Osprey, Men-at-Arms #145 The Wars of the Roses (1983) (-) OCR 8.12

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Ilt/YJ uetloll The civiL wars known as the Wars of the Roses werefought between Yorkshire and Lancashire, identified by white and red roses respectively, and Lasted thirty bLoody years, inflicting great damage to the Land and its peopLe and killing so marry of the aristocracy that a new nobiLity had to be created in the reign of Hemy VII a good king who brought peace and prosperity to his kingdom, unlike his predecessor, the usurper Richard llI, who stoLe the throne by deceit and fouL murders. On the battlefields the longbow reigned supreme, whiLe the knights and men-at-arms waddled around encased entirely in cumbersome plate armour, or rode great horses aLso wearing plate armour. familiar story perhaps: yet containing not a word of truth. In the 16th century English history was rewritten to plea e Henry Tudor, or at least to avoid his displeasure, and to assist in settling the Tudor dyna ty firmly on the throne after the turmoil of the Wars of the Roses. Consequently, a number of Edward IV, King of England 1461-83, won the throne with the popular but quite erroneous beliefs about these wars aid of the Duke of Warwick, whotn he later killed in battle. He had Henry VI murdered in prison in the satne year. Edward's survive to this day. Before venturing into a general tnorals were dubious, his tnarriage disreputable, and his summary of the wars, I should like to deal wi th the greed inordinate. He gained financial independence frotn Parliatnent by a brief French war in 1475, which brought in an misconceptions outlined in the opening paragraph. annual subsidy thereafter of 20,000 crowns frotn Louis XI. A civil war is one in which men fight and kill their (National Portrait Gallery) countrymen, and in this respect the Wars of the Roses might properly be called a civil war. But these over the Council and through it to govern the wars were in reality a dynastic struggle between the country. houses of York and Lancaster, and involved only Thus the wars were fought by the great barons, the aristocratic families of these houses and their particularly the feuding 'Marcher' barons of the followers. Rather than a civil war, these campaigns . border regions, with the aid of their private armies. represented a prolonged struggle for power between To some extent at least they differed from other two political parties, both of which accepted the wars of the era, civil or international, in that the unity of the kingdom and the existing system of ordinary people of the country were left as government by King, Council and Parliament. undisturbed as possible, for the victors wished to either party sought to destroy or divide the royal control a thriving kingdom with a populace which • authority of the kingdom, as wasJhe case with civil would support them against their rivals. As Philippe wars on the Continent; but rather to obtain power de Commyne noted in his memoirs: 3

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year has b n timated as 428 day (Goodman, pp. 227-8: see Bibliography). Fighting erupted onl to sub ide qui kly; th long st campaign lasted [our months (Wak field to Towton) and ven Edward' campaign to ize the throne lasted only two month from his landing at Rav n pur to the battl of T wkesbury. From the above it may b n that th images 0 bloody and prolong d fighting, massacr sand othe evils associated with civil war, do not apply to th War of the Roses: today' historians tend to believe that the image of a land ravag d by civil war wa painted by Tudor propagandists in order t contrast earlier reigns with the p ace and prosp rity enjoyed und r H nry VII . But th aristocracy suffered dreadfully. Or did it. lthough many nobles were kill d, their familie \\' re not xtinguished in gr at numbers, as is oft n claim d, and the old nobility in [act survived the war. K. B. MacFarlane give th following figure t illu. trat th rat of xtin tion of nobI famili.; • 1-1- 25- 1449 Xl tIng 73 new 25

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Map 1: England in the 15th century, showing the areas of influence of the great baronial farrlllies, and the main battle • Ites.

'I t is the custom of the Engli h that, onc they have gain d a battle, they do no more killing, espe ially killing of ommon people; [or ach side seeks to please the commons . . . King Edward told me that in all the battles he had won, the moment he cam to victory he mounted a horse and shouted that the commons were to be spared and the nobles slain. And of the latter, few or none escaped ... The r aIm of England enjoys one favour above all other realms, that neither the countryside nor the people are destroyed nor are buildings burnt or demolished. Misfortune falls on soldiers and nobles in particular ...' . The Wars of the Roses are generally dated as lasting from 1455 until 1485, a total of 30 years of war though this figure may be divided into three periods of a tual conflict: 1455-64, 1469-7 I, and 1483-87. Actual campaigning time during these 4

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1475-1499 eXlstll1g new

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61 (24.69 per cent) Certainly 25 per cent is a high rate of extinction' but by no mans can it be argued that the nobility died out, and it must be remembered that even th recorded decline owed as much to failure to produc male heirs as to death in war. Yet those at the top certainly did suffer severely: of the 16 great familie (dukes and earls) which existed in the last decade 0 Henry VI's reign, only two were unscathed by th wars William, Earl of Arundel, who took no par in politics or the wars, and the second Ralph •

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ville, Earl ofv estmorland, who wa a impleton. Confusion also exists over th naming of the two parti s York and Lancaster. t this date th Yorki t dr w most of their support from the Midland, whilst the Lancastrians "ere predominant in York hire! I t is important to ignore the modern rivalry bet\ een the two counti bearing the e name, and to rememb r that York .and Lancaster w re the titles of the rival dynasti sand had little to do with geographical locations. E en the name of the wars is fal e, for the brawls of the period were not graced with such a finesounding name until long after the events: the name was apparently in ented by Sir Walter cott in the 19th ntury. hak peare's famous sc ne in the Temple garden (1 Hemy VI 11 iv), where the quarrelling nobles pick r d and white rose, is to blame for this misconc ption. The Yorkists certainly u ed the \ hite ros as one of th ir badge, but th r is no e iden e that the Lanca trian u d a r d ro e until the ery end of the \ ar . Per onal feud between the great families furth r cloud lh i su and one of the mo t confu ing factor h re i lh way these famili changed ide:::. and int r-married with titl and tat fr quentl pa ing to oth r through heir s e . I t is hoped that the follm ing brief summary of ,"em and per onali lie tog ther \ ith the gen alogi al la bl 5, will h Ip to larify who fought \ hom wh r ,\,-h n, why, and for what.

Margaret of Anjou, queen con ort of Henry VI. Her husband's attack ofinsanity after 1453 left her a effective ruler. She was a vigorou and able leader of the Lancastrian cau e until deci iveIy defeated at Tewkesbury in 1471. (Victoria & Albert Mu eum) Richard ill, brother of Edward IV, upon who e death he was appointed Protector of the Realm. He wa credited with per onal re pon ibility for the death of Henry VI, Henry' on, and his own brother Clarence. He u urped the throne in 1483, and Edward's young son di appeared hortly afterward. Richard was defeated and killed by Henry Tudor at Bosworth Field in 1485. Hi true character and alleged crimes are till the subject of orne debate, in reaction against the Tudor-inspired campaign to blacken hi name. (National Portrait Gallery)

ze " hen Henry V died in 1422 he left a son, Henry VI, who was only nine months old. Guardianship of this son fell to H nry V's brothers J olm, Duke of Bedford, and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. Bedford became regent in France and pursued the war there, while Gloucester had personal charge of the infant king. Gloucester hoped to become Protector of the Realm, but the Council refused to allow him to assume the full powers of a regent. For the next 20 years there were constant quarrels between Gloucester and the lords of the Council, of whom the chief was the duke's half-uncle, Henry Beaufort, bishop of Winchester, the last surviving -son ofJohn of Gaunt. 5 •

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TABLE A: THE HOUSE OF YORK

Edward III

,-------,------1------,-----1 Edward the Black Prince

Lionel Duke of Claren e

John f Gaunt Duke of" Lailca ter

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Edmund Duke of York

Thomas of Woodstock

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see Table B

Richard The Duke. of Buckingham Earl of ambridg m. Ann , grdd. of The. \ 'ft'iUes Lionel Duk of Ralph ~e\'ille larence I t Earl of We tmorland

The WoodviUes •

Richard \. oodville m. Jacquetta Earl Rivers of Bedford

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nthony \\ oodville Earl Ri r

John •

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Ri hard Duke of York .. m .. Ci ely \'ille ('the Ro e of Raby')

Elizab th .. m(2) .. Edward IV m(l) irJohnGry ('the Sun in plendour')

~Iargaret

Richard Neville I t Earl of ali bury

Ge rge of Clarence m. I abel Neville

m. harle Duk f Burgund

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Thomas of Dor t

Richard rey Richard ~eville Earl of \" arwick ('the Kingmaker)

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Richard ill m. •

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John of Gloucester

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Katherine Plantagenet

nne widow of Edward Prince of Wales

Isabel m. George of Clarence

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Edward Elizabeth Edward V Richard Duke of m. Henry Tudor, . York Henry vn

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argaret Countess of alisbury •

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Arthur

Henry. VIII

Other children

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Edward Earl of Warwick

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TABLE B: THE HOUSES OF LANCASTER AND TUDOR Edward ill

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1-------1,.-------1-------,--------,1 Edward thl' Black Prince

Lionel Duke of Clarence

John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster

Edward Duke of York

Thomas of V oodstock

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see Table A I

Richard II

Henry IV

John Beaufort Earl of omer et I

John Beaufort 1st Duke of Somerset

Owen Tudor .. m(2) .. Katherine .. m(l) .. Henry V

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of France

Edmund Beaufort Duke of Somerset

Henry VI m. Margaret of nJou •

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Edward Prince of \\' ale ville m. nne

Edmund ... m ... (I) i\Iargaret Beaufort Earl of Richmond Henry VII m. Elizab lh of York

Ja per Earl of Pembroke

Edmund Beaufort Duke of omer et

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Henry VIII •

Bedford died at Rouen in 1435. In 1441 the Duchess of Gloucester was successfully accused by Beaufort of practising sorcery against the young king, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Her conviction reduced Gloucester to a minor role in politics; the bishop now controlled the king, aided by his nephew Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk. Henry VI married Margaret ofAnjou in 1444 when he came of age, but he allowed the unscrupulous Somerset and Suffolk, both of whom were disliked by the people, to continue to manage his realm. Margaret aligned herself. with them and soon -shared their unpopularity. ,.. •

The humiliating defeats in France led to a reaction against this ruling faction, and Gloucester emerged from his 'retirement' to lead the opposition. He was arrested and died suddenly in prison, allegedly of a stroke. His estates were distributed among the friends of the queen and her favourite Suffolk. Bishop Beaufort, who had long since relinquished power to Suffolk and Somerset, died six weeks later, in 1447. . The unpopular Suffolk was impeached on many charges and banished: he was murdered while en rou te to Flanders. Somerset 'managed to remain in control; but in 1450J ack Cade's rebellion expressed more violently the feelings of the commons, the 7

In August 1453 th re was a major clash at tamford Bridg betwe n the P rci sand th evill s, and in the same month Henry I had an attack of insanity which wa to last 16 months. Margar t's po ition was strengthen d by the birth of her only son in October, securing the descent of the crown in the Lancastrian line, yet at the same time this event probably increased the jealousy 0 her rivals. omerset s position was again attacked violently in the Parliament of 1453-54 and York was declared Protector of the Realm once the king's madness could no longer be hidden. Somer et and th Duke of Exeter were imprisoned by York, but when Henry VI recovered his wits in December 1454 York had to surrender his position and Somerset was abl to recover control of the king. York retired to Ludlow Castle and summoned his r tainers from the elsh arches. He wasjoined at Ludlow by his brother-in-law th Earl of ali bury, and by Warwick, with their r tain rs.

Henry VII, first Tudor monarch of England, who reigned 1485-1509. A descendant of Edward III, he restored the central power of the throne, enforced the rule oflaw, and organised an efficient tax system. (Victoria & Albert Museum)

r bellion aiming to overthrow the court party and to end corruption and the oppr ion of the king s official. The rebellion was put down without th rival magnate resorting to war with each other; but Richard,' Duke of York, heir to the claims of the house of Mortimer, now emerged to place himselfat the head of the opposition. York had distinguished himself in the French , ars as Lieutenant of France and was the first prince of the royal blood since the death of Gloucester. He had been replaced in France by Beaufort and banished as Lieutenant of Ireland, \ ith orders not to re-enter the kingdom. However, in 1450 York did return to England, to impeach Somerset. He was supported by the powerful Neville family; Richard, Earl ofSalisbury, and his son Richard, Earl of Warwick. Twice during the next two years York called out his followers to give an armed demonstration in support of his policy, and in 1452 he was arrested. He agreed to abandon his protests and support his opponents in the recovery of Guienne; but in July 1453, at Castillon, the last great battle of the Hundred Years' War was fought, and lost. For the next 30 years England~s battles would be fought on -her own soil.

