St Crispin and St. Crispinian Day
October 25, 2005 – 5:30 pmYou may recognize the name of the day “St. Crispin’s Day” from Harry’s speach in Henry V:
This day is called the Feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day and comes safe home
Will stand a-tiptoe when this day is named
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall see this day and live t’old age
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours
And say, ‘Tomorrow is Saint Crispian.’
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars
And say, ‘These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.’
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words—
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester—
Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered.
This story shall the good man teach his son,
And crispin Crispian shal ne’er go by
From this day to the ending of the world
But we in it shall be remembered,
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
King Harry, in Henry V, IV. iii. 40-60
He was speaking at the battle of Agincourt (which coincidently happened today also… funny how that works out.)
