There are some hand gestures that everyone knows today. One of them, the middle finger sign, is accepted as slang in many parts of the world. Well, when we look at its essence, what happened to the middle finger, which is a normal gesture, so that slang began to be used to indicate a meaning? Let’s take a closer look at the history of middle finger removal.
Middle finger; Sometimes it’s an action you do to piss off a person you don’t like, and sometimes to prank your close friend. Do you know that the history of this sign dates back to the Hundred Years War between England and France in the 1300s? This war of supremacy, which took place between 1337 and 1453, contains many stories. One of these stories is about the emergence of the middle finger sign?
It all started with English archers using their middle finger
The greatest trump card of the British against their rival France in this war that lasted for years was always the archers. These units, which were taken from their families and brought up at a young age, were trained for many years. Archers, who were recruited when they reached their 20s after a tough training, made up 70 percent of the British army in the Hundred Years’ War.
The British archers of that period were the kind of soldiers who would instill trust in friends and fear in the enemy. Using 2 meter long bows called the Long Bow, these soldiers were using an arrow called Bodkin, which was 1.5 times heavier than normal arrows. This combination of bow and arrow could be extremely powerful with the physical strength that archers gained through years of training. Archers, who could shoot accurately at 250 – 300 meters, were able to pierce even thick armor with the traction they obtained from these huge bows.
When we come back to our middle finger pointing, we come across the way British archers use this arrow. English archers, stretching the bow with their middle fingers to shoot a heavy arrow from such a powerful bow, showed their middle fingers to their opponents, the French, before they started shooting. To summarize briefly, the middle finger sign means “I’m going to kill you with this finger in a moment” when it first appears.
The middle finger of the captives was cut off
In a period like the Hundred Years War, of course, many soldiers were taken as prisoners. These soldiers could be returned with ransom or soldier exchange systems. Even if the captured British archers were not killed, they were sent with their index and middle fingers cut off. Therefore, they could no longer practice archery. British archers, who are the protagonists of winning the battle of Agincourt, an important battle during the Hundred Years’ War, may also want to express the meaning of “I am not a prisoner and my middle finger is in place” with the middle finger gesture they make before each shot.
The ancient Greeks were also used
In some sources, it is seen that showing the middle finger was used before the British soldiers. It is known that the ancient Greeks used their middle fingers to symbolize sex or to express their displeasure towards someone. According to these expressions, the use of the middle finger by the Ancient Greeks seems more similar to the expression today. The middle finger sign, which appears in certain periods of history, seems to take its popularity today from the story of the English archers.
Conclusion: middle finger today
The middle finger sign, which is still in use even after centuries, is considered slang in most of the world. The meaning of this movement, which started with a very different meaning from today’s usage and evolved over the years, is “empty speech” in sign language.
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