First St. Albans, Northampton, Wakefield, Mortimer's Cross, Second St. Albans, Towton and Hexham In May 1455 the queen and omerset summoned a Council, to which no promin nt Yorkist was invited, and ordered a gathering of the pe rs a Leicester to take steps for the king's safety. York marched south to secure a fair hearing from th king, 'Yhile the court moved towards Leicester escorted by a large number of nobles and their retainers. The king and Somerset did not learn 0 York's actions until they were en route to Leicester They tried to assemble an army, but there was insufficient time; at nightfall on 21 May, when th two sides camped only 20 miles apart, the king' 'army' still consisted of just his escort and their • retamers. . Both sides' decided to advance against their adversary during the night, and these marchec became a race for the chief town of the area, St lbans. The king's army arrived there at 7am, and York halted at Key Fields, east ofthe town, at abou the same time. There .followed a pause of thre

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hour \ hile r conciliation was attempt d, York offering to withdraw if the king would surrender omerset, whom York considered a trai tor. he king (i.e. omerset!) refused, and York ordered th attack: see Map 2. Warwick was to lay down a barrage of arrows in up port of flank attacks by York and alisbury. However, these attacks were repulsed and Warwick therefore ordered his arch rs to con entrate on their own front. He then attacked the centre, broke through to the Chequers and here established a rallying point. Falling back to pre ent th ir divided forces from being outflanked by Warwick, the Lanca trians weakened their defence of the opwell and hropshire Lanes, and the forces of York and alisbury almost immediately bur t into the town. The Lancastrians began to falter, panicked, and broke', to be pursued up t. Peter's treet by the triumphant Yorki t . omerset and some r tainer took covcr in the a tie Inn while Lord Clifford, with Prey, Harington and orne oth r knights and e quire, fought on out id the inn. v\ hen tho e out ide w re lain, omerset led his m n in one last harge. H killed four m n b forc being felled by an axe. The king the Duke of Buckingham and the Earls of Dc\"on and Dorset were captured; Clifford, orner t," tafford, Percy and Harington w re among t tho e killed. York was appointed Protector in October and V ar\\"ick became Captain of Calais, the city whi h po se ed the only tanding army of the king. For the next three years there was an un asy peace. York lost the protectorshi p at the beginning of 1456 and returned to Ireland. argaret gained control of court and go ernment, but \ arwick refused to surrender Calais to her, and this city thus became a refuge for the Yorkists, from which an attack might be launched· at any time. In" the late summer of 1459 both sides began arming again, and in October York's forces were defeated at Ludford mainly due to the treachery of Andrew Trollope, captain of a body of professional soldiers sent over from Calais by Warwick. York was forced to flee to Ireland again and his troops dispersed. InJune 1460 Warwick landed at Sandwich with 2,000 men of the Calais garrison; accompanied by the Earl of Salisbury and Yor'k's son Edward, Earl

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First battle of St. Albans,

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May 1455

of Match. Th king and qu en were at Coventry when they received news of the landing. Hastily gathering an army' from his chief supporter the and Percie , tafford Beauforts, Talbot B aumonts the king began to march south. However, in the meantime the men of south-east England had flocked to the standard of the popular v arwick, and on 2 July h entered London with 5,000 men. Only the Tower, commanded by Lord Scales, held out for the king and, hearing that London had gone over to the Yorkists, the king halted at Jorthampton and took up a defensive po ition to await reinforcements. Pausing only to establish a siege force round the Tower, Warwick led his army northwards, arriving between Towcester and orthampton on the 9th. Early the next morning 10 July 1460 he deployed for battle, but first attempted to negotiate a settlement. t 2pm, no agreement having proved possible, Warwick gave the order to advance, with the three 'battles' in 'line astern': see Map 3. I t was raining hard as the Yorkists arrived and

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b gan to mar h a ro s th Midlands to join her. York sent his on Edward, Earl of Mar h, to the \ elsh borders to recruit an army and to handle the minor local troubl s stirred up by the Earl of Pembroke. H I ft Warwick in London to nsure the capital's support and guard th king' and on 9 Decemb r he I d the Yorkist army northward to deal with the queen. He took with him his younger son Edmund and all the artillery then available at the Tower of London. On the 16th York's vaward battle' clashed with the W st Countrymen, suffered h avy 10 se , and was unable to prev nt the Lancastrian from moving on to join the queen. Learning that t Margaret s main force was at Pont fract Castle, York marched to his castle at andal, two mile Map 3: Battle of Northampton, 10 July 1460 south ofWak fi Id and only nine from Pontefract. Ed, ard's battle', consi ting entir ly of men-at- He arri ed at andal Castle on th 21 t and, arm made slow progre s over the sodden ground. learning that the queen's army' a now almost four th y came withing bow range they were met by a times as numerous as his own remained in the castl fierce barrag of arrows and thi , togeth r with a to await reinforcements und r Edward. The dit h and takes, prevented the Yorkist from Lancastrian forces 10 ed round the castle to g tting to close quarter. t this criti al moment prevent foraging. Lord Grey uddenly di played v arwi k's ragg d On 30 December 1460 halfth Lan a trian army taff badge and ord red hi men to lay down their advanced again t andal a tIe as if to make an w apon . Indeed the men of Grey' command a sault, but under ov r of thi movement the 'vaward battle' commanded by the Earl of a tually a i ted th ir en mies 0 er the d fence and once e tablished within th d {; n es in v ilt hirt, and th cavalry under Lord Roos, suffi i nt number, Edward and" arwick led th ir unobtru ively took up po itions in the wood men-at-arms behind the king's archer in the centre flanking the open fi'lds. York, believing the entire Lancastrian army to be to trike Buckingham in flank and rear. nable to manoeuvre within the narrow confines of th before him, and much smaller than he had be n defences, the Lancastrians soon broke and fled, told, deploy d for op n battle and I d his troops many being drown d in the shallow but wide riv r straight down the slope from the castle to launch an at their backs. The Duk of Buckingham, Earl of attack on Somerset's line. The Lanca trians fell Shrew bury, Thomas Percy, Lord Beaumont and back before the advance, drawing the Yorkists into Lord Egremont were among the Lancastrian dead. the trap, finally halting to receive the charge at the The king was captured again, taken to London, and position shown on Map 4. The Yorkist charge almost shattered Somerset's compelled to sanction a Yorkist government. York arrived from Ireland in mid-September line and the Lancastrian reser e under Clifford had and in October put forward a claim to the throne. to be committed to stem the advance. But then The peers rejected his claim (while Henry lived) but Wil tshire and Roos charged from the flank , and made him Protector jn view of the king's periods of the battle was over. York, his son Edmund, his two • • msamty. uncles Sir John and Sir Hugh Mortimer, Sir The queen and her son, who had remained at Thomas eville (son of Salisbury), Harington, Coventry, fled to north Wales, then to the orth, Bourchier and Hastings were among those killed. where she began to gather a new army. With these The Earl of Salisbury was captured, and subforces she overran Yorkshire, sequently beheaded by the Percies because and 'a large number of of their . . Lancastrian supporters from--the West Country feud with the evilles. •

C£LAPRf AlSEY

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The death of Richard of York was a severe blow to the Yorkists; bu t Warwick in London and Edward, now Duke ofYork, in the Welsh Marches, were both raising new armi s. In the Welsh Marches, in particular, men flocked to Edward's banner to avenge Richard and their own lords who had died with him, and by the end ofJanuary 1461 Edward had a fair-sized army gathered round Hereford. From here he set out to unite with Warwick, probably at Warwick Castle, in order to halt the queen's march on the capital. However, shortly after starting out he learned that the Earls of Pembroke and Wiltshire were moving towards Worcester from the west with a large force and, in order to avoid being caught between two Lancastrian armies, Edward moved northwards 17 miles to Mortimer's Cross, not far from Ludlow and only three and a half miles from his own castle at Wigmor , ancestral home of the Mortimers. Here the River Lugg, flowing south to join the Wye, was bridged for the main road from entral Wales and th Roman road from Hereford, the two roads meting close by the bridge. Edward deployed his army at this important crossroads and river crossing early on the morning of '2 February 1461. The Lancastrians deployed for battle on the morning of the '2nd and advanced against the Yorkist line about noon. After a fierce struggle the Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond succeeded in forcing Edward's right flank back across the road (see Map 5), but at the same time Pembroke's 'main battle' was completely defeated by Edward. Ormond's 'battle' reformed and moved on to the centre to support Pembroke but, finding him already defeated, for some inexplicable reason halted and sat down to await the outcome ofthe fighting on the other flank. Owen Tudor's 'battle' was the last to become engaged, having swung right in an attempt to outflank the Yorkist position. In carrying out this manoeuvre the Lancastrians exposed their own left flank, and the waiting Yorkists promptly seized the opportunity to charge, cutting the Lancastrians in two and scattering them in all directions.-A general retreat by the Lancastrians in the direction of Leominster followed, quickly transformed into a • bloody rout by the Yorkists. Owen Tudor was "..captured and later executed. " •

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Map 4: Battle of Wakefield, 30 December 1460

After the battle of Wakefield the queen's army of borderers, Scots, Welsh and mercenari s had begun to march on London, pillaging as it went and leaving a 30-mile-wide swathe of ruin in its wake:
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through Luton and Hit hin: e Jvlap 6. D ta hm nts wer also pia ed in t. Ibans and and ridge t watch th flanks, and in Dunstable to guard th v atling treet approa h to t. lban. oG£ - __-----.I~ The que n left York on 20 January, mar hing l>-~O~\ _ -::: -:. -:.---- r S down Ermine treet towards London. At Royston ~\ ---"" she swung left and moved south-west a if to prevent _ -- VAWARQ' \ _ -_-- 1ST POSITION\ \ ajunction between Edward and \ arwi k. n 140r --. ,. 15 February the queen rived details of \ \ \ Warwick's deployment from Lovelace, who had ~ commanded the Yorki t artill ry at Wakefi ld bu t ,ho had been pared by the Lanca trian . H'~argaret allowed the bard rer to continue MAIN BATTLE ravaging the countryside due south from Hitchin to divert Warwick s attention, and took the rest of her army on a hard march south and west pa t Luton to Dunstable, int nding to follow this with another , march again t St. Albans from the west, so turning vVarwick's deft nsive lin . ,,>-...:. The queen s army arriv d at Dunstable late on 1 ' 1,0\4 th 16th took the Y rki t detachment there by 'I ' J urprise, and killed or aptur d ,-cry man. After a briefhalt the Lan a trians et out on a 12-mile night mar h to St. lban, arriving on the outh bank of the Ri er er before dawn. \ft r a hart pau e to r t and organi e an alta k at about 6am on 17 February 1461 the 'vaward battle' ro ed the river and entered the to' n. h Yorki ts were again tak n by urpri e but, as the Lancastrians ru hed up George Street towards the heart of the town, they were hal ted by a strong detach m nt ofarchers left in o1 II 1 2 MI LES 1_ _' 1 t. Albans by \ arwick, and eventually wer driven back to St Michael's church. Map 6: Second battle of St. Albans, 17 February 1461 Shortly afterwards scouts reported an unguarded th whole of south rn England to plunder in entrance through the defences via Folly and compensation, London was panic-stricken, and Catherine Lane (see lvfap 2), and at about loam Warwick found himself faced with the problem of the town fell to the Lanca trians. The king was being unable to raise enough men either to stop the found in a house in the town. Lancastrian advance or to deft nd the city. \ arwick's defence line had been rendered useless Edward's victory at Mortimer's Cross solved this and he was now faced wi th the task ofre-aligning his problem, for men flocked to Warwick's banner army in the presence of the enemy. His 'rearward when news of the battle reached London on about battle', stationed by Beech Bottom Ditch, was 10 February; and on the 12th Warwick was able to wheeled to face south, and arwick then rode off to leave London with a force large enough to attempt bring up the 'main' and 'vaward battles'. to halt the queen, sending word to Edward to join The Lancastrian army now attacked the Yorkist forces as soon' as possible. 'rearward battle' which, after a long and brave Warwi k marched to t. lbans and began to struggle, 'fi'nally broke and fled towards the rest of prepare a d fensive position there with a three-mile the army. Warwick was already on his way to front barring the two roads to LOndon which passed r inforce them with the 'main battle', but this now "'I

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)roke up as the fugiti es stream d past, joining in he general flight. Warwick rode o£fto bring up hi vaward battle', but on reaching it he found that ~ovelace's detachm nt had deserted to the enemy md the remainder was badly shaken. Somehow Narwick managed to form a new line and held off urther Lancastrian attacks until dark, wh n he nanaged to extricate about 4,000 of his men and narch westwards to join Edward. Margaret waited nine days at t. lbans while legotiating the surrender of London, only 20 miles tway. London, panic-stricken by the behaviour of :he queen's army, which looted St. lbans after the Jattle, refused to open its gates to the queen and her cing. The borderers began to desert in droves; and Nith Edward and Warwick united and advancing :apidly from the west Margaret finally abandoned ler attempt on the capital and withdrew to York Nith the king. Twel e days after second t. lbans :he united forces of Edward and '" arwick ent red London: on 4 Mar h Ed\ ard was proclaimed king Jy the Yorkist p r and by the merchants and :ommon of London. Edward s t offin pur uit of argaret and Henry In I g :'Iarch, but his advance guard was defeated Jy a Lancastrian delaying force at Ferrybridge on :he Ri er ire on the 27th. t da\ n on the 28th the Yorki t forced th ir way 0 r the bridge and all :hat day fought to pu h back the Lancastrian ~earguard toward Towton, reaching the village of )axton by nightfall. The next morning the queen's Hmy, commanded by Somerset, was seen drawn up .ess than a mile away: see Map 7. At gam on 2g March 1461, with heavy snow ~lling, the two armies advanced towards each Jther. " hen they were about 300 yards apart the Yorkists halted to discharge one volley of heavy 3.rmour-piercing arrows which, aided by a followtng wind, hit the Lancastrian line and caused some ::asualties. The Yorkist archers then fell back a short :listance. The Lancastrians responded with several volleys, using the lighter flight arrows not normally used at all except short range. Impeded by the wind, these arrows fell short by some 50 yards, but the Lancastrians continued to discharge their arrows until their quivers were empty. The Yorkist archers then ad vanced agai.n and poured a barrage of arrows into the Lancastrian ranks. Unable to ,.,respond, the Lancastrians rrl'oved forward. to •

TOWTON

NORTHUMBERLAND

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1000 YARDS

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Map 7: Battlc of Towton, 29 March 1461

contact as quickly as pos ible. The battle raged all day, but at about 3pm Lord Dacres, one of the senior Lancastrian commanders, was killed, and at the same time the Duke of orfolk's force of several thousand men arrived to reinforce the Yorkist right flank. The Lancas~rians began to ease off, the. slackening of pressure increased to a withdrawal, and suddenly their whole line collapsed. About 12,000 Yorkists were killed or died of wounds and exposure, while some 20,000 Lancastrians were killed, making Towton the most bloody battle ever fough~ on English soil. It was also the most decisive battle of the wars, in the very heart of Lancastrian country, and firmly e~tablished Edward IV on.the t]:1rone. The queen,

