Henry V (Penguin Monarchs) by Anne Curry

Author:Anne Curry
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141978727
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2015-07-21T16:00:00+00:00

Callous as this act appears to be (other sources suggest prisoners were killed by weapons too), Henry had been placed in a vulnerable position. To protect his own men, he had to act quickly and decisively. No contemporary source makes any criticism of his decision to kill the prisoners. All save one connect it to the real danger of a new French attack. (The exception is the chronicler Pierre Fenin’s link to the attack on the English baggage train, an event which certainly took place but during the initial stages of the battle, leading to the loss, among other things, of some of the king’s own possessions.) It was fully accepted that no commander could endanger his own side: French and Castilian prisoners were ordered by the Portuguese commanders to be killed during the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385 when it was believed that a new attack was imminent. Nor could Henry allow a victory which he had already won to be taken from him. This also explains why he moved away from the battlefield quickly on the following day, and maintained a defensive position on his march to Calais, which he reached on 29 October.

For many today, the Battle of Agincourt stands as Henry’s main achievement. Yet it was hardly a decisive victory in the way Poitiers (1356) had been, since it had seen the capture of the King of France, thereby requiring the French to negotiate his release and to agree to a treaty which gave Edward III substantial territory in France. Neither Charles VI nor the dauphin was present at Agincourt, and the prisoners were not so politically important that they would force the French to the negotiating table. Agincourt resembled Crécy in that respect. Like Crécy, too, there were very low rates of mortality on the English side and large numbers on the French, a situation which made the French reluctant ever to meet the English in battle again. Unlike Crécy, however, Agincourt saw large numbers of French captives – even after the killing of the prisoners – which offered potential profit to the crown as well as its soldiers. At least 320 prisoners are known, with an authenticated figure of around 500 dead. This contrasts with estimates of English dead, which some sources place as lower than 30 but which probably exceeded 100. Even so, the extent of victory is revealed by the asymmetric effects of the battle on the armies. Henry’s victory redeemed what might otherwise have been a disappointing campaign for the English. Battles were relatively scarce, and ones on this scale involving a crowned head even rarer. But the political advantage for Henry in England was immense and perhaps the greatest impact of the battle. It secured his position once and for all, and he did much to exploit the victory to enhance his kingship.

He may initially have contemplated continuing the campaign. That was the impression he wanted to give to the parliament which opened on 4 November 1415 while he was still absent in France.

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