The War Of The Roses

collecting men and heading for the Lancastrian strongholds in Wales.

Edward, keeping his army intact, marched from London to prevent this new

Lancastrian force from reaching Wales.

Gloucester, with its crucial first bridge over the Severn, closed its

gates to the queen at Edward's request, and Margaret had no option but to

bypass the city and move further up river to Tewkesbury. Here Edward caught

up with her on 3 May after a series of forced marches.

The next day – 4 May 1471 – the outnumbered Lancastrians took up a

strong position on a slope between two brooks (see map). The Yorkists

deployed some 400 yards away, with their left flank under Richard of

Gloucester apparently 'in the air'. Somerset took his personal command away

to the right to attack Richard in the flank, giving Lord Wenlock orders to

advance as soon as he saw Somerset attacking, thus pinning Richard in

position. In the event Wenlock failed to advance;

Richard turned to face Somerset, who was now faced by the entire Yorkist

left; and at the same time some 200 spearmen, placed on the extreme flank

by Edward to guard against such a move, advanced to attack Somerset in the

flank. Somerset's force gave ground, then broke and fled. Somerset escaped

to confront Wenlock, and in a rage slew him with his battleaxe. The 'main

battle' now began to give ground, and when Edward's center began a general

advance the Lancastrian army broke and ran.

Most of the Lancastrian nobles were captured and slaughtered, among them

Prince Edward and Edmund, Duke of Somerset, the last male Beaufort. Queen

Margaret was captured and placed in the Tower, where she remained for five

years until ransomed by her father. Henry VI was murdered in the Tower

shortly after the battle.

Edward proclaimed his seven-month-old son Edward Prince of Wales and

sent Hastings with a strong force to take possession of Calais. Richard of

Gloucester was rewarded with Warwick's lands and offices, while Clarence

received the lands of Courtenay in the West Country and the Lieutenancy of

Ireland.

1483-1487

Bosworth, Stoke, Blackheath and Exeter

Edward IV died in April 1483 when his son and heir, Edward V, was only

twelve. Inevitably rival factions immediately emerged – the boy king and

the court controlled by the queen mother and her relations, and Edward's

favorites Lord Hastings and Thomas Lord Stanley, opposed by Richard, Duke

of Gloucester, now the most powerful man in the kingdom, whom Edward IV had

intended should be regent.

Richard acted swiftly. Moving south, he joined forces with Henry

Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and seized Edward V en route to London in the

care of Lord Rivers, the queen mother's brother. Her son, Dorset, at once

fled the country, while the queen mother sought sanctuary in Westminster

Abbey. Within a month of Edward IV's death, Richard was Protector of the

Realm.

In June Hastings was suddenly arrested and executed. Two weeks later

Richard informed Parliament that Edward's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville

was invalid due to an earlier marriage, and therefore Edward V was a

bastard – which left Richard the rightful successor. Richard became Richard

III, Lord Rivers was executed, and Edward V and his younger brother

Richard, Duke of York, were placed in the Tower.

That autumn there was a revolt in the West Country, led by Buckingham,

apparently in conspiracy with the exiled Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and

now head of the House of Lancaster. (Henry could claim the throne, in right

of his mother, Margaret Beaufort, as surviving male representative of the

House of Lancaster, the Beauforts being descended from John of Gaunt.)

Buckingham was supported by the Woodvillcs and Courtenays. Richard quickly

and efficiently crushed the revolt, and Buckingham was executed. Henry

Tudor withdrew to France, but in 1485, with about 3,000 French mercenaries,

he landed in Pembrokeshire, where his uncle Jasper was earl. He marched

quickly through Wales and the Marches, picking up considerable support on

the way, and confronted Richard in battle for the throne at Bosworth in

Leicestershire on 22 August 1485.

The two main forces drew up facing each other but both Henry Tudor and

Richard III looked anxiously for support from the forces of the two

brothers Stanley: those of Sir Willaim Stanley were visible to the north-

west of the battlefield, and those of Lord Stanley to the southeast.

The battle commenced without the Stanleys, the opposing forces both

making a bid for Ambien Hill. Richard's troops reached the ridge first, and

his 'vaward battle' deployed on it in a defensive position. The 'main

battle' followed, while the 'rearward battle' was ordered to take position

on the left of this line as soon as possible, and to face due south.

Henry advanced to engage in an archery duel at long range, and Richard

looked in vain for his 'rearward battle': the Earl of Northumberland had

decided to avoid action until the Stanleys showed their hands.