'3

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Hung rford and Roos among oth r. The x uti n almo t omp! t d th xtin tion of th old Lan astrian faction, and virtually nded Lanca trian r istance; and v n the qu n gave up, and fl d to njou. Map 8: Battle of HexhaIn, 15 May 1464 HEXHAM

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Five hundred years later the tomb of Thomas, Lord Dacre , killed at Towton, is still intact in Saxton churchyard. While his son and heir Ralph was also a Lancastrian, another son, Sir Humphrey Dacre, was a Yorkist. Few who died at Towton have such a dignified memorial: great nUInbers of the lain were buried in a large pit on the north side ofSaxton church. (Athena Picture Library) •

Henry, and their

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The fir t year of Edward reign \i re pr occupied \i ith tamping out all r maining Lan astrian opposition. P mbroke and Ex t r remained at larg in Wal s, but the Earl of Oxford was ex cuted in 1462 for an attempt d landing on the ea t coa t. Th bulk ofth un iying Lanca trians retir d to the ots bord r with Margaret and H nry, eeking support from cotland and holding the powerful border castles. In pril I46{ a Yorki t force und r Lord Iontagu, \ arwick s younger brother and Edward's lieutenant in the north, clashed with a Lancastrian force under the Duke of omerset at H dgeley oor. The two Lancastrian wing, commanded by Lord Hungerforq and Roo, promptly fled, but the men under Sir Ralph Percy stood fast and were annihilated. Montagu was unable to pursue, as he was escorting a Scotti h delegation to York to discuss a peace. Somerset led his forc s to Hexham and made camp two miles south of that town. As soon as ontagu had carried out his mission, he moved southwards to confront the Lancastrians again. Early on the morning of 15 May 1464 Montagu attacked the Lancastrian camp, smashing through Somerset's centre with a rapid downhill charg : see Map 8. Once again the two wings broke and fled. ,...--' Somerset was captured and executed, along with •

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The great northern strongholds of the Lanca trians lnwick, orham, Bambutgh and Dunstanburgh fell soon after the battle of Hexham, and within a year Henry VI, who had been hiding in a monastery, was betrayed and placed in the Tower. part from Harlech Castle and Berwick-on-Tweed, Edward was now truly king of all England. In ovember 1464 Edward ecretly married Elizabeth Woodville, without the consent and against the wishes of Warwick (who was engaged at the time in trying to arrange a French marriage for the king). Warwick, trying to assume dictatorial po~ers over the new king, fell from favour, and Elizabeth's num rous relative rose swiftly in rank

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and om e as Edward form d his 0\ n Yorkist party: his father-in-law became Earl River, his brotherin-law Lord Scale, Elizabeth's on by her first marriage became Earl of Dorset, whil old support rs were also advan ed \ illiam Herbert was made Earl of Pembroke, Humphrey tafford Earl of Devon, and the Percies were recruited in alignment against the evilles by restoring to them the earldom of orthumberland. In 1467 Edward openly broke with Warwick by repudiating a treaty with France and an alliance with Burgundy which Warwick had just negotiated. Enrag d and humiliated, Warwick enlisted the aid of Edward's brother, George of Clarence, and from the security of Calais de lared against Edward because of his • oppres lOns. t about this time \Varwick engineered a eville rising in the north, which began with the so-called reb Ilion of Robin of Rede dal . Wh n the ri ing wa well under way" arwick land din K nt with a force from Calais but, before he could r ach the scene of operation the royal army \ as d fi ated at Edg cote in orthampton hire (6 July [469). Edward wa aptured and hand d over to Warwick \ ho execu ted many of Ed ward's leading supporter, in luding Queen Elizabeth s [ath r her brother John, and th newly cr at d Earls of Pembroke and Devon. . Edward wa onfined for some weeks in Middleham Castle, but was released wh n he agreed to accept new minist r nominat d by Warwick. But at the first opponunity Edward took his revenge. In March 1470 a Lancastrian uprising occurred in Lincolnshire. Edward gathered a force to suppress the rising, carefully calling to his standard all tho e peers with grudges against Warwick or who were not tied to him by family alliances. Edward defeated the rebels at the battle of Lose-Coat Field and the rebels' leader, Sir Robert Welles, confessed the rising was part of a plot by Warwick to make Clarence king. Unable to oppose Edward's army, Warwick and Clarence fled to France, where they allied themselves with Margaret and the Lancastrian cause. In September Warwick arranged a rising in Yorkshire and, as soon as Edward moved north, landed with Clarence and a small force at Dartmouth. Devon rose to. support them, Kent followed suit, and London opened its gates.

Edward, r turning outh in a hurry, found himself caught b tween Warwick's growing army in th south and the rising in the north. His army began to melt away, and Edward was for ed to take ship at Lynn and n to the therland. Henry VI was released and restored to the throne, but Margaret did not trust her old enemy 'Warwick, and refused to leave France: Prince Edward remained with her. Meanwhile, Clarence began to seek a reconciliation with Edward; and on 15 arch 1471, with a body of some 1,500 German and Flemish mercenaries len to him by the Duke of Burgundy, Edward land cl at Ravenspur in the Humber H. . r. estuary. archmg sWlltly southwards, Edward evaded an army under the Duke of orthumberland and reached ottingham, where he learned that vVarwick was gathering an army at Coventry. The Earl of Oxford was at ewark with another army but Edward managed to slip b tween them gathering adh rents to his cause all th way to the capital. The rna t important of th s was Clarence, who joined him with a for e originally raised for the Lanca trian cause. Edward r ached London on II pril, closely followed by the now unit d armies of Oxford, Northumb rland and arv i k, and on 14 pril 1471 \ a fought the battle of Barnet: see Atlap 9. •

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Map 9: Battle of Barnet, 14 April 1471. •

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ST ALBANS ~

HATFIELD •

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ASTINGS

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GLOUCESTER •

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Lan a trians took up a trong position on a lope I b t, en two brook : see Map 10. The Yorkists d ploy d some 400 yards away, with th ir left flank under Richard ofGloucest r appar ntly in th air'. Somers t took his p ronal command away to the right to attack Ri hard in th flank, giving Lord Wenlock order to advan c a soon a he saw om r t attacking, thus pinning Richard in position. In the event Wenlo k failed to advance; Richard turned to face Som rset, who was now faced by the entire Yorkist left; and at the same time some 200 spearm n, placed on th extreme flank by Edward to guard against such a move, advanced to Bamburgh Ca tie, from the landward side. This forDlidable attack omerset in the flank. omerset' force gave castle wa taken by Warwick in 1464 with the aid of five 'great ground, then broke and fled. omerset escaped to guns'. It was a ball from one of these which knocked the castle's commander, Sir Ralph Grey, uncon dous; the confront Wenlock, and in a rag slew him with his garrison then eized the opportunity to surrender. (Athena Picture Library) battleaxe. The 'main battle' now began to give ground, and when Edward's entre began a general I The battle b gan at dawn in a heavy fog, with the advance the Lancastrian army broke and ran. right wing ofeach army overlapping the left wing of Mo t of the Lan astrian nobles were captured the other. Both the Yorkist and Lancastrian left and slaughtered, among th m Prince Edward and: dmund, Duke of omerset, the la t male B aufort. , wings wer defeated. Con equently both armi s wung to a new position, almost at right angles to Queen Margar twas captur d and placed in the their original line, and in the fog the Lancastrian Tower, where he r mained for five y ars until right under Oxford blundered into the rear of his ransomed by her fath r. Henry VI wa murdered in own centre, causing some casualties. Cri s of the Tower shortly after the batt! . treason rang out and many of Oxford's men now Edward proclaimed his ven month old son quit the field, follow d by som of those from . Edward Prince of Wales and nt Hastings with a trong force to take po s s ion of Calai . Richard of orner t's 'main battle'. t thi moment Edward charged between Somerset and v arwick with Glouce ter was rewarded with Wan ick s lands and about a roo horsemen ofhis reserve. arwick's men offices, while Clarence r c iv d the lands of slowly gave way, eventually breaking and fl eing, Courtenay in the West Country and the Lieutenand a general Lancastrian rout then ensued. ancy of Ir land. Warwick, on foot, was cut down and killed. With Map 10: Battle of Tewkesbury, 4 May 1471 him died his brother Montagu. TEWKESBURY On the same day Queen argaret and Pri nee Edward landed at Weymouth. Learning of the battle, the queen marched through the We t Country, collecting men and heading for the Lancastrian strongholds in Wales. Edward, keeping his army intact, marched from London to prevent SOMERSET this new Lancastrian force from reaching Wal s. DEVON Gloucester, with its crucial first bridge over the r_ " Q \ Severn, closed its gates to the queen at Edward's <;t ( , I? Q~ request, and Margaret had no option but to bypass ) I c:j 9 the'city and move further up river to Tewkesbury. I EDWARD \ I;,'> 9/ HASTINGS I Here Edward caught up with her on 3 May after a -- - series of forced marches. .' 900 YAROS 0 I The next day 4 May 141 r the outnumbered I •

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TABLE C: TOTALS AND CATEGORIES OF COMBATANTS, 1475 Menatarms

o. oj contingent commanders A: Household Bannerets Knights Esquires Gentlemen Others 'Gentlemen of the house of the lord king' 'Archers of the king's chambers' Total of A: B: Peers royal relations and holding household • appomtments C: Other officials Total oj A, B & C: D: Other peers E: Other--non-household: Bannerets Knights Esquires Gentlemen Others Total oj D & E: F: Scottish lords: Total oj D, E & F: Total oj all categories:

Average no. per commander: MAA Archers

Archers

Ratio oj archers to men-at-arms •

69 39 10 7 2 10

720 37 0 9 10 7 80

10 8

43

3 16

43

27°

18 4 2S87

I I

5 16

4,080

9 7° 12

29 815 23 1

134 6,801 1, 61 9

5 [3 52 6 32 12O 2 122 192

32 52 91 5 40 45 1 8 463 1,278

27 2 449 67 2 32 268 2,.J12 60 3,.J72 10,173

7 5 28 2

•

7 I

5°

10 3

to to to to to

I

3 16

71 to

I

47

37 1

8 to

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3

15

5 to

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16

135

9 to

I

54 32 31 111

4 I It

10 7 8 31 8

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Total of commanders, men-at-arms, and archers Add technical personnel (transport, miners, craftsmen, etc.) Grand total Plus non-combatants secretaries, royal servants, councillors, etc possibly another 10% or 12%

•

6

81 9 7 5 8

4

30

71 to

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to to to to to

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,451 • •• 387 .. . 11,838

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54 35 131 5 8

. ..

1,182

13,020

The Earl of Oxford, who had escaped to France after Barnet, made a landing in Essex and another at St Michael's Mount, but failed to raise an army. He surrendered in February 1474. In 1475 Edward raised an army and inv~ded France, but abandoned the expedition in return'for a substantial cash payment. Peace and prosperity at last descended on the real~; the only cloud being Clarence who, dissatisfied with his position,

quarrelled with both Edward and Richard. In 1477 matters came to a head over some murders carried out· on Clarence's orders, and a rising in Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, led by a man claiming to be the Earl of Oxford a rising almost certainly inspired by Clarence. Clarence was arrested and sent to the Tower, where he died some six months later. •

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Bosworth, Stoke, Blackheath and Exeter Edward IV died in pril 1483 \; h n hi son and h ir, Edward V, was only tw lve. In vitably rival faction imm diately m rged th boy king and th court controlled by th q u en m th I' and h r relation, and Edward' favourites Lord Ha tings and Thomas Lord tanley, opposed by Ri hard, Duke ofGlouc ter now th mo t powerful man in the kingdom, \; hom Ed\ ard I had intend d hould be r g nt. Ri hard a t d wiftly. Moving s uth, he joined for with Hem tafford, Duk of Bu kingham and s iz d Edward n route t London in th are of Lord Riv rs the qu en moth r s br th r. Her on Dor ct at onc Oed the country whil th que n moth I' ought an tuary in v stmin t r bbey. \\ ithin a month of Ed\ ard IV's d ath Ri hard \Va Pr tector f the Realm. In Jun Ha tinO' \ a. udd nly arr ted and ex uted. T\ 0 \\'e k lat r I ichard informed Parliam nt that Edward marriaO' to Elizabeth \\ oodvill > \ as il1\'alid du to an arlier man'iag and ther for Edward was a ba tard \ hi h left Richard th rightful u cor. Ri hard be arne Richard III Lord Ri\' r \\"a executed and Edward \ and hi. y unO' r broth I' Richard Duk of York w r placed in th Tower. That autumn th I' wa a I' volt in the \\'e t ountry I d by Bu kingham appal' ntly in The completely self-contained keep of Warkworth Castle, which could be defended for months even if the rest of tbe ca tie feU. The castle was held by the P rcy family (note lion sculpture) from 1332; the keep wa built c.14°O. (Athena Picture Library)

