One final observation: any time some appeal begins with heres something that intelligent people will find edifying you should be suspicious. 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). [37], Henry made a speech emphasising the justness of his cause, and reminding his army of previous great defeats the kings of England had inflicted on the French. The town surrendered on 22 September, and the English army did not leave until 8 October. [76] Modern historians are divided on how effective the longbows would have been against plate armour of the time. [19], Henry V invaded France following the failure of negotiations with 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. One of the most renowned. 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. Soon after the battle started, it had thousands of English and French soldiers and horses running through it.
Why is showing the middle finger offensive? When, how, and - Quora [101] The bailiffs of nine major northern towns were killed, often along with their sons, relatives and supporters. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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.
What's the origin of "the finger"? - The Straight Dope [104] Henry returned a conquering hero, seen as blessed by God in the eyes of his subjects and European powers outside France. 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 so the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking yew". Wikipedia.
Saint Crispin's Day - Wikipedia Band of Brothers: Henry V and the Battle of Agincourt Since the French had many more men-at-arms than the English, they would accordingly be accompanied by a far greater number of servants. Keegan, John. On 25 October 1415, an army of English raiders under Henry V faced the French outside an obscure village on the road to Calais. Henry V's victory in the mud of Picardy remains the . [70]), The tightness of the terrain also seems to have restricted the planned deployment of the French forces. Rogers suggested that the French at the back of their deep formation would have been attempting to literally add their weight to the advance, without realising that they were hindering the ability of those at the front to manoeuvre and fight by pushing them into the English formation of lancepoints. [135] The battle also forms a central component of the 2019 Netflix film The King. . 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. David Mikkelson Published Sep 29, 1999. [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 legend that the "two-fingered salute" stems from the Battle of Agincourt is apocryphal Although scholars and historians continue to debate its origins, according to legend it was first. Materials characterization, 29(2), 111117. Henry would marry Catherine, Charles VI's young daughter, and receive a dowry of 2million crowns. "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? [34] The rearguard, leaderless, would serve as a "dumping ground" for the surplus troops. [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. 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 one-finger salute, or at any rate sexual gestures involving the middle finger, are thousands of years old. with chivalry. [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 traditional view of the years 131821 is one of domination 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. 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? Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The fighting lasted about three hours, but eventually the leaders of the second line were killed or captured, as those of the first line had been.
He contrasts the modern, English king and his army with the medieval, chivalric, older model of the French. Some notable examples are listed below. 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 A Dictionary of Superstitions.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992 ISBN 0-19-282916-5 (p. 454). [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. It was a disastrous attempt. [citation needed], In any event, Henry ordered the slaughter of what were perhaps several thousand French prisoners, sparing only the highest ranked (presumably those most likely to fetch a large ransom under the chivalric system of warfare). The fact that Winston Churchill sometimes made his V-for-victory gesture rudely suggests that it is of much more recent vintage. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Upon his death, a French assembly formed to appoint a male successor. This symbol of rocking out is formed by tucking the middle and index finger and holding them in place with the thumb.
PDF THE ENGLISH VS FRENCH - Carolina Traditional Archers They shadowed Henry's army while calling a semonce des nobles,[30] calling on local nobles to join the army. [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. . 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.
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. 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 archers were commanded by Sir Thomas Erpingham, another elderly veteran.
Medieval Archers (Everything you Need to Know) - The Finer Times The number is supported by many other contemporary accounts. On the morning of 25 October, the French were still waiting for additional troops to arrive. French knights, charging uphill, were unseated from their horses, either because their mounts were injured on the stakes or because they dismounted to uproot the obstacles, and were overpowered. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future. Its up there with heres something that they dont want you to know.. The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory in the Hundred Years' War.The battle took place on Friday, 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) in the County of Saint-Pol, Artois, some. Since pluck yew is rather difficult to say, like pheasant mother plucker, which is who you had to go to for the feathers used on the arrows for the longbow, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodental fricative f, and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger salute are mistakenly thought to have something to do with an intimate encounter. 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". 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. 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. [c], The English made their confessions before the battle, as was customary.
Battle of Agincourt - Wikipedia [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.
When 5,000 British Archers Defeated Over 30,000 French Knights Moreover, if archers could be ransomed, then cutting off their middle fingers would be a senseless move. 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 Burgundians seized on the opportunity and within 10 days of the battle had mustered their armies and marched on Paris. [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. He told his men that he would rather die in the coming battle than be captured and ransomed. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future. Although an audience vote was "too close to call", Henry was unanimously found guilty by the court on the basis of "evolving standards of civil society".[136][137][138]. 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. 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. 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! 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.
