Richard III: His Life & Character Part 16

Henry Tudor, calling himself Earl of Richmond.*

Jasper Tudor, late Earl of Pembroke.*

Sir E. Courtenay.

Margaret, wife of Lord Stanley.

Sir William Cheney, to induce the Duke of Brittany to help.

John Cheney at Salisbury, and others.

Wm. Noreys, of Yachendon } Sir Wm. Berkeley, of Beverton } Sir Roger Tocotes, of Bromham, pardoned } 44 at Newbury and in Sir Wm. Stonor, in Berks. } Berks.

Sir John Fogge, with 26 others } Richard Beauchamp, of St. Amand } William Knyvett, of Bodenham } with Buckingham at John Hush, merchant of London } Bechurch Thomas Nandike, necromancer of Cambridge } Sir George Brown, of Bletchworth, and others executed at Maidstone (Oct. 18), Rochester (Oct. 20), Gravesend (Oct. 22).

Sir John Gifford.

Sir Thomas Lewknor.

Sir Richard Gilford.

Reynald Pympe.

Sir Edward Poynings.

Sir William Brandon.

Sir John Wingfield.

Arthur Keane.

Sir William Hunter, pardoned.

Sir Thomas Ferveys, "

Nicholas Gaynsford, "

One hundred named in the Bill, a considerable number afterwards pardoned.

_Harl. MSS._ No. 433, p. 128; Halsted, ii. 276 _n._; Sharon Turner.

* Henry Tudor _had never been_ Earl of Richmond. His father was attainted, and the t.i.tle was given to Richard Duke of Gloucester, with whom it merged in the crown. Jasper Tudor _had been_ Earl of Pembroke before his attainder. Hence Henry Tudor is named as 'calling himself Earl of Richmond,' while Jasper is 'late Earl of Pembroke.' After the attainder the Earldom of Pembroke was conferred by Edward IV. on his son Edward.

[14] _Life of Henry VII._

[15] _Lives of the Lord Chancellors_, i. p. 407.

[16] 'Vidisses tantisper patrem et matrem, iis novis apud Nothinghaniam ubi tunc residebant, auditis prae subitis doloribus pene insanire'--Croyland, p. 571.

[17] _Harl. MS._ No. 433, fol. 183.

[18] Rous, pp. 217-218. 'Non multo post principe, ut dicitur, mortuo, juvenis comes Warwici Edwardus, filius primogenitus Georgii ducis Clarenciae, proclamatus est apparens Angliae in curia regali, et in serviciis ad mensam et cameram post regem et reginam primo ei serviebatur.'

[19] 'Postea sub arta custodia positus, conies Lincolniensis ei praeferrebatur nomine Johannes Pole, filius et heres Johannis Pole ducis Suffolchiae.'--Rous, p. 218.

[20] Davies, _York Records_, p. 210.

[21] Moreover, Lincoln fell at Stoke, fighting for the Earl of Warwick as rightful king, not for himself.

[22] This marriage never took place, and the Lady Anne became a nun at Sion.

[23] It is said by the Croyland monk (572) that there was an eclipse of the sun on the day of her death. This would make it March 16. Some authorities have the 11th.

[24] Buck, p. 129. 'Non c.u.m minore honore quam sicut reginam decuit sepeliri.'--Croyland, i. 572.

[25] Croyland, _York Records_, pp. 208, 210.

[26] _Rot. Parl._ vi. 227.

[27] John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the third son of Edward III., who lived to marry, had for his first wife Blanche, heiress of Henry Duke of Lancaster, through whom he acquired the t.i.tle. By her he had Henry IV., who usurped the crown, Edward and John, who died young, Philippa, married to Joam I., King of Portugal, and Elizabeth d.u.c.h.ess of Exeter. He married secondly Constanza, heiress of Pedro King of Castille and Leon, and had a daughter Catalina, wife of Enrique III., King of Castille and Leon. A governess was engaged for the daughters of the Duke of Lancaster. This was Catharine, daughter of a herald of Hainault, named Payn Roet, who had married Sir Hugh Swynford in 1367.

The Duke had four children by this woman, named John, Henry, Thomas, and Joan, surnamed Beaufort from the castle in France where they were born. All were born during the lifetime not only of the Duke's wife, but also of the governess's husband. The d.u.c.h.ess died in 1394, and the realm was scandalised by the marriage of the Duke of Lancaster with this woman on January 13, 1396. The Duke died in February 1399, Catharine Swynford on May 10, 1403. Their children were granted letters of legitimation by Richard II. in February 1397, confirmed by Henry IV. on February 10, 1407, 'excepta dignitate regali.' Henry Tudor's mother was granddaughter of John, the eldest of the Beauforts.

