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50 free Battle of Agincourt trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
On 25 October 1415, Saint Crispin's Day, a sick and hungry English army trying to reach Calais was cornered in a muddy field in northern France by a much larger French force. By evening the flower of French chivalry lay in heaps in front of the English line, and Henry V went home to a hero's welcome. Agincourt became the most famous English victory of the Hundred Years' War, and Shakespeare made it immortal. These 50 questions cover the campaign and the battle: the failed negotiations and the tennis balls, the siege of Harfleur, the march to the Somme, the 80 percent of Henry's army who were archers, the sharpened stakes, the Constable who drowned in his helmet, Henry's dented crown and the order to kill the prisoners. There are questions on the aftermath too: the dukes and counts who died, the eyewitness chronicles, Anne Curry's argument that the odds were only four to three, the Agincourt Carol, the St Crispin's Day speech and the films by Olivier, Branagh and the one with Timothée Chalamet. Easy questions stick to the king, the date and the longbow; the expert tier asks about heralds, surgeons and Christine de Pizan. Every answer is cited and explained.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01On which date was the Battle of Agincourt fought?
25 October 1415
It was Saint Crispin's Day, which gave Shakespeare his speech.
Q 02The battle fell on the feast day of which saint?
Crispin
Shakespeare's Henry promises his men will be remembered on it every year.
Q 03Agincourt was a battle of which long conflict?
The Hundred Years' War
The war ran from 1337 to 1453.
Q 04Which English king led his army in person at Agincourt?
Henry V
He fought hand-to-hand and took an axe blow to the helmet.
Q 05Why did the French king not command his army at Agincourt?
He suffered from psychotic illness
Charles VI's bouts of madness left the Armagnac nobles in charge.
Q 06Who commanded the French army, holding the office of Constable?
Charles d'Albret
He was among the dead, reportedly drowning in his helmet in the mud.
Q 07Roughly what share of Henry's army were English and Welsh archers?
80 percent
The battle is famous for the longbow above all.
Q 08Which two earlier English victories are usually named alongside Agincourt?
Crécy and Poitiers
Crécy was fought in 1346 and Poitiers in 1356.
Q 09In which year did Shakespeare write Henry V?
1599
The battle fills Act IV, though no actual fighting is staged.
Q 10English dominance after the battle lasted until which defeat in 1429?
The Siege of Orléans
That was the siege Joan of Arc famously lifted.
Q 11Who was the principal French herald who helped name the battle with Henry afterwards?
Montjoie
They settled on Azincourt, the nearest fortified place.
Q 12The English eyewitness account, the Gesta Henrici Quinti, was probably written by whom?
A royal chaplain
He would have watched from the baggage train.
Q 13Henry claimed the French throne through which ancestor?
Edward III
English kings were generally ready to drop the claim in return for Aquitaine.
Q 14Henry demanded the unpaid ransom of which captured French king?
Q 21Who led the right wing of the English army?
Edward, Duke of York
He was killed in the battle.
Q 22Which elderly veteran commanded the English archers?
Sir Thomas Erpingham
Shakespeare gives him a cameo on the eve of battle.
Q 23What did the archers drive into the ground to deter cavalry?
Sharpened wooden stakes
At Crécy they had used pits instead; the idea may have come from Nicopolis in 1396.
Q 24What penalty did Henry threaten for breaking silence the night before battle?
John II
The 1.6 million crowns dated from his capture at Poitiers in 1356.
Q 15Which French princess did Henry propose to marry as part of a settlement?
Catherine
He asked for a dowry of 2 million crowns; the French offered 600,000.
Q 16Which port did Henry besiege after landing in August 1415?
Harfleur
It surrendered on 22 September after a longer siege than expected.
Q 17Which English-held port was Henry marching towards when the French blocked him?
Calais
The march was meant as a provocation to the dauphin as much as a retreat.
Q 18Which river did the French defend, forcing Henry to detour south to find a ford?
The Somme
The English finally crossed south of Péronne.
Q 19How far had the English marched in two and a half weeks before the battle?
260 miles
They were short of food and suffering from dysentery.
Q 20The traditional battlefield lies between Azincourt and which other wood?
Tramecourt
A lack of finds there has led some historians to place the battle further west.
Losing an ear
He wanted his men focused and the French unable to gauge his numbers.
Q 25Henry reportedly told his archers the French had vowed to cut off what?
Two fingers from each right hand
Whether the threat was ever made is still debated.
Q 26About how many men-at-arms did the French army have?
10,000
Plus 4,000 to 5,000 archers, crossbowmen and shield-bearers.
Q 27Which two dukes led the French main battle behind the vanguard?
Alençon and Bar
Both died in the fighting.
Q 28What recent weather made the ploughed field so deadly for armoured Frenchmen?
Heavy rain
Knights who fell could not get up, and some drowned in their helmets.
Q 29How long after sunrise did the two armies stand without fighting?
Three hours
The French were happy to wait for reinforcements such as the Duke of Brabant.
Q 30Why did the English have to pull up and re-plant their stakes?
Henry advanced to provoke the French
A charge during the move could have been fatal, but the French cavalry hesitated.