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There is a legend that since bowmen captured by French forces sometimes had their bow-drawing fingers cut off, the English and Welsh longbowmen at the Battle of Agincourt, which an English army won in 1415, employed the now insulting "V" sign to taunt the French, to show that they had the necessary fingers and they were in full working order.

Unlike the peace sign which has the palm outwards, towards the message receiver, the insulting sign has the palm inwards, towards the message sender. Used in Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the sign is in some circumstances analogous to the middle-finger gesture that is more common in the United States.

What is the earliest known date for the legend?

  • Are you asking for the earliest known record of this origin? (As stated, it could be taken as asking the date of Agincourt...) – DukeZhou Mar 12 '18 at 21:33
  • I'm asking for the earliest known date for the legend. If it was first recorded in the year of the battle, then the legend may well be true and 1415 is the answer. But while the legend is a memorable one for the many English and Welsh people who use the gesture, and many authors have repeated it in the past few decades as if it were true, I know of no evidence for its existing before 1970. –  Mar 15 '18 at 20:40
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    @Gibet - You have misunderstood the question, which asks where the legend came from that associated the palm-in V sign with the Agincourt story. It does not ask when the palm-in V sign was first used. Churchill used the palm-out sign, although I think there are a very few instances when he used the palm-in sign. You need to know them apart if you are in Britain! –  Mar 16 '18 at 22:59
  • The earliest date I know of for the insulting palm-in V sign is 1901. As for its association with Agincourt, I think I may have heard it orally around 1980 but I am not sure. I have got a probable reference from 1986, reporting a memorate the date of which I don't know because I have not had access to the entire relevant part of the source. –  Mar 16 '18 at 23:27

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