The english were held by the french and the french were held by the english... So clearly the french were much more sadistic captors than the english. In reality it had to do with the cutting off of fingers on the bowmen, in that doing so would prevent them from using their bows. This is also a potential point of origin for the backwards 'v' as a rude gesture, and a branch point for the evolution of the raised middle finger, or 'flippin the bird'
V for victory, the forward version, is credited to another britishman Winston Churchill circa WWII cuz he always had a cigar there.. V was convinient letter to add to a wave
source: i be smart
, and i googled it...
if you google it more than three times, you are playing with it and may go blind.
Urban Dictionary: 'V' sign and some other stuff
Edit: The onesiddedness, meaning only englishmen lost their fingers is a question of the technology, the english longbow (and longbowmen) were far suerior to the french bowmen and their range was feared by the french enough that they felt disabling this would ensure victory.. when the brits won anyway the gesture became a mocking one made at the french... (won battle of Agincort 1415)
where as the french chose to 'Fart in your general direction'