In message , Brian Johnson <b.johnson@diamond.co.uk> writes
>Yep Andy's correct - we stick two fingers in the air - It was a the
>Battle of Agincourt where this supposedly started , when the English
>triumphed over a much larger French army that was badly organised
>(nothing new there then) . Very few English died but most of the
>French nobility were either killed by arrows or were put to the sword
>after being brought down from their horses ! T
And to expand this history lesson .....
At the battle of Agincourt, not only did the English (& Welsh) take particular
pleasure in waving their two arrow plucking fingers, they also carried a long,
thin dagger called a 'misericorde'.
When the french knights were knocked off their horses and landed face down
in the mud, they cried out for mercy in the expectation of being captured and
ransomed, as was the custom at the time. But as the french word for mercy is
'misericorde' ........
Normal LBC service will now be resumed.
C. R. Fenn '80 TR7 dhc London
|