– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Wars often happen because different sides have intractable contradictions, but each

new war often creates the causes for the next one. The Hundred Years’ War between England

and France was no different, causing many conflicts in Europe. In England, the Wars

of the Roses stemmed from the Hundred Years’ War.

Shoutout to Conqueror’s Blade for sponsoring this video! Conqueror’s Blade is a tactical

MMO RPG/Strategy hybrid and it is free-to-play on PC. The game is set in a vast open medieval

world, and tasks players to create a warlord to build and command an army of 55 diverse

units, to create an empire! A new line of units called Sons of the Steppes, inspired

by the Mongols will be added to the game on December 19, alongside a new Battle Pass,

a new set of challenges, scores of season-exclusive nomadic-themed cosmetics, 3 new battlefields,

matchmaking improvements, ranking system, NPC houses, player titles and much more! New

players who register via our link will receive 10 free gifts, including Gold Helmet, 3 unit

XP cards, 3 hero XP cards, and 3 Hwacha arrow launchers to devastate the enemy defenses!

And you will get the gifts immediately after the registration is complete! To support our

channel and receive these gifts, register a new account via the link in the description!

Good luck on the battlefield!

The king of England Edward III had five sons who survived into adulthood. For the first

time in English history he created duchies for them, making his sons the biggest landowners

in the country. On the one hand this strengthened the crown, but at the same time it formed

a new class of nobility, which had claims to the throne and enough power to vie for

it.

Edward’s son and heir, the famous Hundred Years’ War commander Edward the Black Prince

passed away in 1376, followed by the king himself a year later. The Black Prince’s

son was crowned as Richard II. The reign of this monarch was tumultuous: The Peasants’

Revolt of 1381, was followed by the Parliamentary crisis of 1386-1388. Richard’s attempts

to reach peace with France, his marriage to the young Valois princess, the lack of an

heir and the constant strife with the nobility made him deeply unpopular.

Richard’s cousin and one of the most powerful lords - the Duke of Lancaster Henry Bolingbroke

- was exiled to France in 1398. In May of 1399 Richard embarked on a campaign in Ireland,

and Henry used the opportunity to return to England. He immediately garnered enough support

to dethrone Richard and assumed the throne as Henry IV, the first Lancastrian king. Richard

was arrested and died in 1400, while his heir presumptive, another grandson of Edward III

- Edmund Mortimer was bypassed. That created legitimacy problems for the king and he faced

at least six significant rebellions.

In 1413 Henry IV succumbed to chronic disease and was succeeded by his son Henry V. The

new king was one of the most talented monarchs of England during this era. In 1415 he renewed

hostilities with France and won an impressive victory at Agincourt. In less than a decade

he conquered more French land than any English king before him. The Treaty of Troyes was

signed with France in 1420, according to which Henry married French princess Catherine. Their

descendants would inherit the French throne after the death of Charles VI the mad. Both

sovereigns passed away in 1422.

Henry V’s son Henry VI, who was less than one year old, was crowned as the king of England.

The King’s uncle, John of Bedford, became the regent and took command in France, while

his other uncle Humphrey of Gloucester looked after English affairs. Although Bedford was

a decent commander, the French soon rallied around Joan of Arc and Charles VII was crowned

as king of France in Rheims. Henry’s coronation in Paris was a mere symbol.

By the time Henry reached adulthood and started governing in 1437, Bedford was dead, and the

situation in France was untenable. The king was weak and easily swayed by his nobles,

and at that point the peace party led by Edmund of Somerset and William of Suffolk had more

influence on the king than the war party of Gloucester and Richard of York. The sides

agreed to peace at Tours in 1444. According to their agreement, Henry was to marry Charles’

niece Margaret of Anjou and return Maine and Anjou to France. The marriage and the peace

conditions were unpopular in England.

Among those who protested was Gloucester and that gave Henry a cause to imprison his uncle

in 1447. Gloucester died shortly after and this weakened the war party even more. Richard,

who commanded the English lands in France, was stripped of his office and sent to govern

Ireland, which was an exile.

