the battle today is in Act IV of William Shakespeare's Henry V, written in 1599. [49], The French vanguard and main battle numbered respectively 4,800 and 3,000 men-at-arms. During World War II the symbol was adopted as a V for victory. False. 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. 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. [88], Regardless of when the baggage assault happened, at some point after the initial English victory, Henry became alarmed that the French were regrouping for another attack. Wikipedia. Bloomsbury Publishing. Battle of Agincourt. 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. The impact of thousands of arrows, combined with the slog in heavy armour through the mud, the heat and difficulty breathing in plate armour with the visor down,[83] and the crush of their numbers, meant the French men-at-arms could "scarcely lift their weapons" when they finally engaged the English line. [19], Henry V invaded France following the failure of negotiations with the French. Course Hero uses AI to attempt to automatically extract content from documents to surface to you and others so you can study better, e.g., in search results, to enrich docs, and more. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [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 Battle of Agincourt originated in 1328. [31], The precise location of the battle is not known. The Battle of Agincourt is an iconic moment in English military history. The image makes the further claim that the English soldiers chanted pluck yew, ostensibly in reference to the drawing of the longbow. This was not strictly a feudal army, but an army paid through a system similar to that of the English. [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. 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. It established the legitimacy of the Lancastrian monarchy and the future campaigns of Henry to pursue his "rights and privileges" in France. 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. [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]. The battle remains an important symbol in popular culture. There is no evidence that, when captured in any scenario,archers had their finger cut off by the enemy( bit.ly/3dP2PhP ). After Henry V marched to the north, the French moved to block them along the River Somme. But frankly, I suspect that the French would have done a lot worse to any captured English archers than chopping off their fingers. 78-116). The middle finger gesture does not derive from the mutilation of English archers at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. It lasted longer than Henry had anticipated, and his numbers were significantly diminished as a result of casualties, desertions, and disease. 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". The idea being that you need two fingers to draw a bow, which makes more sense, and thus links up a national custom with a triumphant moment in national history! [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. [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. 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. It was a disastrous attempt. [8] These included the Duke of York, the young Earl of Suffolk and the Welsh esquire Dafydd ("Davy") Gam. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. The English finally crossed the Somme south of Pronne, at Bthencourt and Voyennes[28][29] and resumed marching north. [70]), The tightness of the terrain also seems to have restricted the planned deployment of the French forces. Im even more suspicious of the alleged transformation of p to f. Moreover, if archers could be ransomed, then cutting off their middle fingers would be a senseless move. 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. 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. The historian Suetonius, writing about Augustus Caesar, says the emperor expelled [the entertainer] Pylades . According to research, heres the true story: 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. 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. By most contemporary accounts, the French army was also significantly larger than the English, though the exact degree of their numerical superiority is disputed. The third line of the French army, recoiling at the pile of corpses before them and unable to make an effective charge, was then massacred swiftly. The main part of the speech begins "This day is called the feast of . The battlefield was a freshly plowed field, and at the time of the battle, it had been raining continuously for several days. The struggle began in 1337 when King Edward III of England claimed the title King of France over Philip VI and invaded Flanders. The approximate location of the battle has never been disputed, and the site remains relatively unaltered after 600 years. Humble English archers defeated the armoured elite of French chivalry, enshrining both the longbow and the battle in English national legend. Recent heavy rain made the battle field very muddy, proving very tiring to walk through in full plate armour. 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). By 1415, negotiations had ground to a halt, with the English claiming that the French had mocked their claims and ridiculed Henry himself. 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. 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. [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. [53] A further 600 dismounted men-at-arms stood in each wing, with the left under the Count of Vendme and the right under the Count of Richemont. This famous weapon was made of the . The Battle of Agincourt was another famous battle where longbowmen had a particularly important . A BBCNews Magazinereportsimilarlytracesthe gesture back toAncient Greek philosophers ( here ). Why is the missionary position called that? 