[28] Every act of Richard III. has been persistently misrepresented.

This loan is usually alleged to have been a return to the illegal system of 'benevolences,' which Richard had himself abolished a year before, by Act of Parliament. Even Miss Halsted is led into this error. But Mr. Gairdner has completely disposed of the accusation.

See Croyland, p. 572, and Lingard's remarks, iv. 255. Gairdner, p. 198.

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CHAPTER XI

THE BATTLE OF BOSWORTH

Richard's headquarters were at Nottingham Castle, the 'Castle of Care'

as he had called it, since he received the news of his son's death there. With the aid of the loan a force had been raised and armed; while reinforcements were on their way from several directions. Here the news arrived that Henry Tudor[1] had landed at Milford Haven with 2,000 mercenaries. He would never have run this risk unless he had previously received distinct promises of adherence from the Talbots and Stanleys. His mother, the wife of Stanley, was an inveterate intriguer. She had already been detected in treasonable practices and contemptuously forgiven by the King. Now she had persuaded her treacherous husband that it would be more for his interests to be step-father to a new King owing everything to his treason, than to continue loyal to his generous and forgiving master. This explains the conduct of the Stanleys, which emboldened the invader to venture upon such an enterprise. The insurgents advanced by Cardigan and Welshpool to Shrewsbury. They were joined by several Welsh chiefs, and by Sir Gilbert Talbot with 2,000 men. Henry Tudor was accompanied by his uncle Jasper, and by John Vere, {149} son of the attainted Earl of Oxford. Reginald Bray,[2] his mother's steward, was in attendance on him, and Dr. Richard Fox[3] acted as his secretary. Most of the leaders of his troops were exiles who had been concerned in Buckingham's abortive treason. William Brandon,[4] Sir John Cheney, Sir Giles Daubeny, Sir Robert Willoughby, Sir John Byron, Richard Edgcombe,[5] and Sir Thomas Bourchier, all come under this category.

Sir John Savage and Simon Digby[6] joined the invaders after they had landed, and Walter Hungerford[7] deserted just before the battle. No peer, except Stanley, joined the rebels.

Lord Stanley and his brother Sir William had raised forces in Lancas.h.i.+re and Ches.h.i.+re, with the base intention of turning traitors to their King if a good opportunity offered, but of being on the winning side in any circ.u.mstances. With this object their design was to hold aloof until the last moment. Sir William Stanley had a secret interview with Henry at Stafford. On August 20 the insurgents, about 8,000 strong, arrived at Atherstone, nine miles beyond Tamworth. Here the Stanleys again met Henry secretly. They pretended to the King that they were retreating before the invaders.

Richard was undoubtedly a man endowed with great military talent. He had shown remarkable {150} generals.h.i.+p, when quite a boy, at Barnet and Tewkesbury. He had conducted the Scottish campaign with signal success. He had promptly stamped out the Buckingham revolt. He was now to encounter the rebels. There can be no doubt that if he had waited for the reinforcements which were on their way, especially from the north, the result would never have been doubtful. But alas! he despised his enemy, and his open and generous nature prevented him from harbouring a suspicion of the foul treachery of the Stanleys until it was too late.

English pluck has been a motive power which has helped to place the English-speaking race in the forefront of the world's history. That dogged courage facing overwhelming odds rather than wait for help or give ground is the secret of England's success. Often leading to decisive victory it has sometimes resulted in disaster. Never more conspicuous than in the audacious campaigns of Crecy and Agincourt, when fortune was on the side of reckless valour, it was equally present on the fatal field of Beauge, when Thomas Duke of Clarence lost his life. We find it again at Wakefield, a battle which resembles Bosworth in several respects. The brave and chivalrous father lost his life on the former, the gallant son on the latter field. Both Richards were full of English pluck. Both scorned to wait for succour; and preferred, like the men of Zutphen and of Balaclava, to charge into the midst of countless odds. Both were betrayed--the Duke of York by Nevill, the King by the Stanleys. These Plantagenets were fitting leaders of the people of England. While their dogged English pluck led some of them to destruction, the very same quality has secured decisive victory for England on a hundred fields.

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On August 14 King Richard was hunting in Beskwood Park. He was an ardent sportsman, and this was fated to be his last day's sport.

Monday the 15th was the Feast of the a.s.sumption of the Virgin, and he devoutly kept it, as we learn from the Duke of Norfolk.[8] He commenced his march from Nottingham on Wednesday morning. He was surrounded by loyal and devoted friends. Viscount Lovell and Sir Robert Percy, the companions of his childhood, rode by his side. The veteran Duke of Norfolk, who had fought with the great Talbot at Chatillon, was hurrying up with a contingent from the eastern counties.

