Agincourt Carol Agincourt Carol The Agincourt Carol (sometimes known as the "Agincourt Song", the "Agincourt Hymn", or by its chorus and central words, "Deo gratias Anglia") is an English folk song written some time in the early 15th century. It recounts the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, in which the English army led by Henry V of England defeated that of the French Charles VI in what is now the Pas-de-Calais region of France. The carol is one of thirteen on the Trinity Carol Roll, probably originating in East Anglia, that has been held in the Wren Library of Trinity College, Cambridge since
Battle of Agincourt battle itself, leading critic Rose Zimbardo to characterise it as "full of warfare, yet empty of conflict." The play introduced the famous St Crispin's Day Speech, considered one of Shakespeare's most heroic speeches, in which Henry delivers movingly to his soldiers just before the battle, urging his "band of brothers" to stand together in the forthcoming fight. Critic David Margolies describes how it "oozes honour, military glory, love of country and self-sacrifice", and forms one of the first instances of English literature linking solidarity and comradeship to success in battle. Partially as a result, the battle was used as a