Rose white, rose scarlet ...
When lions fight over caves,
From their enmity, the poor sheep suffer "
William Shakespeare. Henry VI, part three. Translation E. Birukova
“Horse! Horse! Crown for the horse! ”
William Shakespeare. King Richard III. Translation by B. Leytin
“The bodies shall be interred as appropriate.
Pardon to announce to the soldiers -
Anyone who comes with a guilty head.
Then, having performed the rite, we connect
We are with a white rose scarlet forever. ”
William Shakespeare. King Richard III. Translation by B. Leytin
Miraculously escaping death, Sommerset came face to face with Wenlock, whom the count had hacked to death with his battle ax. The troops of the Yorkies, breaking through the center of the defense of the Lancasters, turned them into a stampede. The pursuit of the enemy ended in a terrible slaughter. Nobody was taken prisoner, and those who hoped to escape in the nearby monastery were killed. During this massacre, Margaret’s son, Prince Edward, died. But there is a version that the prince was killed after the battle on the orders of Edward IV. Count Sommerset died during the battle. And there is also a version according to which the count was captured and later executed. Her Majesty Queen Margaret was captured, taken to the Tower and imprisoned in a cell. And the remaining miserable handful of supporters of Lancaster hastily fled to the continent.
Richard III before the Battle of Bosworth: “England and York!” Fig. Graham Turner.
Meanwhile, the son of Edward became the Prince of Wales, and the land of Warwick passed into the possession of Richard Gloucester. Clarence also received his allotment, and to him the post of Lieutenant of Ireland. Now Edward was more involved in foreign policy. He signed an agreement with Charles, the Duke of Burgundy, according to which in 1475 the British troops would land in France. The army was staffed and at the appointed time safely moved through the strait. Louis, who was accustomed to solve all problems only through negotiations, and not battles, managed to sign an agreement with Edward, according to which Edward, for a decent ransom, must withdraw his troops from France. In addition to the ransom, he was promised an annual payment in 10 000 livres. Louis accepted all conditions. The deed was done, and from now on Edward could calmly rule the country.
The battle of Bosworth is described in detail in this edition.
Sunset of the York Dynasty 1483 – 1485
Edward IV died in the spring of 1483. The throne after his death was to pass on to his son, Edward V. But at that time the heir was only 12 years old. And immediately passions began to flare up around him: to whom to care for the minor heir. Those who were at one time particularly close to the late king: Earl Rivers, Marquis of Dorset, Thomas Lord Stanley - recognized as the guardian, more precisely the guardian, mother of Edward. But Richard Gloucester was still hoping to get the crown, and, gathering all the soldiers he had, went to London. There he makes an alliance with Henry Stafford.
And about the latinas of the Tudor era - that’s what ...
Less than a month since the death of Edward IV, as Richard became a protector. Soon he addressed the parliament, in which he argued that the marriage of Edward IV was invalid, since it could not do without magic, and, consequently, the son could not be the rightful heir. That is why he should get the crown, Richard. And the parliament reached an agreement with him. In July, 1483 was crowned. Just Richard became King Richard III. Edward's young sons all this time were in the Tower. But they soon disappeared. It was rumored that by order of Richard the children were strangled with pillows. Naturally, Richard himself kept silent about it.
Reconstruction of one of the battles of the War of the Roses. Battle of Tewksbury 1471.
In the fall in the west of England, the Duke of Buckingham and his supporters, Woodville and Courtenay, raised a rebellion. The goal is the coronation of Count Heinrich Tudor. His desire to ascend to the throne was explained by his kinship with Lancaster (his father was the son of the widow of Genry V and Owen Tudor). The riot was successfully put down by Richard III, and Buckingham was sent to the scaffold.
In August, 1485 in Pembrokeshire, owned by Earl Jasper, landed 3000 French mercenaries led by Heinrich Tudor. Then Henry went through Wales, where he was joined by a fairly large group of people dissatisfied with the rule of Richard. Both those and others began to accumulate power for the decisive battle.
The first attack of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. Fig. Graham Turner.
The final battle of the Rose War took place on 22 on August 1485 near the city of Bosworth.
Early in the morning, gathering the warriors, Richard addressed him with a speech, stating that the present day was crucial for him and for the King of England, Heinrich Tudor, and, possibly, for the whole of England. That is why he decided not to remove the crown from his head all day. Soon they brought the crown from the tent of Richard. And in the presence of all the participants in the upcoming battle, the crown was solemnly hoisted on the royal head.
King Richard III kills the standard bearer of Tudor Sir William Brandon, with the result that Henry's standard falls to the ground. He also succeeds in knocking off his horse with a spear to the head of the former standard-bearer King Edward IV. Fig. Graham Turner.
Richard’s army was superbly trained and equally well armed. The advance units of Richard's troops differed from those of Heinrich: the cavalry was cleverly interspersed with infantry and gunners, which in general was a reliable battle order. Commanded the arrows by the Duke of Norfolk. And Richard himself sat on the horse in the forefront.
