Chapter 14: Bosworth Rediscovered
The fierce debate over the location of the battle site was first stoked by C. Richmond, ‘The Battle of Bosworth’, History Today XXXV, no. 8 (August 1985), only to be challenged by D. Williams in The Ricardian VII, no. 90 (September 1985). There have been a legion of articles on the subject of the exact location of the battle; however, Peter Foss’s work remains the most important and detailed reassessment of the battle site, proved mostly correct by the new archaeological discoveries, which are described in G. Foard, ‘Discovering Bosworth’, British Archaeology (May–June 2010) and G. Foard, ‘Have we discovered where Richard died?’, BBC History Magazine, vol. 11, no. 3 (March 2010). On landmarks such as the windmill, see Westminster Abbey Muniments 14463 and TNA Chancery Proceedings Series II Bundle 56/101. The Dadlington Court Records are in Leicestershire Record Office, 2D71. On the name of ‘Sandeford’ see T. Thornton, ‘The Battle of Sandeford: Henry Tudor’s understanding of the meaning of Bosworth Field’, Historical Research 78 (2005), pp. 436–42.
By Chris Skidmore
Edward VI
Death and the Virgin
Bosworth
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book would not have been possible without the generous and kind assistance of many people, to whom I am extremely grateful. At Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Alan Samson commissioned the book, and Bea Hemming has seen the work through all stages of the editing process. For all their help, both by way of encouragement and in providing assistance in the research and writing of the book, I am also indebted to Jonathan Pegg, Peter Foss, Sean Cunningham, James Ross, Hannes Kleineke, Jessica Lutkin, Tracey Sowerby, Paul Cavill, Louis Daillencourt, Richard Knox, Peter Hammond, Steve Gunn, Carolyn Hammond, Geoffrey Wheeler, Wendy Moorhen, David Baldwin, Lara Eakins, Livia Visser Fuchs, Rosemary Horrox, Michael Jones, Cliff Davies, Erkin Gozutok and Robert Woosnam and the Royal Armouries for sharing their expertise on Richard’s wounds. Lydia Wilson has also provided constant support, ever since giving me my first tour of the battlefield sites. I apologise if I have omitted anyone who deserves mention in my thanks, and naturally all errors and mistakes are my own.
In writing Bosworth I have been struck by how many people felt able to share with me their expertise and dedication. In particular, Lesley Boatwright devoted hours to transcribing and translating the Latin manuscript of Polydore Vergil’s Anglia Historia, which I have made use of in my descriptions of Henry Tudor’s march through Wales and the battle itself. An excellent scholar of the battle, sadly Lesley died suddenly in late 2012. Though she never had the chance to read this book, it is to her memory that I have chosen to dedicate this work.
INDEX
Aberystwyth Castle, ref1, ref2, ref3
Acton, Roger, ref1, ref2, ref3
Agincourt, battle of, ref1
Albany, Duke of, ref1
Alcock, John, bishop of Ely, ref1
Alençon, ref1
All Hallows, Barking, ref1
All Souls College, Oxford, ref1
Allington, William ref1
Alnwick Castle, ref1
Altoftes, William, ref1
Ambion Hill, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
and location of battle, ref1, ref2, ref3
Amboise, ref1
Amiens, ref1
André, Bernard, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
Angers, ref1, ref2, ref3
Angle, ref1, ref2
Anjou, ref1, ref2
Anne Neville, Queen, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Anne, Duchess of Brittany, ref1, ref2, ref3
Anne of Beaujeau, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
Anne of York, ref1, ref2
Appleby, Jo, ref1
Aquitaine, ref1, ref2, ref3
archers, promised to Brittany, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
archery, ref1, ref2, ref3
