One of the most renowned. The image makes the claim that the gesture derives from English soldiers at the Battle of Agincourt, France in 1415. Winston Churchhill can be seen using the V as a rallying call. [32] In 2019, the historian Michael Livingston also made the case for a site west of Azincourt, based on a review of sources and early maps. A complete coat of plate was considered such good protection that shields were generally not used,[75] although the Burgundian contemporary sources distinguish between Frenchmen who used shields and those who did not, and Rogers has suggested that the front elements of the French force used axes and shields. Wikipedia. [68], Henry's men were already very weary from hunger, illness and retreat. [89] A slaughter of the French prisoners ensued. In the Battle of Agincourt, the French threatened the English Soldiers that they would cut off their fingers and when they failed the Englishmen mocked them by showing their fingers. (Even if archers whose middle fingers had been amputated could no longer effectively use their bows, they were still capable of wielding mallets, battleaxes, swords, lances, daggers, maces, and other weapons, as archers typically did when the opponents closed ranks with them and the fighting became hand-to-hand.). Adam Koford, Salt Lake City, Utah, Now for the facts. PDF THE ENGLISH VS FRENCH - Carolina Traditional Archers The basic premise that the origins of the one-finger gesture and its association with the profane word "fuck" were an outgrowth of the 1415 battle between French and English forces at Agincourt is simple enough to debunk. [62] And for a variety of reasons, it made no military sense whatsoever for the French to capture English archers, then mutilate them by cutting off their fingers. Materials characterization, 29(2), 111117. It was a disastrous attempt. The key word for describing the battle of Agincourt is mud . He claimed the title of King of France through his great-grandfather Edward III of England, although in practice the English kings were generally prepared to renounce this claim if the French would acknowledge the English claim on Aquitaine and other French lands (the terms of the Treaty of Brtigny). The Battle of Agincourt was another famous battle where longbowmen had a particularly important . Despite the numerical disadvantage, the battle ended in an overwhelming victory for the English. Made just prior to the invasion of Normandy, Olivier's rendition gives the battle what Sarah Hatchuel has termed an "exhilarating and heroic" tone, with an artificial, cinematic look to the battle scenes. The English eyewitness account comes from the anonymous author of the Gesta Henrici Quinti, believed to have been written by a chaplain in the King's household who would have been in the baggage train at the battle. This famous English longbow was . Course Hero uses AI to attempt to automatically extract content from documents to surface to you and others so you can study better, e.g., in search results, to enrich docs, and more. In another of his books Morris describes a variety of sexual insults involving the middle finger, such as the middle-finger down prod, the middle-finger erect, etc., all of which are different from the classic middle-finger jerk. The archers were commanded by Sir Thomas Erpingham, another elderly veteran. Legend says that the British archers were so formidable that the ones captured by the French had their index and middle fingers cut off so that they . The Battle of Agincourt forms a key part of Shakespeare's Henry V. Photo by Nick Ansell / POOL / AFP) Myth: During the Hundred Years War, the French cut off the first and second fingers of any. Apparently Henry believed his fleeing army would perform better on the defensive, but had to halt the retreat and somehow engage the French A Dictionary of Superstitions.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992 ISBN 0-19-282916-5 (p. 454). [106] This lack of unity in France allowed Henry eighteen months to prepare militarily and politically for a renewed campaign. However, the lack of archaeological evidence at this traditional site has led to suggestions it was fought to the west of Azincourt. Saint Crispin's Day - Wikipedia A BBCNews Magazinereportsimilarlytracesthe gesture back toAncient Greek philosophers ( here ). [69] (The use of stakes was an innovation for the English: during the Battle of Crcy, for example, the archers had been instead protected by pits and other obstacles. The point is, the middle-finger/phallus equation goes back way before the Titanic, the Battle of Agincourt, or probably even that time Sextillus cut off Pylades with his chariot. Battle of Agincourt and the origin of Fu#K | Origin story of middle It was often reported to comprise 1,500 ships, but was probably far smaller. [22], Henry's army landed in northern France on 13 August 1415, carried by a vast fleet. Certainly, d'Azincourt was a local knight but he might have been chosen to lead the attack because of his local knowledge and the lack of availability of a more senior soldier. