PAST AGE

The 'V' sign and Crossed Fingers.

If you cross the first and second fingers of your right hand in England it is a sign of good luck. Take those same fingers, but part them in the shape of a 'V', and it will be seen as a very bad insult. Both these signs are still in use today and have the same origins - back in the early 1400's!

Both of these gestures started in the 'Hundred Years War' between France and England (1337-1457) - and were born out of the devastating effect the English Lonwbow had in battle against the French.

At the battle of Agincourt in 1415, for example, 1,000 arrows were fired every second. After the battle, observers wrote that the white feathers from the flights were so thick on the ground, it looked like snow.

The longbows were drawn using the first and second fingers of the right hand. And so feared were the English Longbowmen that, when captured, the French would cut those two fingers off to render the bowman useless should he escape.

When the English archers held up those fingers upright and apart to taunt the French before a battle they were actually saying "See! I still have them!" and the "V" sign rapidly became a very insulting gesture.

On the other hand, the "crossed fingers" was a sign of hope and good luck exchanged between Englishmen before a battle, meaning that these fingers and, therefore, they themselves would survive.

The Hundred Years War

1337-1457; series of conflicts, spanning more than 100 years, between England and France. Edward III of England, claimed that he was the legal heir to the French throne through his mother, Isabella, sister to King Charles IV of France, who had died in 1328. The French, however, said that the crown could not descend through the female line and gave the throne to Philip VI, cousin to the deceased king.

Agincourt

Sources widely vary as to the size of the French army. Some put the lowest estimates as 30,000 men and some put them as high as 150,000 men. In reality the lowest estimate is probably closer to the truth. King Henry V had initially tried to avoid a battle by offering to return Harfleur and all the prisoners that the English had taken. The French replied agreeing to this but in addition they demanded that he must renounce his claim to the French throne in order to leave France without fighting. This Henry refused to do and the battle was an inevitable consequence. The French were extremely confident of victory because of their enormous numerical superiority. Records show that the soldiers spent the night before the battle singing and taunting the English across the lines who were within earshot. One account even mentioned that the French were betting on how many captives they would take.

However, the English had a number of things in their favour that the French had ignored. Unlike many armies of the time, Henry V had planned this expedition very carefully and his army was unlike many of those of the times. Throughout Europe it was normal practice for an army to be made up of Commoners (normal people) supplied by the local landowner as part of his feudal dues.- In contrast, Henry’s army was specially recruited, his men were well paid, well trained and extremely disciplined. Much of his army comprised of expert archers who were professionals and well practiced with the English longbow. One key factor was that King Henry V was a truly charismatic commander and was popular with his men. Unlike many kings Henry was able to motivate his troops. One of the most famous speeches in Shakespeare’s plays is Henry’s actual address to his men prior to the battle.
Some of the real conversation from people who took part in the battle has been passed down to us. One commander, Sir Walter Hungerford, said on the eve of the battle “they had not but one ten thousand of those men in England who do no work today”. Henry replied, “Wot you not that the Lord with these few can overthrow the pride of the French?” Shakespeare’s version of this sentiment is more elegant:

If we are marked to die, we are enough,
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honor.

The French Army

The French had a far superior force in numbers but they lacked the English training, discipline and organisation. They became overconfident thinking that as they outnumbered the English by so much that they would easily win. The French king, Charles VI, was both weak and mentally ill. As such he was unfit to lead his army so it was delegated to Charles D’Albert who was the Constable of France and also to Boucicault, the Marshal. Even though they were both experienced soldiers, capable of commanding the army effectively, they were looked upon with scorn by the French knights (and nobles). It was seen that the two commanders were not of high enough a social rank to command knights and so many orders were ignored on purpose. This was a fatal flaw for the French and led to the slaughter of their forces.

