AGINCOURT
Now seen as an impudent gesture
A sign that most think is obscene.
Was first made by a warrior jester
On a field where a battle had been.
The French once again were our foe-men.
The place was called Agincourt.
They scoffed at our honest bow-men
Not knowing how well that they fought.
The French said if anyone lingers
When the last of the fighting is done.
We'll cut off two of your fingers
Just to prove that the battle WE won.
Those fingers that pull back the bow-line
And bring it right back to the draw.
To loose it each time, with an aim ever so fine,
That it soon puts an end to the war.
Then heedless of empty French prattle
The English archers laid on with a will.
And we now know the result of the battle.
England WON -- France NIL!
And after it they stuck up two fingers
And said "You French are right out of LUCK!"
Now the memory of that battle still lingers
Every time an Englishman says ---- (Frenchmen)
Author notes
Is this mild enough Dancing Gypsy??
Allegedly this is the true origin..... unless you know something different!
Any historians out there I know the bowmen were mainly Welsh. Call it poetic license. Please.
Written January 1st, 2001
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Thanks for your comment Kevin. Glad you liked it.
Jim -
Good one! I knew this story before but it is refreshing to hear it again in such rambuctious verse! More power to you! Applause!
Edited on Jun 13, 8:38 because ''. -
I'm back! LOL! Anyways I loved the flow of this poem and articulation of the point you were making (that the Frenchmen suck...muhahahaha
...) guess I got carried away. Anyways, an excellent write, keep it up.
~Vladd
Edited on Jun 09, 7:26 p.m. because ''. -
you cant force me to have a quote
Ah now this is interesting as I knew two versions of this, the one you wrote of as above and the one where they cut off the middle finger so they couldnt pull back their bows...hence the one finger salute you tend to see a lot of these days....
Anyway, you clever old hector, the rhyming once again, was top notch (now where does that saying come from! -
Thanks. Even a pedagogue needs to "bow" to the knowlege of a pedant occasionally. I really must look more closely at the fings wot I have rote.
Edited on Jun 13, 10:45 because ''. -
Good poem Jim lad. Is it true?
I hate to sound like a pedant (perhaps I should have been an English teacher), but you've put 'cut of' instead of 'cut off'.
PR (Pedantic Robin).
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You can diss the French (the wusses) but "mild"? Oh, the "no racial slurs" rule... hmmm... I think I will edit that. But anyway this is a more than slightly amusing poem because I am very proud of my UK heritage (and not so much the French). So the origin of the finger. Nice.
Really good poem! Keep it up.
~Vladd
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