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TOWARDSAEUROPEANHISTORYOF
HENRYV
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Azincourtwindturbines,28thDecember2005“TheSecondBattleofAgincourt”iswon
THEDAYISOURS,writesDonBaggs,whofirstalertedtheBattlefieldsTrustandotherstothis
threattothehistoricbattlefield.ThierryYverneauofAzincourt,whoinitiatedandledtheinter-
ventioninFranceagainsttheconstructionofaWindFarmveryclosetotheBattlefieldofAgin-
court,advisesasfollows:“OnTuesday20thDecember2005theseniorofficialofS.I.I.F.En-
ergyresponsiblefortheprojectvisitedmyhometoofficiallyannouncethefinalwithdrawalof
planstoinstallWindTurbinesatAzincourt.Headvisedthereasonsforhiscompany’sdecision
weretwofold;firstlythecloseproximityoftheTurbinestoaveryimportantHistoricSiteand
secondlytopreservegoodrelationswiththeEnglishpeopleandAssociationswhowereagainst
theproject.S.I.I.F.EnergyalsoadvisedthatM.Boulet,theMayorofAzincourt,regretfullyac-
ceptsthewithdrawaloftheprojectinhiscommune.WecelebrateourvictorywithourEnglish
friends,themoresobecausethisvictoryin‘TheSecondBattleofAgincourt’wasgainedtogether,
asfriends!”GratefulthanksforthisvictorymustofcoursegotoThierryYverneauandPatrick
FenetinAzincourtbutalsotothoseonthissideoftheChannelwhohavefreelygiventheirname,
time,energy,andinseveralnotablecasesputtheirreputationontheline,insupportofthiswor-
thycause.ParticularthankstomycolleagueDavidWilliams,toRobertHardyforhisunbridled
enthusiasmandinexhaustibleenergy,ProfessorAnneCurry,ProfessorRalphGriffiths,Professor
RichardHolmes,MichaelRaynerofTheBattlefieldsTrust,SueWhiteEx-MayorofMonmouth,
BarbaraWright,AndrewHelm,TomFoyChampionArcher,SueMillwardandthecountless
numberswhosignedoremailedtheirsupportfrom14countriesspreadthroughoutall5conti-
nents.Maythenextgenerationscontinuetoenjoythepeace,tranquillityandserenityofthisim-
portant“untouched”historicalsiteandlearnmoreofthisimportanterainAnglo/French/Welsh
heritageatTheCentreMediévalHistoriqueinthevillageofAzincourt.
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Trauma
DespitethelaudableobjectivesoftheBritishandtheFrench,pursuedbybothwith
genuineenergy,asinthecaseofthewindturbines,thememoryofAzincourtstillocca-
sionallyslidesintotrauma.“Trauma”iscentraltothegraphicnovel(orbandedessi-
née)withtheartworkdrawnbyOlivierLouis(aclearfanofLaurenceOlivier’s1944
screenadaptationofHenryV),basedonthestorybyapersonnamed“Rodolphe,”and
supervisedbyaScientificandPedagogicalCommittee.Thenovel,whichisonsaleat
themuseumgiftshop,isentitledLaBatailled’Azincourt(2001)andalsocomes,
translatedintoEnglishbyateamincludingmembersoftheSouthlandsSchool,asThe
BattleofAgincourt(2001).
LaBatailled’AzincourtisthestoryoftwoFrenchgentlemen,RicharddeValoisand
JacquesdeRenévillewhoarefortunatetoescapethemassacreof25October1415,and
tosurvivethebattle.LikeCharlesd’Orléans,theyaretakenprisonerandheldhostagein
England,bythecourteousSirRichardGyles.Here,oneofthetwomen,SirJacques,
developsarelationshipwithSirGyles’daughterElizabeth,whomheeventuallymarries.
ThisgraphicnovelabouttheBattleofAzincourtisnotjustaromance.AsPhilippe
Contaminenotesinthepreface,themarriagebetweenJacquesandElizabeth,though
26See<http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/news/>.