Source.—Nicolas's Battle of Agincourt, p. lxxvii. (London: 1827.)

And then fell there a great disease and a foul mischief, for there were three lords which the King trusted much on and through false covetousness they had purposed and imagined the King's death and thought to have slain him and all his brethren or that he had taken the sea, which were named thus—Sir Richard, earl of Cambridge brother to the duke of York, the second was the lord Scrope Treasurer of England, the third was Sir Thomas Gray knight of the north country, and these lords aforesaid, for lucre of money, had made promise to the Frenchmen for to have slain King Henry and all his worthy brethren by a false train suddenly or they had beware. But Almighty God of his great grace held his holy hand over them and saved them from this perilous mien. And for to have done this they received of the Frenchmen a million of gold and that there was proved openly. And for their false treason they were all judged unto the death. And this was the judgement, that they should be led through Hampton and without Northgate there to be beheaded, and thus they ended their life for their false covetousness and treason.

THE BATTLE OF AGINCOURT (October 25, 1415).

Source.—Elmham's Vita et gesta Henrici Quinti, pp. 59 et seq. (Oxford: 1727.)

A.—The Disposition and Order of the English Army.

The night being spent but Titan not yet risen above the horizon, scarce had Friday dawned (on which the day the martyrdom of the blessed Crispin and Crispinian is celebrated) than the King neglected not to lead out his troops into the field, having first said matins and heard mass, and thinking that his enemies would be more engaged in fighting than in plundering, he ordered the horses of his men and whatever other things his army had brought with them except their arms, to be left in the village in which they had been quartered in the night, and assigned to the care of a few soldiers.... But in order that his army, which was very small in comparison to the French, might be able to fight without a wide separation, he arrayed it for battle in this wise: to the middle battalion, which he himself led, and in which under the mercy of God he proposed to fight, he assigned and chose a likely place about the middle of the field, so that it might meet the middle battalion of the enemy. On his right, at scarcely any distance, he placed the vanguard of his army and joined it to the wing at his right hand. But on the King's left was the rearward of the army, to which the left wing was likewise joined. These being so placed the providence of the divine grace was manifestly displayed, which provided for so small an army so apt a field enclosed within hedges and bushes ... to protect them from being surrounded by the ambuscades of the enemy. Now the King was clad in strong and very glittering armour; on his head he bore a helmet with a large resplendent crest and a crown of gold glistening with precious stones; his body begirt with a surcoat with the arms of England and France, from which heavenly splendour there sprang forth, on the one side, three golden flowers in a field of azure, on the other side three golden leopards sporting in a ruby field.... [He], seated on a noble horse of snowy whiteness, having also horses following bedecked in kingly fashion with the richest trappings, wondrously incited his army to deeds of valour. The nobles also, by the King's side, were arrayed with coats of arms as became those about to engage in conflict. And when the King heard someone wishing that whatever nobles of the realm of England, who were well-disposed thereto, were present at this affair, with kingly steadfastness he thus replied, "Truly I would not that by one single person the number of this army should be increased. For if in the number of fighting men, we were equal to, or perhaps, stronger than, our enemies, and they were delivered into our hands by the hazards of war, our indiscreet judgement would attribute the victory to the greatness of our strength, and so due praise would by no means be accorded. But if, after God's own manifold chastisement for our sins, the divine judgement should determine to deliver us into the hands of the enemy,... certainly then our army would be too great to be exposed (which God forbid!) to so great a calamity. But if the divine mercy should deign to deliver so many adversaries to so trifling a force of fighting men, we should deem so great a victory certainly bestowed by God upon us and return thanks to Him and not to our own numbers. Lo! he who is splendidly and safely defended and armed in body is fortified in mind much more gloriously by stern hope and unbroken fortitude."

B.—The Disposition and Order of the French Army.

The enemy, despising the idleness and inaction of the King's army, endeavoured to prepare their numerous formations in proper order for battle.... They drew up their army after their own fashion, as the King had drawn up his; nevertheless the breadth of the field was not sufficient to draw up so numerous a host into proper battle array. For whereas the English army, throughout all its lines, was scarcely strengthened with files of four men, one behind another crosswise, all the French lines throughout their length were strengthened with files of twenty or more fighting men, one behind the other. Also, in the outermost flank of their army were placed a thousand soldiers, to break through the English lines with cavalry charges; also certain saxi-voma,[5] which might scatter the English when about to engage in battle, or at least throw them into disorder, were drawn up along the flanks of the army. But the number of standards and other warlike ensigns, which were displayed by the French army, fastened on the points of lances and rustling in the wind, seemed to exceed the multitude of lances in the English army....

[5] Engines for hurling stones.

C.—The Battle.