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con pira y " ith the xiI d H nr) Tudor, Earl of Ri hm nd and now h ad ofth Hous ofLanca ter. (H my could claim th thron, in right of hi m th 1', MargaI' t B au{ort a surviving male I' pI' ntativ f th House of Lan a t r the B auforls bing d 'c nd d from John of Gaunt.) Bu kingham wa upported b th Woodville and ourt na s. The rev It \ as qui kly and fficiently ru h d by Ri hard, and Bu kingham wa xeclIted. Henry Tudor withdrew to Fran e, but in q8S with about 3 000 French mer narie he land d in P mbroke hir , \ h re hi un Ie Jasper wa arlo H mar h d qui kly through Wal sand th Iarche pi king up con id rable upport on th \ a and c nfront d Richard in battle for the thron at Bosworth in Lei st rshir on 22 ugust

q8S· Th two main for dr w lip fa ing a h other ( e ,\lap II) but both H my Tudor and Ri hard III looked anxiou Iy {or upport from th force of the t\\"o brothers tanle: tho. e of ir \\ illaim tanl y w re vi ibJ to th north-we t of the battlefi Id, and tho .0fLore! tanl y to th outhea t. The battl commenced without the tanl y , th oppo ing forces both making a I id for \mbien Hill. Ri hard' tro ps rea hed th ridg first, and hi \'a \Va I'd battle d ployed on it in a def! nsi"p po ition. The 'main battl follO\ d, while the r anvard battl ' wa ord r d to take po ition on thel ft of this lin a oon a po ible, and to face due uth. H nry advanced to engag in an ar h ry duel at long rang, and Richard looked in vain for hi 'r arward battl ': the Earl r onhumb r1and had decid d to a oid action until the tanleys showed th ir hand.. s the archers began to run out ofarrows, the t 0 armies advanced to melee, and only now did the Stanleys mov to attack both flanks of Richard's line, while orthumberland remained immobile. Richard mounted, collected his bodyguard around him, and rode into the centre of th enemy, intent on killing Henry Tudor or dying like a king. mar h, Richard was soon nhorsed in th overwhelm d by sup rior numbers and killed. The battle ceased when his d ath became known, and his army m lted away with littl or no pur uit. Lord tanley took th ir let indicating Rich I'd's rank

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VIliJ STANLEY'S CAMP

NORTHUMBERLAND NORFOLK

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RICHARD'S CAMP

.....,.,.'T""T""""~RICHARD

SAVAGE TALBOT HENRY'S CAMP

LORD STANLEY'S CAMP

o1 Map

II:

Battle of Bo worth Fi Id,

1 MILE 1

22

Augu t 1485

from the d ad king's h Imet and, placing it on Henry 1 udor s head, proclaimed him King H nry II. In the early years of his reign H nry VII was in ontinual dang r and it i erron ou to r gard Bo worth as the end of the" ar of the Ro es. The fir t of the king s troubles was a rising in 1486 in the orth Riding of York hire, where Richard III had been very popular. It was led by Lord Lovel, Richard's chamb rlain and admiral, but th rebels dispersed when H nry marched against them with a large force. Lovel fled to Flanders. In May 1487 Lovellanded 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 ofWarwick, 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 fdr~es now sailed for England, landing in Lancashire. However, few Yorkists had

join d the in ad rs by th th tim H nry II brought them to battle at tok, n ar Tewark, on 17 July 148 7. Despite fierce resistance by th for ign mercenaries the reb Is wer routed, Lincoln and Fitzgerald killed, and imn 1 captured. Lovel disappear d. For the next four y ars Henry enjoyed a relatively peaceful r ign, but th n Yorki t conspiracies began once more to thi ken. Ev r since 1483 it had been rumoured that one or both of Edward IV's sons had es aped from the Tower: Henry Tudor claimed they had been murdered by Richard III, but no bodies had ever been found or display d as proof of their d ath. One Perkin \ arbeck, a citizen of Tournai, was ho en for his similarity of app arance to Edward IV, and declared to be Richard, Duke of York. He gained some upport in Ir land, and was recogni d as York by Margaret of Burgundy and Maximilian of ustria. For two years arb ck follow d the Imp rial ourt while his patrons intrigued with Engli h malcont nt; but in the winter of 1494-5 Henry' pies infiltrated the con piracy and large number of the con pirators \ ere arr ted, including Lord Fitz alt rand ir William tanley. The latt r wa b haded, a were everal other whil the r maind r w re han ed or impri oned. ev rthel ,in July 1495 \ arbeck sailed from Fland r with 2,000 exil and German mercenaries. H att mpted to land at Deal, but his vanguard was d stroyed by K nti h levies and he The gatehouse-keep of Dunstanburgh Ca tle, built early in the 14th century and extended by John of Gaunt in 1380-84. The ca tie is built on an inunensely trong proD'lontory, and even today can only be reached by a It-nlile walk over broken Inoorland. (Athena Picture Library)

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War harness for a rider and horse, made at Landshut, Germany in C.I475-85, and characteristic of German armours of the last stages of the Wars of the Ro es. This well-known piece is worth studying at length: although orne details are known to have been added at a later date, it is essentially original. The classically German features are the way in which the assemblies are broken down into many separate plates, in contrast to the fewer, larger plates of contemporary Italian arDlours; and the mass of surface detail in the form of radiating ridges and flutings, drawn out into 'spikes' where they reach the edge ofa plate. These details were not primarily decorative, although they obviously have that effect: they were to catch and channel the points of enemy weapons safely off in a glancing blow, and at the same time to strengthen the almour against crushing blows. Points to notice include the extraordinary skill with which the different sections are fitted and articulated, so that they stay close together even in movement. The rivet-heads should not be seen as simply 'bolts holding it together'; they are in many cases fitted to slots in the adjacent plates, allowing the overlaps to slide smoothly over one another when a limb is Oloved. Note the astonishing precision ofthe Olany articulations, e.g. at the gauntlet and the foot even the foot has eight separate plates, all slotted together to allow absolutely unhindered OloveOlent, between the toe and the instep. Note also the thinness of the plates, visible at the edges. There is nothing reOlotely cumbersome about this astonishing piece of craftsmanship. The horse furniture is as carefully designed as the rider's armour;' and note how the steel-faced !taddle not only protects but also positions and steadies the rider, ap~ supports hiOl against iInpact. (Wallace Collection) /' . " .

drew off and made for Ireland. Henry had anticipated such a move, and had already sent to Ireland ir Edward Poynings, who had suppressed the Irish supporters of Warbeck. \ arbeck landed at Munster, but only the Earl of De mond came to his support. nable to face Poynings' forces, Warbeck sailed to Scotland. With James IV he raided orthumberland 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 t~e taxes imposed to pay for the war with Scotland did lead to rioting in the south-east counties, and in Cornwall ope~ rebellion broke out. A rebel army marched on London, 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 t? confront a royal army despatched to relieve Exeter; When he reached Taunton Warbeck found his followers so dispirited that disaster was inevitable. He took •

21

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san tuary on th abb y of B au Ii u, and lat I' onf d hi fraud in ex hange for his liG . In 1498 cap d fr m the 0\ cr but \ as \ arbeck rc aptur d and ther after onfined in a dungeon. Th n xt year he planned another scap tog th I' with the unfortunate Edward of Clarence, but this \Va b tray d by pie in the Tower. Henry allow d the plot to proceed almo t to completion, th n had both Edward and Warbeck x cuted for planning reb Ilion. The la t real fighting ofth War 9fthe Ros had

tak n pIa at Bia kh ath and th si g f Ex t I' but lar nee had b n a tru mal h ir ofth Hou e of Plantag n t and all th tim he liv d h wa a thr at to th Hou e of Tudor. Hi d ath truly mark d the nd of th ar f the Ro and thereafter H nry II' I' ign \ a p a ful apart from a Gw minor and futile plots by the xiled Edmund Earl of Suffolk young I' broth I' ofJ<;>hn, Earl of Lin oln, and the last pos ible Yorkist claimant to the thron of England.

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In 134 I Edward III had I' volutioni ed the tructur of Europ an armi s by in tituting in England a syst m of writt n ind ntur d ontract ben een the 1'0\ nand promin nt military I ader. nd I' this y t m th mili tary lead rs or 'captain and 'Ii utenant , contra t d \ ith the king to provide an agr ed number of m n for military ervice promi ing to bring them to a plac ofa mbly by a certain date. Th indenture et out pI' ci Iy how I ng th m n would ha e to erve, their rate of pay obligation and privilege. The captain weI' I' pon ible for paying th m n, the king gi ing securities to repay the mon y at a later dat . Th e captain raised their companie by making a erie of imilar contra t with knights and menat-arm again tipulating the term of er ice and the type of soldiers they would be xpected to contribute. The captain u ually sought the e ' ub-

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'Composite' anllours pre ent researcher with a serious problem. Many armours which have been in private or public collections for a century or 1D0re, and which are labelled as if they were complete and hOlDogenous harne e, were in fact a sembled frOID different components by ignorant or unscrupulous dealer or curators. Apart from these, there are some urviving ar:mours which would appear to have been :made up in early times frOID separate components. It would rnake sense for 'field' or 'ammunition' arOlours to be made up by cannibalising: e.g., the body defences from one harness and the leg defences from another. (Left) A composite field arrnour from Schloss Churburg: basically in the Italian tyle of C.1480, it has legs fro:m another harne of c.I450. The right gauntlet is 1D0dern. (Right) An even more :mixed ar:mour. The sallet and abatons are Italian, 15th century; the bevor, breast and arrn defences are GerlDan 15th century; and the leg are early 16th century, but have been modified to give them an earlier appearance. The tassets are missing. This piece is typical of armours assembled in the 19th century for collector who wanted 'Gothic' harnesses. (Deparhnent of the Environment; and Wallace Collection)

contra tors' among t th ir friend kin m n t nant and n ighbour . The e companie, omposed entir ly of olunteers, cr ated in frect a royal standing army; for the men were professional oldier who although rai ed led and paid ~y their captain , regard d themselves firstly as English soldiers, owing allegiance to their king and fighting only his n mies. Inevitably, many of the most powerful captains were of the nobility, for they had the po ition at court, the wealth, and the connections to rais large ,

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contingent. In ord r to b abl t atisfy at on\..\.. any requ t by the king for a company, such lords fr quently maintained a p rmanent for , on tracting their sub-contractors for life with annuiti s. Th e m n oft n h ld offi ( u h a chamb rlain or steward) in the magnat' hous hold or on his estates, and probably provided in their turn the key contingents in his company. This ystem was introdu ed t d al with the demand for expeditionary forces to invade France during th Hundr d Years' War, and th ne d to maintain perman nt royal garrisons in the castl s and towns aero s the channel. But it had the effect of creating large for s command d by the great barons, and during the course of the Hundred Years' War th se magnates becam virtually petty kings within their own domains: the gr at north rn familie of Percy and eville, for xample .fought ach oth l' in the v ars of the Roses as much for suprema y in the orth as for who should control th government of all England. The three gr atest landowner of the second half of Henry 1's reign were the Earl of V arwick and the Duk s of Buckingham and York. fIumphr y Stafford (died 1460), 1st Duke of Buckingham, had a p rsonal retinue of ten knight and 27 e quires, many of, hom, ere drawn from the taffordshire gentry. These men were paid annuitie to reta~n their loyalty (hence 'retainers'), the b st-paid in Buckingham' retinue being ir Edward Grey (died 1457) who was retained for life in 1440 at £40 p r annum. Two knights ( ir Richard Vernon and ir John Constabl ) rec iv d annuiti of£20 p.a., but £10 was the customary annuity for a knight, with esquires paid from 10 to 40 marks per annum. These knights and squir s were the subcontractors, and each would have provided a contingent ofarchers and men-at-arms. \Nhen their contingents were amalgamated, considerable armies could be gathered. For example, in January 1454, 2,000 badges of the Stafford knot were produced for distribution to Buckingham's men; in 1469 the Duke of orfolk fielded 3,000 men and some cannon; while a great soldier and statesman of the ability and ambition of Warwick would have been able to count on thousands of men scattered over no fewer than 20 shires. Table C (r fer back to p. (7) indicates the sizes of other contingents, and the ratio of troop types. ote

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The barbute, an Italian style of helmet, originated in the 14th century, but would still have been in fairly widespread use in the early year of the Wars of the Roses. The left hand example, with a nasal, is c.I445; the right hand one, now painted black, is about ten year later. ote large hole for D'lounting a crest in the median ridge. (Wallace Collection)

the predominance of archers. The contemporary Paston letters give a good idea of the value of the longbowman during the Wars of the Roses. When Sir John Paston was about to depart for Calais, he asked his brother to try to recruit four archers for him: 'Likely men and fair conditioned and good archers and they shall have 4 marks by year and my livery'. (i.e. they were to be permanent retainers, on . annuities). . These were ordinary archers, as opposed to an elite or 'de maison' archer who would serve permanently in the household troop of a great lord. arwick considered such men to be worth two ordinary soldiers even English ones! In 1467 Sir John Howard hired such an archer, offering him £10 a year the annuity paid to knights plus two gowns and a house for his wife. As an extra inducement he gave the ma~ 2S. 8d., two doublets worth lOS. and a new gown' (a t~m often applied to ,

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the livery coat). When Sir John bought himself a new bow, for which he paid 2S., he bought for this elite archer four bows costing 5s. I ltd. each, a new case, a shooting glove, bowstrings, and a sheaf of arrows which cost 5s.: at that price they were probably the best target arrows available. Edward IV's leading captains for his 1475 expedition to France had the following retinues: l Duke of Clarence 10 knights 1,000 archers Duke of Gloucester 10 knights 1,000 archers Duke of orfolk 2 knights goo archers 2 knights 300 archers Duke of Suffolk Duke of Buckingham 4 knights 400 archers (1The totals supplied by the dukes are shown as 334 spearmen, 2,802 archers, but in the individual listing the infantry are referred to only as 'archers'.) This contract system still existed in the mid-15th century, and the end of the H undred Years' War in 1453 flooded England with large numbers of men who had no trade other than that of soldier. Returning to England, these men now assumed the aspect of mercenaries, unemployed and troublesome. Bored and hungry, they eagerly sought employment with the great barons. Such large

