Details from Battle of Agincourt painting by Graham Turner (page 3)

THE BATTLE OF AGINCOURT - 25th October 1415

Below are more large detail images taken from Graham Turner's new large oil painting of the Battle of Agincourt, along with some text describing what is shown.

This is page 3 - Return to Introduction or view painting details PAGE 1 or PAGE 2

Prints reproduced from this painting are available, on paper or canvas - CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

The French men at arms have just struggled across a few hundred yards of muddy, ploughed field, ground further churned up by the overnight rain and failed cavalry charges directed at the English archers. Panicked horses running back into them as they advanced added to the chaos, and the constant hail of arrows shot at them by the English longbowmen, seeking out any weak spots in their armour and forcing them to keep their visors lowered and heads down; by the time the survivors had reached the thin line of English men at arms, they would have been exhausted.

'For when some of them, killed when battle was first joined, fall at the front, so great was the undisciplined violence and pressure of the mass of men behind that the living fell on top of the dead, and others falling on top of the living were killed as well.....'

Then, lightly armoured archers joined the struggle, despatching the tired and struggling French knights and nobles with whatever weapons they had to hand: swords, daggers, and even the large wooden mauls (mallets) they had used to drive in their wooden stakes. Meanwhile, the remaining archers continued their barrage of arrows, shooting virtually point blank at their enemies close at hand, and over their heads at the more distant targets of the advancing waves of Frenchmen keen to have their opportunity to fight the English.

A great number of French nobles gathered at Agincourt to take on the English army, and many of them met their deaths there. Others were captured and held for ransom, including the Duke of Orleans (1), who was kept captive for twenty-four years.

Other banners shown include that of John, Duke of Alencon (2), who led the main battle and is credited in some accounts as having fought his way through the melee to Henry V and dealing the fatal blow to the Duke of York, before being killed himself while trying to surrender.
3 - Hugo van Lannoy, Knight of the Golden Fleece - captured.
4 - Edward, Duke of Bar, killed at Agincourt.
5 - John, Count of Roucy - killed.
6 - Ferry de Lorraine, Count of Vaudemont - killed.
7 - John, Vicount of Breteuil - captured.
8 - John, Duke of Bourbon - captured at Agincourt and died a prisoner in England in 1433.
9 - David, Lord of Rambures, Grand Master of the Crossbowmen - killed along with three of his sons.
10 - Jacques, Lord of Crequy, Marshal of Guinne - taken prisoner and killed at Agincourt.
11 - The sacred Oriflamme banner, taken from the abbey of Saint-Dennis at the beginning of the Agincourt campaign. It was carried by Guillaume de Martel, who died in the battle, and the banner was lost.
12 - Guichard Dauphin, Lord of Jaligny, Grand Master of the King's Household - killed.
13 - Jacques, Lord of Dampierre, Admiral of France - killed in the front line.
14 - Louis, Count of Vendome - commanded the left wing and taken prisoner by Sir John Cornwall.

Amongst the French men at arms stumbling forward are Jean le Meingre, called Boucicaut, Marshal of France (15), who was dragged wounded from a pile of corpses and held captive in England until his death in 1421. Also Charles of Artois, Count of Eu (16), who was taken prisoner and not released until 1438, and Ghillebert de Lannoy, lord of Willerval, who can be seen lying amongst the dead and wounded (17). He was chamberlain to the Burgundian Count of Charolais, and a brother of Hugo van Lannoy, whose banner can be seen above. He left an account of his experience at Agincourt;

'I was wounded in the knee and the head, and I laid with the dead. But when the bodies were searched through, I was taken prisoner, being wounded and helpless, and kept under guard for while.'
He goes on to describe how he survived the killing of the prisoners by the English, fearful of a French counter attack - still a controversial episode - before being sold to Sir John Cornwall;
'There I was when the English returned, so I was taken prisoner again and sold to Sir John Cornwall, thinking that I was someone of high status since, thank God, I was well accoutred when I was taken the first time according to the standards of the time. So I was taken to Calais and thence to England until they discovered who I was, at which point I was put to ransom for 1,200 golden crowns along with a horse of 100 francs. When I left my master, Sir John Cornwall, he gave me 20 nobles to purchase a new suit of armour'
From an article by Professor Anne Curry

The banner of Charles d'Albret, Constable of France (18) can be seen fallen amongst the piles of bodies, perhaps near to d'Albret himself, who was killed leading the front line.

CLICK HERE to return to the introduction to Graham Turner's Battle of Agincourt painting.

ORIGINAL PAINTING - Graham Turner's original oil painting is available to purchase - CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Agincourt print

Graham Turner's painting of the Battle of Agincourt is available as a high quality print - CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

A special canvas edition is also be available, in two alternative sizes, with each reproduction individually printed on very high quality canvas and stretched on wooden stretcher bars by the artist himself, ensuring a picture as close to the original as possible.

PAINTING DIARY

See how Graham Turner transformed a blank canvas into the finished work of art - CLICK HERE to follow the creation of 'The Battle of Agincourt, with stage by stage photos taken as the painting took shape on his easel.

(left) Graham Turner at work on his Battle of Agincourt painting.