Your post is detailed as it highlights important facts about King Henry V’s speech. As you have stated, the speech took place on St. Crispin’s day which was on 25 th October 1415. The speech was meant to be a motivate the heavily outnumbered England soldiers by the French. The King raised three important issues in his speech. Firstly, the King evoked patriotism in his soldiers by reminding them what their motherland, England meant to them. He also reminded them of the price they ought to pay to belong as well as to protect their motherland. Lastly, the King reminded his soldiers the great reward they stood to gain in the event that they either died in the war or survived it. This was not only an important speech, but also a great motivational tool meant to prepare the troops for the battle of Agincourt.
Your post is also very informative. The post discusses the feudal system as well as his history in England. I have learnt that the system was initially used by the Normans after they settled in France around 900AD. The invasion and conquest of England by William I prompted the introduction of the feudal system to the country. Under the system, all the land in England was under the King’s ownership. A quarter of the land was his property while the rest was either leased or given to the church. The leasing was only allowed to royal and wealthy men, the Barons, who in return would serve on the royal council as well as pay rent and avail their subjects, the Knights, to serve in the military whenever the king demanded them. Besides keeping the land to themselves, the Barons gave it to the Knights in return for their service in the military. At the bottom of the system was the Feudal system was villains or serfs who were poor, had no rights and were subjects of the knights. This is a very strong background information that sets the basis of explaining how King Henry V’s speech is a representation of the feudal system.
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However, besides explaining the feudal system, your post does not offer a clear explanation of how King Henry’s speech represents the feudal system. A key point to note is the enormous power the king had over his people. As the owner and the sole controller of the entire land, King Henry V had all the powers to order the people to war. No one would have contradicted his order as the king would take away their land. However, King Henry chose to persuade his subjects to stand up and fight for their country. It is important to recall that, under the feudal system, the Barons, provided the Knights or the soldiers to serve in the military whenever the need arose. The threat of a French defeat would affect everyone including this powerful Barons. As such, his speech primary targeted his Barons who owned the soldiers. In so doing, he was sure that the Barons would provide him with every Knight they had in their possession. The first thing he raised was the issue of patriotism. King Henry V reminded the Barons and the soldiers that England belonged to every one of them and therefore, they should be ready to defend it at any time. He also proceeded to remind them of the reward they stand to gain if they defended their homeland. Given that most of them were afraid of death, the king reminded them ultimate sacrifice would be well-honored and if they survived, the soldiers stood to receive an even greater honor. The speech not only encouraged the soldiers to fight, but also prompted the Barons to provide all the soldiers they had in their possession. His persuasion and personalization of this war and the call of soldiers to gather courage is a principal characteristic of the feudal system.
