Azincourt
Azincourt
Commune in Hauts-de-France, France
Azincourt (/ˈæzɪnkɔːr(t)/ AZ-in-kor(t) ; French pronunciation: [azɛ̃kuʁ]) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.[3] It is situated 12 miles (19 kilometres) north-west of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise on the D71 road between Hesdin and Fruges. It is often erroneously known as Agincourt (/ˈædʒɪnkɔːr(t)/ AJ-in-kor(t)) in English, as the village had never been called as such throughout its history, however, there is a village that is named "Agincourt", located in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in Eastern France.
Azincourt | |
|---|---|
Site of the battle of Azincourt | |
| Coordinates: 50°28′N 2°08′E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Hauts-de-France |
| Department | Pas-de-Calais |
| Arrondissement | Montreuil |
| Canton | Auxi-le-Château |
| Intercommunality | CC des 7 Vallées |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Nicolas Poclet[1] |
| Area 1 | 8.46 km2 (3.27 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 305 |
| • Density | 36/km2 (93/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 62069 /62310 |
| Elevation | 100–142 m (328–466 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
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The Late Medieval Battle of Azincourt between the English and the French took place in the commune in 1415.
The name is attested as Aisincurt in 1175, derived from a Germanic masculine name Aizo, Aizino and the early Northern French word curt (which meant a farm with a courtyard; derived from the Late Latin cortem). The name has no etymological link with Agincourt, Meurthe-et-Moselle (attested as Egincourt 875), which is derived separately from another Germanic male name *Ingin-.[4]
Azincourt is known for being near the site of the battle fought on 25 October 1415 in which the army led by King Henry V of England defeated the forces led by Charles d'Albret on behalf of Charles VI of France, which has gone down in history as the Battle of Agincourt. According to M. Forrest, the French knights were so encumbered by their armour that they were exhausted even before the start of the battle.[5]
After he became king in 1509, Henry VIII is purported to have commissioned an English translation of a Life of Henry V[6] so that he could emulate him, on the grounds that he thought that launching a campaign against France would help him to impose himself on the European stage. In 1513, Henry VIII crossed the English Channel, stopping by at Azincourt.
The battle, as was the tradition, was named after a nearby castle called Azincourt. The castle has since disappeared and the settlement now known as Azincourt adopted the name in the seventeenth century.[7]
John Cassell wrote in 1857 that "the village of Azincourt itself is now a group of dirty farmhouses and wretched cottages, but where the hottest of the battle raged, between that village and the commune of Tramecourt, there still remains a wood precisely corresponding with the one in which Henry placed his ambush; and there are yet existing the foundations of the castle of Azincourt, from which the king named the field."[8]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 220 | — |
| 1975 | 210 | −0.66% |
| 1982 | 228 | +1.18% |
| 1990 | 250 | +1.16% |
| 1999 | 273 | +0.98% |
| 2007 | 291 | +0.80% |
| 2012 | 303 | +0.81% |
| 2017 | 307 | +0.26% |
| Source: INSEE[9] | ||
The original battlefield museum in the village featured model knights made out of Action Man figures.[citation needed] This has now been replaced by the Centre historique médiéval d'Azincourt (CHM)—a more professional museum, conference centre and exhibition space incorporating laser, video, slide shows, audio commentaries, and some interactive elements.[10] The museum building is shaped like a longbow similar to those used at the battle by archers under King Henry.
Since 2004 a large medieval festival organised by the local community, the CHM, The Azincourt Alliance,[11] and various other UK societies commemorating the battle, local history and medieval life, arts and crafts has been held in the village.[12] Prior to this date the festival was held in October, but due to the inclement weather and local heavy clay soil (like the battle) making the festival difficult, it was moved to the last Sunday in July.
- Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department
- The neighbourhood of Agincourt, Toronto, Canada, named for Azincourt, not Agincourt, Meurthe-et-Moselle
- "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- Albert Dauzat; Charles Rostaing (1968). Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de lieux en France. éditions Larousse. p. 4.
- The House of Commons: 1509–1558, Volume 4; Stanley T. Bindoff, John S. Roskell, Lewis Namier, Romney Sedgwick, David Hayton, Eveline Cruickshanks, R. G. Thorne, P. W. Hasler (Boydell & Brewer, 1982)
- Henry VIII; J. J. Scarisbrick, p. 23
- "Azincourt Centre Historique". 20 February 2018.
- "Azincourt Alliance Home Page". Archived from the original on 4 December 2000.
- "Videos from Azincourt" at Azincourt Alliance Archived 3 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- "British towns twinned with French towns [via WaybackMachine.com]". Archant Community Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