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private armies were extremely dangerous to the king. La king a standing army of his own, he could now only control unruly or even di loyal barons by using the private armies of those barons who remained loyal. Of course, loyal baron were rewarded with valuable offices and vast estates,which enabl d them to hire even larger armies until, as with arwick, they became powerful enough to attempt the overthrow of their benefactor. This weakness in the royal authority led to corruption in high offices, and e pecially in the judiciary system. Whenever the interests of a , J' landowner were involved in a I gal case, rival bodies of armed men, wearing the liveries and badges of the lords who maintained them, would • ride into the county town and brib or intimidate judge and jury. • During the reg ncy of Henry I's reign the I gal system finally collapsed, and the barons began to resolve their quarrels over land and inh ritances by making war again t each other: might wa right, and it b am commonplace for heiresses to be abducted, minor lord to be impri on d or even murder d and for 'e idence' to b procured by bribery or threat. • ince justice was no longer obtainable by fair mean ~ many of the yeoman farm r and smaller • landown rs of th lesser gentry now turned to th • barons for their personal protection and for the The aBet appears to have been the most popular helmet ofour protection of their lands and right. This I d to the period. The e German examples how a development of shape from the deep-domed type of C.I460, to that of about 30 years polarisation which is such a fl ature of the Wars of later with the rear brim drawn back and down in a point. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, via G. A. Embleton) the Roses. The yeomen and lesser gentry entered into The only forces under the king's personal another form of contract, known as 'livery and maintenance', whereby they undertook to wear the command were his bodyguard of knights and baron's livery i.e. a tunic in his colours and sergeants and the large, professional body of men bearing his household badge and to fight for him who formed the royal garrison at Calais. Edward in times of need. In return they received his .IV also had a permanent bodyguard ofarchers, and one of Henry VII's first action on seizing the protection whenever they needed'it. From the above can be seen that an 'army' of the throne was to found the Yeomen of the Guard, a Wars of the Roses might consist of a magnate's body of some 2,000 archers under a captain. These personal or household troops (or bodyguard- first saw active service in 1486, when they were used ,usually of knights, sergeants and archers), plus his in the suppression of northern rebels. : Finally, in times ofgreat need', the king rrught also tenants, together with paid mercenaries or contract troops both English and foreign specialists such as use Commissions of Array to call out the loca,! gunners and handgunners and 'livery and main- militia. In theory the king's officials chose the bestarmed men from each village and town to serve the. tenan~e' men who were .unpaid but who had a king for up to 40 days, the men's provi ions being personal stake in the fighting:.., .. .- •

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The term' allet' cover a wide range of shape . Both these late examples date from the 148os. One, with a black fini h, has a laminated neck guard, an extra reinforcing plate riveted to the brow, and a raised ridge, with holes perhaps for mounting a cre t. The much broader, shallower example has a movable vi or. (Wallace Collection)

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provided by th ir ommunity. In practic , the king's authority was fr quently misus d, and great landowners oft n sent lett l' to the lesser landowners and councils of town .' wher they had influence, reminding those in authority of past favours and hinting at b n fits yet to com. n example i given in the contemporary tonor letters and pap rs for th Oxfordshire half-hundr d of Ewelme, which provided from its 17 villages a total of 85 soldier, 17 of whom were archers. Ewelme itself produc d six men: 'Richard lythurst, a harness [i.e. armoured] and able to do the king servic with his bow. Thomas taunton [the constable], John Holme, whole harne sand both abl to do the king service with a bill. John Tanner, a harness and able to do the king service with a bill. John Pallying, a harness and not able to wear it [presumably it did not fit him]. Roger Smith, no harne s, an able man and a good archer. Other men without harness are describ d as 'able with a taW. u tel' rolls are another sour e of su h information. Th muster on 4 eptemb r 1457 befor th king s officials at Bridport, Dorset, shows that the standard equipment exp ct d was a sallet jack, sword, bu kler and dagger. In addition about two-thirds of th m n had bo s and a h afor halfa h af of arrow . There was a prinkling of other w apons pol axes, glaives, bills, pear, axes and staves; and som odd pieces of armour hauberks, gauntlets, and leg harness. Two m n also had pavises, and the officials recommended more pavises be made available. In May 1455 the mayor of Coventry was ordered by royal ignet letter to supply a retinue for the king. The town council decided to supply a hundred men with bows, jacks and sallets, and "!- captain was leeted to lead them. Perhaps the best description ofsuch levies is that penned by the chronicler Dominic Mancini, who viewed the troops summoned to London in i 483 by the Dukes of Gloucester and Buckingham. These levies probably included northerners and Welshmen, who were prominent amongst the dukes' supporters: 'There is hardly any without a helmet, and none without bows and arrows: their bows ,.and . arrows are thicker and longer than those used by oth r nations, just-as their bodies are •

tronger than oth r peopl ' for th y S m to ha e hands and arms of iron. The range of th ir bow i no 1 than that of our arbale ts; there h ngs by th side of ach a \ ord no I ss tong than our , but h avy and thick as w ll. The sword is always accompanied by an iron hield ... They do not wear any metal armour . . on th ir breast or any other part ofth ir body, except for the better sort who have breastplates and suits of armour. Indeed the common soldiery have mol' comfortable tunics that reach down below the loins and are stuffed with tow or orne other soft mat rial. Th y say that th :'softer the tunics the better do they withstand the blows ofarrows and swords, and besid s that in summer th yare lighter and in winter more servic able than iron'. The r tinu s supplied for Edward IV's xpedition to France are divided into lances' in the Contin ntal manner l , but it is most unlikely that th for ngag d in th ars of the Ro es w re er formally divided in this manner. Rath r they w re group d b~ weapqn and armour, by • compani sand und r the oanners of their captains, and group d into vaward', 'main'. and 'rearward battl s' und r the standard of a major figure. Th army a a whole would often be commanded by the leading political figur a sisted by military ad isers. In the case of the king s armie the command r-in-chi f would be the Ii utenant or aptain of the region: officers such as the Warden of the March s, Lieutenant ofIreland, or Lieutenant of the orth, the latt r post being granted to Fauconberg in 1461 and to Warwick in 1462. Many of the commanders, particularly at company lev 1, were not knights but experienced soldiers, though many of them were subsequently knighted on the field ofbattle. Lovelace was only an esquire, but rose to be Captain of Kent through his military skills. Trollop' was another soldier who rose to high com~and, and was rewarded for his services by a knighthood at Second St. Albans. Men such as Trollope were frequently the military brains or 'staff officers' behind die magnates who led the 'battles'. On the other hand, constables of towns g,~~yed a key role in recruiting contingents, and they may often have commanded companies, as may •

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B cause of the {; ar of tr h ry, it wa e s ntia that the major commander fight on foot to indi at< th ir willingn s to tand and die with their m n. I wa for this reason that so many of th nobl s w n o a ily kill d or captur d once their army wa: d fc ated. The mounted reser e th refore t nded t< be omposed of Ie er knights or bodyguards, anc \ ere led by minor command l' , such as ir JOhI Gr y ofCod nor an experi need oldier but a knigh or low rank and po ition who led the Lan a trial cavalry reserve at S cond t. lban . •

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The armet was a development of the earlier ba cinet, the face being protected by two cheek pieces and a visor; note the reinforced brow on this example of c.I440 60, and the ridge with cre t attachment hole. (Wallace Collection)

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h rifr. 'uch men may not ha\'e had any military kill. lthough th \ ar tart d with mall armie of xp ri n d oldieI' a tim \ em on the proportion fv t ran dimini h d and, g nerall p aking th armi s had in ufficient oh ion for elaborate ta ti : mo t battle began with an archer duel \ hi h t nded to cane lout the value of the I ngbow followed by a vast and nfu d m 'lee on foot. The commander of an army could do littl once the melee commen ed, though he might hold back a mall mounted l' erve under his per onal command, or detach a formation prior to the battle to use in an outflanking manoeuvre. Large numbers of the troops were mounted not just the knights and squires, but many of the menat-arms. Some of these 'mounted infantry' were u ed a mounted scouts, flank guards and the like, but apart from an occasional mount d reserve of only 100 m n or so, the armies dismounted to do battle, all horses being sent to the rear with the baggage. Primarily this wa because of the weapons used and the fact • that few mounted men were ufficiently experi.enced to fight effectively on horseback. However, the fact that many men of all arms were mounted did tend to lead to the formation of special vanguards of all-mounted troop, who were used to pearh ad mov m nt prior to a battle. .-2H

By 1450 the hi ld, the jupon or tabard, and th helm t crest w re no longer u d ex pt a tournaments, and th id ntifying uniform of th " ar of the Ro es was th l' for restricted to th tandards which identified bodies of troop, th bann l' \ hich id ntifi d indi idual knights an, the liveries and badg s whi h were \ orn b th common soldi r . Li\" rie w re tunics or 'gO\ n worn over bod armour and were generally in the principal colou of a lord' coat of arm, trimm d and om tim< lin din the colour of hi prin ipalcharg .Hm vel the choice of colour for Ii ries wa not governed b any h raldic law, and orne liveri bore no relatio to th colours on the lord s coat of arms. Fa e~ample, the retainer and followers of the grea Prey family wore a livery of russet, yellow an, orange, with th blue lion rampant of the Perc arm, on their shoulders, whereas the tinctures ofth Prey arms were azure and or. Queen Margan had her men fj.tted out with a rudim ntary uniforr . prior to econd St. Albans, and they are describe by one who marched among them (Pseud< "Gregory) as wearing their lords' Ii eries but wit Prince Edward's badge of ostrich feathers supe] imposed on a bend of crimson and black. The companies raised by towns frequently had uniform livery. The 100 men raised by Co entry i 1455, for example, had a livery of green and re bends, while their captain wore a multi-coloure garment. The chamberlain of ottingham's al counts for 1463-4 list 56s. 3d. spent on jackets f< soldi rs riding to the king at York. Red cloth w, "

ipecified for the m n, a fine I' d cloth for the :aptain, and a white fustian to make 'I tt rs'Jresumably sam form of unit identifi ation ewn )nto thejackets. H nry VII' Y omen of the Guard Nore the white and green Tudor livery in vertical ;tripes with a red rose within a vine wreath on chest lOd ba k. The right to u e a badge was usually only granted by the king to those nobles who could field a large :ompany and the granting of a badg wa usually 3.ccompanied by the right to use a standard. Howev 1', most lord during the Val's of the Roses invented and adopted badges for th ir own ::onvenienc . Th se badges took two forms: the personal badg or badges of a lord, which might be used only by him and were normally res rved for use on his badge-banner (the badge was commonly used on banners instead of the coat of arms during these war ); and the hou hold badge or badges which were us d to mark prop rty and w I' "'orn on th tunic of hi followers and retain r. he hou ehold badge \ a th refore a mark ofown I' hip

and/or allegiance and was gen rally but not alway dim I' nt from th charg s borne on the lord's coat of arm. The badg was normally worn on the br a t I' shoulder of the livery tuni . Because th hous hold badg s were widely u d on flags, liveries and all typ s of properly (rather like the WD broad arrow, which was originally the badge of the person I' sponsible for supplying the armed forces of the Crown) they were far more widely known by the common people than the lord's arms. This familiarity was of gr at advantage in the confusion of battle, when a lord' company could follow or rally to a flag which bore the arne badge as they wore on their own che ts. The following is a list of some of the liveries and badge worn during the Wars of the Roses. In all case the main colour is quoted fir t. ote that some magnates u ed a number of different badges, divided here by emi-colon. Surviving example of a 15th century brigandine, before re toration. (Department of the Enviromnent)

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Li t of major participant , with their liveries and badges (where known), taken frorn M . 2nd M.16 at the College of Arrns: ./ur/II'}' ir John. Or and gul. bUllerny. Bloull1on/, i ount (\\ illiam B aumOl1l, '+ 8 1507). Argenl. EI phanl wilh a tic full of Idi r on il back; a br om cod-bolh \ ilh a re c nl for a dim ren e. Bourchier Lord B mer. rand crt. Bour hier knol; whit agle n a Ire branch. Buckillgham Duk of (Humphr y lafTi I'd, d.1460). art wheel ill name. Buckillglwm, Duke of (Henry Stafford). laUi rd knot. CIa rena Duk of (George Planlagen t on or Richard Duke or York). \ bull pa ant able. Clifford ir Henr . Argent. wyYern swing gule. o,~)'er Lord. rgent. A lion pa ant azure: a 1'0 1'0 let ule . Doerl' or Ih North Lord Ralph. rgent callop united by Dacre knol gule to a ragg d laff argent. DOlli1'1 Thoma quire 10 the Body(guard) of Henry VI. A Ii I v. • DakJ', Earl or (hollla lanlcy d. 150-1.). Tawney and en. A gold eagle leg in 1+75. ])/'1'011, Earl f (Thoma Courlenay d.1+58). A white boar. DO/I/I. :-,rarque. I' (Thoma' r y d'[SOI). \rg l1l and pink..\ uni rn nninc. Edl 'wr/ fl'. :-'lurre,'• ancl azure. "'hite roc: white lion .\Iarch ; while falcon \I ilhin I d feller! k or Duke f Y rk : . un in splcndour' bla k dragon CJ"O\\"I1ed or (Earl or '1 I 1'); \\ hile han on grccn mOlll1d. 1:',1.11'1. Earl of (Ilcnry Bour hi'r d.1+83). While I: Ie 11 nyin'. one win brokcn' B urchin knot; gold fi:uerlock; \,'atcr bou el' wine bOltle. F(I/o.. Lord. Argenl and gule . While arcyhound runl1ing ~old crO\\'I1: french \\ ifi' hood: gold hoI' ho. FI'fIt/I, ir Edward. \·en. Running unicorn ermin black ere cel1l on houlder: ma Ie or. Fil- CI)'f1I1. ir Rhy ap Thomas. While. Black ra\'en 011 grccn m und. Fil<,1('0111'1', Lord. \zu re. old Sla r. G'lol/mll'r. Duk or (Ri hard III). zure and murr y. \\'hit boal" r d bull. G'r~)', de Cod nor Lord. Gule and \'ert. \\ hite I adger wilhin a Ir wilh rown or. G'II'}I, de Ruthyn, Lord. Ragged staff able. Ilal'ingloll. Fr 1 or Haringlon knot. Ha lings Lord (William d , d.1483). Purple and azure. Black bull, horn and crown round neck gold; white ickle \ ith old handle and garb or arne; three sickl s inlerlaced. Haslings & HungerJord, Lord (Edward de Hastings, d.1506). As William. HI'I/ry Vi SPOll d panther pa ant guardant; t\ 0 ostrich fealhers cro sed, white and gold; chain d antelope. (Queen fargaret used a dai y). .. . . • Henry VII Arg 'nt and vert. Red dragon; gold portculli ; Tudor 1'0 e; while greyhound with red collar; gold lieur de lis; dun CO\ . ralcon slanding on a fetterl ck; sun bu t. Herberl, William, Earl or Pembroke. Green dragon. Kent, Earl or (\ illiam evill, Lor~aueonberg, d. [463). Argent and azure. fish hoo\(. .

