Page 263 - Dictionary of Heraldry and Related Subjects

HISTORLCAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
?i-ris SECTION is designed to incorporate a number of items which do nol
correctly belong to one of the other three parts in the book.
The Historical rderences, whether referring to a particular King or to
a battle, have been chosen because îhey are of significance in-so-far as
Heraldry is concerned and they are references which will occur from time
to Cime in the reading carried out by any keen student of Heraldry.
The items which are non-historical are also items which are better
grouped together on their own, rather than being classified as Heraldry,
Genealogy, or Amour and Arrns.
army on a fume1 shaped piece of
ground bordered on both sides by
thick masses of trees. In front of the
English positions the soIdiers set six-
foot stakes which were pointed at
A
both ends, into the ground. These
about five feet.
Agiocourt - A battle fought on the
By midday nothing had hap-
25th October 1415.
pened and the two armies still stood
On the days prior to the battle and looked at eacb other. On the
the English army of some 5,000 comrnand ' Banners Advance' the
men at arms and archers had been English army moved fonvard about
dogged by a vastly superior French 200 yards and replanted their stakes.
army estimated at approximately As the afternoon wore on the
50,000. On the evening of the 24th French decided to attack.
The French army. which con-
October, Henry V who led the Eng- were pointed forward at a height of
lish army decided to bring the sisted almost entirely of knights and
French to battIe on the following mounted men-at-arms, al1 wanted to
day. fi personally spent the night be in the van. They had very little
in careful reconnaissance of the discipline and as they rode jnto the
ground and in prayer and, by exer- gradually lessening area between the
cise of the strictest discipline, main- trees they were bumping and boring
tained aIrnost complete silence in each other and when some 200
the lines of the English troops. The yards from tlie English positions
French army, at the same tirne, tiley met a hail of arrows frorn the
spent most of the night in rowdyism Englisli archers. From tlien onwards
and drinking. a11 was pandemonium. Those of the
Early on the morning of the 25th French Knights who managed to
October Henry lined up the English reach the English positions could not
237