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Great Battles
Agincourt
Agincourt (1415) is an exceptionally famous battle, one that has generated a huge and enduring cultural legacy in the six hundred years since it was fought. Everybody thinks they know what the battle was about. Even John Lennon, aged 12, wrote a poem and drew a picture headed 'Agincourt'.
But why and how has Agincourt come to mean so much, to so many? Why do so many people claim their ancestors served at the battle? Is the Agincourt of popular image the real Agincourt, or is our idea of the battle simply taken from Shakespeare's famous depiction of it? Written by the world's leading expert on the battle, this book shows just why it has occupied such a key place in English identity and history in the six centuries since it was fought, exploring a cultural legacy that
stretches from bowmen to Beatles, via Shakespeare, Dickens, and the First World War.
Anne Curry first sets the scene, illuminating how and why the battle was fought, as well as its significance in the wider history of the Hundred Years War. She then takes the Agincourt story through the centuries from 1415 to 2015, from the immediate, and sometimes surprising, responses to it on both sides of the Channel, through its reinvention by Shakespeare in King Henry V (1599), and the enduring influence of both the play and the film versions of it, especially the patriotic
Laurence Olivier version of 1944, at the time of the D-Day landings in Normandy.
But the legacy of Agincourt does not begin and end with Shakespeare's play: from the eighteenth century onwards, on both sides of the Channel and in both the English and French speaking worlds the battle was used as an explanation of national identity, giving rise to jingoistic works in print and music. It was at this time that it became fashionable for the gentry to identify themselves with the victory, and in the Victorian period the Agincourt archer came to be emphasized as the epitome of
'English freedom'. Indeed, even today, historians continue to 'refight' the battle - an academic contest which has intensified over recent years, in the run-up to the sixth hundredth anniversary year of 2015.
But why and how has Agincourt come to mean so much, to so many? Why do so many people claim their ancestors served at the battle? Is the Agincourt of popular image the real Agincourt, or is our idea of the battle simply taken from Shakespeare's famous depiction of it? Written by the world's leading expert on the battle, this book shows just why it has occupied such a key place in English identity and history in the six centuries since it was fought, exploring a cultural legacy that
stretches from bowmen to Beatles, via Shakespeare, Dickens, and the First World War.
Anne Curry first sets the scene, illuminating how and why the battle was fought, as well as its significance in the wider history of the Hundred Years War. She then takes the Agincourt story through the centuries from 1415 to 2015, from the immediate, and sometimes surprising, responses to it on both sides of the Channel, through its reinvention by Shakespeare in King Henry V (1599), and the enduring influence of both the play and the film versions of it, especially the patriotic
Laurence Olivier version of 1944, at the time of the D-Day landings in Normandy.
But the legacy of Agincourt does not begin and end with Shakespeare's play: from the eighteenth century onwards, on both sides of the Channel and in both the English and French speaking worlds the battle was used as an explanation of national identity, giving rise to jingoistic works in print and music. It was at this time that it became fashionable for the gentry to identify themselves with the victory, and in the Victorian period the Agincourt archer came to be emphasized as the epitome of
'English freedom'. Indeed, even today, historians continue to 'refight' the battle - an academic contest which has intensified over recent years, in the run-up to the sixth hundredth anniversary year of 2015.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 27, 2015
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About the author
Anne Curry
57 books18 followersAnne Curry is Professor of Medieval History and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Southampton, after teaching for many years at the University of Reading. She has published many books and articles on the Hundred Years War, as well as definitive works on Agincourt itself and an on-line database of all known soldiers between 1369 and 1453 (www.medievalsoldier.org ). An historical advisor to the battlefield centres at Azincourt, Shrewsbury, and Bosworth, she is co-chair of the "Agincourt 600" committee, tasked with organizing the commemorations of the sixth hundredth anniversary of the battle. President of the Historical Association between 2008 and 2011, she is also a former Vice-President of the Royal Historical Society.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 24, 2018
Anne Curry has written a lot about the history of the Battle of Agincourt, most notably her Agincourt: A New History. This slim volume, however, is not so much about the historical Agincourt, but the history of the battle as a cultural object (which, I gather, is the point of the Great Battles series this is a part of).
Thus, while the book contains a historical overview of the battle, Curry’s focus soon shifts onto early interpretations of the battle, moving onto the impact of Shakespeare’s Henry V (which seems to have superseded all versions of Henry V and Agincourt), its role in national identity, the myths and traditions that have grown up around it, including literary and art versions of the battles. The final chapter is dedicated to the developing historical and archaeological research and academic debates.
In other words, this is quite a fascinating, broad look at Agincourt. There are parts I believe could be a little longer – I would’ve been interested in a broader exploration of the literary Agincourts, for example. It exposes the myths and legends of the battle and how much of the battle that is misunderstood or a mystery. Five stars.
Thus, while the book contains a historical overview of the battle, Curry’s focus soon shifts onto early interpretations of the battle, moving onto the impact of Shakespeare’s Henry V (which seems to have superseded all versions of Henry V and Agincourt), its role in national identity, the myths and traditions that have grown up around it, including literary and art versions of the battles. The final chapter is dedicated to the developing historical and archaeological research and academic debates.
In other words, this is quite a fascinating, broad look at Agincourt. There are parts I believe could be a little longer – I would’ve been interested in a broader exploration of the literary Agincourts, for example. It exposes the myths and legends of the battle and how much of the battle that is misunderstood or a mystery. Five stars.
June 5, 2016
Excellent study not just of the battle but it's later part in mythology.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews