FUN WITH MAPS – ISSUE 2022-188 DAILY FEATURE:

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (October 25, 2022) – In Issue 2022-188 of Steve Kovacs Fun with Maps, we are back following a brief hiatus for Loveland Beacon. Impact of the longbow on a long war is the topic today.

THE LONGBOW REIGNS SUPREME

The Battle of Agincourt, on 25 October 1415, was an unexpected English victory in the Hundred Years War with France.

The English soldiers were far outnumbered, but the superiority of the archers using the longbow overpowered the armored Frenchmen trying to muck their way through a narrow muddy battlefield.

The battle was well documented by eyewitnesses, which led to the well-known speech in Shakespeare’s Henry V.  Henry led the British forces in the battle which boosted the morale of his troops and gave the victory even more prestige.

The Shakespeare passage is known as the “St. Crispin’s Day speech”, a reference to St. Crispin whose name day was celebrated on October 25th.  In the heroic speech given by Henry before the battle, he rallies the troops, calling them “a Band of Brothers.”

This battle took place is northern France.  Homann’s map of France from 1720 is displayed here.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.