of several counties to procure feathers from the
wings of geese, plucking six from each goose. An archer of this time was
clad in a cuirass, or a hauberk of chain-mail, with a salade on his
head, which was a kind of bacinet. Every man had a good bow, a sheaf of
arrows, and a sword. Fabian describes the archer's dress at the battle
of Agincourt. "The yeomen had their limbs at liberty, for their hose was
fastened with one point, and their jackets were easy to shoot in, so
that they might draw bows of great strength, and shoot arrows a yard
long." Some are described as without hats or caps, others with caps of
boiled leather, or wicker work, crossed over with iron; some without
shoes, and all in a very dilapidated condition. Each bore on his
shoulder a long stake, sharpened at both extremities, which he was
instructed to fix obliquely before him in the ground, and thus oppose a
rampart of pikes to the charge of the French Cavalry.

(F) _O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work to day!_]

A certain lord Walter Hungerford, knight, was regretting in the king's
presence that he had not, in addition to the small retinue which he had
there, ten thousand of the best English Archers, who would be desirous
of being with him; when the King said, Thou speaketh foolishly, for, by
the God of Heaven, on whose grace I have relied, and in whom I have a
firm hope of victory, I would not, even if I could, increase my number
by one; for those whom I have are the people of God, whom He thinks me
worthy to have at this time. Dost thou not believe the Almighty, with
these his humble few, is able to conquer the haughty opposition of the
French, who pride themselves on their numbers, and their own strength,
as if it might be said they would do as they liked? And in my opinion,
God, of his true justice, would not bring any disaster upon one of so
great confidence, as neither fell out to Judas Maccabeus until he became
distrustful, and thence deservedly fell into ruin. --_Nicolas's History
of Agincourt._

(G) _Enter King Henry, attended._] Henry rose with the earliest dawn,
and immediately heard three masses. He was habited in his "_cote
d'armes_," containing the arms of France and England quarterly, and wore
on his bacinet a very rich crown of gold and jewels, circled like an
imperial crown, that is, arched over. The earliest instance of an arched
crown worn by an English monarch. --_Vide Planch