Rosalind Mitchell says the name Agincourt could have offended Scots as well as the French. John Rushton finds the humour in news of a royal intervention
Never mind the possibility of offending the French by naming a submarine HMS Agincourt, Emma Brockes (Digested week, 31 January). What is often conveniently forgotten is that Agincourt (1415) was a strictly English victory. Scotland was on the other side, allied with France. Naming a vessel of the British Royal Navy after a defeat for a significant part of Britain seems odd, to say the least.
If the Royal Navy was minded to name a vessel Agincourt, perhaps it could restore the balance by calling another one Castillon, the 1453 Auld Alliance rout of a much larger English force that brought an end at last to the hundred years war. Curiously absent from the history syllabus in my English school.
Rosalind Mitchell
Edinburgh
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/feb/05/how-about-hms-backpedal-for-the-new-royal-navy-submarine
Author : Guardian Staff
Publish date : 2025-02-05 18:04:03
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