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". All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. [106] This lack of unity in France allowed Henry eighteen months to prepare militarily and politically for a renewed campaign. The version that I tell explains the specific British custom of elevating two fingers as a rude gesture. [22], Henry's army landed in northern France on 13 August 1415, carried by a vast fleet. Image source Many folkloric or etymological myths have sprung up about its origin, especially the widely quoted one about the interplay between the French and English soldiery at the battle of Agincourt 1415, where the French threatened to amputate the middle fingers of the English archers to prevent them from drawing their bows, which of course is absolute 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). Turning to our vast classical library, we quickly turn up three references. The French, who were overwhelmingly favored to win the battle, threatened to cut a certain body part off of all captured English soldiers so that they could never fight again. Keegan, John. Participating as judges were Justices Samuel Alito and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. [109] Juliet Barker, Jonathan Sumption and Clifford J. Rogers criticized Curry's reliance on administrative records, arguing that they are incomplete and that several of the available primary sources already offer a credible assessment of the numbers involved. [36] Henry, worried about the enemy launching surprise raids, and wanting his troops to remain focused, ordered all his men to spend the night before the battle in silence, on pain of having an ear cut off. 33-35). The French had originally drawn up a battle plan that had archers and crossbowmen in front of their men-at-arms, with a cavalry force at the rear specifically designed to "fall upon the archers, and use their force to break them,"[71] but in the event, the French archers and crossbowmen were deployed behind and to the sides of the men-at-arms (where they seem to have played almost no part, except possibly for an initial volley of arrows at the start of the battle). They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. 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 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. One of the most renowned. 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. 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. [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. The terrain favoured Henrys army and disadvantaged its opponent, as it reduced the numerical advantage of the French army by narrowing the front. 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. [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. Thepostalleges that the Frenchhad planned to cut offthe middle fingers ofall captured English soldiers,to inhibit them fromdrawingtheir longbowsin futurebattles. 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. 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. 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). 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. This famous English longbow was . . The archers were commanded by Sir Thomas Erpingham, another elderly veteran. [114][115] Curry and Mortimer questioned the reliability of the Gesta, as there have been doubts as to how much it was written as propaganda for Henry V. Both note that the Gesta vastly overestimates the number of French in the battle; its proportions of English archers to men-at-arms at the battle are also different from those of the English army before the siege of Harfleur. [89] A slaughter of the French prisoners ensued. Agincourt. Materials characterization, 29(2), 111117. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2019 with bachelor's degrees in English Language and Literature and Medieval Studies. . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992 ISBN 0-19-282916-5 (p. 454). Agincourt 1415: The Triumph of the Longbow: Directed by Graham Holloway. 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. It continued as a series of battles, sieges, and disputes throughout the 14th century, with both the French and the English variously taking advantage. The effect of the victory on national morale was powerful. . He contrasts the modern, English king and his army with the medieval, chivalric, older model of the French. Most importantly, the battle was a significant military blow to France and paved the way for further English conquests and successes. On 25 October 1415, an army of English raiders under Henry V faced the French outside an obscure village on the road to Calais. 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. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 ( Saint Crispin's Day ), near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France. [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). Without a river obstacle to defend, the French were hesitant to force a battle. The military aspects of this account are similarly specious. [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. Your opponent is not going to pay you (or pay you much) for the return of mutilated soldiers, so now what do you do with them? Osprey Publishing. 138). 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. The Battle of Agincourt is well documented by at least seven contemporary accounts, three from eyewitnesses. This suggests that the French could have outnumbered the English 5 to 1. [68], Henry's men were already very weary from hunger, illness and retreat. 