1827.] I 521 ] 



MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE, DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN. 



The History of the Battle of A gin- 

 court, and of the Expedition of Henry 

 the Fifth into France, &c. t by Nich. H. 

 Nicolas ; 1827. The reader will naturally 

 ask, what could lead to a new and sepa- 

 rate history of this brilliant but familiar 

 event? Why, the secret is among the 

 MSS. of the British Museum was disco- 

 vered a list of the peers, knights, and men- 

 at-arms, who were actually at Agincourt. 

 To print was the first thought, from mo- 

 tives obvious enough, but the editor ham- 

 mers out another or two the interest it 

 possessed for the descendants and still 

 more, the data it furnished for estimating 

 the amount of the English army. At first, 

 also, a few pages prefixed to the list, 

 seemed sufficient merely to make a 

 " small tract" of it ; but then a small 

 tract, for so splendid a thing, was really 

 betraying its dignity, and, besides, flinging- 

 away an opportunity of making a justum 

 volumen. " Accordingly, the original idea 

 (says Mr. N.) was abandoned, and it was 

 resolved to collect all which had been said 

 by cotemporary writers of both countries 

 on the subject together with an account 

 of the preparations for the expedition it- 

 self, from the public records." 



To these public records, and cotempo- 

 rary authorities, consisting chiefly of Hen- 

 ry's biographer, who called, and doubtless 

 considered himself another Titus Livius, 

 Charles's biographer, St. Remy, Elmham, 

 Walsingham, Hardyng, Otterborne, Mon- 

 strelet, Pierre de Fenin, Jean Juv. des 

 Ursins, M. Labonreur's collection, Lyd- 

 gate's poem, the Fcedera, and the Rolls of 

 Parliament has now been added an ano- 

 nymous chronicler, whose labours have 

 long reposed, undisturbed, except occa- 

 sionally perhaps by Sharon Turner, among 

 the Cotton and Sloaue MSS. The writer, 

 it appears, was a priest, and was, as he 

 tells us, present at Agincourt, where he 

 sat on horseback with the other priests, 

 among the baggage in the rear of the bat- 

 tle. The MS. is in Latin, and, except by 

 the said Sharon Turner, intact, and by 

 him noticed only in the octavo edition of 

 his work. It is therefore nearly in a vir- 

 gin state. Of this valuable piece of vir- 

 ginity, all that relates to the year 1415 

 has been " literally translated, and every 

 word, (Mr. N. assures us) which occurs 

 from the day on which the fleet quitted 

 England, until Henry entered his palace 

 at Westminster, after his return, has been 

 introduced into the text." 



The volume before us, then, to page 

 Ixxxvii. contains a statement of Henry's 

 proceedings previously to his embarkation 

 the result of the editor's own researches ; 

 then follows the narrative of the anony- 

 M.M. New Series. VOL, IV. No. 23. 



inous priest, to page ccxlvii., with an. 

 ample supply of notes by the editor, 

 among which are seme, happily enough, 

 illustrative of Shakspeare; and close 

 upon the heels of the narrative comes 

 Lydgate's metrical, and probably very 

 faithful, account of the expedition. Then 

 re-appears the editor, in his character of 

 author, resuming his own story, and re- 

 tracing the events detailed by the chro- 

 nicler, and " submitting such comments 

 as it is the province of the historian to 

 make upon the events which are the sub- 

 jects of his attention." This is again in- 

 terrupted at page ccclxxiv. by the singu- 

 lar and entertaining description which the 

 same chronicle gives of the pageant pre- 

 pared for Henry's reception into London, 

 upon his return which is followed by 

 Lydgate's metrical account of it ; and 

 then, finally, comes the roll of the peers, 

 knights, &c. Now to the narrative or 

 rather to the introduction, for we have 

 not space for more. 



The pretence for Henry's invasion was 

 the assertion of his claim to the crown of 

 France, as the heir of Edward III. Ed- 

 ward's own title was indefensible j and 

 Henry's, of course, still more so, as he was 

 not even Edward's legitimate successor. 

 To this invasion he was prompted, says Mr. 

 Nicolas, by (Chicheley) the archbishop's 

 persuasions, and the remembrance of his 

 father's dying injunction to furnish em- 

 ployment for his people, and thus turn 

 their thoughts from his usurpation and 

 more probably by his own youthful am- 

 bition and more probably still, it may be 

 added, by the distracted stale of the 

 country, torn and divided by the Bur- 

 gundians and Armagnacs, and exposed, as 

 it was, to any body's attacks, by the 

 king's imbecility. No pains has Mr. N. 

 spared in ferreting out the circumstances 

 which preceded the invasion 5 but though 

 incidents in abundance are detailed, they 

 do uot string well together, because the 

 motives of the respective parties are still 

 wrapped in obscurity, and almost disre- 

 garded. 



The first indication of Henry's design; 

 was a demand of the crown as heir, in, 

 July 1414. This demand the French go*. 

 vernment refused even to discuss. What 

 followed then ? Why Henry, consequently, 

 says Mr. N., consented that Charles should 

 continue in possession ; but still demanded 

 other concessions, which it was equally 

 impossible to grant. In short stripping 

 Mr. N.'s laborious researches of their so- 

 lemnity Henry takes the first opportu- 

 nity, after his accession, to announce his 

 claim to the crown. The ambassador says 

 " My master claims your crown, and 

 3 X 



