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by Highlander is semi-retired from AB on November 2nd, 2007

Highlander is semi-retired from AB

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Where did the "two-fingers salute" and/or "V sign" originate?

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Answers. 7 helpful answers below.

  • by slothmister on November 2nd, 2007

    slothmister

    It started many years ago with the British showing the French the V sign to show they still had their two "bow" fingers.
    100's of years ago when a long bow was an armies best weapon, the French would cut them fingers off the British POW's to ensure that even if they did escape they would not be able to rejoin their army.

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  • by Gabstar on November 27th, 2007

    Gabstar

    i though the 'v' was during world war 1 or 2.. v for victory... used by churchill i think... well, pretty much what yarmladyishere said

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  • by bimble500 on November 24th, 2007

    bimble500

    It is actually a myth about archers showing the 'V' sign as defiance to the French at Agincourt.

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  • by sloth2008 on December 31st, 2007

    sloth2008

    it was an in sulte to the french in the 100 years war you see at the time england was renowned for there bowmen the best in the world so what the french would do wen the cauoght then was cutt of there to thingers the 1s that the pulled the string back with so if an englishman saw a frenchmen walk bye they wud put there to fingers up an say look av still got me thingers

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  • by Yarnlady is happy every day on November 24th, 2007

    Yarnlady is happy every day

    The archers story is an urban legend - a story, usually false, which appears mysteriously, spreads quickly and is widely believed to be true. In 1968, when the term "urban legend" was invented (by US folklorist Richard Dorsen) such stories spread by word of mouth or through newspapers. Today, thanks to the internet, they can travel much faster and further.

    It is reported that most people in the UK still associate it with a rude sign, as the US does with the single middle finger. However, many associate it with the Victory sign as used by W. Churchill in the 1940's.

    For an excellent article on it see:
    http://www.informationdelight.info/encyclopedia/entry/V_sign

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  • by Brahmanyan on January 1st, 2008

    Brahmanyan

    We cannot pin point the origin of Two finger salute to any particular period. But it was Winston Churchill, who popularised this Salute as "V- for victory" during World War II.

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  • by ronaldcgr on November 3rd, 2010

    ronaldcgr

    Brahmanyan is correct in this. There is no for sure 'known' origin. The whole two finger myth that others have claimed have only partially read into it and took that 'partial' amount as the answer. The link that Yarnlady up there posted^^ is the perfect example as apparently yarnlady only read the first paragraph of the 'myth' part and not the whole section. It did in fact start around the 1300-1400's but we do not know the exact details of it's origin. I posted the article below and you will see they state in the second paragraph that it does have some basis in FACT. A historian wrote about it actually happening during a castle siege, however they do not have exact details.

    It has long been told that the famous "two-fingers salute" and/or " V Sign " derives from the gestures of Welsh Archers who used the English Longbow , fighting alongside the English at the Battle Of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War . The myth claims that the French cut off two fingers on the right hand of captured archers and that the gesture was a sign of defiance by those who were not mutilated.

    This may have some basis in fact - Jean Froissart (circa 1337-circa 1404) was a historian as the author of ''The Chronicle'', a primary document that is essential to an understanding of Europe in the fourteenth century and to the twists and turns taken by the Hundred Years' War. The story of the English waving their fingers at the French is told in the first person account by Froissart, however the description is not of an incident at the Battle of Agincourt, but rather at the siege of a castle in another incident during the Hundred Years' War. Also, Froissart is known to have died before the Battle of Agincourt. Like many social Meme s it is difficult to be sure where this story began, but it has become a part of Western myth.

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