Azincourt (), historically known in English as Agincourt ( ), is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Pas-de-Calais department in northern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. It is situated north-west of
Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise
Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise (, literally ''Saint-Pol on Ternoise''; vls, Sint-Pols-aan-de-Ternas) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is the seat of the canton of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise. The population of the town i ...
on the D71 road between
Hesdin
Hesdin (; vls, Heusdin) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.
Geography
The N39, from Arras to Montreuil, used to be the main thoroughfare of the town. In the 1950s, a circular route was created to help traffic fl ...
and
Fruges.
The
Late Medieval
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...
Battle of Agincourt between the English and the French took place in the commune in 1415.
Toponym
The name is attested as ''Aisincurt'' in 1175, derived from a Germanic masculine name Aizo, Aizino and the early Northern French word ''curt'' (which meant a farm with a courtyard; derived from the Late Latin ''cortem''). The name has no etymological link with
Agincourt, Meurthe-et-Moselle (attested as ''Egincourt'' 875), which is derived separately from another Germanic male name ''*Ingin-''.
History
Azincourt is known for being near the site of the battle fought on 25 October 1415 in which the army led by King
Henry V of England defeated the forces led by
Charles d'Albret
Charles I d'Albret (December 1368 – 25 October 1415) was the Lord of Albret and the Constable of France from 1402 until 1411, and again from 1413 until 1415. He was also the co-commander of the French army at the Battle of Agincourt where he ...
on behalf of
Charles VI of France
Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé) and later the Mad (french: le Fol or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychotic ...
, which has gone down in history as the
Battle 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.
Later on, when he became king in 1509,
Henry VIII is supposed to have commissioned an English translation of a Life of Henry V 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 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.
John Cassell
John Cassell (23 January 1817 – 2 April 1865) was an England, English publisher, printer, writer and editor, who founded the firm Cassell & Co, famous for its educational books and periodicals, and which pioneered the Serial (literature), seria ...
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 of
Tramecourt
Tramecourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Geography
Tramecourt is located 16 miles (22 km) east of Montreuil-sur-Mer on the D71 road and on the other side of the battlefield of Agin ...
, 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."
Population
Sights
The original battlefield museum in the village featured model knights made out of
Action Man figures. 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. The museum building is shaped like a
longbow
A longbow (known as warbow in its time, in contrast to a hunting bow) is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. A longbow is not significantly recurved. Its limbs are relatively narrow and are circular or D-shaped in cross ...
similar to those used at the battle by
archer
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...
s under King Henry.
Since 2004 a large medieval festival organised by the local community, the CHM, The Azincourt Alliance, and various other UK societies commemorating the battle, local history and medieval life, arts and crafts has been held in the village.
"Videos from Azincourt" at ''Azincourt Alliance''
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.
International relations
Azincourt is twinned with Middleham
Middleham is an English market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream from the junction of the River Ure and River Cover. ...
, United Kingdom.
See also
* Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department
* The neighbourhood of Agincourt, Toronto
Agincourt () is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Agincourt is located in northeast Toronto, along Sheppard Avenue between Kennedy and Markham Roads (north-south includes lands between Highway 401 and Finch Avenu ...
, Canada, named for Azincourt, not Agincourt, Meurthe-et-Moselle
References
{{authority control
Communes of Pas-de-Calais
Artois