During this battle, the medieval archers started ahead of the army and commenced the action. The English army, led by King Henry V, famously achieved victory in spite of the numerical superiority of its opponent. [54] To disperse the enemy archers, a cavalry force of 8001,200 picked men-at-arms,[55] led by Clignet de Brban and Louis de Bosredon, was distributed evenly between both flanks of the vanguard (standing slightly forward, like horns). As the English were collecting prisoners, a band of French peasants led by local noblemen began plundering Henrys baggage behind the lines. 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! [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. Some historians trace its origins to ancient Rome. King Charles VI of France did not command the French army as he suffered from psychotic illnesses and associated mental incapacity. [135] The battle also forms a central component of the 2019 Netflix film The King. 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 original usage of this mudra can be traced back as far as the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The Hundred Years' War. Agincourt 1415: The Triumph of the Longbow (Video 1993) - IMDb This head-lowered position restricted their breathing and their vision. Henry V and the resumption of the Hundred Years War, That fought with us upon Saint Crispins day, https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Agincourt, World History Encyclopedia - Battle of Agincourt, Warfare History Network - Miracle in the Mud: The Hundred Years' War's Battle of Agincourt, Battle of Agincourt - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). PLUCK YEW!". 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. "[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]. Turning to our vast classical library, we quickly turn up three references. 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 body part which the French proposed to cut off of the English after defeating them was, of course, the middle finger, without which it is impossible to draw the renowned English longbow. Henry V's victory in the mud of Picardy remains the . Idiom Origins - Middle finger - History of Middle finger A Short History of "Flipping the Bird" - OddFeed The battlefield was a freshly plowed field, and at the time of the battle, it had been raining continuously for several days. [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 Battle of Agincourt (720p) Watch on [34] The rearguard, leaderless, would serve as a "dumping ground" for the surplus troops. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1991 ISBN 0-471-53672-5 (pp. The effect of the victory on national morale was powerful. Nonetheless, so many readers have forwarded it to us accompanied by an "Is this true?" Soon after the battle started, it had thousands of English and French soldiers and horses running through it. 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". Jones, P. N. (1992). 10+ True Battle Agincourt Facts That Will Make You Look Stupid 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. 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. 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. What is Mudra, ancient times to modern classic and controversial Kill them outright and violate the medieval moral code of civilized warfare? With 4,800 men-at-arms in the vanguard, 3,000 in the main battle, and 1,200 in the infantry wings. Barker states that some knights, encumbered by their armour, actually drowned in their helmets.[64]. [84] The exhausted French men-at-arms were unable to get up after being knocked to the ground by the English. Omissions? Its up there with heres something that they dont want you to know.. Eventually the archers abandoned their longbows and began fighting hand-to-hand with swords and axes alongside the men-at-arms. The Battle of Agincourt [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. [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. Winston Churchhill can be seen using the V as a rallying call. This moment of the battle is portrayed both as a break with the traditions of chivalry and as a key example of the paradox of kingship. The English eyewitness account comes from the anonymous author of the Gesta Henrici Quinti, believed to have been written by a chaplain in the King's household who would have been in the baggage train at the battle. Without the middle finger it would be impossible for the English soldiers to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore incapable of fighting in the future. Whether this was true is open to question and continues to be debated to this day; however, it seems likely that death was the normal fate of any soldier who could not be ransomed. 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. [51] Albret, Boucicaut and almost all the leading noblemen were assigned stations in the vanguard. Inthe book,Corbeillpoints to Priapus, a minor deityhedatesto 400 BC, whichlater alsoappears in Rome as the guardian of gardens,according to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Greece and Rome( here ). Dear Cecil: Can you confirm the following? The Battle of Agincourt was immortalized by William Shakespeare in his play Henry V. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Very quickly after the battle, the fragile truce between the Armagnac and Burgundian factions broke down. The earliest known photograph of "the finger," given by Charles "Old David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994. Didn't it originate at Agincourt? 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. Two are from the epigrammatist Martial: Laugh loudly, Sextillus, when someone calls you a queen and put your middle finger out., (The verse continues: But you are no sodomite nor fornicator either, Sextillus, nor is Vetustinas hot mouth your fancy. Martial, and Roman poets in general, could be pretty out there, subject-matter-wise. King Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt, 1415 by Sir John Gilbert, Atkinson Art Gallery, Southport, Lancashire. Details the English victory over the French at the Battle of Agincourt. .). [39] Curry, Rogers[118] and Mortimer[42] all agree the French had 4 to 5 thousand missile troops. So they were already overcome with fatigue even before they advanced against the enemy". He contrasts the modern, English king and his army with the medieval, chivalric, older model of the French. 