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. It seems clear, however, that the English were at a decided numerical disadvantage. The Battle of Agincourt is an iconic moment in English military history. [92], The French had suffered a catastrophic defeat. This article was. One popular "origin story" for the middle finger has to do with the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. But lets not quibble. The Battle of Agincourt was dramatised by William Shakespeare in Henry V featuring the battle in which Henry inspired his much-outnumbered English forces to fight the French through a St Crispin's Day Speech, saying "the fewer men, the greater share of honour". As the English were collecting prisoners, a band of French peasants led by local noblemen began plundering Henrys baggage behind the lines. The Battle of Agincourt is well documented by at least seven contemporary accounts, three from eyewitnesses. The fighting lasted about three hours, but eventually the leaders of the second line were killed or captured, as those of the first line had been. query that we are duty bound to provide a bit of historical and linguistic information demonstrating why this anecdote couldn't possibly be accurate: The 'Car Talk' show (on NPR) with Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers have a feature called the 'Puzzler', and their most recent 'Puzzler' was about the Battle of Agincourt. The historian Suetonius, writing about Augustus Caesar, says the emperor expelled [the entertainer] Pylades . It. giving someone the middle finger .). What it is supposed to represent I have no idea. A labiodental fricative was no less "difficult" for Middle English speakers to pronounce than the aspirated bilabial stop/voiceless lateral combination of 'pl' that the fricative supposedly changed into, nor are there any other examples of such a pronunciation shift occurring in English. The Battle of Agincourt is one of England's most celebrated victories and was one of the most important English triumphs in the Hundred Years' War, along with the Battle of Crcy (1346) and Battle of Poitiers (1356). The main part of the speech begins "This day is called the feast of . Wikipedia. It may be difficult to pinpoint exactly when the middle finger gesture originated, but some historians trace its roots to ancient Rome. Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. [citation needed]. The Battle of Agincourt took place during the the Hundred Years' War, a conflict which, despite its name, was neither one single war nor did it last one hundred years. Henry would marry Catherine, Charles VI's young daughter, and receive a dowry of 2million crowns. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. - [107], Most primary sources which describe the battle have English outnumbered by several times. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future. However, a need to reassert his authority at home (as well as his own ambition and a sense of justice) led Henry V to renew English claims in France. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future. The original usage of this mudra can be traced back as far as the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Historians disagree less about the French numbers. The recently ploughed land hemmed in by dense woodland favoured the English, both because of its narrowness, and because of the thick mud through which the French knights had to walk. For three hours after sunrise there was no fighting. They had been weakened by the siege at Harfleur and had marched over 200 miles (more than 320 km), and many among them were suffering from dysentery. Contemporary accounts [ edit] Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. After the initial wave, the French would have had to fight over and on the bodies of those who had fallen before them. Clip from the 1944 movie "Henry V" (137 min). The terrain favoured Henrys army and disadvantaged its opponent, as it reduced the numerical advantage of the French army by narrowing the front. 78-116). Medieval warriors didn't take prisoners because by doing so they were observing a moral code that dictated opponents who had laid down their arms and ceased fighting must be treated humanely, but because they knew high-ranking captives were valuable property that could be ransomed for money. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992 ISBN 0-19-282916-5 (p. 454). This moment of the battle is portrayed both as a break with the traditions of chivalry and as a key example of the paradox of kingship. [109] Juliet Barker, Jonathan Sumption and Clifford J. Rogers criticized Curry's reliance on administrative records, arguing that they are incomplete and that several of the available primary sources already offer a credible assessment of the numbers involved. Bowman were not valuable prisoners, though: they stood outside the chivalric system and were considered the social inferiors of men-at-arms. [105] Other benefits to the English were longer term. What Is the History of the Middle Finger? | Snopes.com The army was divided into three groups, with the right wing led by Edward, Duke of York, the centre led by the king himself, and the left wing under the old and experienced Baron Thomas Camoys. [56] Some 200 mounted men-at-arms would attack the English rear. [124], The most famous cultural depiction of the battle today is in Act IV of William Shakespeare's Henry V, written in 1599. [86], The only French success was an attack on the lightly protected English baggage train, with Ysembart d'Azincourt (leading a small number of men-at-arms and varlets plus about 600 peasants) seizing some of Henry's personal treasures, including a crown. Agincourt was a battle like no other but how do the French remember It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows that the gesture is known as giving the bird. And yew all thought yew knew everything! Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. This famous weapon was made of the native English yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew." As the story goes, the French were fighting with the English and had a diabolical (and greatly advertised) plan of cutting off the middle fingers of any captured English archers so they could never taunt the French with arrows plucked in their . Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here . People who killed their social betters from a distance werent very well liked, and would likely have paid with their lives as did all the French prisoners, archers or otherwise, whom Henry V had executed at Agincourt, in what some historians consider a war crime. Do you return these prisoners to your opponents in exchange for nothing, thereby providing them with trained soldiers who can fight against you another day? Whether this was true is open to question and continues to be debated to this day; however, it seems likely that death was the normal fate of any soldier who could not be ransomed. Battle of Agincourt, 1415 (ALL PARTS) England vs France Hundred The Battle of Agincourt (Pt 1) - YouTube [76] Modern historians are divided on how effective the longbows would have been against plate armour of the time. Idiom Origins - Middle finger - History of Middle finger 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. The 'middle finger salute' is derived from the defiant gestures of English archers whose fingers had been severed by the French at the Battle of Agincourt. The English men-at-arms in plate and mail were placed shoulder to shoulder four deep. Agincourt 1415: The Triumph of the Longbow: Directed by Graham Holloway. [84] The exhausted French men-at-arms were unable to get up after being knocked to the ground by the English. Although it could be intended as humorous, the image on social media is historically inaccurate. Nicolle, D. (2004). [54] To disperse the enemy archers, a cavalry force of 8001,200 picked men-at-arms,[55] led by Clignet de Brban and Louis de Bosredon, was distributed evenly between both flanks of the vanguard (standing slightly forward, like horns). This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Barker, following the Gesta Henrici, believed to have been written by an English chaplain who was actually in the baggage train, concluded that the attack happened at the start of the battle. [108] While not necessarily agreeing with the exact numbers Curry uses, Bertrand Schnerb, a professor of medieval history at the University of Lille, states the French probably had 12,00015,000 troops. In the ensuing campaign, many soldiers died from disease, and the English numbers dwindled; they tried to withdraw to English-held Calais but found their path blocked by a considerably larger French army. Thinking it was an attack from the rear, Henry had the French nobles he was holding prisoner killed. [93] In all, around 6,000 of their fighting men lay dead on the ground. [citation needed], Immediately after the battle, Henry summoned the heralds of the two armies who had watched the battle together with principal French herald Montjoie, and they settled on the name of the battle as Azincourt, after the nearest fortified place. According to contemporary English accounts, Henry fought hand to hand. In Nature Embodied: Gesture in Ancient Rome, Anthony Corbeill, Professor of Classics at the University of Kansas wrote: The most familiar example of the coexistence of a human and transhuman elementis the extended middle finger. [123] Other ballads followed, including "King Henry Fifth's Conquest of France", raising the popular prominence of particular events mentioned only in passing by the original chroniclers, such as the gift of tennis balls before the campaign. The English numbered roughly 5,000 knights, men-at-arms, and archers. Opie, Iona and Moira Tatem. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2019 with bachelor's degrees in English Language and Literature and Medieval Studies. The Hundred Years' War. Military textbooks of the time stated: "Everywhere and on all occasions that foot soldiers march against their enemy face to face, those who march lose and those who remain standing still and holding firm win. Agincourt. Thus, when the victorious English waved their middle fingers at the defeated French, they said, "See, we can still pluck yew! The ransoming of prisoners was the only way for medieval soldiers to make a quick fortune, and so they seized every available opportunity to capture opponents who could be exchanged for handsome prices. Loades, M. (2013). The idea being that you need two fingers to draw a bow, which makes more sense, and thus links up a national custom with a triumphant moment in national history! It did not lead to further English conquests immediately as Henry's priority was to return to England, which he did on 16 November, to be received in triumph in London on the 23rd. [139] The museum lists the names of combatants of both sides who died in the battle. The Battle of Agincourt is one of England's most celebrated victories and was one of the most important English triumphs in the Hundred Years' War, along with the Battle of Crcy (1346) and Battle of Poitiers (1356). They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The French, who were overwhelmingly favored to win the battle, threatened to cut a certain body part off of all captured English soldiers so that they could never fight again. After the battle, the English taunted the survivors by showing off what wasn't cut off. The battle probably lasted no longer than three hours and was perhaps as short as half an hour, according to some estimates. Image source The English and Welsh archers on the flanks drove pointed wooden stakes, or palings, into the ground at an angle to force cavalry to veer off. [49], The French vanguard and main battle numbered respectively 4,800 and 3,000 men-at-arms. The fact that Winston Churchill sometimes made his V-for-victory gesture rudely suggests that it is of much more recent vintage. Last, but certainly not least, wouldn't these insolent archers have been bragging about plucking a bow's string, and not the wood of the bow itself? [127], Shakespeare's play presented Henry as leading a truly English force into battle, playing on the importance of the link between the monarch and the common soldiers in the fight. (Its taking longer than we thought.) [34] The rearguard, leaderless, would serve as a "dumping ground" for the surplus troops. "Guardian newspaper:French correction: Henry V's Agincourt fleet was half as big, historian claims, 28 July 2015", "Living Dictionary of the French Language", "Limitations imposed by wearing armour on Medieval soldiers' locomotor performance", "High Court Rules for French at Agincourt", "High Court Justices, Legal Luminaries Debate Shakespeare's 'Henry V', "The Development of Battle Tactics in the Hundred Years War", "Historians Reassess Battle of Agincourt", The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, "Henry V's Greatest Victory is Besieged by Academia", The Little Grey Horse Henry V's Speech at Agincourt and the Battle Exhortation in Ancient Historiography, "The Battle of Agincourt: An Alternative location? The Burgundian sources have him concluding the speech by telling his men that the French had boasted that they would cut off two fingers from the right hand of every archer, so that he could never draw a longbow again. [52] The dukes of Alenon and Bar led the main battle. It forms the backdrop to events in William Shakespeare's play Henry V, written in 1599. Maybe it means five and was a symbol of support for Henry V? The French nobility, weakened by the defeat and divided among themselves, were unable to meet new attacks with effective resistance. In Gestures: Their Origins and Distribution, Desmond Morris and colleagues note that the digitus infamis or digitus impudicus (infamous or indecent finger) is mentioned several times in the literature of ancient Rome. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore [soldiers would] be incapable of fighting in the future. [38], The French army had 10,000 men-at arms[39][40][41] plus some 4,0005,000 miscellaneous footmen (gens de trait) including archers, crossbowmen[42] (arbaltriers) and shield-bearers (pavisiers), totaling 14,00015,000 men. Soon after the victory at Agincourt, a number of popular folk songs were created about the battle, the most famous being the "Agincourt Carol", produced in the first half of the 15th century. Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured soldiers. But frankly, I suspect that the French would have done a lot worse to any captured English archers than chopping off their fingers. As the mle developed, the French second line also joined the attack, but they too were swallowed up, with the narrow terrain meaning the extra numbers could not be used effectively.
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