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A'm/, Ea rI of (Th Lord G l' y). ule. A g Id wy\'(~rn. Kelll Earl or (eorg rey). Bla k ra ge I staff (q75). Latimer, Lord. Human heart. Lde \ i coum (Edward rey d'l1 2). \ hite Ii n \ ith gold rowl1 (1+75). Loeel i ount (Francis L vel, d. q87). quare padl k. .\lorlima. Whil wolf. .\·orJolk Duke ofUohn Mowbray, d.I46I). \ hite lion: an o Iri h feather erecl. YO/folk Duke of Uohn Mowbray, d. [476). Azul' and tawney. white lion. YO/folk Duke or U hn Howard). \ hite lion with blue cre cent on should r. Voifolk Duke of (Thomas Howard, d. I524)' rgent and gule . \ hile allet (1475)' .VOI'I'l'}'S John. quire to Body(guard) or H my r. conduit. \orlhlllllbl'rlond, Earl of (H nry P rcy d.14.8 ). \\ hile cre cenl; gold shacklebolt. \ orlhumberland, Earl of (H nry Ig rnon Per y, d. I52 7). Ru el, yellow and tawney. Blue lion pa' ant· \ hit k Y crown d' gold mana Ie ; \ hi Ie unicorn wilh gold cro\ n round neck; fi:tl hion with bla k hilt or heath. • .\'ollinghom, Earl of (\\'illiam Berkeley, from 1483). Red • ul1lcorn lalan!. Oxford, Earl of Uohn de r, d.(513). \ hite mull 1 charg d with an ther r blue' blu boar latam. Pasloll, ir \\ illi m. Gul '~. G lei ircular ·hain. Pembroke Earl of. Gold draught hoI' e. PO/~l'Ilg ir Ed\ ard. ul . Whit IInicorn running; while key urmounled b gold rO\\'II. Richflrd 111 \\ hite boar; lin in pI n lour; whit I' e. Richmolld Earl or (H my Tudor). \rg nl and \' n. Red dragon' dun ow; whil . greyh undo RichmQlld Earl or (Edmund udor). Arg nt and \. fl. Ril'er , L rI (Ri hard de \\' (kille, d. If 9). Pil her and • magpIe. Ril'w, Earl ( mhon \\ 0 d\'ille d.1+83). \\ hil e call p (1+75)· Roos, Lord. zure and r. Bulls h ad wilh old crown' while \ aler boug t. ero/JI', Lord. Arg nt. orni h hough abl . Shrl'w bUly, Earl of. ul and able. \\'hil' hound' gold hanfron wilh lhre realh rs. Somerset, Duk or (Edmund B au ron, d. I455). POflculli wilh chain. Sianley, ir \ illiam. ,\ hil hart's head. Suffolk Duke of (\ .illiam de la Pole, d.(450). \ hite lion' white ape's clog with gold chain. Suffolk Duke or U ohn de la Pole d.1491). Su(folk knot; gold lion (1475)' Warwick, Earl or & alisbury (Richard 1 ville). Red jackets wilh white ragg d staffs on them (1458). Bear; ragged staff; both together. Welles, Lord (Lionel de Welles, d. 1461 ~I. Buck t hanging rrom a pair of chain. Welles, iscount Gohn de V lie d.149.9). Two lieur de lis; bucket and chain as above. 1.oor's head with Willoughby Lord. Argent and gules. tongue hanging out. r illoughby, ir Henry. zure. White griffin passant; white \ aler bouget. Wiltshire, Earl of (John tafford, d.(473). Gold Stafford knot.

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Wiltshire, Earl of (Henry Stafford). Sable and gules. White swan, gold crown and chain; Stafford knot charged with red crescent. York, Duke of (Richard Plantagenet, d.146o). Argent and azure embroidered with fetterlock (1459). White falcon; gold fetterlock; white rose; white'lion; black dragon; bla k bull with gold horn; ostrich feather. York, Duke of (Edward IV). zure and murrey. . York & J orfolk, Duke of (R:i hard, son of Edward IV). • • • \\ hite falcon flying, within a gold fetterlock.

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Many Continental mercenarie fought in England during this period. This contemporary drawing, from a German source, shows mounted troops armed with lances, long thrusting swords, and in sOlne cases crossbows. The costume is typical of the last quarter ofthe 15th century; sallets, and long turneddown boots, seeID universal. No plate armour is visible, but jacks or other fabric and composite defences seeID likely. (Courtesy Rufus Embleton) .

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.In th plates w have att mpt d to tie figures Ie dO\ n to within at least 25 year, whi h is po ible through study of a range of ont mporary (Research by Tel' nce V ise and G. illustrations and d s ription , Embleton) general point worth making is that we always tend to under- stimate the sophisti ation of om interpreters of m di val costume, in p a e costume and quipm nt of early armi s; and to and war alik , have a regr ttable tendency to over-dramatise social rank. the body of th~ text d scribe tyles as 'm dieval', ignoring the fact that makes I aI', 15th entury armi s were not this covers se eral hundred years of con tantly compo ed only ofri h noblemen and barefoot erfs; changing fa hions. Even to describe a footsoldier as there was a wide rang of well-paid and rea onably wearing 15th ,century' co tume is no more h lpful well turned-out town levies and profe ional oldier in bet\ c n th e extr m . Their 0 tum s than it \ ould be to illustrate a British infantryman of the Crimean \ ar as an example of British \ er w II made, to last, of stout oollen cloth. infantry throughout the p riod from 1845 to 1945! Vegetable dyes give a broad range of rich, bright colour, whi h faded gradually to give many subtle variations of shade. rmour, being an item with a Badges u ed by followers of families and individual leader in e1'u1 lifl was probabl of many differ nt long u the War of the Rose: (A) de Vere, Earl of Oxford (B) Talbot, Earl of Shrew bury (C) eville, Earl of Warwick (D) Fitz hronological styl within a gi n army; but study Alan, Earls of Arundel (E) Courtenay, Earls of Devon (F) us a good idea of Richard, Duke of York (G) Scale, Earl Rivers (H) Earl of of cont mporary pi ture gi Douglas (I) Lord Scrope of Bolton (J) Lord Grey of Codnor (K) repr entati e types. The oft-r p at d th ory that Sir Ralph Ha ting (L) Sir John A tley, (Drawings by William plate armour was too expen i e for any but the W.a!k:..::.e::...lr)---____ , nobility and th ir imm diate r tain rs ignor the fact, pro d by survi ing account books, that there A \\as a wide range of qualities of armour. decorat d armour made to mea ure for a nobleman miaht ind ed co t a small fortune; but ther ar many ref! I' nc to large quantitie of ammunition' armour being ordered for the infantry at a fraction of the cost. o A: Knights arming, 1450S This shows two knights arming for battle in the I.+sos. ne is assisted by his quir, 1 a boy of good family acting as the servant of a knight while training for the knighthood himself. ( ote that 'esquire' was the term for a 14th and 15th century H fighting man of a rank lower than knight.) The squire wears red hose and doublet, the latter just visi ble at the neck of the green jacket, and the long boots fashionable in this period. ote the lack of heels; the tab just visible above the turned-down top, .which could be laced to the doublet by and the sideways fold visible 'points' stout cords; L K on the front of the shin. Boots of the day were cut loosely and tightened by folding a handful of 't· leather outwards and attaching it by buckles or 't-: , hooks and eyes. Over the chair behind him lie his master's loak, with a pair of wood and leather •

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'pattens' wid ly worn in this p riod as extra outdoor protection against w t and mud. Both A'2 and 3 wear armour in the north Italian style. Much research has still to be done b fore styles of armour manufacture can be classified by date and area with any great ertainty, but some g neral comments are permissible. The great armour workshops of the ilan area are associat d with a clean, function style almost devoid of decoration. ( ote, however that Italian armours are known to have been made for export in styles more popular in the intended market, even including the fluted Germanic style associated with such centres as ug berg; 0 confident attribution of a particular piece is diffi ult.) rmours from all the main centres, particularly those of I taly and Flanders, were probably to be seen on the battlefields of the , ars of the Roses. The armet helmet at the right is an Italian style whi h b came widely popular in 145 0 - 1480 . e know little about the padded garment worn underneath plate armour, such as the arming doublet worn here by 3. The arlie t surviving piece annot b dat db fore the early 16th c ntury. There arc one or two imple illu trations, and some bri f written d criptions, but nothing detail d enough to allow us to be dogmatic. Probably a wide range of tyl wa tried ou t over the years, and many would have followed this g neral appearance: a padded fabric garment, with areas of mail sewn to the surface at places liable to be exposed by the limitations or movements of plate armour, and with bunches of 'points' for attaching the different sections of plate by tying through small holes. Indirect evidence of the sophistication probably displayed by these arming doublets is suggested by several surviving early 16th century arming caps, for wear under tournament helms, which are preserved in Vienna. They have quilted padding which varies in thickness to give maximum protection at vulnerable points; rolls of padding to protect forehead, ears, cheeks and chin; a system of tapes to adjust the fit, and 'points' to attach them to the helmet. •

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BI: Dismounted man-at-arms, c.I455-60 This figure is based 0.0 an effigy of Robert, Lord Hungerford, of c.1455: It ;.hows what might be either an English or a etherlands armour; not a

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Badges used by followers of (A) Henry VII (B) John, Duke of Bedford (C) Humphrey, Duke of Glouce ter (D) de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk (E) Mowbray, Dukes of Norfolk (F) Holland, Duke of Exeter. (Drawings by William Walker)

gr at deal is known about armour pr:oduction in these areas. I t is shown \ orn burni h d nd uncovered, a was often the case in this period. Italian and German trade routes met in Flanders, and armours made there and in England combined the two style' note also extra ta ts on the outside of each thigh, an English feature. The point is worth repeating that 'man-at-arms' was a term co ering any fighting man equipp d with full harness a knight, an esquire, a member of the lesser gentry, or a sergeant in the bodyguard ofa high-ranking knight. Men-at-arm very often fought on foot in this period, and since the passing out of general use of the shield left both hands free a variety of pole arms were used, war hammers and pole axes being the most popular (note that 'pole axe' comes from 'poll axe', 'poll' being the contemporary term for 'head', and not from a reference to the shaft). There were many different combinations of axe blade, hammer head, beak and spike, mounted on shafts between three and five feet in length; metal strip~ below the head often protected the shaft from a lopping blow, and disc guards were often fitted to protect the hand from blades sliding down the shaft. Shafts were frequently shod with a strong spike. These heavy weap'ons could sometimes shatter • p~ate armour. In its complete form this armour would include a bevor to protect the neck and lower face, and an open-faced h lmet of some kind ee Plate H; but 33

B3: Dismounted man-at-arms, C.1470S A B C E typical man-at-arms, wearing a fr -fiowing • tabard, slit at the id s, displaying the arm ofJohn ,.,., = • •-" Flory; standard bear r to th Duke of orner et at Tewkesbury, Flory was captur d and ex cuted after the battle. Beneath the tabard he probably J\ '1 ,..; wears a full harness of plate; but men-at-arms of F' les er ranks such as s rgeants and esquires, and even some knights, 'would probably 'have worn a ~~::::: M t N brigandine b neath a brea tplate and pIa kart, ~ their only other plate d fences being the leg armour " essential for a mounted man. Sometim s men armed in this way formed the small mounted R reserves h Id back from the main foot engag ment. ~ The h lmet shown is a sallet, which he ha lift d on to the back of his head for comfort and vi ibilitynote the sturdy buckled chinstrap. On the top is a d corative gilqed ball; there i plentiful evidence fOJ This further selection of badges show (A) Richard, Duke of York combination of his two badges of the white falcon and ri h decoration of h lmets and armour. allet 0: gold fetterlock. (B) The white 'saUet' of Thoma Howard, Duke various shapes seem to have be n the most populaJ of Norfolk (C) Alternative, de Vere, E~rls of Oxford (D) Ormond, Earl of Wilt hire (E) John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk . helm ts at this time; English and Fl mi h allet~ (F) The Lord Ha ting (G) Stafford (H) Alternative Ormond (I) often had rather pointed skull. gain, as with thl Bourchier (J) Harington (K) Lacy (L) Pembroke (M) Dod ley ( ) Devereux (0) Ratcliff (P) Dacre (Q) Henage (R) Daubeney other figur s, note that the bevor which wa: (S) Bowen de ign d for wear with thi form ofh 1m t i left off The point can hardly b made too often that thl there are s v ral cont mporary accounts of m n image of the fully armed knight as a shamblin~ being injured becau e they had removed th ir colossus unable to move without great diffi ulty and pron to p ri h, like a turned turtle if knockee b VOl', som times in the thick of battle. It em logical to uppose that the bevor limit d fr e over, i greatly xagg rated. It i partly based or movement uncomfortably in the fast cut-and-dodge 19th-century misinterpretation of urviving tourna· of foot combat, and that it wa sometimes felt ment armours oflat date, which were much more rna si ethan earli r battl armour, being designee preferable to remove it even at the ri k of injury. to encase as heavily as possible a man with no neee for agility and facing only a simple frontal impact ir B2: Dismounted man-at-arms, c.1470s This man's armour shows the flutings, ridges and the lists. The weight of a battle armour was between 5< 'spikes' popular in Germany, which developed into the full magnificence ofso-called 'Gothic' armour at and 70lbs less than the full field equipment of; the end of the century. Over it he wears a rich cavalryman of the late 19th century, and less thai tabard,. bearing the arms ofJohn Field, Esquire; he the load carried by British assault waves on th. owned large estates in Kent and Hertfordshire, and Somme in 1916. The weight was so evenl~ the figure is based upon his funerary brass at distributed over the body that a fit man could rna VI Standon, Hertfordshire. Thejupon had gone out of with ease, mount a horse, leap, fight, and rise fron fashion in about 1425; the tabard that replaced it, the ground. Experiments have shown that a very fi which may have been primarily for use in pageants man can even perform some gymnastics in armoUI and tournaments, appeared in both free-flowing and there exists a 15th-century drawing of aJ (see ;Bg) and waisted fa r!ils, and according to armoured man doing a handstand or 'cartwheel' Laking was frequently worn in battle where The relative ease with which knocked-over knighl identification would obvio.usly be important. The; could apparently be dispatched was probably du weapons are a sword, a war hammer, and a dagg r. to th ir being momentarily stunned or winded b