Argentine, John, ref1
armour, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Arras, ref1
arrows, broad head, ref1
Arthur, Prince, ref1
artillery, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Artois, ref1
Arundel, William, Earl of, ref1, ref2
Arundell, Katherine, ref1
Arundell, Sir Thomas, ref1, ref2
Ashby St Leger, ref1
Ashby-de-la-Zouche, ref1
Ashton, Sir Ralph, ref1
Ashwellthorpe, ref1, ref2
Atherstone, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Atterton, ref1, ref2
Audley, James, Lord, ref1
Audley, John, Lord, ref1, ref2, ref3
Auray, ref1
Avon, river, ref1, ref2
Aykerig, William, ref1
Ayscough, William, bishop of Salisbury, ref1, ref2
Babington, John, ref1, ref2
Bagger, Robert, ref1
bail, right to, ref1
‘Ballad of Bosworth Field, The’, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10
‘Ballad of Lady Bessie, The’, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10
Bamburgh Castle, ref1, ref2
Bannister, Humphrey, ref1
Barking Abbey, ref1
Barnet, battle of, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10
and Bosworth, ref1, ref2, ref3
mortuary chapel, ref1
and Richard III’s military reputation, ref1, ref2, ref3
Barowe, Thomas, ref1
Bartley, Lord, ref1
Basin (French chronicler), ref1
Bastille Saint-Antoine, ref1
Battle Abbey, ref1
battlefield chapels, ref1
Bauge, battle of, ref1
Bayan, Thomas, ref1
Baynard’s Castle, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
beacons, ref1, ref2
Beatrice de Portugal, ref1
Beauchamp, Anne, ref1
Beaufort, Edmund, see
Somerset, Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of
Somerset, Edmund Beaufort, 3rd Duke of
Beaufort, Henry, see
Somerset, Henry Beaufort, 2nd Duke of
Beaufort, Henry, bishop of Winchester, ref1
Beaufort, Humphrey, ref1
Beaufort, John, see
Somerset, John Beaufort, Duke of
Somerset, John Beaufort, Earl of
Beaufort, John, ref1
Beaufort, Margaret, ref1
her estates, ref1, ref2
and Henry VII’s reign, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
and Henry Tudor’s birth, ref1
and Henry Tudor’s invasion, ref1, ref2, ref3
and Henry Tudor’s marriage, ref1, ref2
and Henry Tudor’s wardship, ref1
marriages, ref1, ref2, ref3
and opposition to Richard III, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
return to court, ref1
reunion with Henry Tudor, ref1, ref2
and Richard III’s accession, ref1, ref2
and Warwick’s rebellion, ref1, ref2, ref3
Beaumaris, ref1, ref2
Beaumont, John, ref1
Bedford, George Neville, Duke of, ref1, ref2
Bedford, Jasper Tudor, Duke of, see
Tudor, Jasper
Bedford, John of Lancaster, Duke of, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Bedingfield, Sir Edmund, ref1
Begard Abbey, ref1
Beja, Manuel, Duke of, ref1
Bell Inn, Fleet Street, ref1
benevolences, ref1, ref2
Berkeley, Lord, ref1
Berkeley, William, see
Nottingham, William Berkeley, Earl of
Berkeley, William, Viscount, ref1
Berkeley, Sir William, of Beverstone, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
Berkeley, Sir William, of Uley, ref1
Bermondsey Abbey, ref1
Berthelot, Louis, ref1
Berwick, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
/> Bestwood Park, ref1, ref2, ref3
Beton, Denis, ref1
Bevercotes, Thomas, ref1
Beverley, ref1
Biconnell, John, ref1
Bigod, Sir Ralph, ref1, ref2, ref3
Blackheath, ref1, ref2
Blacman, John, ref1
Blanche of Lancaster, ref1
Blore Heath, ref1
Blount, Elizabeth, ref1
Blount, Sir James, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Blount, John, see
Mountjoy, John Blount, 3rd Baron
Blount, Sir Thomas, ref1, ref2
Blount, Walter, see
Mountjoy, Walter Blount, 1st Baron
Bodmin, ref1, ref2
Bodrugan, Henry, ref1
Bohun, Mary de, ref1
Bolingbroke, Henry, see
Henry IV, King
Bona of Savoy, ref1
Borrow, Richard, ref1
Bosworth, battle of
addresses to armies, ref1
battlefield chapel, ref1
casualties, ref1, ref2
