Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt. I love this day (but don’t tell Laura). On this day in 1415, some 900 stout-hearted Englishmen defeated the flower of French chivalry. On the French side, some 7,000 dead and some 1,500 taken prisoner. On the English side, a mere 100 dead. The numbers are staggering, and give some hint how devastating it was. The French were cocky and made mistakes. And, the English used the longbow, an amazing weapon that was not considered sporting in chivalric circles. For me, Agincourt was the end of Chivalry and the Middle Ages. Thereafter, war becomes increasingly technical and brutal. Before Agincourt, war was the noble occupation of all true men. After Agincourt, war begins to be seen as inhuman. The medieval world is romantic in retrospect, and I love it for that, but I’d rather live in a moral world.
