An archer tells his story. Hear him talk about joining the army hundreds of miles from where he lived, his voyage across the Channel, his time in France, and his part in the famous battle.

Hear how he returned home a rich but scarred veteran. After several decades of peace, the English had resumed the war amid the failure of negotiations with the French in 1415. In the campaign, many soldiers died from disease and the English numbers dwindled; they tried to withdraw to Calais but found their path blocked by a considerably larger French army. Despite the numerical disadvantage, the battle ended in an overwhelming English victory. This battle began the use of the longbow in very large numbers, the English and Welsh archers making up nearly 80 percent of Henry’s army.

A pilgrim during the period of the Black Death tells the story of his journeys through France, his brush with the great pestilence and its effect on him and his country.

The Black Death began in Eurasia and lasted from 1346 to 1353. It was the most fatal pandemic in history (so far), killing 75 to 200 million people between 1347 and 1351. Bubonic plague is spread by fleas, but also spreads via the air from person to person.