collapse of Richard’s army, ref1
dead and wounded, ref1
duration, ref1
flight of Richard’s northern supporters, ref1
Henry’s order of battle, ref1
Henry’s role in battle, ref1, ref2
location and naming, ref1
mass burials, ref1
Oxford’s tactics, ref1
and position of sun, ref1
preceding night, ref1
prisoners, ref1
Richard enters battle, ref1
Richard urged to flee, ref1
Richard’s camp, ref1, ref2
Richard’s death, ref1
Richard’s order of battle, ref1
strength of armies, ref1, ref2
timing of Stanleys’ move, ref1
types of injuries, ref1
Bosworth Crucifix, ref1, ref2
Bouchard, Alain, ref1
Boughton, Richard, ref1, ref2
Boulogne, ref1
Boulton, William, ref1
Bourgchier, John, see
FitzWarin, John Bourgchier, Lord
Bourgchier, Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Bourgchier, Sir Thomas, ref1, ref2, ref3
Bouvet, Honoré, ref1
Bowes, Lord, ref1
Boys, Guillemin du, ref1
Bracher, William, ref1
Brackenbury, Sir Robert, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
attainder under Henry VII, ref1, ref2
and battle of Bosworth, ref1, ref2
death at Bosworth, ref1, ref2
Brampton, Sir Edward, ref1
Brandon, Thomas, ref1, ref2, ref3
Brandon, Sir William, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Brandon, William, ref1, ref2, ref3
Bray, John, ref1
Bray, Sir Reginald, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Brecon Castle, ref1, ref2, ref3
Brereton, Humphrey, ref1, ref2
Bresse, Philippe de Savoie, count of, ref1
Brest, ref1, ref2, ref3
Bret, William, ref1
Bridport muster roll, ref1
Brigitte of York, ref1
Bristol Castle, ref1
Brittany
and English archers, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
English exiles in, ref1, ref2, ref3
Henry VII’s fondness for, ref1
loss of independence, ref1
political rivalries, ref1
relations with England, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
relations with France, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
and Tudors’ exile, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
union with France, ref1
Brook Street, Stepney, ref1
Broughton, Sir Thomas, ref1
Brown, William, ref1
Browne, Sir George, ref1, ref2
Browne, Hugh, ref1
Browne, John, ref1, ref2
Bruce, Sir Alexander, ref1, ref2
Bruges, ref1, ref2, ref3
Brunt Farm, ref1
Buck, Sir George, ref1
Buckingham, Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of, ref1, ref2, ref3
Buckingham, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
his estates, ref1, ref2
rebellion and execution, ref1
Richard III’s reliance on, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
his widow, ref1
Buckingham, Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of, ref1, ref2, ref3
Buckley, Richard, ref1
Burdett, Thomas, ref1
Burgundian coins, ref1
Burgundy
relations with England, ref1, ref2, ref3
subsumed into France, ref1, ref2
Burton, William, ref1, ref2, ref3
Bury, ref1
But, Adrien de, ref1
Butler, Arnold, ref1
Butler, Elizabeth, ref1
Bwlchyfedwen pass, ref1
Bwlch-y-Gwynt, ref1
Byron, John, ref1
Cade, Jack, ref1, ref2, ref3
Caerleon, Lewis, ref1
Caernarfon Castle, ref1, ref2, ref3
Calabria, Charles IV of Anjou, Duke of, ref1
Calais, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
Esquerdes’ plan to recover ref1
Oxford’s capture and escape, ref1, ref2
secret surrender treaties, ref1, ref2
threats to security, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Calmady, Stephen, ref1, ref2
Cambridge, Richard of Conisburgh, Earl of, ref1
cannon balls, ref1
Canterbury, ref1, ref2, ref3
Cape St Vincent, ref1, ref2
Cardigan, ref1, ref2
Cardigan Bay, ref1
Cardigan Castle, ref1, ref2
Carisbrook Castle, ref1, ref2
Carleon, Lewis, ref1
Carmarthen, ref1, ref2
Carmarthen Castle, ref1, ref2
Carre, Henry, ref1
Carreg Cennen, ref1, ref2, ref3
cartography, ref1
Cary, Sir William, ref1