Somerset and Suffolk became dukes in this period. However, Suffolk was exiled under

popular pressure and then murdered. Hostilities with France were renewed and Somerset, who

was appointed the commander in Normandy, lost all the northern holdings save for Calais

by 1450 and returned to England.

He and Queen Margaret had the king under their influence. The prestige of the monarchy was

at an all-time low. The Hundred Years’ War impoverished England, the losses in France

were hard to swallow, and the nobles who lost their lands on the continent were unhappy.

At the same time, all the duchies created in the last century had become too strong

and independent, and the dukes often had personal retinues larger than that of the king.

At this point it is essential to show you the family tree of the Plantagenet dynasty,

as many grandsons of Edward III controlled these duchies, ushering in the era of what

is controversially known as bastard feudalism. This era was characterized by the loyalty

of the soldiers being to their lords, rather than the king. The nobles would use that to

procure offices, lands, and finances from the king. These lords and their heirs would

play a central role throughout the Wars of the Roses.

Richard, who had a strong claim to the throne as a great-grandson of Edward III, used the

circumstances to return from exile in 1452. Although many came to his banner and demanded

Somerset’s arrested, the queen’s party still was stronger, and Margaret’s pregnancy

made her position even more secure. The situation would change in 1453: affected by the loss

of Bordeaux and Aquitaine, the king suffered a mental breakdown and became unresponsive.

Scholars still argue about the nature of his illness, but it is clear that Henry VI lost

the remainder of his political power.

In the north, two noble families, the Nevilles and Percys, used the lack of central power

to renew a feud, and as Somerset supported the latter, the Nevilles allied with Richard.

By 1454 Richard had enough backing to become the Royal Protector and appoint his supporters

to offices, while Somerset was arrested.

However, in 1455 the king recovered, and queen Margaret managed to influence him yet again.

Richard’s decisions were rolled back, and he was exiled. This time the Duke of York

wasn’t going to take it, and he raised an army to move to London. The conflict that

would be later called the Wars of the Roses because of the heraldic badges used by the

Lancasters and the Yorks became inevitable.

Henry knew that he would receive no support in London and moved out to a town called St.

Albans with his 2 thousand men, where an at least 5 thousand strong Yorkist army was waiting

for him. Richard wasn’t ready to dethrone Henry, so negotiations started, but as the

latter refused to surrender Somerset, the Yorkists attacked. The Lancastrian army, led

in battle by the Duke of Buckingham, took up defensive positions around St Albans’

defences - primarily the gates on Sopwell and Shropshire Lanes, while the king was in

the market square. Meanwhile, York’s army drew up in a line east of the town in the

Key Field, behind the gardens of Hollywell Street, the market square and St Peter’s

square. At 10AM Warwick, Salisbury and York simultaneously attacked the gates on both

Shropshire and Sopwell Lane. Due to its unexpected and swift nature, the

attack succeeded at first, with the Yorkists pushing onto the city streets. However, as

it became apparent that an attack was taking place, more men rushed to defend these strong

points, and the narrow streets caused the mass of Yorkists to suffer heavy losses. As

the fighting threatened to bog down into a grinding stalemate, the Earl of Warwick disengaged

from the battle and rode to the rear, where a rearguard was waiting in reserve. He then

led them in a flanking maneuver through the gardens near the market square, successfully

remaining undetected as he did so. With a blast of his trumpeters, the 25 year old Warwick

charged and smashed the surprised Lancastrian line in two.

Hearing of this breach and fearing an attack from their rear, the defenders of the gates

now broke their lines and fled towards the market square. More Yorkist forces now entered

the city through the undefended gates. In the square, the Lancastrian remnants attempted

to rally, but were prevented from doing so by the devastating short-range fire of Yorkist

archers, who continuously showered the remaining Lancastrians with missiles.

Many Lancastrian commanders, among them Somerset, were killed, while the king was captured.

Richard returned him to London and was appointed the Protector by Parliament.

By that time Margaret gave birth to Edward and became the leader of the Lancastrian party.

