Tag: Hundred Years' War

Ascending to the throne in 1413, King Henry V of the Lancaster dynasty was the man behind the Battle of Agincourt. Being particularly bellicose, he found a pretext to land in France: he demanded control of virtually the entire Atlantic coast and the hand of Catherine, King Charles VI’s young daughter.

France declined, giving Henry V a good reason to invade France: on August 13, 1415, a fleet of nearly 700 English ships appeared off the Norman coast, carrying some 12,000 fighters and Henry V, who aimed to reach Paris. Before that, the English troops would besiege the town of Harfleur, which controlled the Seine estuary.

• Hundred Years’ War: The Great War That Shaped National Identities

5 weeks of siege at Harfleur

The Norman town, which happened to be the most important navigation port on the Seine, would endure a siege lasting just over a month, while its inhabitants resisted as best they could, despite the absence of reinforcements. In the English camp, many men contracted dysentery.

The Normans suffered from a lack of supplies and struggled to hold on, which led to the negotiation of a truce on September 18. Despite Harfleur’s surrender, Henry V was frustrated: he had been informed of the presence of a royal army in Rouen, which forced him to retreat towards Calais, an English city since 1347.

12,000 to 15,000 French fighters

While the English soldiers and Henry V left Harfleur on October 7 or 8, 1415, the army that Charles VI had managed to gather launched an offensive. The French would harass the enemy, with the vanguard attacking the retreating English troops almost daily. The English army was weakened, and the 8,500 men who had survived hunger and disease struggled to cross the Somme.

The chase between the English and French armies ended on October 24, 1415, when the 12,000 to 15,000 French fighters came to cut off Henry V’s route between the Tramecourt wood and the village of Agincourt. However, it was late, and the armies would therefore wait until early morning to face each other.

Less than 24 hours of battle

It was thus the next morning, October 25, 1415, that the battle would begin: after failed negotiations, Henry V advanced his army. The English archers released their arrows, while on the opposite side, French cavalrymen charged. The problem: while the French army consisted of heavy cavalry, the English were equipped with very long-range bows. The French soldiers, who were furthermore bogged down in muddy terrain, tried to advance on foot, but the English slaughtered them one after another, or took them prisoner.

The French army, led by Charles I d’Albret, was held in check. Many soldiers were taken prisoner by the English in the Tramecourt wood before midday. In the afternoon, when the French appeared to be preparing a new attack, the English executed some of their prisoners, causing many French fighters to flee.

Nearly 1000 deaths on the French side

According to the Agincourt 1415 Center, nearly 1000 French fighters would die during the confrontation. Seven Princes of royal blood were killed or captured, while more than 300 French nobles were taken prisoner. The Battle of Agincourt would decimate entire families of French nobility and cause the Kingdom of France to lose several important administrative and military leaders. On the other side, the English would lose a few hundred archers and two noble fighters.

“The most noble (French) fighters who fell at Agincourt on October 25, 1415, were separated from the rest of the dead and were buried in at least ten neighboring churches and chapels,” explained Christophe Gilliot to France 3 in 2013, the former director of the Agincourt 1415 Center, which notably houses a memorial dedicated to the fighters who died during the Battle of Agincourt. The other soldiers were buried on site in mass graves.

May 21, 1420, signing of the Treaty of Troyes

The Battle of Agincourt was decisive in the Hundred Years’ War and led to a questioning of the French army’s functioning, whose cavalry was then considered obsolete.

This battle also resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Troyes on May 12, 1420: concluded in Troyes Cathedral, in the presence of King Charles VI of France, King Henry V of England, and Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy, the treaty cemented the union of the two crowns. This union was materialized on June 2 by the marriage between Henry V and Catherine of France.

Whether at work, at home, in the streets, on public transport, or in train stations, it can often be hard to resist the temptation to use the middle finger when someone pushes you to the limit. Among all the fingers of the hand, the middle finger is the one that symbolizes this particular insult. But where does it come from? Here’s everything you need to know.

What Is the History Behind the Middle Finger Gesture?

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The history of the middle finger gesture dates back centuries. Long before the Hundred Years’ War—often mistakenly linked to its origins—this gesture was already used in antiquity as a symbol of contempt and obscenity.

In ancient Rome, it was known as digitus impudicus (“indecent finger”) and was used to insult or humiliate. The gesture consisted of extending the middle finger while folding the other fingers, forming a phallic symbol meant to threaten or degrade the recipient. This is where it was first recorded in history.

Diogenes of Sinope and the Use of the Gesture in Antiquity

As mentioned earlier, the middle finger gesture traces its origins back to ancient Greece and Rome. In Greek antiquity, it was known as katapygon, a term derived from kata (“downward”) and pugē (“buttocks”), emphasizing its obscene nature. The extended finger represented the phallus, while the folded fingers symbolized the scrotum.

The philosopher Diogenes of Sinope, famous for his cynicism, allegedly used this gesture to express his disdain for the statesman Demosthenes. This illustrates the gesture’s role as a metaphor for contempt.

In Aristophanes’ play The Clouds, the gesture appears in a comedic scene where Socrates and Strepsiades play on its double meaning, blending poetic meter with crude humor.

Later, the Romans adopted this gesture under the name digitus impudicus, using it both as an insult and as a way to ward off the evil eye. This dual function—both offensive and apotropaic (meant to protect against misfortune)—highlights the ambiguity of the gesture.