The Battlefield

The French army had chosen the worst place to fight. Near to Agincourt the road to Calais passed between two thick forests not quite a mile apart at the French end and narrowing towards the English end. This was not the best place for a French attack as they could not move round the side of the English to outflank them. Furthermore, as they advanced on the English, the trees would force them closer and closer together. Henry arranged his troops carefully with his archers taking up positions on the flanks and between the men-at-arms. Despite the French having the advantage in numbers they refused to start the attack. At about 11 o’clock on St. Crispin’s Day, Henry became tired of waiting and he gave the order “In the name of God Almighty and of Saint George, Avount Banner in the best of the year, and Saint George this day be thine help”. The English replied with loud cries of "Hurrah! Hurrah! Saint George and Merrie England” and they advanced to within 300 yards of the French lines. Following their commanders' orders the English halted and planted lines of angled sharpened stakes whilst the French watched. These stakes were to break up any cavalry charges and to protect the English troops. As soon as the stakes were in position the longbowmen, on the command of their officers, let loose the first of their deadly volleys of arrows.
The English longbow was a lethal weapon. An ordinary man could be trained to be a skilled archer who was capable of shooting six carefully aimed arrows a minute. These would wound at 400 yards, kill at 200 yards and penetrate armour at 100 yards. The archers were supplied with different arrowheads for penetrating armour, killing men or disabling horses.
The French army was lined up in three ranks from the edge of one forest to the other, and the men had little room to move. So closely packed were the three ranks that their archers were having trouble firing and loading their crossbows and the French cannons could not be used effectively. Volleys of English arrows were falling on the front ranks of the French and this prompted them to charge forwards. As the knights (on horses) led the first charge the effect of the forests converging started to tell. They were pushed closer and closer together and that churned up the mud of the field until it soon became like a bog. This slowed down the whole French force and the slippery mud caused the next ranks to slip and fall. As the front ranks neared the English lines (no longer charging at any real speed) volley after volley of precisely aimed arrows stuck the leaders who were killed or dismounted.
The front ranks of men were slain and fell to the ground which slowed up the horses in the next rank. The rear rank could not see what was happening and pressed the whole army forwards, slowly, into the English arrows. Those men who managed to reach the front had to climb over a growing mountain of dead and dying men and horses which slowed them up even more. The few men who did cross the mound of dead were slain as they revealed themselves to the accurate English archers. The charge had petered out and the surviving French were in total confusion so the Archers put their bows over their shoulders and advanced with swords to complete their work. Trying to save themselves from an ignominious defeat the French sent in a second wave of troops which crushed and trampled to death their wounded. Once again the English troops slaughtered any that managed to pass the pile of dead and the French finally withdrew.
The English soldiers took some 1600 French wounded and dazed men prisoner and sent them back behind the English lines for ransom later. This would yield each man a significant amount of money in bounty.
Unfortunately the French peasants who had turned out to watch the English being defeated grew angry and decided that they too should share in the spoils of the battle. The fact that they would be stripping their own countrymen of money and riches did not upset them one bit! Taking advantage of the fact that the English had not guarded the French prisoners very well, the peasants started to loot and steal from the baggage train. The uniformed prisoners and the looting peasants were mistaken for a French army attacking the rear of the English lines with the result that Henry gave the order to kill the prisoners to prevent them escaping and fighting. His guards refused because of the loss of ransom if the prisoners were killed but then carried out his orders. After threatening his own men with a few hundred archers they commenced the slaughter of the prisoners. Once it was realised that the 'attack' was the looting French peasants the orders were given to stop the killing, but only a few of the most valuable prisoners remained alive.
The French commanders were now aware not only that the battle was a disaster for them, but they were becoming aware of just how great a disaster it was. No orders were given to retreat as the French soldiers had already started to slip away from the battle and then if became a full blown rout as they ran from the battlefield.

The Aftermath

The figures for the final number of casualties vary greatly. Shakespeare gave the number of English killed dead as "four nobles and 25 regular troops". Other figures mention 500 - 1000 English dead, but historians accept the real figure as being in the order of 100 to 200. French losses are better documented. At the time it was estimated by the French authorities that between 8000 and 11000 were slain. This includes about 1500 slaughtered prisoners.
Part of the French way of life never survived this defeat because a whole generation of French nobles were slain. There was hardly a single noble family who did not lose men that day and many family lines were wiped out forever.
The English collected so much loot on the battlefield that they could not carry or move it. In the end much of it was destroyed in order to prevent it getting back to the French.
The victorious army returned to England and more English armies were dispatched to France to replace them. Those Englishmen, including the longbowmen, went on to win more battles until, eventually, the French King, King Charles VI agreed to let Henry inherit France. Not only that, but he let Henry marry his daughter.

Shakespeare’s Henry V contains perhaps the best known description of the battle which forms a major part of the play. Shakespeare’s version of Henry’s pre-battle oration is one of the most stirring passages of English literature.