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. [39] Curry, Rogers[118] and Mortimer[42] all agree the French had 4 to 5 thousand missile troops. As the English were collecting prisoners, a band of French peasants led by local noblemen began plundering Henrys baggage behind the lines. Its origins can be traced back to 1066 . . "[102], Estimates of the number of prisoners vary between 700 and 2,200, amongst them the dukes of Orlans and Bourbon, the counts of Eu, Vendme, Richemont (brother of the Duke of Brittany and stepbrother of Henry V) and Harcourt, and marshal Jean Le Maingre.[12]. According to contemporary English accounts, Henry fought hand to hand. [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. [46] Many lords and gentlemen demanded and got places in the front lines, where they would have a higher chance to acquire glory and valuable ransoms; this resulted in the bulk of the men-at-arms being massed in the front lines and the other troops, for which there was no remaining space, to be placed behind. Subject: Truth About the Finger In the film Titanic the character Rose is shown giving the finger to Jack, another character. The idea being that you need two fingers to draw a bow, which makes more sense, and thus links up a national custom with a triumphant moment in national history! Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. The 'middle finger salute' did not derive from the defiant gestures of English archers whose fingers had been severed at the Battle of Agincourt. 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. [128] The original play does not, however, feature any scenes of the actual battle itself, leading critic Rose Zimbardo to characterise it as "full of warfare, yet empty of conflict. Another verse begins: You love to be sodomized, Papylus . [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. [93] Entire noble families were wiped out in the male line, and in some regions an entire generation of landed nobility was annihilated. "[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. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. Some historians trace its origins to ancient Rome. 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. One popular "origin story" for the middle finger has to do with the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. 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. [73] The mounted charge and subsequent retreat churned up the already muddy terrain between the French and the English. Originally representing the erect phallus, the gesture conveyssimultaneously a sexual threat to the person to whom it is directed andapotropaicmeans of warding off unwanted elements of the more-than-human. ( here ). The point is, the middle-finger/phallus equation goes back way before the Titanic, the Battle of Agincourt, or probably even that time Sextillus cut off Pylades with his chariot. Henry would marry Catherine, Charles VI's young daughter, and receive a dowry of 2million crowns. Supposedly, both originated at the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, . 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 . 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. It seems to me that the single upturned middle finger clearly represents an erect penis and is the gestural equivalent of saying f*ck you! As such, it is probably ancient Wikipedia certainly thinks so, although apparently it became popular in the United States in the late nineteenth century under the influence of Italian immigration, replacing other rude gestures like thumbing the nose or the fig sign. After the battle, the English taunted the survivors by showing off what wasn't cut off. 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. Some notable examples are listed below. In pursuit of his claim to the French throne, Henry V invaded Normandy with an army of 11,000 men in August 1415. The French, who were overwhelmingly favored to win the battle, Continue Reading 41 2 7 Alexander L When that campaign took place, it was made easier by the damage done to the political and military structures of Normandy by the battle. By 24 October, both armies faced each other for battle, but the French declined, hoping for the arrival of more troops. Keegan also speculated that due to the relatively low number of archers actually involved in killing the French knights (roughly 200 by his estimate), together with the refusal of the English knights to assist in a duty they saw as distastefully unchivalrous, and combined with the sheer difficulty of killing such a large number of prisoners in such a short space of time, the actual number of French prisoners put to death may not have been substantial before the French reserves fled the field and Henry rescinded the order. The longbow. The king received an axe blow to the head, which knocked off a piece of the crown that formed part of his helmet. . The origins of the sign aren't confirmed, but popular folklore suggests that its original meaning, packed with insult and ridicule, first appeared in the 20th century in the battle of Agincourt. It supposedly describes the origin of the middle-finger hand gesture and, by implication, the insult "fuck you". As John Keegan wrote in his history of warfare: "To meet a similarly equipped opponent was the occasion for which the armoured soldier trained perhaps every day of his life from the onset of manhood. In the other reference Martial writes that a certain party points a finger, an indecent one, at some other people. The English and Welsh archers on the flanks drove pointed wooden stakes, or palings, into the ground at an angle to force cavalry to veer off. Contents. On February 1, 1328, King Charles IV of France died without an heir. Unable to cross the Somme River because of French defenses, he was forced to take a detour inland and cross farther upstream.
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