25 October 2024

Agincourt, 1415

Today is the Feast of Ss Crispin & Crispinian and the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, which gave rise to Shakespeare's famous soliloquy in Henry V where the King rallies his troops to face the much larger French army.


This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be rememberèd—
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Pictured: Miniature Of King Henry V in the Regement of Princes by Thomas Hocclevec. 1411–1413

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