Bosworth: The Birth of the Tudors

THE BIRTH OF THE TUDORS

Chris Skidmore

In memory of Lesley Boatwright

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

SECTION ONE

Henry Tudor, sixteenth-century portrait (
Society of Antiquaries of London/Bridgeman
)

Richard Plantagenet, sixteenth-century portrait (
Society of Antiquaries of London/Bridgeman
)

Funeral effigy of Katherine of Valois (
Dean and Chapter of Westminster
)

Brass rubbing from the tomb of Edmund Tudor (
Geoffrey Wheeler
)

Margaret Beaufort, sixteenth-century portrait (
Philip Mould Ltd, London/Bridgeman
)

Pembroke Castle (
Getty Images
)

Henry VI, c. 1540 (
The National Portrait Gallery, London
)

Margaret of Anjou, detail from Shrewsbury Talbot book of Romances (
AKG Images/British Library
)

Edward IV, early sixteenth-century portrait (
Society of Antiquaries of London/Bridgeman
)

Elizabeth Woodville, sixteenth-century portrait (
Philip Mould Ltd/Bridgeman
)

A miniature of the presentation of
Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers
at the court of Edward IV, with Edward V as the Prince of Wales (
Lambeth Palace Library/Bridgeman
)

Portrait of Elizabeth of York, c. 1500 (
The National Portrait Gallery, London
)

Detail from the Rous Roll, 1480 (
AKG Images/British Library
)

Brass rubbing of William Catesby (
Geoffrey Wheeler
)

Stained-glass window depicting Lord Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk (
Geoffrey Wheeler
)

Henry Tudor, sixteenth-century French drawing (
Giraudon/Bridgeman
)

Tomb of Duke Francis II in Nantes Cathedral, Brittany (
Olaf Lange
)

Louis XI, 1470 (
André Held/AKG Images
)

Charles VIII, 1485 (
AKG Images
)

Anne de Beaujeu, from the right wing of the Bourbon Altarpiece, Moulins Cathedral (
Giraudon/Bridgeman
)

Château de Suscinio, Sarzeau, France (
hemis.fr/Getty Images
)

Château de Largoët, Elven, France (
hemis.fr/Getty Images
)

Drawing of the tomb of John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford (
British Library
)

Stained-glass window depicting Reginald Bray (
Geoffrey Wheeler
)

Brass rubbing of Christopher Urswick (
Geoffrey Wheeler
)

SECTION TWO

Mill Bay, Pembrokeshire (
Author photo
)

Tomb of Rhys ap Thomas, St Peter’s Church, Carmarthen (
Geoffrey Wheeler
)

Merevale Church, Warwickshire (
Author photo
)

Engraving of the Welsh Gate, Shrewsbury, by Hugh Owen (
Geoffrey Wheeler
)

The Blue Boar Inn, Leicester (
Geoffrey Wheeler
)

Brass rubbing of Sir Gervase Clifton (
Geoffrey Wheeler
)

Brass rubbing of Roger Wake (
Geoffrey Wheeler
)

Tomb of Simon Digby in Coleshill Church, Warwickshire (
Geoffrey Wheeler
)

Tomb of Sir John Cheyney in Salisbury Cathedral (
Geoffrey Wheeler
)

The fields where Richard III’s last stand might have taken place (
Author photo
)

Battle of Bosworth, sixteenth-century relief (
Stowe School/SHPT
)

The view of the battlefield at Bosworth from the top of St Margaret’s Church, Stoke Golding (
Author photo
)

Gold signet ring showing Richard III’s insignia (
Geoffrey Wheeler
)

Cannon balls discovered at the battlefield site (
Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre
)

The Bosworth Crucifix (
Society of Antiquaries
)

Silver gilt boar badge discovered at the battlefield site (
Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre
)

Broken sword handle (
Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre
)

The Annunciation, from Richard III’s book of hours, Ms 474 ff14v-15 (
Lambeth Palace Library/Bridgeman
)

Lead badge representing the Yorkist sun (
Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre
)

Gold badge of an eagle with a snake (
Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre
)

The gravesite of Richard III in Leicester City Council Social Services car park (
University of Leicester
)

The bones of Richard III (
University of Leicester
)

Richard III’s skull (
University of Leicester
)

St James’ Church, Dadlington (
Author photo
)

Henry VII, terracotta bust by Pietro Torrigiano, c. 1509–11 (
Victoria & Albert Museum, London/Bridgeman
)

MAPS

APPENDIX

ENGLAND, FRANCE AND BRITTANY DURING THE WARS OF THE ROSES

INTRODUCTION

The date 1485 is seared into our national memory. Learnt by every school pupil, there is good reason to consider it one of the key events in British history. The battle of Bosworth, where the twenty-eight-year-old Henry Tudor defeated Richard III, was the moment when the Tudor dynasty was born.

Yet for all its fame as one of the most significant battles in British history, Bosworth remains tantalisingly elusive to the historian. Compared to other battles that took place during the civil wars of the fifteenth century, contemporary accounts of the battle are relatively sparse. This book attempts to take a fresh look at the battle, drawing together the widest possible range of sources, as well as investigating unpublished manuscripts which shed new light on the period. This has meant returning to the original documents, including the handwritten manuscript of Polydore Vergil’s
Anglia Historia
, one of the principal sources for the battle now remaining in the Vatican Library in Rome, in order to thread together as accurately as possible what might have occurred during the morning of 22 August 1485.