Casenove, Guillaume de, ref1, ref2, ref3
Castillon, battle of, ref1, ref2, ref3
Castle Hedingham, ref1, ref2, ref3
Catesby, Margaret, ref1
Catesby, Sir William, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
his death, ref1
Catherine of Valois, Queen, ref1, ref2, ref3
Cawardyne, John, ref1
Caxton, William, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Cecily of York, ref1, ref2
Chabannes, Gilbert de, ref1
Chandée, Philibert de, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Charbonnel, Henri, ref1
Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
Charles VI, King of France, ref1, ref2, ref3
Charles VII, King of France, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Charles VIII, King of France, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
support for Henry Tudor’s invasion, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
and Tudor exiles, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Charlotte of Savoy, Queen of France, ref1
Charlton, Agnes, ref1
Charlton, Sir Richard, ref1, ref2
Charolais, Charles, count of, see
Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy
Chartres, ref1
Château de l’Hermine, ref1, ref2
Chauvin, Guillaume, ref1
Cheeseman, William, ref1
Chepstow Castle, ref1, ref2
Chertsey Abbey, ref1, ref2
Chester, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Cheyney, Humphrey, ref1
Cheyney, Sir John, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
and battle of Bosworth, ref1
<
br /> chivalry, ref1, ref2
Christine de Pizan, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Clarence, George, Duke of, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
his death, ref1, ref2
relations with Edward, ref1
and restoration of Henry VI, ref1
and succession, ref1, ref2, ref3
Clarence, Lionel, Duke of, ref1, ref2
Claxton, Robert, ref1
Clifford, Lord, ref1
Clifford, Sir Roger, ref1
Clifton, Sir Gervase, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Clinton, John, Lord, ref1
Clowte, William, of Gelderland, ref1, ref2
Cock, John, ref1
Coke, John, ref1
Coke, William, ref1
Colchester, ref1, ref2, ref3
Coldharbour, ref1
Collingborne, William, ref1
Colyns, Jane, ref1
commissions of array, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
Commynes, Philippe de, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12
and Henry VII’s victory, ref1
Compaing, Guillaume, ref1, ref2
Compiègne, ref1
Constable, Sir Marmaduke, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Constantine, Emperor, ref1
Conway, Hugh, ref1
Conway, John, ref1
Conyers, Sir John, ref1, ref2
Conyers, Sir William, ref1
Corbet, Sir Richard, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Corfe Castle, ref1, ref2
Coton, Sir Robert, ref1
Council of the North, ref1, ref2, ref3
couriers, ref1
Courtenay, Sir Edward, see
Devon, Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of
Courtenay, John, see
Devon, John Courtenay, 15th Earl of
Courtenay, Peter, bishop of Exeter, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Courtenay, Thomas, see
Devon, Thomas Courtenay, 14th Earl of
Coventry, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
Coverham Abbey, ref1
Croft, Richard, ref1
Croft, Thomas, ref1
Crompe, Richard, ref1
Crompe, Robert, ref1
Crowland Chronicle, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11
and battle of Bosworth, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12
and Catesby’s execution, ref1
and Henry VII’s reign, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
and Richard III’s reign, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11
Crown Hill, ref1
crusades, ref1, ref2
Curson, William, ref1
Curteys, Piers, ref1, ref2
Dacre, Humphrey, Lord, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Dacre, Thomas, Lord, ref1, ref2
Bosworth: The Birth of the Tudors Page 51