My brother reminded me on the 598th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt (St. Crispin’s Day, October 25, 1415) that the famous Shakespearean passage that gives name to this blog site can be misinterpreted. “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers” doesn’t necessarily imply that the English troops facing overwhelming odds in northern France on that cold October morning were thrilled about being there.
“Just in case it isn’t apparent to you” my brother Michael wrote me, ” ‘happy’ as in ‘we happy few’ really means ‘fortunate’ more than an emotional state. The word (dictionary has it as Middle English, but it’s older than that) ‘hap’ meant good luck or good fortune. So, the Bard saying ‘we happy few’ is a continuation of his thought that the fewer men, the more honor. We are few, and we are fortunate to be few. He just said it a lot better. Gosh, as I sit here thinking, even the use of ‘band’ continues the thought of fewness. The dude was excellent.”
Although leadership touches every aspect of our lives, and in fact to truly live is to lead, leadership can be lonely at times. Even then, we remind ourselves that having the privilege to lead from the front – challenging, counseling, consoling, cajoling – we are indeed fortunate.
Chuck Callahan Henry V 4.3 – Lead from the Front https://henryv43.wordpress.com/
Henry V 4.3 