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the blow or the fall, and the limited vision afford d by most typ s ofhelmet, which would put them at a brief but fatal disadvantage. Battle damage such as dents or distortions suffered on or near ajoint, or the track ofa 'sliding rivet', would also impair agili ty for the few moments necessary to close with them for the coup de grace.

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C: Footsoldiers of the 1450S and 1460s CI: Crossbowman composite figure from several sources. The Royal Ms. 14, E.IV shows crossbowmen wearing a variety of body defences: livery jackets over mail hauberks and plate arm defences, as here; mail shirts and brigandines; and livery jackets with mail shirts but without limb armour. Full breastplates, or plackarts over other defences, might be worn by these arbalestiers, and during episodes of siege warfare pavises were used. Helmets varied as widely as among all classes of footsoldier. orne examples of bascinets wi th mail aven tails are known, al though this style was now 50 years old. This soldier wears a visored allet; the small tufted ere t is shown on this type of helmet in a mid-15th century manuscript. His red livery jacket, bearing the ragged staff badge of the Earl of Warwick, is from a document of 1458. He carries a heavy steel-stave crossbow, whose bolts could crack over-hardened armour plate if the angle of impact was close to goO they struck with twice the force of a longbow arrow.

A design from Prince Arthur's Book (Henry VD's eldest son), howing the badge of the House of Tudor: cros of St. George and crowned Tudor rose; sunbur t, crowned portculli ; dragon; fleur-de-lis, and greyhound. .

use during a siege, since most illustrations show it as a weapon ofnaval warfare. We take the app arance entirely from the manuscript, but must presume the material an earthenware pot, to shatter on impact, seems most likely. The body defences are typical of the period in that they are built up of several layers. ote that mail breeches or brais d'acier C2: Crossbowman An arbalestier wearing Edward IV's livery colours are worn beneath a quilted, stuffed jack, and a mail of azure and murrey on a sleeved jacket, probably shirt is worn over it. Over this is a brigandine, over a mail shirt; plate appears only in the form of frequently worn by footsoldiers of the period, poleyns strapped over the hose to protect the knees. commoners and nobles alike. It was made from two His helmet is a kettle hat ofsmall proportions. He is or more layers of canvas or leather, with rows of spanning his composite-stave crossbow with a small horn or iron plates riveted between them; iron crannequin, a rack-and-pinion winch which en- plates were sometimes tinned, coppered or varabled the experienced bowman to fire three or even nished against rust. The plates overlapped slightly, four times a minute, if modern tests are valid the allowing flexibility of movement without· loss of slowness and unhandiness of this: weapon has protection; this would not be the case with plates probably been over-emphasised by some historians. butted edge to edge. The brigandine often had an outer layer ofvelvet or some other richer fabric; the rivets, normally shown as grouped in triangles of C3: Soldier with firepot . Several portrayals of English troops using 'Greek three, sometimes had a gilded finish for decorative fire' projectiles are to b~ found in contemporary effect. Over the brigandine this soldier wears a plate manuscripts; this figure is 100~Jy based upon the: plackart, strapped at the back. The 'bollock' knife Royal Ms 14, E.IV, which is unusual in sho'wing its· was a popular form of the time: The sheepskin •

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of th longbow \' as an ell d out unl some sp cial fa tor int rv ned as at wt n. In any a , m n-at-arm in plat armour ould endure any amount of archery without oming to mu h harm, pro id d it \Va not at hort rang, and pro id d they prot ct d the ulnerable fa e and th mail area at armpit, elbow and kn . ,

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Two type of typical 15th century pole axe, as widely used by men-at-anTl fighting on foot. The left hand weapon is French, of C,I470j the right, possibly French of c.14°O 50. Shaft were b tween fOUl' and ix feet long. (Wallace Collection)

D: Footsoldiers of the r 460s and r 470S Dr: Billman Thi oldier arm d with an Engli h bill, i probably untypi ally well protected in that he has full plate leg armour and gauntlets in addition to hisjack- but he i otherwise a d scribed by cont mporary eye\ itn s es of th levy troops rais d for part time' service by towns or states. He wear a visorless allet th se were om times paint d, again trust. • Thejack is made ofsev rallayers of can a or other fabric tum d v ith ft mat rial u h a tov cured \'enl in pia by tit h d quilting, Th e oft armour " used b ' many cultur at variou period in hi tory, gay urpri ingl good prote tion again t .edo-ed and poi11lcd w apon , His ide arm are a Two war hammers, a mace and an axe of the mid- to late-15th century. (Wallace Colle tion)

mittens with parat thumbs and forefinger ar of contemporar design, but peculative h re: th I' mu t have b n some protection from the flaming pot.

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C4: Archer

Taken from a mid-15th century manuscript illustration, this soldier wears a long mail shirt or hauberk, with a quilted and studded fabric armour, the studs almo t certainly securing internal plat s: the exact construction is not clear. Other archers in the manuscript wear a hauberk beneath a brigandine with a plackart over all, but few wear any plate defences on legs or arms mobility was of more importance to an archer than the ability to trade blows face to face. Archers usually wore closefitting helmets such as the various types ofvisored or open-faced sallet, or soft hats: a brimmed kettle hat would have interfered with the bowstring in action. This costume is probably fairly typical of the 'fulltime' soldiers of the cohtract companies. v\ ith longbowmen on both-sid s, the supremacy

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rondel dagger and a short falchion; a small round iron buckl I' or 'target' was normally carri d slung to th hilt. We have omitted the livery jackets which both D 1 and D3 would normally have worn, for clarity. D2: Archer

This longbowman has the visor of his visored allet raised; note forked chinslrap. The contemporary description of black' helmets doe not always mean a painted surface; the term was used for ste I items left 'black', i.e. unpolished, as they came from the forge. He wears a livery jacket, whose design we take from contemporary manuscript illustrations, adding to the breast a reconstruction of the badge of Sir William Pa ton's men. Beneath this are a slee eless padd d jack, and a loosely-cut green woollenjacket. Mo t of this man's costume is typical ofcivilian clothing of the last quarter of the entury. He would, ear a hirt and hort underpants, over which would b wooll n hose and a doublet, invi ible h r but probably long-sleeved and tightfitting, and lac d to the ho e with points'. The has whi h de pite having different colour d legs would by thi date haye been made in one piece, lik low-cut tights, rather than having the s parate legs of earlier in the entury are worn with short, loose leather boot. The wooll n cloth of doublets and hose was cut 'on the bias, and had an ela ticity almost unknown today. The arrows for the self-wood war bow are carried in a larg can a bag slung behind him. Belt support a sword with a simple cruciform hilt, a 'bollock' dagger, and slung on the hilt of the sword a small buckler or 'target'. This was often less than a foot across, made of iron, with a sharply domed boss covering the recessed handgrip. Some had a convex surface, others a concave surface which, with the domed boss, gave a cross-section rather like a flattened 'W'. They were used as fistshields, for parrying blows in close combat. An archer's bracer is strapped to the left forearm; shooting gloves are also mentioned in contemporary descriptions, but we have no direct reference to their design. The term 'levies' might suggest to us an illequipped rabble, but contemporary documents make clear that this. was far from the truth. Minimum standards of equipment were laid down

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This crossbow, with a teel tave, i 16th century, but i relevant in showing the loading windla s in place. The 'stirrup' foot brace were ornetiInes, as in thi case, two iron rod with a leather strap. (ea tIe Mu cum, York)

by regulation for the men s lected by th ir lord or their town council: each had a sallet ajack, a sword and buckler, and either a bow or a pole arm. The Mancini description of 1483, quoted in the body of the text, supports the view of these levies as seriously prepared soldiers. . .

1)3: /lalberdier en armed with pole weapons might wear brigandines, but the jack is probably more typical, often worn over mail, and with or without some plate limb armour. This example has long sleeves, with bunches of ,points' on the outer surface for the attachment of the chains or narrow linked plates which were sometimes worn as extra protection. ( gain, as with D I, a livery jacket would often. be worn, but has been omitted here to show details of the jack.) The helmet, worn over a caped cloth hood, is a kettle hat with the brim longer at the back

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mail brais d aeier, m ntion d in cont mporary Burgundian ordinan s. mall iron skull- aps of many forms were v ry popular. Bull ts are arri d in a pou h, and powd r in a gourd. The bronzebarr 11 d handgun i taken, like th other fc atur of thi figur , from cont mporary Continental hronicles and paintings. The function of the hole in the butt i uncI ar p rhaps to tak a. thong or cord? Swi s hronicles se m to indicat that at least orne of th se guns had fairly sophi ticated matchlock action with trigg I' or button rel ase mechanisms.

E2: German gunner The ewell-paid spe ialists were among the most expensiv of the m rcenari s although th y w re not able to command the very high sums paid earlier in the century. Even so, this man wears a German crossbow quiver of wood covered with rawhide, costum arguing some prosp rity. The use ofsev ral C.I470. The mouth i covered with hardened leather, and the differ nt la rs of clothing and d fenc son th torso back ha an iron reinforcing plate; the 'lid' i nU ing here. The bolts have various heads, both pyramidal and of flattened is t pica!. B neath a good-quality velvet-co er d ection; the thick wooden shaft range in length from 33crn to 49.5cm. Fragments offletching remain on orne of them; wood, brigandin with gild d rivet h " ars a I e less I ather and parchment were all u ed. (Wallace Collection) jack with fringed hould r and a mail hirt over a yellow doublet. Burgundian rand I dagg r hang than at th front· the brim is not horizontal to th at the waist. H i xamining made-up harges rown wh n seen in sid I vation, but slope d wn carried in a typi al ammuniti n chest ofth 1470. toward th back. The lin ofri,' ts around the bas Both id in th war used fi Id cannon, but th .y f the cro\ n are for the attachment of the fabric did not have a mark d effect on the outcom of any lining' all iron helm ts r quired some kind of of th pitch d battl s partly due to bad \ ather padded inner cap, or a blm would fracture the and part! to probl m of mobilit . They \ r kull even without penetrating. much more effecti e during the limited si ge The \Alord is of the falchion typ \ hich b came warfare of the e ampaign \ h n their presence • popular for infantry during the wars. 'targ t alon oft n induced a garrison to urrender. The, would normally hang from the hilt, but is omitted guns themselves are not illustrat d her , as fuller h re for clarity. ote sharpening-ste I in small details and illustrations are to be found in M A sheath on the face of the word scabbard. 144, Armies of lvfedieval Burgundy 1364-1477. .

E: Continental mercenaries, 1460s to 1470S EI: Burgundian handgunner Burgundy supplied many mercenaries during the wars) and 'a small contingent of handgunners is known to have fought for the Earl of Warwick at Second St. Albans. Handguns were well-establish d weapons by this period, and reasonably efficient. Over red dou blet and hose this soldier wears a padded jack with the fa hionable puffed shoulders (for some reason, specifically forbidden to the handgunners of Charles the Bold's army) and scalloped lower edge. Over the jack is strapped a breastplate; and beneath it an be e n the hort 38

E3: Flemish pikeman Con iderable numb rs ofSwiss and Flemings served in England during the wars. Their performance in battle is not record d; but they do not seem to ha e had the dramatic effect which often attended their use on the Continent. Perhaps this was because they were in insufficient numbers at any given engagement; because they were confronted by men-atarms on foot armed with pole weapons, rather than mounted knights; or because they were especially vulnerable to the longbow, having no equival nt weapon themselves. 0 er his doublet and hose this pikeman wars a mail shirt, a breastplate with [auld

and tassets, and a all t h lmet over a ap d I ath I' or fabric hood. (Th term 'sall t' was us d ery widely to describe helm ts of a ari ty of hap s, including this typ , which has some tim s b n termed a 'barbute' through its resemblance to the I tali an helmet of that name.) part from his pike, which would have a long, triangular-section, tapered head, he is armed with a sword, a 'targ t', and a Flemish 'bollock' dagger.