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 'middle finger salute' did not derive from the defiant gestures of English archers whose fingers had been severed at the Battle of Agincourt. [23] The army of about 12,000 men and up to 20,000 horses besieged the port of Harfleur. 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. Rather than retire directly to England for the winter, with his costly expedition resulting in the capture of only one town, Henry decided to march most of his army (roughly 9,000) through Normandy to the port of Calais, the English stronghold in northern France, to demonstrate by his presence in the territory at the head of an army that his right to rule in the duchy was more than a mere abstract legal and historical claim. The English King Henry V and his troops were marching to Calais to embark for England when he was intercepted by forces which outnumbered his. Since the French had many more men-at-arms than the English, they would accordingly be accompanied by a far greater number of servants. [87] Whether this was part of a deliberate French plan or an act of local brigandage is unclear from the sources. When Henry V acceded to the English throne in 1413, there had been a long hiatus in the fighting. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992 ISBN 0-19-282916-5 (p. 454). The two armies spent the night of 24 October on open ground. You would think that anything English predating 1607, such as the language, Protestantism, or the Common Law, would have been a part of Americas patrimony. For three hours after sunrise there was no fighting. (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.). On February 1, 1328, King Charles IV of France died without an heir. [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. [34] It is likely that the English adopted their usual battle line of longbowmen on either flank, with men-at-arms and knights in the centre. Contents. Common estimates place the English army at about 6,000, while the French army probably consisted of 20,000 to 30,000 men. [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. [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 cavalry force, which could have devastated the English line if it had attacked while they moved their stakes, charged only after the initial volley of arrows from the English. (Storyline based on the play by William Shakespeare "The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Batt. The deep, soft mud particularly favoured the English force because, once knocked to the ground, the heavily armoured French knights had a hard time getting back up to fight in the mle. 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. The Battle of Agincourt forms a key part of Shakespeare's Henry V. Photo by Nick Ansell / POOL / AFP) Myth: During the Hundred Years War, the French cut off the first and second fingers of any. Agincourt. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. An account purporting to offer the historical origins of the obscene middle-finger extended hand gesture (varously known as "flipping the bird," "flipping someone off," or the "one-finger salute") is silly, and so obviously a joke that shouldn't need any debunking. Plucking The Yew - Jerry Pournelle It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. I suppose that the two-fingered salute could still come from medieval archery, even if it didnt come specifically from the Battle of Agincourt, although the example that Wikipedia links to (the fourteenth-century Luttrell Psalter) is ambiguous. [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]. The approximate location of the battle has never been disputed, and the site remains relatively unaltered after 600 years. 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 established the legitimacy of the Lancastrian monarchy and the future campaigns of Henry to pursue his "rights and privileges" in France. Why is the missionary position called that? In December 1414, the English parliament was persuaded to grant Henry a "double subsidy", a tax at twice the traditional rate, to recover his inheritance from the French. The Most Famous, Bloodiest Medieval Battle - AGINCOURT - Full - YouTube The puzzler was: What was this body part? 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. PDF THE ENGLISH VS FRENCH - Carolina Traditional Archers The delay allowed a large French force, led by the constable Charles dAlbret and the marshal Jean II le Meingre (called Boucicaut), to intercept him near the village of Agincourt on October 24. 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. Shakespeare's version of the battle of Agincourt has been turned into several minor and two major films. Keegan, John. [49], The French vanguard and main battle numbered respectively 4,800 and 3,000 men-at-arms. The basic premise that the origins of the one-finger gesture and its association with the profane word "fuck" were an outgrowth of the 1415 battle between French and English forces at Agincourt is simple enough to debunk. The archers were commanded by Sir Thomas Erpingham, another elderly veteran. But lets not quibble. 030223 - Musings From Leroy The struggle began in 1337 when King Edward III of England claimed the title King of France over Philip VI and invaded Flanders. This famous weapon was made of the native English yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew." It. This symbol of rocking out is formed by tucking the middle and index finger and holding them in place with the thumb. This material may not be reproduced without permission. [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. Most importantly, the battle was a significant military blow to France and paved the way for further English conquests and successes. 