2 CO 
A G I 
his way to Calais without a battle, and equally impofTible 
to return to Harfl'eur with fo great an army in his rear, he 
refolved to hazard an aftion next morning, as the only 
means of preferving himfelf and his little army from de¬ 
ft ru ft ion. 
The Englifh army lodged that night in the villages of 
Agincourt, Maifoncelle,'and fome others; where they met 
with better accommodation than they had been accuffom- 
ed to for fome time part, and fpent part of their time in 
mutual exhortations to light bravely in the approaching 
battle. The king, overhearing fome of his nobles ex- 
prelTing a wiffi that the many brave men who were idle in 
England were prefent to a (lift them, is faid to have cried 
out—“ No! I would not have one man more :—if we are 
defeated, we are too many—if it fhall pleafe God to give 
\is the viftory, as I trull he will, the fmaller our number 
the greater our glory.” The moon happening to Ihine 
very bright, Henry, with fome of his bell: officers, care¬ 
fully examined the ground, and pitched upon a field of 
battle admirably calculated to preferve a little army from 
being furrounded by a great one. It was a gentle decli¬ 
vity from the village of Agincourt, of fufficient extent 
for his fmall army, defended on each fide by hedges, trees, 
and bruih-wood. Having placed guards, and kindled 
fires on all lides, the king and his army betook themfelves 
to reft; except fuch as were of a more ferious turn of mind, 
who, conlidering that as the lalt night of their lives, fpent 
it in devotion. 
The French, exulting in their numbers, confident of 
viftory, and abounding in provifions, fpent the night in 
noify feftivity, and in forming fanciful fchcmes about the 
difpofal of their prifoners and their booty. It was in ge¬ 
neral refolved to put all the Englifh to the fword, except 
the king and the chief nobility, who were to be taken pri¬ 
foners for the fake of their ranfom. 
On the morning of Friday, the memorable 25th of Oc¬ 
tober, A. D. 1415, the day of Crifpin and Crifpianus, 
the Englifh and French armies were ranged in order of 
battle, each in three lines, with bodies of cavalry on each 
wing. The conftable a’Albert, who commanded the 
French army, fell into the fnare that was laid for him, by 
drawing up his army in the narrow plain between the two - 
woods. This deprived him, in a great meafure, of the 
advantage he fhouid have derived from the prodigious 
fuperiority of his numbers ; obliged him to make his lines 
unneceffarily deep, about thirty men in file, to crowd his 
troops, particularly his cavalry, fo clofe together, that 
they could hardly move or life their arms; and, in a word, 
was the chief caufe of all the difafters that followed. The 
French, it is faid, had a cenfiderable number of cannon 
of different fizes in the field; but we do not hear that they 
did any execution, probably for want of room. The firft 
line of the French army, which confided of Sooo men-at- 
arms on foot mixed with 4000 archers, with 500 men-at- 
arms mounted on each wing, was commanded by the con- 
flable d’Albert, the dukes of Orleans and Bourbon, and 
many other nobles ; the dukes of Alenyon, Brabant, and 
Bar, &c. condufted the fecond line; and the earls of 
Marie, Darmatine, Fauconberg, &e. were at the head of 
the third line. The king of England employed various 
arts to fupply his defeft of numbers. He placed 200 of 
his bed archers in ambufii, in a low meadow, on the flank 
of the fil'd line of the French. His own firft line confided 
wholly of archers, four in file; each of whom, befides his 
bow and arrow's, had abattle-axe, a fword, and. a dake point¬ 
ed with iron at both ends, which he fixed before hint in the 
ground, the point inclining outwards, to proteft him from 
cavalry; which was a new invention, and had a happy 
effeft. That he might not be encumbered, he difmiffed 
all his prifoners, on their word of honour to Turrender 
themfelves at Calais, if he obtained the victory; and 
lodged all his baggage in the village of Agincourt, in his 
rear, under a (lender guard. The command of the fir(l 
line was, at his earned requeft, committed to Edward duke 
York, afliiled by the lords Beaumont, Willoughby, 
A G I 
and Fanhope; the fecond was condufted by the king, with 
his younged brother Humphrey duke of Gloucefter, the 
earls of Oxford, Marfhal, and Suffolk ; and the third was 
led by the duke of Exeter, the king’s uncle. The lines 
being formed, the king, in filming armour, with a crown 
of gold adorned with precious flones on his helmet, mount¬ 
ed on a fine white horfe, rode along them, and addrefled 
each corps with a cheerful countenance and animating 
fpeeches. To inflame their refentment againfi their ene¬ 
mies, he told them, that the French had determined to 
cut off three fingers of the right hand of every prifoner ; 
and to roufe their love of honour, he declared, that every 
foldier in that army who behaved well, fhouid from hence¬ 
forth be deemed a gentleman, and intitled to bear coat- 
armour. 
