Was Henry Vs Victory a Miracle? Essay -- Henry IV Henry V Essays

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother be he neer so vile, This day shall gentle his condition. And gentlemen in England now abed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon saint Crispins day."   These words, spoken by Henry V in Shakespeares play of the same name, reflected the pride the English took in the memory of a glorious success and, by connecting the Battle of Agincourt with a holy day, helped reinforce the popular belief that Providence played a role in Englands fortunes during that historic battle. The ensuing bloody and topsy-turvy clash seemed proof enough of divine intervention, because Henrys troops rose up to defeat a French army almost four times as large. This rousing truimph during the Hundred Years War ranks alongside the rout of the Spanish Armada and the Battle of Britain as one of Englan ds "Finest Hours," but it was not quite the miraculous feature that Shakespeare and his contemporaries related. Henrys army posed a much more formidable threat to the French than simple numbers suggest. Given the circumstances, a British victory was nearly inevitable. The Hundred Years War, fought intermittently from 1337 to 1453, erupted over the Plantagenet kings rather weak admit to the French throne, which they based on Edward IIs marriage to Isabella, daughter of Frances King Philip IV. Although that claim had grown rather stale by the time Henry V rose to power, he pressed it through force of arms. In a serial of brilliant military campaigns, he conquered much of France, and married Cath... ...he Battle of Agincourt was King Henrys decision to execute his French prisoners during the fighting. At the time, such blatantly brutal dedicate was unheard of. Henry has borne the harsh judgment of history for his actions. In the heat of battle, Henry noticed that one s egment of his army had been caught off-guard and was in serious danger. The scarce soldiers available to reinforce his line were those guarding prisoners. To reassign them meant risking the prisoners escape, or worse, having them turn on their captors. Henry chose the more ruthless but less risky course and ordered the prisoners to be executed. It was a decision borne of necessity during battle, rather than personal malice, but one which nevertheless inflamed the French to greater resistance and set the stop for further rounds of slaughter in the seemingly endless Anglo-French wars.