F, G.o Standards

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The personal standards of I ading commanders usually displayed the livery colours and bore the badge or badg s of the individual; there might be changes from time to time in the design ofone man's standard, esp cially if he were a member of the royal family or a ery powerful nobleman holding several titles. The standards illustrat d here are taken from a Tudor manuscript drawn c. 1531, but howing many standards of c. 1475. F/: Edward IV, bearing the white lion badge which he us d a Earl of March as w 11 as the white 1'0 e of the House of York. His liv ry olours of azure and murrey a mulb rry I' d appear in the border a well as the field. The tandards used by both ides in the ars of the Roses bore the cross of St. George, for England, in the hoist. F2.o The tandard of Edward I as King of England, baring the crowned lion badge of England. Roses red, white and gold are mentioned as mblems used by the House of Plantagenet from the time of Edward I, and the red rose does not seem to have become the sole property of the Lancastrians until the Tudor claim to the throne was ad anced very late in the wars. F3.o Henry VII, in the Tudor livery colours and bearing the white greyhound badge used by Henry when Earl of Richmond together with the red rose of Lancaster. F4.o Henry VII, bearing the 'red dragon dreadful' of Cadwalader, 'emitting flames' a badge he used both as Earl of Richmond and as king. G/.: John Howard, Duke of orfolk, who fell at Bosworth Field in 1485. His badge in c. 1475 was the white lion of Segrave, while that of his son Sir Thomas, who succeeded him as duke, was a silver saHel. G2: Thomas Stanley,· Earl of Derby, bearing the badge of an 'eygelle ... wyth swedylled chyld ...

and yg Us fi tt'. he badg of an agl s leg wa u ed by tanl y when s rving und I' Edward IV in ormandy and Fran e in 1475. G3.o Lord F rrers, Knight of the arter, a Yorkist \ ho I' d under Edward IV in the 1475 xp dition. The tandard is in his livery colours and bears his badg s of a greyhound, horse hoes, and blue 'fr nshe wyfes' hoods bounden'. ir Edward • FetTers had the liv ry colour gr en 'and the badges of a golden mascle and a running unicorn, rmine, with a black crescent on its shoulder. G4: Henry tafford, Earl _of Wiltshire, used a standard in his livery colours baring the white swan (of Mandeville or Bohun) and tafford knots.

H: ir John Cheyney and man-at-arms /485 full harness and horse bard ofc. 1480, comparable in some respects to items in the Wallace Collection, London. This is a German harness, of the most upto-date type at th time of the battle of Bosworth Field. The banner carried by th att ndant man-atarm, H2, is that of ir John h yn y; this knight Wrought iron breech-loading ptltrara gun u ed by Edward IV's troops. Note the removable powder chaDlber with lifting handle, and the wedge, attached by a chain, used for januning the chamber in po ition against the end of the barrel. The DlOunt i modern.

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actually fought hand-to-hand with Ri hard III at Bosworth, and 'though a man ofgr at str ngth, \ a hurl d to the ground'. ote the d p sail t \"""'rn with a bevor; the lance I' st on the right sid of th breastplate; and the long, sharply-taper d thru ting sword which became common when the n arperfection of plate armour I' duced the us fulne s of the dge, as opposed to the point. The ery compl t mail and plate hoI' e armour wei hs

around 60 to 701bs, and th knight s arm ur and all t about 6 Ibs. Th man-at-arms, H2, wars items hara t ri tic of Continental style of the day. The broadbrimmed, round k ttle hat i cover d with som ri h fabri and ornam nt d \'\Iith nicr g Id; thi andl the loos mail sl v s, w re popular in Fran . The' breastplate is Milanese, perhap pur has d through' th Burgundian poss ssions in Flanders. , •

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Notes sur les planches en couleur

Farbtafeln

A n page aide deux chevaliers a revetir leur aonure. Le style de !'armure est ilalien et e t caraclerise par de large plaques lisses san decoralion, A droile, Ie doublel malelasse porte sous rarmure a plate, avec en emble d mailles cousues sllrla urface aux end roils qui pourraient se Irou\"(~r exposL'S lors du mou\'emenl d I'annure:i plales, et lia es de cordon pour alia her les plales, Le IYpe de casque 'armel', ur la cai e, commenc;ail a devenir a la mode a la fin du 15em siecle,

A Ein Knappe hilrl zwei Rittern beim Anlegen del' Ruslung, Die Rii lung iSI im ilalienischen Iii, rkennbar an den gro en, glatt n, ungcschmucklen Platt n,l Recllls das unler einem Plattenpanzer gelragene geruttene Wams mit eingenahlen KettenOachen, wo bci Bewegung de Plattenpanzers unge halzl wa~, ulld mil S hnuren wm Fe Ibinden an die Platten, Ocr 'anj1el'llelm aurde. Kisle \\'urde im Spal n '5' jahrhunden popular. B \\'.lhr,'nd di,',c, Pcriolk ~,onplt"11 RIIIl'f ult ZU Fus." n1l1 Irl'II.l\len u, a, \\'all('n, Oie Ruslung \\ ar hallfig polien und unbedec~l \'\\'ei 'e Ru lUng') \\ ie inL BI, aur das Grab von Roben, Lord Hungerrord (ca, t455) zuruckgeh nd; eine engli. che oder flami che Riislung mit sowohl ilalienis hen als au h d ulSchen :'olerkmalen, 82 lragl einen Wappenrock mil dem \ appen \'on John Field, Esquire, ein GIII,be il~er in H nrordshire, 83 lragl einen losen, ges hlilzlen \\'appcnrock mil dem Wappcn von john 1'1 cr, landarlenlrager de Duke of omersel, der bI'i Te\\ ke,bury fiel. Ocr, allel-Helm wurde ort ohne Be\'01 gelragen,

B Les chevaliers comballaielll souvenl a pi d:l elle cpoque, avec de haches d'annes, elC, om'elll rumurl' ct. il portce polie el d,'eouverte-'armure hlanlhe' omme BI, d'aprc. la lombc de RObell, Lord Hungerrord, e, 1.155; c'esl une armure complele anglaisc ou Oamande, ,·0 ianl quelqu s c.lra lerislique du ,I)le ilalien 'I du .1)1e allemand, B2 porte un tabard alec Ie ,trInoilies de John Field, E. quire, lin propriclaire roncier du Hertrordshire, 83 porte lin labard I:iche el rendu porlalll les armoirie de J hn Flory, port clendard dll Duke of 'oml'r'I'I, lUC:l Te\\ kl hury, I.e asque' allel' elail om'Cnt port,' sans '1)C\'or',

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C Fanla"ins dl" ,lImel' I 150 60, CI Arball-Iria ponam la linee du Earl or \\'al \\ ick, C2 .\ rbalel ril'r dan, In Iill"c d' Ed \\'a I'd 1\', C3 Solda I JCI ,I III un 1'01 dc Inrc cuile de 'Ie'u lllel\eoi;; n'm.lr'1uez les nornbrcu'I's couches de proll'clion p(llll'l'''_ (,tl'.U. tlTi .. liqw ..... tit' ri"t.lI1ll",i,· '-1 t ,'Itt' q>oqU\' lll.lllI,,·... ·hl ig.tndinc·, jalk' ,,'rn),ollnl' 1'1 '1'1.1(k,1I1·, C4 ,\Id\('r p()n,lnIUnl~I)('qnellolll/UC de jack' ,,'m hOIl ''''1' .1\ I'C plOb,lhll"lll("1l cit' Pl'lill'>. pl,Hl', ri\('lec. :, I'inll'ril'ur. D Fanla,ins eles annl'cs 1.160 ,0, DI :'o11:I.lIl~e d'.umure :ll-l!ale el d'nrmure d'ClOfI~, D2 \'t'sle tlalls it' couleul. de la livrel', a\l'C insigne des hommes de. ir \\'illi,lIn P.I lOn, ponll' sur Ie 'jalk' n'mhourre, D3 :"OII'Z Ie sabre 'ralchion' en \ogue:1 (('lie I'poque, Ll's m.llld\('s elu jack' onl de> 1.\I1i""" pour .illalher cit's plq ucs el roi II" ou cit' chai 111", que I' Oil pl'U I \ oi r 1',11 r i . uric, I" bit'a ux, 0 I el 1)3 port('l'~i,'nl lIormalemelll Lme \ e Ie dl' li\ rl'C, I'plndalll nou, les .I\'on mi es i i POIll' pr""'IIII'r plu c1"ir('ll1elll it's 'jal'k;,

D Fu \olk 1460-,ocrjahre, DI Gemis hler Platten- und lolfpanzer, D2Jacke in LineerarlX'n mil dem ,\b7ei hen der Leute \'on ir \\'illiam PasIon iiber de. ~efi.lllerlenJackgelrn~en, D3 :'olan beach Ie da Fal hion- c1l\,ert, zujener Zeil 'chr \ahrdlc!. Oil' Armel d,'rJa, ~ h,tlll'lI Kit'man fi,rda ,\nbrin~en ton klcinen Plallen oder KCIlI'n, die man man hmal aur7Cilg nos isehen emalden'siehl.DI ulld 03 \\Iirden nonllalel"\,(';se Li\fecjacken Ir:II,en, di \\'ir hier au 1 sen, um die J. c~ deullicher zu ,eigl'n, EI Burgulldischer IlalldsdllllZC; da, KoslUm ba,ien auf Do~um('nlell und Bildern uber dic :\rl11ee Karls des Kuhnen, E2 Deulscher Kanollier, ein hochbezahller peziali I mit koslbarem Koslum, :'olan beach Ie die \'orbcreilelen chiesspuh'erponionen in der Holzki Ie, die bereit in den q,ocr jahlen aurtauchen, E3 Flamischer Pikenlriiger mil gro em Platten- und Kettenpanzer,

till' cll. dU(.UIIU'I1IS et dt,... lablcau~ de I'nrml'e ele '1",r!I'S Ie T"lll"raire, E2 'anonnicr ,tllt'mand, UII 'peciali'le ch "n'melll pa~ e, ponalll un O,lume ollleux, :"Ol(,~ Ic, charge de poudre me Urel'S 1'1 pr,'le :\ remploi dan Ie colfre en boi . une eara leri que que ron trOIl\·ail d(J:\ des It- alln "es 14 jO, E3 'n piqllier flamand ponanl une con,id':-".Ihl<· ,II mur ' dl' plale ,'I ele mailll'"

El .\lqudHI,it·r

C Fu \olk 1.1-5 60er jahre. CI r\rmbru lschulze in der Lince de Earl 01 \\'al"\' ick, C2 :\rmbru IsdlUlze in d I' Livre Ech, ards I ,C3 Ein Id~1 wirfi dn,'n irdl'nen Topr mil 'grie hi hem Feuer'; man bea IHe die zahireiclll'n chidll,'n \'on rur die (nrallleric die r Periode I) pisehen ehulzkleidung-. Kettenhemd. Brig. ndine, gerullene jack unel Pia bl1, C4 Bogenschulzc mil' einer .\n gel'tlertc Jack, \'ennullich mil gl'nit'lelen kleinen Platt n innen,

bUlln;lIi~(m: ..ul1lu..lUl1ll·{·...'

F, G

F, G Elendard ; I s I" gendcs en anglais om expli iIe . H he\'alier de 1485; irjohll ChI') ney, domla banniere eSI portce par I'h mme d'arme. el qui a combattu 01'1' :i corps a\ec Ri hard III ,i Bo \\onh Field, Le chl'\·alia pone Ie 10Ul dernier modele d'~rmure :l plate dccorce scion Ie I) Ie .&lkm.1I1l1. ,1\'" ·,.IIIt-,' ('I 'hc\or': ,on dH'\~t1 •·.. 1 n"t'IU crun t'n",'rnhlt" .''''''flr1i d'annure .i pial , Ces arlllurcs .IU Iral'ail raffine claient loin d'ctre au
laml. rten, dic englischen Bildumers hrirten 'prech n rur ,i h,

" .lu'lkmJ.,llIc qll;j;

H Rill," i'Juhll ChC)IIC~, ,k"cnl'.l111'" dl'! l.I,\,.'pplll'IC tragI, kamplic bei llos\\onh Fidd :'ol.lnn gl'gen :'olalln mit Richard Ill. Ocr Riller Idigl den ncuesten Kcttenpanzer im geschmucklen deulschen Slil, mil allet und Bevor, scin Pf< rd hal ebcnrall einen pa enden Panzer, Die.c koslba. gearbeitelen Rustun~en \\'aren kcin \leg 0 hillderlich \Sic e haufig angenommen \\ird: die Ruslung \Sog etwa 2jkg, der prerdepanzer elwa 32kg, Das Gewicht war 0 glcichma ig uber den ganzen Karper vencill, dass ein tarker, gesunder :'olann in cineI' B \\egli hkeit kaum eingeschrankl war, Ocr Ge\\'appnelc Iragl einen mit Slolfbedeckl n, dekorienen Helm, cin \'erbreitelcs :'olerkmal in di r Zeit.

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Knight al'ming. 1450

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Oi m unted men-at-arm : 1: 1455-6 2,3: 1470

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Foot oldi I'S, 1450 -60 1,2: 1'0 bowm n 3: Idi I' with fil' pot 4: Longb wman

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Foot oldier • 1460s-70 1: Billman 2: Longbowman 3: Halb rdier

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ontin nlal mercenarie 1460 -70 : 1: Burgundian handgunner 2: German gunner 3: Flemi h pikeman

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tandal'd : 1,2: Edward I 3.4: Hem' II

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tandaJ-d : I: John Howa,'d, Duke of 'oJ"folk 2: Thomas tan ley. Eal'1 of Det'by 3: Lord Fe....er 4: Hem'y taffOl'd. Eal'1 of Wilt hi.,

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heyney and man-at-arm .1485