The first stage of the battle (reconstruction based on historical Data): King Richard's troops descend down Embion Hill in order to fight Henry's men on the plain. Stanley's troops took up a position in the south, observing the situation.
The army reached Mount Ambien Hill. Its dislocation was very successful, because a full view of the valley below opened from above.
Heinrich Tudor's camp did not sleep. The army was preparing for battle. Heinrich asked Lord Stanley, his stepfather, to prepare his fighters, after all, he may need his help. The stepfather's answer was amazing: he seemed to have forgotten about military plans and advised Heinrich to prepare his people for battle, and he would come up at the right time.
Meanwhile, Heinrich gave the last orders, checked the alignment of forces in positions, hoping for help from Stanley. The advance guard of the army was weak: the first were the arrows under the command of John de Vare, Earl of Oxford. Sir Gilbert Talbot answered for the actions of the right flank, the left - Joe Sagewidge. Heinrich followed them with small detachments of cavalry and infantry.
Approaching the slope of Ambien Hill, Heinrich Tudor came across a swamp. He rounded the swamp on the left, and now the quagmire leaves absolutely no chance for the enemy to attack from the right flank. Due to this, the forces were saved, the losses were minimal. Richard immediately gave the order to go on the attack.
The clash of the armies of Richard III and Henry Tudor, diorama of the Bosworth Battle Heritage Center
After the cannon firing, the warriors agreed to melee. Meanwhile, the army of Oxford surrounded the warriors of Norfolk. This is where the Earl of Oxford, fearing that his warriors could move forward in the heat of the moment, orders: no further ten feet ahead. There was a respite. The soldiers of Oxford stood close together, because of this, it seemed that the army had begun a rebuilding, as if preparing for the next attack. Opponents, not understanding what to do next, stood in indecision. Warriors of Count Oxford began to attack. Lined up in the shape of a wedge, they began to break the line of the enemy.
Intelligence reported to Richard III that only a small group of soldiers was with Henry. The king decides to end the battle, and for this it is necessary "just" to kill Tudor. Richard on horseback rushed towards the enemy. Richard’s attack was dictated by fear and despair.
And here the battle between Richard III and Henry Tudor broke out. Heinrich fought desperately. Sir William Stanley came with the help when Heinrich did not hope for anything. However, the king’s guards were slaughtered, but Richard lost his horse and was left alone. He fought on foot, and defended himself as best he could, but received many severe wounds. However, the battlefield King Richard never left. He died, and all his personal security.
Richard's funeral was very modest. His body was transported to the Franciscan Monastery in Leicester. They said goodbye to him for two days in the monastery. His Majesty's funeral accessories were very simple: the body was covered with a regular black cloth. There, in the territory of the monastery of Richard III and buried. Later, during the church split, the king’s grave was excavated. The remains were thrown away, and the coffin was used as a feeder for horses. Richard III was the only English king, who has no grave.
Battle Finale: Richard leads a small detachment of soldiers to attack Heinrich, who was moving towards Stanley. William Stanley went to help Henry.
Despite the victory of Tudor and his coronation, the next two years turned out to be extremely restless for him. In 1486, in Yorkshire, Lord Lowell, Richard's chamberlain, rebelled. The rebels fled at the sight of Henry with a strong army, and Lowell fled to Flanders. In May 1487 r he arrived in Ireland with an army that included 2000 Swiss mercenaries, led by captain Martin Schwartz, and with them 1500 German mercenaries. Together with Lowell was the count of Lincoln and around Yorkists 200. This rebellion was raised as if on behalf of Edward, but since he was in the Tower, his role went to the double, Lambert Simnel. The lords of Ireland took his side. He was crowned king in Dublin and became Edward VI. For several weeks, Lincoln recruited almost 4000 Irish soldiers, commanded by Thomas Fitzgerald. The army landed in England. And in July, 1487 was a battle near Stock. The rebels were defeated, Lincoln and Fitzgerald died. Heinrich Tudor, having married Edward IV’s daughter Elizabeth, united both roses on his coat of arms, thus ending the Scarlet and White Roses War.
Death of Richard III. To the right is the king's horse, mired in a swamp. On the left is the guard of the royal banner, Sir Percival Sirwell, who lost both legs in battle, but kept the banner of York raised upward until he was hacked. Fig. Graham Turner.
The result?
The confrontation between the Scarlet and White roses was incredibly cruel. The struggle brought to a complete exhaustion, and then the death of both kinds. The war of the people of England brought only internal discord, exorbitant taxes, theft of the treasury. During the entire war, most of the aristocracy was destroyed, and countless confiscations of property completely undermined its power. It is curious, but at the same time land plots of the new nobility and merchants have grown many times over. The blacksmiths were also enriched, because they were engaged only in those that were forging day and night weapon and armor, which had never before been developed in England and in such quantities. Here they all, both merchants and artisans, became the strong rear of the absolutism of the Tudor dynasty.
Information