Калмыкова Е. В. Генрих V — солдат в короне [Электронный ресурс] // Vox medii aevi. 2024. Vol. 2 (11). С. 36–57. URL: https://voxmediiaevi.com/2024-2-kalmykova/
DOI: 10.24412/2587-6619-2024-11-36-57
Elena Kalmykova
Candidate of Sciences (History), Associate Professor at the Department of Medieval History, Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University
ekalm@mail.ru
Henry V: The Soldier in the Crown
This article is devoted to contemporaries vire on the conduct of Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt (25 October 1415). Drawing on different sources, all medieval authors emphasised Henry’s military feats during the battle. They were creating an appealing image of the monarch as the embodiment of the English war ideal. Importantly, the king’s speeches before the battle, as quoted by the chroniclers, were more focused on the concerns of ordinary soldiers than the idealised values of the chivalric class. Henry V was depicted as a soldier himself, who was prepared to share all risks and deprivations of the war with his comrades-in-arms. This image of the unity between the king and the people at the moment of danger reached its full development in Shakespeare’s play Henry V (1599). Numerous theatrical productions and film adaptations of the play testify to the longstanding relevance of the heroic image of the king. Notably, the popularity of the play tends to increase during periods of war.
Keywords: Agincourt; battle; Henry V; the Hundred Years’ War; Shakerspeare; soldier; speech.