The English before Harfleur, 1415

This illustration, titled “The English before Harfleur, 1415,” depicts the English forces before Harfleur during the 1415 campaign, at the beginning of Henry V’s expedition in the Hundred Years’ War. The scene shows a mounted ruler directing siege operations, surrounded by soldiers, ladders, and equipment used against the town’s defenses. The image emphasizes the military and symbolic dimension of the episode, which preceded the surrender of Harfleur and the English advance deeper into the kingdom of France. Published around 1909 in the first volume of Cassell’s History of England, this engraving belongs to the tradition of early twentieth-century British historical illustration, concerned with visualizing major moments of the national past.