Posted on 10/25/2019 10:45:40 PM PDT by jonascord
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say "To-morrow is Saint Crispian."
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say "These wounds I had on Crispin's day."
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words—
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester—
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
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.
w00t!
Battle of Agincourt: 25 October 1415
Band of brother’s speech on St. Crispin’s day from Henry V: https://youtu.be/bvFHRNGYfuo
I thought this was a fake story to give that guy on the stage in “Tombstone” a good speech to make.
Son of a b.... it’s real.
25th October was also the anniversary of the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava.
Quite a day that was 165 years ago - you had the bravery and obstinacy of the ‘Thin Red Line’, and the improbable but effective Charge of the Heavy Brigade, both overshadowed by the catastrophe in the Valley of Death, immortalised by Tennyson’s poem.
Honour the Light Brigade...
Because it’s time.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s historical novels of this time period are worthwhile reading. Read The White Company first, then the prequel, Sir Nigel. While Agincourt isn’t involved, Sir Nigel involves Poitiers, another major battle of the 100 Years War. Both are available for download free at Gutenberg.org.
Olivier in Hamlet and Branagh in Henry V !
The Brigadier Gerard stories, set in the Napoleonic Wars, are a great read as well. (There is no relation between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Brigadier Gerard and the historical French officer who became one of Napoleon’s Marshals.)
Agreed, I’ve read all of those, both SACD’s Gerard, and (likely embellished) autobiography of the real-life French Baron (never got his Marshal’s baton) he was modeled after.
Of that list, Sir John Talbot is the most interesting to me. Yes, he excelled at Agincourt, but he was most influential at the siege of Harfleur, which arguably had more impact than Agincourt anyway.
The immortalized charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War was likely the result of a miscommunication. The charge was supposed to be down an adjoining valley, not the “valley of death” where it actually occurred.
Just to be clear. The speech was never given at the Battle. It was created by Shakespeare (or whomever wrote Henry V)
My favorite rendition of the speech.
Mine, too.
Interesting video about the removal of a bodkin from the skull of young Prince Henry...Ingenious design for its time...
Without the skill of this surgeon and that of the unknown smiths who forged his instrument there would have been no Henry V...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8Nef1siUus
“The immortalized charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War was likely the result of a miscommunication. The charge was supposed to be down an adjoining valley, not the “valley of death” where it actually occurred.”
I have read it was two brothers-in-law who disliked each other intensely that caused the attack on the wrong target.
Lt General George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, was the overall commander of cavalry and the brother-in-law of Major General James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, commander of the Light Brigade. The two men could barely stand to be in the same country, much less in the same chain of command.
Supposedly when Bingham gave the order for the charge he gave no specifics. When Brudnell asked for specifics Bingham was said to made a sweeping gesture, said “the enemy is there” and stalked off.
The rest we know.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.