Battle of Agincourt Conquest of France", raising the popular prominence of particular events mentioned only in passing by the original chroniclers, such as the gift of tennis balls before the campaign. The most famous cultural depiction of the battle today is William Shakespeare's "Henry V", written in 1599. The play focuses on the pressures of kingship, the tensions between how a king should "appear" – chivalric, honest, and just – and how a king must sometimes "act" – Machiavellian and ruthless. Shakespeare illustrates these tensions by depicting Henry's decision to kill some of the French prisoners, whilst attempting to justify it and distance
Battle of Agincourt himself from the event. This moment of the battle is portrayed both as a break with the traditions of chivalry and as key example of the paradox of kingship. Shakespeare's depiction of the battle also plays on the theme of modernity. He contrasts the modern, English king and his army with the medieval, chivalric, older model of the French. Shakespeare's play presented Henry as leading a truly English force into battle, playing on the importance of the link between the monarch and the common soldiers in the fight. The original play does not, however, feature any scenes of the actual