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TOWARDSAEUROPEANHISTORYOF
HENRYV
25
Thefield
TheremembranceactatAzincourtextendsbeyondtheheritagemuseum.Onthefield
itselfanannualAzincourtRemembranceTournamentisheld,includinganInterna-
tionalJoustCompetition,aswellasanArcheryCompetitioninwhichsubscribersmay
freelyparticipate,althoughtheyarekindlyrequestednottoturnuponthedaywith
sophisticatedmodernbowslikeRambo’s.Infact,theyareadvisedtocometothere-
playofhistorywithmoreorlessauthenticweapons,replicasofexamplesstillinexis-
tence.InatwistthatrecallsOscarWilde’smottoaboutlifeimitatingart,theorganisa-
tionoftheArcheryCompetitionactuallyrecommendstheweaponsmadebyRobin
Knight,themanwhoalsosupplieshisbowstotheShakespeare’sGlobeTheatrein
London.
Inall,itisworthstressingthattheremembranceactatthebattlefieldofAzincourt
doesnotglorifythebattle,but,likethemuseum,propagatesinternationalpeace.This
alsoexplainswhythearcheryteamsthatcompeteagainstoneanotherarenevermade
upjustofEnglishorofFrencharchers.Theteamsarealwaysmixed,sothattheFrench
aswellastheEnglishalwayswin,inthesamewaytheFrenchandtheEnglishalways
lose.
Turbines
Onlyonceinrecentyearshastherebeenathreatofrealnewhostilitiesonthefieldof
Azincourt.Thishappenedinthefallof2003,whenAzincourtresidentPatrickFrenet
alertedtheinternationalpresstothefactthatplanswereunderwaytobuild4wind
turbinessoclosetothesiteofthebattleinAzincourt,thatitwouldsurelydefacethis
lieudemémoireforever.Innotime,theFrenchandtheBritishwereupinarms,notas
enemies,asin1415,but,asmighthavebeenexpectedinEuropeatthebeginningofthe
newmillennium,sidebyside,asbrothers-in-arms.TheMonmouth-bornbusinessman
andarcher,DonBaggs,eventhreatenedtocomeovertoAzincourtwithathousand
archerstoprotectthelocalresidentsagainstthedestructiveadvanceofcapitalismwith
itsseductivebutfalseecologicalconsiderations.
25
Foralongtime,itremaineduncertainwhatwouldhappentotheoriginalplansfor
aturbinesitetothesouth-westofthebattlefield.Itwasominous,therefore,whenven-
turingsomedistancebeyondthebattlefield,toobservehowthewindturbines(oraeo-
liennes,astheFrenchpoeticallytermthem)seemedtobeadvancingonAzincourt.
Ofcourse,thereisnothingnewaboutwindturbinesatthehistoricsitesofEurope.
OneneedonlyturntoSpain.Surely,thepainterFrancisGoyawouldspininhisgrave
ifheknewthatthepresentviewfromtheroomwherehewasborninFuentetodosis
alsodominatedbywindturbines.
25See<http://scatoday.net/node/1506>.