The third and final programme of the World's Worst Century series looks at the events of 25 October 1415, when the medieval world collided with a modern age.

The Hundred Years War convulsed northern Europe for most of the 14th century and intensified in the chaotic aftermath of the Black Death, The battle of Agincourt was its bloody climax.

For most of the war, the armoured knight had ruled supreme on the battlefields of Europe. However, at Agincourt, an army of French knights came face to face with a new, ruthless force: an army of motivated individuals rather than a mass of feudal serfs. The brutal encounter that followed changed the face of battle for ever.

Agincourt has become a classic symbol of national heroism in the face of impossible odds, but this film, based on first-hand accounts, tells the story from the point of view of the men in the thick of the battle. From contemporary records, a dramatic and moving story emerges of the last and bloodiest pitched battle of the Middle Ages, in which combat based on chivalric codes of honour would be cast aside for a new and ruthless approach to warfare. Agincourt set the seal on the world's worst century and paved the way for a new order.

Want to take your interest further? Try these websites and books…

Websites

Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval Britain
Everything the intrepid traveller needs to explore the age of chivalry.

Weapons that Made Britain
An examination of the sword, longbow, lance, shield and armour and how they affected warfare during the Middle Ages. Includes accounts of the battle of Crécy, which saw the longbow making its biggest impact, and the battle of Verneuil, when armour played a crucial role in one of the last confrontations of the Hundred Years War.

Castle
Step back in time to the vanished world of medieval Britain. Take virtual tours of 10 castles, watch video clips, study timelines and get more information.

Books

Agincourt 1415: Triumph against the odds by Matthew Bennett (Osprey/Campaign series 9, 1995)
An overview of an improbable military victory. Bennett goes to great lengths to explain how it happened and concludes that it resulted more from the failures of the French to take advantage of their numerical advantage than from the brilliance of Henry V.

The Agincourt War: A military history of the latter part of the Hundred Years War from 1369 to 1453 by Alfred H Burne (Wordsworth Editions, 1999)
Originally written in the 1950s as the second of a two-volume history, this is still one of the best accounts of the Hundred Years War. Covers all the great battles – Duguesclin, Agincourt, Valmont, Fresnay – and the main protagonists, including Henry V and Joan of Arc. There is also a discussion of the evolution of tactics and the use of artillery.

The Face of Battle: A study of Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme by John Keegan (Pimlico, 1991)
Classic history that examines war from the viewpoint of those who fought in it, detailing the truth behind 'the clatter of Agincourt, the thunder of Waterloo and the iron rain of the Somme'.