This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
And so we do remember them, more than six hundred years later. This is the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 , on St. Crispin’s Day. The British, under their king Henry V, were fighting to keep control of northern France, against the French. They were tired, and wet, and badly outnumbered. They won the battle, but they lost the war. England kept their island, and France got all of France, in the end.
The Hundred Years’ War
Bonus: Joan of Arc project
Who was Shakespeare?
Here’s a great version of the speech Henry V might have made before the battle, as written by Shakespeare in his play Henry V, and performed by Kenneth Branagh:
But the big news is that there’s a new movie of this story just out, called The King, well timed for St. Crispin’s Day. Here’s the preview for it:
Have you seen it? Let us know what you thought in the comments!
