October 25 is the feast day of St. Crispian, a third century Christian martyr. Crispian is also known as Crispin, both names no doubt derived from his Latin name, Crispianus. He was a shoemaker who was beheaded in Rome in the year 286 and is the patron saint of cobblers, leather workers, and weavers.St. Crispian is perhaps most famous for his many mentions in Shakespeare's play, The Life of King Henry V. The great battle at Agincourt took place on October 25, 1415, and is immortalized in Henry's rousing speech to the troops prior to the fight.
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse:
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say, 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:
'Then will he strip his sleeve and shows his scars,
And say, 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words,
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England, now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
You've got to hear it to appreciate it. Listen to Kenneth Branagh delivering this goosebump rendition from his 1989 film. Nowadays, one might identify this as the "Band of Brothers" speech, since the title for that classic HBO television series leaps directly from the closing lines of Henry's soliloquy to his troops.
I hadn't realized that today was St. Crispian's day until I did my research this evening. How fortuitous that I decided to take a peek at the Church calendar. Today's honoring of Crispian the saintly cobbler renders me much more at peace with the three pairs of shoes I bought this afternoon.
