The Royal Welsh wear a leek on March 1st.
HENRY V, Act 4, Scene 7:
MONTJOY
The day is yours.
KING HENRY V
Praised be God, and not our strength, for it!
What is this castle call’d that stands hard by?
MONTJOY
They call it Agincourt.
KING HENRY V
Then call we this the field of Agincourt,
Fought on the day of Crispin Crispianus.
FLUELLEN
Your grandfather of famous memory, an’t please your
majesty, and your great-uncle Edward the Plack
Prince of Wales, as I have read in the chronicles,
fought a most prave pattle here in France.
KING HENRY V
They did, Fluellen.
FLUELLEN
Your majesty says very true: if your majesties is
remembered of it, the Welshmen did good service in a
garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their
Monmouth caps; which, your majesty know, to this
hour is an honourable badge of the service; and I do
believe your majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek
upon Saint Tavy’s day.
KING HENRY V
I wear it for a memorable honour;
For I am Welsh, you know, good countryman.
FLUELLEN
All the water in Wye cannot wash your majesty’s
Welsh plood out of your pody, I can tell you that:
God pless it and preserve it, as long as it pleases
his grace, and his majesty too!
KING HENRY V
Thanks, good my countryman.
OneGuy
There is a lesson in the battle of Agincourt. The French were arrogant and sure of themselves and they fought in the old traditional way. The English had a not so secret weapon the long bow and an armor piercing arrow. Once the arrow pierced the armor the French nobleman was pinned in his armor and could not be saved, they could only lay back in the mud and get trampled by the fight above them. This problem, i.e. an army fighting the last war methods and a new unexpected weapon.
My gut tells me the next war will be exactly this situation. The old ways for example would be the aircraft carrier and the unexpected weapon would be Drones or worse massive numbers of drones and hypersonic missiles.
Crazy Cattle 3D
It’s a testament to the enduring power of tradition and its connection to national identity.
brainrotclickers
Interesting take on tradition and warfare! The connection to Agincourt and the leek tradition is a cool way to think about how the past informs the future. Makes you wonder what the next big game-changer will be!
Please Leave a Comment!