Backpost Agincourt
A bit of a backpost really. But I want to do some blogs about my recent holiday in Normandy and Agincourt. I am going to start with the last weeken
d, the one we spend in Agincourt. To be honest there is nothing left of the original battlefield. Just one informationtablet and a small monument. It was such a long time ago of course, 1415. And because it was such a huge French defeat, the French don't really flock there. The museum in the village however is very nicely done. Lot's of information and nice displays.
The next day was the day of the reenactments and we made sure we were early as we wanted our car up front as in the evening we had to drive back
home. I was amazed at how many Dutch stands there were, but then again it is not that far. The reenactors kept us busy the whole day and that was very nicely done. We also met up with a facebook friend of mine who was one of the reenactors and it was very nice meeting him. It gave the day certainly something extra. The demonstrations started with how the medieval knight armed himself. I have a great deal of respect for these reenactors walking around in arm
or! Since I done some watercarrying on the field last year I know better how very hard it is. Later there was an archery competition. Agincourt is of course famous for the British longbow. It was one of the first battles in which knights in armor on horses were useless. It had rained for days before the battle and they were completely bogged down in the mud easy pickings for the footsoldiers and the archers. The differences in casualties on both sides was shocking. I very much enjoyed the tournament. There were 8 knights on horseback who showed several elements of 
the joust. Knights on horses are always impressive to watch and I just love taking photo's on days like these. At 4 o'clock the piece de resistance was the big melee of both armies.It was awesome, the soldiers going at each other, the archers [with blunted arrows of course it was very impress
ive and I went home very satisfied.
Now if you want to read about this period... There was one book that I read to get some backgroundinfo. Juliet Barker's Agincourt. It gave a lot of background info about what happened befo
re and after the battle and was easy to read. I am looking forward to [and have pre-ordered] Ian Mortimer's 1415. I read his book on Edward III and was very impressed on his new theories on the death of Edward II. If you like non-fiction history books it is well worth to read it. And one book I would still like to read is Robert Hardy's book on the longbow, but it is hard to get at an affordable price at the moment unfortunately. So plenty to read for everyone. And if you are ever able to go to Agincourt in July and see the reenactments it is worth it!
d, the one we spend in Agincourt. To be honest there is nothing left of the original battlefield. Just one informationtablet and a small monument. It was such a long time ago of course, 1415. And because it was such a huge French defeat, the French don't really flock there. The museum in the village however is very nicely done. Lot's of information and nice displays.The next day was the day of the reenactments and we made sure we were early as we wanted our car up front as in the evening we had to drive back
home. I was amazed at how many Dutch stands there were, but then again it is not that far. The reenactors kept us busy the whole day and that was very nicely done. We also met up with a facebook friend of mine who was one of the reenactors and it was very nice meeting him. It gave the day certainly something extra. The demonstrations started with how the medieval knight armed himself. I have a great deal of respect for these reenactors walking around in arm
or! Since I done some watercarrying on the field last year I know better how very hard it is. Later there was an archery competition. Agincourt is of course famous for the British longbow. It was one of the first battles in which knights in armor on horses were useless. It had rained for days before the battle and they were completely bogged down in the mud easy pickings for the footsoldiers and the archers. The differences in casualties on both sides was shocking. I very much enjoyed the tournament. There were 8 knights on horseback who showed several elements of 
the joust. Knights on horses are always impressive to watch and I just love taking photo's on days like these. At 4 o'clock the piece de resistance was the big melee of both armies.It was awesome, the soldiers going at each other, the archers [with blunted arrows of course it was very impress
ive and I went home very satisfied.Now if you want to read about this period... There was one book that I read to get some backgroundinfo. Juliet Barker's Agincourt. It gave a lot of background info about what happened befo
re and after the battle and was easy to read. I am looking forward to [and have pre-ordered] Ian Mortimer's 1415. I read his book on Edward III and was very impressed on his new theories on the death of Edward II. If you like non-fiction history books it is well worth to read it. And one book I would still like to read is Robert Hardy's book on the longbow, but it is hard to get at an affordable price at the moment unfortunately. So plenty to read for everyone. And if you are ever able to go to Agincourt in July and see the reenactments it is worth it!
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