78-116). The battle remains an important symbol in popular culture. [48] On account of the lack of space, the French drew up a third battle, the rearguard, which was on horseback and mainly comprised the varlets mounted on the horses belonging to the men fighting on foot ahead. New York: Penguin Books, 1978 ISBN 0-140-04897-9 (pp. . [73] The mounted charge and subsequent retreat churned up the already muddy terrain between the French and the English. Legendinc.com Giving the Finger History By 1415, negotiations had ground to a halt, with the English claiming that the French had mocked their claims and ridiculed Henry himself. Without a river obstacle to defend, the French were hesitant to force a battle. [50] Both lines were arrayed in tight, dense formations of about 16 ranks each, and were positioned a bowshot length from each other. [106] This lack of unity in France allowed Henry eighteen months to prepare militarily and politically for a renewed campaign. 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. 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. [76] Modern historians are divided on how effective the longbows would have been against plate armour of the time. 78-116). [89] A slaughter of the French prisoners ensued. (Its taking longer than we thought.) Battle of Agincourt - The English Really Should Have Lost, But They Won What's the origin of "the finger"? - The Straight Dope Battle of Agincourt - English History Thinking it was an attack from the rear, Henry had the French nobles he was holding prisoner killed. [126], Shakespeare's depiction of the battle also plays on the theme of modernity. (Indeed, Henry V was heavily criticized for supposedly having ordered the execution of French prisoners at Agincourt. In the song Hotel California, what does colitas mean? 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. 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. [105] Other benefits to the English were longer term. A Dictionary of Superstitions. False. 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 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. If the one-fingered salute comes from Agincourt, as the graphic suggests, then at what point did it get transformed into two fingers in England? The Battle Of Agincourt: What Really Happened? | HistoryExtra Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 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. [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. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future. Contemporary chroniclers did not criticise him for it. Battle of Agincourt and the origin of Fu#K | Origin story of middle The metallography and relative effectiveness of arrowheads and armor during the Middle Ages. Update [June 20, 2022]: Updated SEO/social. These heralds were not part of the participating armies, but were, as military expert John Keegan describes, members of an "international corporation of experts who regulated civilized warfare." 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. Over the years some 'folk etymologies' have grown up around this symbolic gesture. 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. [c], The English made their confessions before the battle, as was customary. By 24 October, both armies faced each other for battle, but the French declined, hoping for the arrival of more troops. They were successful for a time, forcing Henry to move south, away from Calais, to find a ford. [101] The bailiffs of nine major northern towns were killed, often along with their sons, relatives and supporters. What does DO NOT HUMP mean on the side of railroad cars? [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). Unable to cross the Somme River because of French defenses, he was forced to take a detour inland and cross farther upstream. 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. 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. The English men-at-arms in plate and mail were placed shoulder to shoulder four deep. Osprey Publishing. Henry would marry Catherine, Charles VI's young daughter, and receive a dowry of 2million crowns. Some notable examples are listed below. [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. Jean de Wavrin, a knight on the French side wrote that English fatalities were 1,600 men of all ranks. 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. 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. This famous weapon was made of the . Opie, Iona and Moira Tatem. The English account in the Gesta Henrici says: "For when some of them, killed when battle was first joined, fall at the front, so great was the undisciplined violence and pressure of the mass of men behind them that the living fell on top of the dead, and others falling on top of the living were killed as well."[62]. A widely shared image on social media purportedly explains the historic origins of the middle finger, considered an offensive gesture in Western culture. By most contemporary accounts, the French army was also significantly larger than the English, though the exact degree of their numerical superiority is disputed. A BBCNews Magazinereportsimilarlytracesthe gesture back toAncient Greek philosophers ( here ). Corrections? Battle of Agincourt, (October 25, 1415), decisive battle in the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) that resulted in the victory of the English over the French. 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. 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. . And where does the distinction between one and two fingers come from? After several decades of relative peace, the English had resumed the war in 1415 amid the failure of negotiations with the French. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. giving someone the middle finger It seems clear, however, that the English were at a decided numerical disadvantage. The next line of French knights that poured in found themselves so tightly packed (the field narrowed at the English end) that they were unable to use their weapons effectively, and the tide of the battle began to turn toward the English. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here . 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. Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say (like "pleasant mother pheasant plucker", which is who you had to go to for the feathers used on the arrows), 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.