As the archers began to run out of arrows, the two armies advanced to

melee, and only now did the Stanleys move – to attack both flanks of

Richard's line, while Northumberland remained immobile. Richard mounted,

collected his bodyguard around him, and rode into the center of the enemy,

intent on killing Henry Tudor or dying like a king. Unhorsed in the marsh,

Richard was soon overwhelmed by superior numbers and killed. The battle

ceased when his death became known, and his army melted away with little or

no pursuit. Lord Stanley took the circlet indicating Richard's rank from

the dead king's helmet and, placing it on Henry Tudor's head, proclaimed

him King Henry VII.

In the early years of his reign Henry VII was in continual danger, and

it is erroneous to regard Bosworth as the end of the Wars of the Roses. The

first of the king's troubles was a rising in 1486 in the North Riding of

Yorkshire, where Richard III had been very popular. It was led by Lord

Lovel, Richard's chamberlain and admiral, but the rebels dispersed when

Henry marched against them with a large force. Lovel fled to Flanders.

In May 1487 Lovel landed in Ireland with some 2,000 Swiss and 1,500

German mercenaries, supplied by Margaret of Burgundy and commanded by the

Swiss captain Martin Schwarz, accompanied by John, Earl of Lincoln, and

about 200 other exiled Yorkists. This revolt was in the name of Edward,

Earl of Warwick, son of Clarence, but as he was a prisoner in the Tower a

'double' named Lambert Simnel played his part.

The invaders were welcomed by most of the Irish lords and 'Clarence' was

crowned Edward VI at Dublin. Within a few weeks Lincoln had recruited some

4,000 – 5,000 Irish soldiers under Thomas Fitzgerald. These forces now

sailed for England, landing in Lancashire. However, few Yorkists had joined

the invaders by the time Henry VII brought them to battle at Stoke, near

Newark, on 17 July 1487. Despite fierce resistance by the foreign

mercenaries the rebels were routed, Lincoln and Fitzgerald killed, and

Simnel captured. Lovel disappeared.

For the next four years Henry enjoyed a relatively peaceful reign, but

then Yorkist conspiracies began once more to thicken. Ever since 1483 it

had been rumored that one or both of Edward IV's sons had escaped from the

Tower: Henry Tudor claimed they had been murdered by Richard HI, but no

bodies had ever been found or displayed as proof of their death. One Perkin

Warbeck, a citizen of Tournai, was chosen for his similarity of appearance

to Edward IV, and declared to be Richard, Duke of York.

He gained some support in Ireland, and was recognized as York by

Margaret of Burgundy and Maximilian of Austria. For two years Warbeck

followed the Imperial court while his patrons intrigued with English

malcontents; but in the winter of 1494-5 Henry's spies infiltrated the

conspiracy and large numbers of the conspirators were arrested, including

Lord Fitz Walter and Sir William Stanley. The latter was beheaded, as were

several others, while the remainder were hanged or imprisoned.

Nevertheless, in July 1495 Warbeck sailed from Flanders with 2,000

exiles and German mercenaries. He attempted to land at Deal, but his

vanguard was destroyed by Kentish levies and he drew off and made for

Ireland. Henry had anticipated such a move, and had already sent to Ireland

Sir Edward Poynings, who had suppressed the Irish supporters of Warbeck.

Warbeck landed at Munster, but only the Earl of Desmond came to his

support. Unable to face Poynings' forces, Warbeck sailed to Scotland. With

James IV he raided Northumberland in 1496, but a pretender backed by

Scottish spears was not acceptable to the English borderers, and not one

man rallied to the Yorkist banner.

However, discontent over the taxes imposed to pay for the war with

Scotland did lead to rioting in the south-east counties, and in Cornwall

open rebellion broke out. A rebel army marched on Eondon, sweeping over

five counties unopposed and collecting recruits en route, and was only

stopped by a hard fight at Blackheath.

Warbeck, hearing of the rising, landed in Devon in August. Gathering

together 8,000 rebels, he marched on Exeter. The city closed its gates

against him and, after an attempt to besiege the city, Warbeck had to march

away to confront a royal army dispatched to relieve Exeter. When he reached

Taunton Warbeck found his followers so dispirited that disaster was

inevitable. He took sanctuary on the abbey of Beaulieu, and later confessed

his fraud in exchange for his life. In 1498 Warbeck escaped from the Tower

but was recaptured and thereafter confined in a dungeon. The next year he

planned another escape, together with the unfortunate Edward of Clarence,

but spies in the Tower betrayed this. Henry allowed the plot to proceed

almost to completion, then had both Edward and Warbeck executed for

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