The Hundred Years’ War and the Alleged Origins of the Middle Finger Gesture

Another theory attempts to shed light on the origins of the middle finger gesture. However, it is important to emphasize that this legend remains largely discredited due to a lack of historical or literary evidence. It is widely considered apocryphal.

According to this story, during the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, French forces allegedly threatened to cut off the index and middle fingers of captured English archers. These fingers were essential for drawing the English longbow, a formidable weapon on the battlefield. The legend claims that when English archers were captured, their fingers were indeed severed to prevent them from fighting again.

Following their victory, English archers supposedly mocked the French by raising their middle fingers, symbolizing that they still had their fingers intact and could continue to fire their bows, ensuring further victories. This gesture allegedly became a symbol of defiance and triumph.

However, in France, the middle finger has a very different connotation. Interestingly, in the UK, an insulting gesture is often made with two fingers—the index and middle fingers—unlike in France, where only the middle finger is used.

Why Is the Middle Finger Considered an Insult?

The middle finger is considered an insult due to its historical origins and its universally recognized symbolism. As previously mentioned, the gesture dates back to antiquity, where it was used to represent an obscene act—specifically, the phallus, symbolizing sexual aggression or defiance.

By extending the middle finger, one makes a provocative gesture expressing contempt, rejection, or hostility toward another person. Its vulgar connotation and offensive nature have persisted through the centuries, making it a widely recognized sign of defiance across many cultures.

This gesture is present in multiple societies worldwide, carrying similar connotations—insulting, vulgar, and confrontational. Even if it seems familiar in certain contexts, one should be cautious, as it remains a strong and often offensive symbol.

What Is the Chinese Equivalent of the Middle Finger?

In China, the equivalent of the Western middle finger is often represented by a similar gesture: raising the middle finger while folding the other fingers. However, there is another insulting gesture specific to Chinese culture—the extended pinky finger (xiǎo zhǐ, 小指).

This gesture symbolizes contempt or disdain, implying that the other person is insignificant or inferior. Although it is less vulgar than the raised middle finger, it is still perceived as an insult in certain contexts, particularly when used to express arrogance or superiority.

As in many cultures, the context and intent behind the gesture play a crucial role in determining its level of offensiveness. It is advisable not to use this gesture, as it may be highly offensive, even among acquaintances.

The Battle of Castillon, fought on July 17, 1453, marked the conclusion of the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453) and, more generally, the end of the Middle Ages. Specifically, this victory represented the complete independence of Guyenne (Aquitaine) in southern France from the English for the first time in three centuries. This was King Charles VII‘s fourth military triumph, after the Joan of Arc narrative, the 1429 Battle of Patay in the Pays de la Loire, and the 1450 conquest of Normandy in the Seine Valley.

In fact, the Valois dynasty (a branch of the Capets) and the Plantagenets fought continuously from 1337 to 1453, and through them, the kingdoms of France and England fought for control of emblematic fiefdoms like Guyenne (now Gironde, Dordogne, Lot-et-Garonne, Lot, and Aveyron). This period is commonly referred to as the Hundred Years’ War.

Causes of the Battle of Castillon

In 1420, the kingdom of France was on its last legs. By the Treaty of Troyes (1420), King Charles VI had deprived his son Charles of the throne in favor of the English monarch. The first reconquests under Joan of Arc intensified following the coronation of Charles VII as the new King of France in Reims (1429), whetting the Valois appetite once more. Some important castles were recaptured: Orléans, Paris, Champagne, and Normandy.

What remained was Charles VII’s obsession with Guyenne, then largely under English influence, and in particular with the flourishing wine trade.

How Was the Battle of Castillon in 1453?

By the spring of 1453, negotiations had broken down and conflict in Guyenne was inevitable. King Henry VI appealed to the pro-English Bordeaux and sent 3,000 men under the charismatic army commander John Talbot to reinforce a few thousand soldiers from Guyenne and Gascony. Charles VII sent his best military leaders, notably Dunois and Bureau, to lead 9,000 men, both French and Bretons. Historians explain Castillon’s victory by two closely related factors:

The French set a trap and established their camp above Bordeaux, east of the small village of Castillon, where the British were trapped, besieged, and massacred. This battle also marked a break in military methods; the cavalry’s decline against the infantry and artillery gave the French the upper hand. The French victory was thus complete. Bordeaux was taken in October. Charles VII pardoned the Bordeaux rebels and the English left Guyenne on October 19, 1453.

On the French side, the battle left around a hundred men dead or wounded. The English lost 4,000 men, of whom 500 to 600 were killed (2,000 or more according to the Chronique du temps de Charles VII in the Sainte-Geneviève Library in Paris), the others being wounded or taken prisoner during the battle. Among the dead were Talbot, two of his sons and Baron de L’Isle, son of John Talbot, who had landed in Guyenne at the head of 2,000 reinforcements.

How the Battle of Castillon Ended the Hundred Years’ War

With the exception of Calais, which was not recaptured until five years later, the retaking of Guyenne, one of France’s most emblematic fiefdoms, nicely completed the reconquest that had begun some twenty-five years earlier with the epic story of Joan of Arc. Although this time the English were definitively “expelled from France”, the end of the Hundred Years’ War was not signed until the Treaty of Picquigny in 1475. This long and incessant period of conflict had exhausted the kingdom of France and hindered its development.