The name is attested asAisincurt in 1175, derived from a Germanic masculine name Aizo, Aizino and the early Northern French wordcurt (which meant a farm with a courtyard; derived from the Late Latincortem). It is often known asAgincourt in English. There isa village that is named "Agincourt", located in theMeurthe-et-Moselle department inEastern France. The name has no etymological link with Azincourt, and is derived separately from another Germanic male name*Ingin-.[4]
Azincourt is known for being near the site of the battle fought on 25 October 1415 in which the army led by KingHenry V of England defeated the forces led byCharles d'Albret on behalf ofCharles VI of France, which has gone down in history as theBattle of Agincourt. According to M. Forrest, the French knights were so encumbered by their armour that they were exhausted even before the start of the battle.[5]
After he became king in 1509,Henry VIII is purported to have commissioned an English translation of a Life of Henry V[6] so that he could emulate him, on the grounds that he thought that launching a campaign against France would help him to impose himself on the European stage. In 1513, Henry VIII crossed the English Channel, stopping by at Azincourt.
The battlefield today
The battle, as was the tradition, was named after a nearby castle called Azincourt. The castle has since disappeared and the settlement now known as Azincourt adopted the name in the seventeenth century.[7]
John Cassell wrote in 1857 that "the village of Azincourt itself is now a group of dirty farmhouses and wretched cottages, but where the hottest of the battle raged, between that village and the commune ofTramecourt, there still remains a wood precisely corresponding with the one in which Henry placed his ambush; and there are yet existing the foundations of the castle of Azincourt, from which the king named the field."[8]
The original battlefield museum in the village featured model knights made out ofAction Man figures.[citation needed] This has now been replaced by the Centre historique médiéval d'Azincourt (CHM)—a more professional museum, conference centre and exhibition space incorporating laser, video, slide shows, audio commentaries, and some interactive elements.[10] The museum building is shaped like alongbow similar to those used at the battle byarchers under King Henry.
Since 2004 a large medieval festival organised by the local community, the CHM, The Azincourt Alliance,[11] and various other UK societies commemorating the battle, local history and medieval life, arts and crafts has been held in the village.[12] Prior to this date the festival was held in October, but due to the inclement weather and local heavy clay soil (like the battle) making the festival difficult, it was moved to the last Sunday in July.
^The House of Commons: 1509–1558, Volume 4; Stanley T. Bindoff, John S. Roskell, Lewis Namier, Romney Sedgwick, David Hayton, Eveline Cruickshanks, R. G. Thorne, P. W. Hasler (Boydell & Brewer, 1982)
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