Earworm

I happened to catch a bit of Kenneth Branagh's movie version of Henry V the other night, and lucked out (?) by seeing and hearing the haunting Non nobis sung by the English soldiers following the amazing victory over the French at Agincourt. Here it is.



The Latin hymn is taken from the first part of the opening verse of Psalm 115: Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory.

There is a painful irony in this beautiful music being sung by men who had just taken part in a brutal battle, underlined by the trudging Henry V walking through the battlefield, carrying an innocent boy who had been slain because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Immediately prior to this, the English remarked that God had fought for them and had done them great good. Knowing as we do that this was only one battle in the Hundred Years War, one in which both sides prayed to the same God, and both sides sometimes won and sometimes lost, it seems questionable theology. But it makes for great drama, as Shakespeare knew when he penned the scene.

I do need to warn you -- the tune has become an irritating earworm in my head over the last few days. Listen at your peril!

Should I have mentioned that first?