19 must demand of their followers a raising of the head and lifting of the eyes. The downcast rarely succeed, and he must encourage his men to focus not on what they lack but on the honor they will gain. Henry’s men had every reason to fear the heavily lopsided battle before them. Historians debate each army’s size, but it is generally agreed the English had between 6,000-9,000 men in arms facing a French army between 12,000 to 15,000.37 Also, the battle took place in France, far away from English reinforcements. The French troops were fresh for action, while Henry and his men had been on a campaign since early August, including a five-week siege of Harfleur. Now in October, the two armies would square off in a disproportionate bloodletting on a sacred day. St. Crispian’s Day remembers two brothers, Crispin and Crispian, beheaded on October 25, 285 or 286, by Diocletian for preaching the Gospel.38 Just as Crispin and Crispian faced their deaths with courage, so Henry calls his men to great valor though the odds were against them. He allows the coward to walk away from the fight. Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host, That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart; his passport shall be made, And crowns for convoy put into his purse; We would not die in that man’s company That fears his fellowship to die with us. (IV.iii.37-42) To those who remain belongs the honor. Those who survive will “stand o’tiptoe when this day is named” (IV.iii.45) and will each year at the feast “strip his sleeve and show his scars” (IV.iii.50). Henry demonstrates one of the greatest leadership traits, a vision for a better future.39 He stirs his men with an image of future glory and reward. That reward is not silver or gold, but something far greater, honor. THE BARD AND THE BULLDOG
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