His son, the gallant Earl of Surrey, was with him. Lords Ferrers and Zouch had arrived from the Midlands. The loyal old Constable, Sir Robert Brackenbury, had come by forced marches from London. The Earl of Northumberland, who owed much to his royal cousin,[9] was bringing a first instalment of troops from the north. The faithful city of York was represented by eighty of her citizens, stout-hearted and well equipped.[10] Other troops were on their way, and if the King had waited for them his victory was certain. All the loyal gentry of the north were in arms, but Richard did not give them time to reach his camp. Among them were the two Lords Scrope, Lords Dacre and Ogle, Lord Greystoke of Hinderskelf, the King's cousin,[11] who 'brought a mighty many,' and among the Yorks.h.i.+re names of those loyal to King Richard were Gascoigne and Conyers, Strickland and Constable, Mauleverer and Plumpton, Tempest and Pudsey, Pilkington and Musgrave.

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The King formed his army in two divisions, marching five abreast, with the cavalry on the flanks. Richard himself was on a white horse richly caparisoned, and he wore a golden circlet on his helmet. He entered Leicester in the evening of August 19, and lodged at the 'White Boar'[12] in North Gate Street. In the morning of Sunday the 21st the army marched out of Leicester, reaching the little village of Stapleton, a distance of eight miles, in the afternoon. A camp had already been prepared in a field near Stapleton, called 'the Bradshaws,' which is on a slight eminence.

[Sidenote: The Battle of Bosworth]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Map: Battle of Bosworth]

This part of Leicesters.h.i.+re consists of a succession of hills and dales, with streams flowing westward, and uniting to form the Anker, a tributary of the Trent. The 'Bradshaws' is on the brow of a gentle slope, at the base of which flows a rivulet called the Tweed. The Duke of Norfolk's camp was at Cadeby, about two miles to the north, but he only arrived at Stapleton the day before the battle. Stanley, still pretending to retreat, marched with 2,000 men, by Stoke Golding, to a field now called 'Gamble's Close,' facing the 'Bradshaws,' with the Tweed flowing between the two positions. Sir William Stanley had a similar force encamped on the northern side of the field, in front of the town of Market Bosworth, and near the Duke of Norfolk. Between, but to the west of Stapleton and Cadeby, there is a ridge known as Sutton Fields, in front of the village of Sutton Cheney. A gentle slope sinks thence to Redmore Plain[13] and Ambien Leys, {153} between which is the hill called Ambien. Further west, across the stream, there are some fields called the White Moors, with the village of Shenton to the north, and those of Dadlington and Stoke Golding to the south-east.

Henry had arrived at Atherstone on August 20, and lodged at the 'Three Tuns,' while the rebel troops and their French allies under Philibert de Shaunde encamped in the meadows north of the church. Tudor was here joined by another traitor, Robert Hardwicke of Lindley. Next day the insurgents advanced nearly due east, crossed the bridge over the river Anker at Witherley, and then turned up the Fenn Lanes, encamping on White Moors. Hardwicke of Lindley acted as their guide. They were a mile from Ambien Hill, with Lord Stanley in advance of their right flank, and Sir William Stanley between their camp and Bosworth, on their left flank.

The King had thrown up a breastwork to protect his camp, 300 yards long, with flanks of fifty yards, facing Lord Stanley. At length the suspicious conduct of Stanley forced him to entertain the idea of treachery. But it was too late. He had about 8,000 men, while Norfolk's contingent numbered 4,000. The Stanleys had about 8,000 men, and the insurgent army was composed of 2,000 French mercenaries, 2,000 retainers of Sir Gilbert Talbot, and 4,000 Welsh and English traitors, in all 8,000 men. Including the Stanley contingents, the enemy largely outnumbered the royal army.

During the night Sir Simon Digby got into the royal camp as a spy, and returned with the report that the troops were in motion. The rebel leaders, therefore, sounded to arms. This must have been at dawn of Monday, August 22, 1485. The sun rose that {154} day at a quarter after five.[14] King Richard marched north-eastward for two miles to effect a junction with the Duke of Norfolk. The royal army was then formed in two lines, along the ridge of Sutton Fields. The archers were in the front line, with a few small pieces of artillery, under the Duke of Norfolk. The bill-men formed the rear line, and the horse were on the flanks. Stanley marched at the same time as the King, and halted to the rear of his left flank. The Earl of Northumberland arrived the same morning, but he seems to have thought that his men needed rest. He took no part in the battle. This slackness and want of zeal were punished in after years by the loyal people of Yorks.h.i.+re.[15]