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When is St Crispins Day?

St Crispin is the patron saint of shoemakers. His day is remembered in non-Catholic England because of the famous battle of Agincourt that took place on the 25th October 1415.

More specifically it is rembered because in Shakespeare's play Henry V. In Act 4, Scene 3 the young warriror King adresses his troops prior to battle and gives a stirring speech that concludes:

"And gentlemen in England now-a-bed 
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here, 
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks 
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."

Famous screen performances by Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Brannagh allow us all to see what great drama can flow from Shakespeare's pen.

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