Battles & Wars › Medieval wars › Hundred Years' War
Battle of Agincourt
October 25, 1415· Battle· Europe
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
Henry V's tired, outnumbered English army defeated a much larger French army on St Crispin's Day.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
Henry V's army, sick with dysentery after the siege of Harfleur, was marching to English-held Calais when a French army blocked it. The field was a narrow strip of freshly plowed, rain-soaked land between two woods. French cavalry charges failed; then dense columns of armored men-at-arms struggled through the mud into English arrows and became too crowded to fight. Fearing a fresh attack, Henry ordered many prisoners killed. French dead ran into the thousands; English losses were a few hundred.
Why it matters
It destroyed much of France's military nobility, opened the way to Henry's conquest of Normandy and, through Shakespeare's Henry V, became an English national legend.
How we know
Eyewitness accounts on both sides, including the Gesta Henrici Quinti by a royal chaplain, plus English pay and muster records studied by historian Anne Curry.
Still debated
Army sizes are disputed: traditional figures give odds of four or five to one, while Curry's records-based estimate is about 9,000 English against 12,000 French.
Connections (4)
▸English longbow dominated Battle of AgincourtWell documented
The connection
About five of every six of Henry V's men were archers. They advanced, planted sharpened stakes and shot at long range to provoke an attack. French cavalry charges failed, and fleeing horses churned the mud. Armored French men-at-arms then struggled forward on foot between two woods, under arrows from front and flanks. Finally the archers joined the melee.
When and how
Agincourt (Azincourt), northern France, October 25, 1415; Henry V's roughly 6,000–9,000 men against a larger French army.
How we know
Eyewitness chroniclers on both sides describe the archers and stakes, and English pay records confirm how archer-heavy Henry's army was.
Debates and open questions
Whether arrows pierced plate armor, or mostly drove the French into a deadly crush in the mud, is debated, as are army sizes.
▸Battle of Agincourt was Henry V's great victory in Hundred Years' WarWell documented
The connection
Agincourt killed or captured much of France's military nobility, already split by civil war between the Armagnac and Burgundian factions. Henry V then conquered Normandy (1417–19). Once Burgundy sided with England, the 1420 Treaty of Troyes made Henry heir to the French throne. His death in 1422 left the double claim to his infant son, Henry VI.
When and how
Agincourt, 1415; Normandy, 1417–19; Troyes, May 1420; Henry V, the insane Charles VI of France, and Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.
How we know
The Treaty of Troyes survives, and English and French chronicles tie the conquest of Normandy to the losses at Agincourt.
Debates and open questions
Whether Agincourt or the Burgundian alliance did more to bring about Troyes is debated; many historians stress France's civil war.
▸Battle of Agincourt left France reeling until the rise of Joan of ArcMostly agreed
The connection
Agincourt and the Treaty of Troyes left the disinherited Dauphin Charles holding only France south of the Loire, mocked as the 'king of Bourges'. In 1428 English troops besieged Orléans, the gateway to his lands. That desperate moment, and a popular hope that only a miracle could save France, opened the door for a teenage visionary from Domrémy.
When and how
France, 1415–1429; the Dauphin's court at Chinon, where Joan arrived in early 1429 while Orléans was under siege.
How sure are we?
Chronicles and Joan's trial records place her mission in the crisis created by English conquests after Agincourt; she said her voices told her to save Orléans.
Debates and open questions
Fourteen years separate the two; how directly Agincourt led to Joan, rather than the later siege of Orléans, is a matter of emphasis.
▸Plate armor weighed down French knights at Battle of AgincourtMostly agreed
The connection
French men-at-arms advanced on foot in full plate across a freshly plowed, rain-soaked field. Struggling through deep mud and packed together, they reached the English line exhausted, where lightly armored archers joined the fight with mallets and daggers. Many were overwhelmed or captured.
When and how
Agincourt (Azincourt), northern France, October 25, 1415; Henry V's English army against a larger French force.
How sure are we?
Chroniclers on both sides describe the mud and exhaustion; a 2011 treadmill study found walking in replica armor roughly doubled energy use.
Debates and open questions
How much armor weight mattered, versus the mud, crowding and arrows, is debated, as are the sizes of both armies.