a village of the French Netherlands, situated in E. Long. 2. 10. N. Lat. 50. 35.; famous on account of the victory obtained by Henry V. of England over the French, in 1415.

The army of Henry, after landing in France, was by various accidents reduced to 10,000 men, of whom not a few were sick, or slowly recovering from sickness;—they had to traverse a long tract of country, inhabited by exasperated enemies, from whom they were to procure provisions, lodgings, guides, intelligence, and every thing they wanted;—that country was defended by many strong towns, intersected by deep rivers, and guarded by an army of 100,000, or (according to some contemporary writers) 140,000 men.

Henry, undaunted by all these dangers and difficulties, departed from Harfleur, marching his army in three lines, with bodies of cavalry on the wings. He proceeded by very easy journeys, that he might not fatigue his troops, or discourage them by the appearance of a flight; observing the strictest discipline, and paying generously for every thing he received; which induced the country people to bring provisions to his camp, in spite of all the commands they had received to the contrary. To keep his men in spirits, and from repining, the king fared as ill as the meanest soldier, always appearing with a cheerful countenance, and addressing them in the most friendly and encouraging language. They arrived at the village of Agincourt, in the county of St Pol, on the evening of October 24th; and there beheld the whole French army, at a small distance, directly in their route. The king took an attentive view of it from an eminence; and being fully convinced that it was impossible to proceed any further on his way to Calais without a battle, and equally impossible to return to Harfleur with so great an army in his rear, he resolved to hazard an action next morning, as the only means of preserving himself and his little army from destruction.

The English army lodged that night in the villages of Agincourt, Maifoncelle, and some others; where they met with better accommodation than they had been accustomed to for some time past, and spent part of their time in mutual exhortations to fight bravely in the approaching battle. The king, overhearing some of his nobles expressing a wish that the many brave men who were idle in England were present to assist them, is said to have cried out—"No! I would not have one man more—if we are defeated, we are too many—if it shall please God to give us the victory, as I trust he will, the smaller our number the greater our glory." The moon happening to shine very bright, Henry, with some of his best officers, carefully examined the ground, and pitched upon a field of battle, admirably calculated to preserve a small army from being surrounded by a great one. It was a gentle declivity from the village of Agincourt, of sufficient extent for his small army, defended on each side by hedges, trees, and brushwood. Having placed guards and kindled fires on all sides, the king and his army betook themselves to rest; except such as were of a more serious turn of mind, and, considering that as the last night of their lives, spent it in devotion.

The French, exulting in their numbers, confident of victory, and abounding in provisions, spent the night in noisy festivity, and in forming fanciful schemes about the dispoval of their prisoners and their booty. It was in general resolved to put all the English to the sword, except the king and the chief nobility, who were to be taken prisoners for the sake of their ransoms.

On the morning of Friday, the memorable 25th of October, A.D. 1415, the day of Crispin and Crispianus, the English and French armies were ranged in order of battle, each in three lines, with bodies of cavalry on each wing. The Constable D'Albert, who commanded the French army, fell into the snare that was laid for him, by drawing up his army in the narrow plain between the two woods. This deprived him, in a great measure, of the advantage he should have derived from the prodigious superiority of his numbers; obliged him to make his lines unnecessarily deep, about 30 men in file; to crowd his troops, particularly his cavalry, so close together, that they could hardly move or use their arms; and, in a word, was the chief cause of all the disasters that followed. The French, it is said, had a considerable number of cannon of different sizes in the field; but we do not hear that they did any execution, probably for want of room. The first line of the French army, which consisted of 8000 men-at-arms on foot mixed with 4000 archers, with 500 men-at-arms mounted on each wing, was commanded by the Constable D'Albert, the dukes of Orleans and Bourbon, and many other nobles; the dukes of Alençon, Brabant, and Bar, &c. conducted the second line; and the earls of Marle, Damartine, Fauconberg, &c. were at the head of the third line. The king of England employed various arts to supply his defect of numbers. He placed 200 of his best archers in ambush, in a low meadow, on the flank of the first line of the French. His own first line consisted wholly of archers, four in file; each of whom, besides his bow and arrows, had a battle-axe, a sword, and a stake pointed with iron at both ends, which he fixed before him in the ground, the point inclining outwards, to protect him from cavalry; which was a new invention, and had a happy effect. That he might not be encumbered, he dismissed all his prisoners, on their word of honour to surrender themselves at Calais, if he obtained the victory; and lodged all his baggage in the village of Agincourt, in his rear, under a slender guard. The command of the first line was, at his earnest request, committed to Edward duke of York, assisted by the lords Beaumont, Willoughby, and Fanshawe; the second was conducted by the king, with his youngest brother Humphry duke of Gloucester, the earls of Oxford, Marshal, and Suffolk; and the third was led by the duke Agincourt duke of Exeter, the king's uncle. The lines being formed, the king, in shining armour, with a crown of gold adorned with precious stones on his helmet, mounted on a fine white horse, rode along them, and addressed each corps with a cheerful countenance and animating speeches. To inflame their resentment against their enemies, he told them, that the French had determined to cut off three fingers of the right hand of every prisoner; and to rouse their love of honour, he declared, that every soldier in that army who behaved well, should from henceforth be deemed a gentleman, and entitled to bear coat-armour.

When the two armies were drawn up in this manner, they stood a considerable time gazing at one another in solemn silence. But the king, dreading that the French would discover the danger of their situation and decline a battle, commanded the charge to be founded, about ten o'clock in the forenoon. At that instant, the first line of the English knelt down, and kissed the ground; and then starting up, discharged a flight of arrows, which did great execution among the crowded ranks of the French. Immediately after, upon a signal being given, the archers in ambush arose, and discharged their arrows on the flank of the French line, and threw it into some disorder. The battle now became general, and raged with uncommon fury. The English archers, having expended all their arrows, threw away their bows, and, rushing forward, made dreadful havoc with their swords and battle-axes. The first line of the enemy was, by these means, defeated; its leaders being either killed or taken prisoners. The second line, commanded by the duke D'Alençon, (who had made a vow either to kill or take the king of England, or to perish in the attempt,) now advanced to the charge, and was encountered by the second line of the English, conducted by the king. This conflict was more close and furious than the former. The duke of Gloucester, wounded and unhorsed, was protected by his royal brother till he was carried off the field. The duke D'Alençon forced his way to the king, and assaulted him with great fury; but that prince brought him to the ground, where he was instantly dispatched. Discouraged by this disaster, the second line made no more resistance; and the third fled without striking a blow; yielding a complete and glorious victory to the English, after a violent struggle of three hours duration.

The king did not permit his men to pursue the fugitives to a great distance, but encouraged them to take as many prisoners as they could on or near the field; in which they were so successful, that, in a little time, his captives were more numerous than his soldiers. A great proportion of these prisoners were men of rank and fortune; for many of the French nobility being on foot, and loaded with their heavy armour, could not make their escape. Among these were the dukes of Orleans and Bourbon, the marshal Boucicaut, the counts D'Eu, Vendome, Richemont, and Harcourt, and 7000 barons, knights, and gentlemen. The French left dead on the field of battle, the constable D'Albert, the three dukes of Alençon, Brabant, and Bar, the archbishop of Sens, one marshal, 13 earls, 92 barons, 1500 knights, and a far greater number of gentlemen, besides several thousands of common soldiers. Even the French historians acknowledge, that the loss of the English was inconsiderable; those of our own contemporary writers who make it the greatest, affirm, that it did not exceed 100, and that the duke of York and the earl of Suffolk were the only great men who fell on that side in this memorable action.