Trinity Roll - Agincourt Carol (Fuller Maitland 1891)

The Agincourt Carol (sometimes known as the ''Agincourt Song'', the ''Agincourt Hymn'', or by its chorus and central words, ''

Deo gratias ' (Latin for "thanks eto God") is a response in the Latin Mass, derived from the Vulgate text of 1 Corinthians 15:57 and 2 Corinthians 2:14. Description It occurs in the Mass *as an answer of the server to the Epistle or Prophecies; in ...

Anglia'') is an

English folk song The folk music of England is a tradition-based music which has existed since the later medieval period. It is often contrasted with courtly, classical and later commercial music. Folk music traditionally was preserved and passed on orally wit ...

written some time in the early 15th century. It recounts the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, in which the English army led by Henry V of England defeated that of the French Charles VI in what is now the Pas-de-Calais region of

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 ...

. The carol is one of thirteen on the

Trinity Carol Roll The Trinity Carol Roll is a 15th-century manuscript of thirteen English carols held by the Wren Library at Trinity College, Cambridge (MS O.3.58). It is the earliest surviving example of polyphonic music written in English.Deeming, HelenDeo Gratias ...

, probably originating in East Anglia, that has been held in the Wren Library of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, since the 19th century. The other primary source for the carol is the contemporaneous Selden Carol Book held by the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The carol is featured in Laurence Olivier's 1944 film ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...

''. The composer

Ernest Farrar Ernest Bristow Farrar (7 July 1885 – 18 September 1918) was an English composer, pianist and organist. Life Ernest Farrar was born in Lewisham, London, but moved in 1887 to Micklefield in Yorkshire, where his father was a clergyman. The rest ...

created his 1918 ''Heroic Elegy: For Soldiers'' on the basis of the Agincourt Carol.

Lyrics

:''Deo gratias Anglia redde pro victoria!'' :'' ive thanks, England, to God for victory!' :Chorus :''Deo gratias!'' :''Deo gratias Anglia redde pro victoria!'' :Chorus :Chorus :Chorus :Chorus The pattern of a

strophe A strophe () is a poetic term originally referring to the first part of the ode in Ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode. The term has been extended to also mean a structural division of a poem containing stanzas of varyi ...

(verse) sung in English followed by a burden (chorus) in Latin followed a structure typical of the religious carols of the period. The Agincourt Carol was recorded by The Young Tradition on ''Galleries'', (with both the

Early Music Consort The Early Music Consort of London was a British music ensemble in the late 1960s and 1970s which specialised in historically informed performance of Medieval and Renaissance music. It was founded in 1967 by music academics Christopher Hogwood ...

and

Dave Swarbrick David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. His style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players who have followed him. He was ...

contributing), and by the Silly Sisters (band) (Maddy Prior and June Tabor) on their second album ''No More to the Dance''.

References

External links

Agincourt carol sheet music

IMSLP

YouTube
Interpretation by The Young Tradition (Peter Bellamy. Royston Wood, Heather Wood), with

David Munrow David John Munrow (12 August 194215 May 1976) was a British musician and early music historian. Early life and education Munrow was born in Birmingham where both his parents taught at the University of Birmingham. His mother, Hilda Ivy (né ...

on shawm, Roddy and Adam Skeaping on viols, and Christopher Hogwood on percussion. {{authority control 15th-century songs English folk songs English patriotic songs Hundred Years' War Songwriter unknown Year of song unknown British folk songs British patriotic songs