Drayton’s Agincourt Banners

Drayton’s Agincourt Banners
Dr. M.A.K. Duggan

The poet Michael Drayton (1563-1631) included in his versified account of the Battle of Agincourt a description of the banners supposedly carried by the contingents of men from each county of England and Wales who fought there independent of any feudal lord. Some of these banners have obvious associations with their appropriate (historic) counties, while others are unusual or even odd. They do not seem to have attracted much attention from armorists, surprisingly. This lecture is an introductory presentation of the subject, including the question of their authenticity; much of the further work of exploration would probably have to be undertaken locally, county by county, preferably by persons informed in both local history and heraldry.