When the two armies were drawn up in this manner, 
they flood a conliderable time gazing at one another in fo- 
■lemn filence. But the king, dreading that the French 
would difeover the danger of their fituation and decline a 
battle, commanded the charge to be founded, about ten 
o’clock in the forenoon. At that inflant, the firft line of 
the Englifh kneeled down, and killed the ground; and, 
then darting up, difeharged a flight of arrows, which did 
great execution among the crowded ranks of the French. 
Immediately after, on a fignal being given, the archers in 
ambufli arofe, difeharged their arrows on the flank of the 
French line, and threw it into fome diforcer. The battle 
now became general, and raged with uncommon fury. 
The Englifh archers, having expended all their arrows, 
threw away their bows, and, rufliing forward, made dread¬ 
ful havoc with their fwords and battle-axes. The firft 
line of the enemy was, by thefe means, defeated; its lead¬ 
ers being either killed or taken prifoners. The fecond 
line, commanded by the duke d’ Alenyon (who had made 
a vow either to kill or take the king of England, or to 
peri fit in the attempt), now advanced to the charge, and 
was encountered by the fecond line of the Englifh, con¬ 
dufted by tiie king. This conflift was more clofe and fu¬ 
rious than the former. The duke of Glouceder, wound¬ 
ed and unhorfed, was protefted by his royal brother till 
he was carried off the field. The duke d’Alc-nyon forced 
his way to the king, and affaulted him with great fury; but 
that prince brought him to the ground, and difpatched 
him with his own hand. Dilcouraged by this difader, 
the fecond line made no more refidance; and the third fled 
without driking a blow ; yielding a complete and glorious 
viftory to the Englifh, after a violent druggie of three 
hours duration. 
The king did not permit his men to purfue the fugitives 
to a great didance, but encouraged them to take as many 
prifoners as they could on or near the field; in which they 
were fo fuccefsful, that, in a little time, his captives were 
more numerous than his foldiers. A great proportion of 
thefe prifoners were men of rank and fortune; for many 
of the French nobieffe being on foot, and loaded with 
heavy armour, could not make their efcape. Among 
thefe were the dukes of Orleans and Bourbon, the marfhal 
Boucicaut, the counts d’Eu, Vendome, Richemont, and 
Harcourt, and 7000 barons, knights, and gentlemen. The 
French left dead on the field of fiattle, the coodable d’Al- 
bert, the" three dukes of Alenyon, Brabant, and Bar, the 
archbifliop of Sens, one marfhal, thirteen earls, ninety- 
two barons, 1500 knights, and a far greater number of 
gentlemen, befides fevcral thou lands of common foldiers. 
Even the French historians acknowledge, that the lofs of 
the'Englifh was inconfiderable: thofe of our own contem¬ 
porary writers, who make it the greateft, affirm, that it did 
not exceed 100, and that the duke of York and the earl of 
Suffolk were the only great men who fell on that fide in 
this memorable aftion. 
AGIO,/ [an Italian word, fignitying eafe orconveni- 
ency.] A mercantile term, ufed chiefly in Holland and 
Venice, for the difference between the value of bank¬ 
notes and the current money. 
AGIQSYMANDRUM, / a wooden inftrument ufed 
3 ' b / 
