It's true that Henry V did lead English troops against the French on St. Crispin's day. But it is bothersome that he may be best known for the speech Shakespeare invented about leading his army into battle that day. Many know Kenneth Branagh's version.
What he historically actually may have said was simply, "Fellas, let's go."
Or as Dan Jones put it in Henry V, "That Henry has inspired his small and weak army to overcome the larger, fresher, more confident, and more glamourous French one is not just the basis for a dramatic legend: it is military fact."
I enjoyed the book and recommend it. What leaves you is the question if Henry V was the greatest king in English history. Name one greater. People may argue Elizabeth or Victoria as greatest queen or greatest monarch. But as for kings - I'll take Henry V.
What troubling is it's "possible that Henry can be judged as a hero or a monster based on the same evidence." As Jones puts it, to apologists "he was as brave as Hector, as manly as Achilles, as imperious as Augustus, as eloquent as Paris, and as wise as Solomon." To detractors he was a stone cold killer. What’s not arguable is no Englishman in history conquered more of France than Henry V.
He was only king of England for roughly five years and died just short of his 36th birthday. But during his reign he was a combination of warrior monk, military genius, and master politician. About three-quarters of his troops were archers (many with long bows) and was an innovator in the use of cannons and bombardment. Could be argued that he was the father of both air power and artillery.
Henry V was about to be crowned the King of France but even that wasn't enough. On his deathbed he was planning a crusade to retake Jerusalem.
Amazing to think that the England Henry was born into was much smaller than you may think. It had a population of just about 2.3 million which is about the size of modern Houston, Texas. The road a boy born the son of a Duke takes in order to become king also makes great reading.
Had previously read Dan Jones Powers and Thrones and enjoyed his Henry V maybe even more. Can't wait to read another of his offering as he truly makes history come alive.
