ABSTRACT

The battle plan was found in the Cotton manuscript Caligula Dv in the British Library covering Anglo-French relations in the reigns of King Henry V and Henry VI, was one of those badly damaged in the Cottonian fire and, according to the catalogue, 'can hardly be of any use'. Preceding the battle plan on folio 43 is a copy of Henry V's challenge of single combat sent to the Dauphin from the siege of Harfleur in September 1415, printed by T.Rymer. The plan is not dated but contains the names of the eleven leaders of the force it arranged in battle formation. These names, and the document's proximity to the Harfleur letter, allow the force to be identified as the advance-guard of the French army that opposed Henry V in October 1415. There are some illuminating parallels and contrasts between the battle plan and the tactics eventually employed by the French on the field of Agincourt the following week.