Battle of Agincourt and the origin of Fu#K | Origin story of middle It sounds rather fishy to me. 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? [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. The Battle of Agincourt is an iconic moment in English military history. [116] One particular cause of confusion may have been the number of servants on both sides, or whether they should at all be counted as combatants. 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. Fighting ignorance since 1973. 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. (Indeed, Henry V was heavily criticized for supposedly having ordered the execution of French prisoners at Agincourt. [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. 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. In Gestures: Their Origins and Distribution, Desmond Morris and colleagues note that the digitus infamis or digitus impudicus (infamous or indecent finger) is mentioned several times in the literature of ancient Rome. When the English won the battle the soldiers waved their middle fingers at the French in defiance, thus flipping the bird was born Thepostalleges that the Frenchhad planned to cut offthe middle fingers ofall captured English soldiers,to inhibit them fromdrawingtheir longbowsin futurebattles. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1991 ISBN 0-471-53672-5 (pp. October 25, 1415. Why do some people have that one extra-long fingernail on the pinkie 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 English army, led by King Henry V, famously achieved victory in spite of the numerical superiority of its opponent. 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! As the English were collecting prisoners, a band of French peasants led by local noblemen began plundering Henrys baggage behind the lines. 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. 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. [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. Nicolle, D. (2004). 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 city capitulated within six weeks, but the siege was costly. Some historians trace its origins to ancient Rome. [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. PLUCK YEW!". [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". Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future. Modern test and contemporary accounts conclude that arrows could not penetrate the better quality steel armour, which became available to knights and men-at-arms of fairly modest means by the middle of the 14th century, but could penetrate the poorer quality wrought iron armour. In 1999, Snopesdebunked more of the historical aspects of the claim, as well as thecomponent explaininghow the phrase pluck yew graduallychanged form to begin with an f( here ). Take on the burden and expense of caring for them? The trial ranged widely over whether there was just cause for war and not simply the prisoner issue. [68], Henry's men were already very weary from hunger, illness and retreat. 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. The Face of Battle. 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. 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).
This material may not be reproduced without permission. 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. But frankly, I suspect that the French would have done a lot worse to any captured English archers than chopping off their fingers. [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. The battlefield was a freshly plowed field, and at the time of the battle, it had been raining continuously for several days. [21] On 19 April 1415, Henry again asked the Great Council to sanction war with France, and this time they agreed. In March 2010, a mock trial of Henry V for the crimes associated with the slaughter of the prisoners was held in Washington, D.C., drawing from both the historical record and Shakespeare's play.
French history myths: The 'two fingers' insult comes from the Battle of Shakespeare's portrayal of the casualty loss is ahistorical in that the French are stated to have lost 10,000 and the English 'less than' thirty men, prompting Henry's remark, "O God, thy arm was here". Its origins can be traced back to 1066 . Bowman were not valuable prisoners, though: they stood outside the chivalric system and were considered the social inferiors of men-at-arms. 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. One popular "origin story" for the middle finger has to do with the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. As the story goes, the French were fighting with the English and had a diabolical (and greatly advertised) plan of cutting off the middle fingers of any captured English archers so they could never taunt the French with arrows plucked in their . [39] Curry, Rogers[118] and Mortimer[42] all agree the French had 4 to 5 thousand missile troops. [105] Other benefits to the English were longer term. Without a river obstacle to defend, the French were hesitant to force a battle. [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. 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. What does DO NOT HUMP mean on the side of railroad cars? 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 puzzler was: What was this body part? 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. This battle is notable for the use of the English longbow in very large numbers, with the English and Welsh archers comprising nearly 80 percent of Henry's army. Henry threatened to hang whoever did not obey his orders. 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. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. It forms the backdrop to events in William Shakespeare's play Henry V, written in 1599. Although the victory had been militarily decisive, its impact was complex. 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.
Battle of Agincourt - English History David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994. 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. 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. 78-116). 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. Humble English archers defeated the armoured elite of French chivalry, enshrining both the longbow and the battle in English national legend. When the archers ran out of arrows, they dropped their bows and, using hatchets, swords, and the mallets they had used to drive their stakes in, attacked the now disordered, fatigued and wounded French men-at-arms massed in front of them.