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TOWARDSAEUROPEANHISTORYOF
HENRYV
29
anobserverlikeTimothyGartonAsh,directoroftheEuropeanStudiesCenteratSt.
Antony’sCollege,Oxford,wasessentiallyrightwhenhedescribedtheproceedings,
notinUS-Frenchterms,butinAnglo-Frenchterms,asfollows:
Thereissomethingrathernew:Americafeelssoconfidentofitsownmilitarypowerand
moralrightnessthatitwillmarchintothemostexplosiveregionintheworldwithjustoneeffec-
tiveally(twoifyoucountAustralia).Andsomethingveryold:theUnitedNationsdiplomacyfi-
nallycamedowntoaconflictbetweenEurope’soldestadversaries,EnglandandFrance.Againas
atAgincourtin1415.
31
ItismycontentionthattheengagementbetweenEnglandandFranceoverIraqput
anendtowhatPhilippeContamineintheintroductiontothegraphicnovelaboutthe
BattleofAgincourtthatwelookedatdescribedasaperiodofirenicorpeacefulrela-
tionsbetweenFranceandBritain.Now,5yearslater,Contamine’swordsinthepreface
sounddownrightarchaic:“now,atthebeginningofthis,the21stcentury,wearewit-
nessinginacontextofpeaceandunderstandingbetweenFranceandtheUnitedKing-
dom,theapogeeofadualdevelopmentwhichcouldbedescribedasbothhistoricaland
“historial:”atermtoillustratethecollectiveexperiencebasedonpeople’smemory
ratherthanjusthistoricalfact.”
32
WithOperationIraqiFreedom,this“contextenaturellementirénique”between
FranceandEngland(whichmayalsobesaidtoaccountfortheFrenchpremièreof
HenryVattheAvignonFestivalof1999,dealtwithindetailbyEmmaSmith),was
severelychallenged,andithassincerevealedtheunderlyingtraumaofAzincourtin
aratherdisturbingmanner.
33
ThisbecomesparticularlyclearfromthewritingsrelatedtotheelectionofLondon
ratherthanParisasthevenueforthe2012Olympics.OntheseventhofJuly2005,Mi-
chelMosseronanobscure,unedited,andnodoubtelusivewebsite(ofthekindatwhich
Muslimyoungsterscurrentlycommunicatewithoneanotheracrossnationalorfederal
borders),reportedontheOlympic2012scoopfortheEnglish.Indisturbingterms,it
sketchedthehistoryofAnglo-Frenchrelations,beginningwiththestatement:“1415
–Azincourt:unbâtardfile,enrasecampagne,unedérouilléeàungrandetvieuxnoble
français.Putain,çacommencemal...”[Azincourt:thatfileofbastardsoldiers,on
aclosely-mownfield,thrashingourgrandandancientFrenchnobility.Sh-t,itdidnot
startwell...].ItnotedtheOlympicscoopof6July,andconcludedwiththeremark:
“7July2005:ExplosiondansleMétrodeLondres[...]24htroptard”[7July2005:Ex-
plosionontheLondonUnderground...24hourslate].
34Butithasalsoledtoaresponse
inthemediumthatwasShakespeare’sown,thatofthetheatre.Witnessthepremièreand
thepublicationofFrenchplaywrightPyMillot’sAzincourt,anewplaywhichpremiered
inParisinJanuary2005.
35
31T.GartonAsh,“BeyondtheSandstorm,”TheNewYorkTimes,20March2003.
32TheFrenchpréfaceisevenclearer:“Etvoiciqu’encedébutdeXXIèmesiècle,onassiste,dansun
contextenaturellementiréniqueentrenosdeuxnations,àl’apogéedecedoublemouvementquel’onpour-
raitqualifieràlafoisd’historiqueetd’‘historial’.”
33D.Goy-Blanquet,“ShakespeareanHistoryattheAvignonFestival,”inShakespeare’sHistoryPlays,
228–243.
34See<http://evohe.be/?p=116>(lastvisited31August2006).
35P.-Y.Millot,Azincourt:Deuxversionsd’unemêmepièce,Europe:ChezPyMillot,2005.
