Henry V just got a lot more interesting
Aug. 8th, 2012 07:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gemfyreI probably would have checked it out. Tom Hiddleston doing Shakespeare? Medieval warfare? Count me in.
What I didn't realise until recently is that Henry V focuses on the Battle of Agincourt. Last night we were watching Braveheart (well, I was in and out of the room and commenting loudly on Medieval battle tactics, because, despite it now being an old game, I still happily play Age of Kings. There is a William Wallace tutorial on it, so I was like, "Bleh, I know this story. NEAT, he got run through with a pike!" I decided to play a bit last night because it got me in the mood, but decided to play the slightly more interesting Joan of Arc campaign instead of the William Wallace tutorial. Then I went, "Hey, there is a Battle of Agincourt scenario too isn't there?" So I played that one and what do I learn - In the scenario you have to keep ol' King Henry alive and get him back to England, all you have is a small army, consisting mainly of Yeomen.
I first learned about this particular fracas in the 1999 production of Joan of Arc starring Leelee Sobieski as Joan (and, as I discovered this morning, Neil Patrick Harris as the Dauphin, which just makes it MORE awesome). This was a 2 part miniseries thing aired on TV, but it's also available now on DVD.
In it I remember one of the generals telling the tale, of how the English archers slaughtered the French cavalry. The character, being French, made it look like the English were bloodthirsty and savage and that the French never stood a chance. (Warning, my knowledge of Agincourt is really limited to this movie and that game, so I may have facts wrong). In reality the English were pretty much resigning themself to a loss and just wanted to get the hell back on English soil. They were seriously outnumbered. The problem was getting through lines of French heavy cavalry.
It was only due to a quirk of the terrain and weather that they won. The cavalry had to charge uphill, across a field that had turned into a quagmire due to rain. Henry figured, if they could get a line of Yeomen at the top, they could pick off the slowed down French cavs as they approached. There is a reason "Elite Longbowman" is the English unique unit in Age of Kings.
They won. Just, it was enough for Henry to retreat back to England. Apparently in the end, because neither the French or English truly won the war, it created a vacuum that was promptly filled by Burgundy.
But shit, I am interested in this. Now I'm even more keen to see Tom rip it up as Henry in this movie.
What I didn't realise until recently is that Henry V focuses on the Battle of Agincourt. Last night we were watching Braveheart (well, I was in and out of the room and commenting loudly on Medieval battle tactics, because, despite it now being an old game, I still happily play Age of Kings. There is a William Wallace tutorial on it, so I was like, "Bleh, I know this story. NEAT, he got run through with a pike!" I decided to play a bit last night because it got me in the mood, but decided to play the slightly more interesting Joan of Arc campaign instead of the William Wallace tutorial. Then I went, "Hey, there is a Battle of Agincourt scenario too isn't there?" So I played that one and what do I learn - In the scenario you have to keep ol' King Henry alive and get him back to England, all you have is a small army, consisting mainly of Yeomen.
I first learned about this particular fracas in the 1999 production of Joan of Arc starring Leelee Sobieski as Joan (and, as I discovered this morning, Neil Patrick Harris as the Dauphin, which just makes it MORE awesome). This was a 2 part miniseries thing aired on TV, but it's also available now on DVD.
In it I remember one of the generals telling the tale, of how the English archers slaughtered the French cavalry. The character, being French, made it look like the English were bloodthirsty and savage and that the French never stood a chance. (Warning, my knowledge of Agincourt is really limited to this movie and that game, so I may have facts wrong). In reality the English were pretty much resigning themself to a loss and just wanted to get the hell back on English soil. They were seriously outnumbered. The problem was getting through lines of French heavy cavalry.
It was only due to a quirk of the terrain and weather that they won. The cavalry had to charge uphill, across a field that had turned into a quagmire due to rain. Henry figured, if they could get a line of Yeomen at the top, they could pick off the slowed down French cavs as they approached. There is a reason "Elite Longbowman" is the English unique unit in Age of Kings.
They won. Just, it was enough for Henry to retreat back to England. Apparently in the end, because neither the French or English truly won the war, it created a vacuum that was promptly filled by Burgundy.
But shit, I am interested in this. Now I'm even more keen to see Tom rip it up as Henry in this movie.
