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A Welsh courtier with the boldness to bed the queen lost his head this date in 1461 … but his career in usurpation was just getting started. The House of Tudor that would come to rule England counted Owen its sire; the four-year-old grandson he left at his death grew up to become the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII. Owen produced the root of this august line with Dowager Queen Catherine of Valois, the French princess Henry V had extracted as part of the price of peace after Agincourt. That union was supposed to join the two great realms, but...

Henry V was a power-hungry imperialist rather than an English hero, the Globe’s latest production of the William Shakespeare play will suggest. Rather than lauding a “band of brothers” defeating the French against the odds at Agincourt, the new staging will show audiences the “devastating cost” of Henry’s “bombastic pursuit of power”.

[37:13] Legend of popular history Mike Loades provides Dan a detailed run down of Henry V's famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415 and how his men were more a band of brigands than a 'band of brothers'. They discuss the arms, the armour, the tactics and the popular myths today associated with the battle, thanks to the immortal works of Shakespeare and Laurence Olivier.Historian Mike Loades Debunks 'The Agincourt Myth' | October 24, 2021 | History Hit

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, when the English under King Henry V defeated the French on St. Crispin's Day (25 October) of that year. Henry (1387-1422) followed his father King Henry IV to the throne in 1413 and two years later announced his claim to the French throne and rekindled the Hundred Years War by invading Normandy. In a post-battle compromise, Henry later married Catherine of Valois and was named by France's Charles VI as his successor, but Henry's untimely death to illness in 1422 prevented him from assuming the French kingship. This is...

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt (wiki) in 1415, when the English under King Henry V defeated the French on St. Crispin's Day (25 October) of that year. Henry (1387-1422) followed his father King Henry IV to the throne in 1413 and two years later announced his claim to the French throne and rekindled the Hundred Years War by invading Normandy. This is also the anniversary of the "the charge of the Light Brigade" (wiki) at the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854. Although of relatively little importance in the larger context of the Crimean War,...

In the world of Henry V, the Battle of Agincourt is a source of bursting pride for the English, a wellspring of superiority over the French and proof of the soul of those from the Isle. In spite of the inspiring speeches, the battle has passed into history as one of the enduring examples of a well-positioned army besting a much larger force. Were it not for the story of the triumphant underdog, Agincourt would have fallen into international obscurity with much of the Hundred Years’ War, a simmering conflict for the French throne that spanned from 1337 to 1453....

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.

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...

MAISONCELLE, France — The heavy clay-laced mud behind the cattle pen on Antoine Renault’s farm looks as treacherous as it must have been nearly 600 years ago, when King Henry V rode from a spot near here to lead a sodden and exhausted English Army against a French force that was said to outnumber his by as much as five to one. snip...They devastated a force of heavily armored French nobles who had gotten bogged down in the region’s sucking mud, riddled by thousands of arrows from English longbowmen and outmaneuvered by common soldiers with much lighter gear. It would...

The Day Of the Battle It rained for most of the night turning the ground sodden with ankle deep mud in some places. Both armies rose before dawn and assembled for battle, the English numbering 5000 archers and 900 men-at-arms and the French between 20-30,000. The rules of chivalry dictate that the field of battle should favor neither side but the French freely took up a position that was disadvantageous to them. They assembled perhaps 1000 yards apart, separated by a recently ploughed field. A slight dip between them ensured that the armies were in full view of each other....

The future King Henry V was hit by an arrow to the face at the Battle of Shrewsbury -- how did he survive? This was the topic of a paper given by Michael Livingston at the 48th International Congress on Medieval Studies. Livingston, an Associate Professor at The Citadel, explains what happened in one of the most remarkable cases of battlefield surgery from the Middle Ages -- the arrow wound suffered by the future Henry V at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. Prince Henry was only 16 years old when he marched with his father's forces to Shrewsbury in...

During the Hundred Years' War, England had a centralized, state-controlled organization for manufacturing arrows in bulk. These were then issued as required to the soldiers on campaign. In June 1413, for example, Henry V appointed Nicholas Mynot to be “keeper of the king's arrows,” based in the Tower of London. Mynot was responsible for making arrows, but the royal fletchers alone could not supply the total need, so additional orders were placed with outside suppliers. In August 1413, for example, London-based fletcher Stephen Seler was paid for 12,000 arrows. We have some total figures available. In 1418, Henry V's government...

One of Shakespeare’s most famous passages comes from actual history and the words of England’s King Henry V, on the eve of the Battle of Agincourt in Northern France in 1415. Rallying his severely outnumbered men, Henry V said: “From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remember’d; We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother” Nearly 600 years ago, Shakespeare knew about the power of camaraderie among fighting men. So did those who went before him: the Crusaders,...

When farmer Ifor Edwards dropped his keys in a field he had no idea the search to find them would result in the discovery of buried treasure. Mr Edwards, 56 and his wife Anna, 40, called in enthusiasts from Wrexham Heritage Society when he lost his keys on land at Oak Farm in Bronington, near Whitchurch. But as well as finding his keys -- which had gone through a lawn mower -- the team armed with metal detectors also found 14 mediaeval coins dated from the 14th and 15th centuries. At an inquest in Ruthin the North East Wales Coroner...

Tt is often regarded as the British Army’s greatest military victory. Led into battle by the Duke of Wellington, UK troops routed Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, a triumph ushering in almost a century of peace and stability in Europe. But the Government is refusing to mark the battle’s 200th anniversary in 2015 amid suspicions it does not want to offend France. SNIP Brussels is spending at least £20million on commemorative events, including restoring the battlefield. SNIP James Morrow, secretary of Waterloo 200, ...said he was ‘disappointed’. SNIP ‘The Belgian government has spent millions on events to commemorate the...

This day is called the feast of Crispian: He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named, And rouse him at the name of Crispian. 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....

Medieval suits of armour were so exhausting to wear that they could have affected the outcomes of famous battles, a study suggests. Scientists monitored volunteers fitted with 15th Century replica armour as they walked and ran on treadmills. They found that the subjects used high levels of energy, bore immense weight on their legs and suffered from restricted breathing. The research is published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The effect of the heavy armour was so great, that the researchers believe it may have have had an impact on the Battle of Agincourt. "It is a huge...

Enter the KING WESTMORELAND. O that we now had here But one ten thousand of those men in England That do no work to-day! KING. What's he that wishes so? My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin; If we are mark'd to die, we are enow To do our country loss; and if to live, The fewer men, the greater share of honour. God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, I am not covetous for gold, Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; It yearns me not if men my garments wear; Such...

The heavy clay-laced mud behind the cattle pen on Antoine Renault’s farm looks as treacherous as it must have been nearly 600 years ago, when King Henry V rode from a spot near here to lead a sodden and exhausted English Army against a French force that was said to outnumber his by as much as five to one. No one can ever take away the shocking victory by Henry and his “band of brothers,” as Shakespeare would famously call them, on St. Crispin’s Day, Oct. 25, 1415. They devastated a force of heavily armored French nobles who had gotten...

October 25 is fraught with anniversaries. It marks a turning point in European history that was to later provide one of the greatest speeches ever to emerge from the English language and that has inspired millions for over 400 years. We are speaking here, of course, of the Battle of Agincourt that was fought on the feast of St. Crispin's Day in 1415 when young King Henry V and his army defeated the French army under the command of Constable d’Albret and his 100,000 men