Saints Crispin and Crispinian are the patron saints of cobblers, tanners. and leather workers. Some accounts give they were brothers. In the tradition of St. Paul, they were Christian missionaries in Gaul and made shoes to support themselves. Later, they were martyred for their faith on October 25, 285 or 286. [reference: CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Sts. Crispin and Crispinian]
And this holy feast day on October 25th marks battles of English history retold in its literature.
* One a great victory against all odds
* The other an agonizing defeat because of the odds
Let's take a look at the wars, the battles, and the literature for each case.
First, the Great Victory
For the text: SCENE III. The English camp.
From this scene we get the phrase ...
* Band of Brothers *
As a footnote: Such was the title of the HBO mini-series, Band of Brothers, taken from the Stephen Ambrose book - telling the story of Easy company who fought in World War II.
Next, the Agonizing Defeat
The War: The Crimean War
This war from 1853-1856 pitted Russia against the Ottoman Empire, which found allies with Britain and France. Most of the fighting took place to control the Black Sea with land battles on the Crimean peninsula south of Russia - hence its name. [reference: Crimean War (Eurasian history [1853-56]) -- Encyclopedia Britannica]
As a footnote: Perhaps, the most famous person that emerged from this war was a woman - Florence Nightingale - whose service and writing greatly improved the care of wounded soldiers as well as reforms in health care.
The Battle: The Battle of Balaclava - The Charge of the Light Brigade
The Date: October 25, 1854 - St. Crispin's Day
A strategic loss, much has been written about the blunders and bravery in this battle. The Light Brigade was intended to pursue and harass retreating Russian artillery, but due to mis-communication the brigade was ordered into a suicidal frontal assault into the wrong artillery battery, which was in a well prepared defensive position. [reference: The Battle of Balaclava - Crimean War - Charge of the Light Brigade]
The result was a slaughter! (278 of the 600 killed or wounded.) The journalists reported the story back to London where the battle recounted in The Times became a national scandal.
The Story Teller: Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Poet, Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland [reference: Alfred, Lord Tennyson : The Poetry Foundation]
The Literary Work: The Charge of the Light Brigade
Tennyson wrote the poem a few minutes after reading the account in The Times. It told of the extraordinary bravery of British soldiers in face of enemy fire in spite of poor leadership. [reference: Charge of the Light Brigade]
The poem is read below:
For the text: The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson : The Poetry Foundation
The Summary of it all:
* Two battles - 450 years apart on St. Crispin's Day
* Two epic pieces of literature - one a play, the other a poem
* Two accounts of valor and bravery - one a victory against the odds, the other a defeat because of the odds
This is the stuff stories are made of
so told in this part of English, Literature, and Musings (ELM)....
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Previous posts on this series:
ELM (part 1) - English, Literature, and Musings (2013)
ELM (part 2) - Thug Notes does Hamlet (2013)
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Photo from - Wikipedia - Martyrdom of Saints Crispin and Crispinian
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