It is possible , though no such attack took place , writes historian John Julius Norwich in his forthcoming book Shakespeare 's The Great Plays and the History of England in the Middle 1137-1485 . Norwich , who calls the command the darkest stain on [ the historical Henry 's ] reputation , says that so many of Henry 's men refused to obey his order that he was at last obligated to designate 200 of his own archers specifically for the task .
Norwich says Henry 's men wouldn 't obey when he told them to attack .