His contemporaries understand this. What’s more, they allow it. The French had, after all, brought the oriflamme out of Saint-Denis Abbey – an explicit statement that they were prepared to show no mercy and give no quarter on the battlefield. And in the aftermath of Agincourt, many writers do not even see fit to mention the killing of the prisoners. Instead, they express great shock at the numbers of French killed – more than three thousand noblemen, knights and squires, including three dukes and five counts, and nearly the same again in ordinary men.
Oriflamme: When the oriflamme was raised in battle by the French royalty during the Middle Ages, most notably during the Hundred Years’ War, no prisoners were to be taken until it was lowered. Through that tactic, they hoped to strike fear into the hearts of the enemy, especially the nobles, who could usually expect to be taken alive for ransom during such military encounters.