It seemed that both sides were shocked by St. Albans as hostilities continued only in

the form of Percy-Neville feud between 1456 and 1459. Henry attempted to reconcile the

parties on a few occasions, but the suspicions were too strong, and in the Fall of 1459,

the sides clashed once again.

This time the Lancastrians gained the upper hand, and the Yorkists were forced to find

refuge in Calais and Ireland. The Yorkists recovered quickly and returned to England

in the Summer of 1460. The King’s forces were defeated at Northampton, and Henry was

captured. Richard attempted to claim the throne, but even his staunchest supporters refused.

Instead, the so-called Act of Accord was adopted, according to which, Henry VI would rule for

life, but would be succeeded by Richard of York.

The Queen was willing to fight for her son’s inheritance and was gathering her forces in

the north. Richard moved toward the Lancastrian troops to prevent their recruitment efforts,

but his enemies were already on the way, and their 18 thousand blockaded his 5 to 10 thousand

strong force near Sandal castle. What happened next is still debated, but his next move was

an attempt to sally out of the castle and attack the Lancastrian forces, a move which

seems in hindsight to have been incredibly ill advised and rash. Many scholars have attempted

to explain this move by Richard. Theories range from simple miscalculation and rashness

on Richard’s part, to Lancastrian trickery. It said that Sir Andrew Trollope sent in pretend

deserters to Sandal Castle, proclaiming that their ‘former’ commander was going to

change sides. The Lancastrian forces also apparently showed false colours in order to

trick Richard of York into thinking his reinforcements had arrived.

Whatever prompted it, Richard chose to ride out from the castle and fight, rather than

withstanding the trials of a siege, which would further deplete his provisions. After

marching down the modern day Manygates Lane towards the Lancastrian forces, who were to

the north, York was cut off from his castle from behind and surrounded, while he engaged

the enemy frontally. His numerically inferior forces were soundly defeated, and York himself

was killed, probably being unhorsed, wounded and killed during a fight to the death.

In early 1461 his son Edward became the leader of the Yorkists. In February he defeated a

Lancastrian army at Mortimer’s Cross. Meanwhile, a smaller Yorkist force under Warwick was

defeated at St. Albans by the army commanded by the Queen. Henry VI was recaptured by the

Lancastrians. Edward learned about this defeat and moved south where he united with the remainder

of Warwick’s troops.

As Lancastrian soldiers committed atrocities in the area, Margaret and Henry lost all their

support and decided to move to the north. That allowed Edward to enter London in March

and take the throne as Edward IV. The showdown was imminent.

Both sides continued to recruit troops over the next few weeks. Edward left London on

the 13th and arrived in Nottingham on the 22nd. Here he received the news that the 30

to 35 thousand Lancastrian troops commanded by Somerset were to the south of the city

of York. Edward had less than 30 thousand.

On the 28th of March King Edward sent FitzWalter to secure the bridge over the Aire River,

near Ferrybridge. However, Fitzwalter was ambushed by Clifford’s cavalry. Many Yorkists

were massacred or drowned.

King Henry had sent a messenger to negotiate, but his offer was refused. Edward knew that

the main Lancastrian forces led by Somerset were waiting two miles away, ready to crush

the Yorkists if they pushed Clifford away and crossed the river. He sent a vanguard

under Suffolk, which managed to push the Lancastrians back to the end of the bridge. Edward then

marched with the main force to Ferrybridge and led his men personally to Suffolk’s

aid.

To stop the Yorkist advance, the Lancastrians destroyed the bridge, but the former constructed

a narrow raft to ferry across. This raft was captured by the Lancastrians, and the fight

continued in the area for some time, until the Yorkists managed to cross the river to

the north, at Castleford and set up camp.

At dawn on the 29th of March, both armies found themselves in a snowstorm. At eleven

in the morning, the Yorkists marched northward and encamped on the hill ten miles south of

York, with their backs to the village of Saxton. Edward put his men in formation - their lines

stretched for a mile along the ridge. At the same time, the Lancastrians moved north and

took positions to the north of the Yorkists on high ground a hundred feet above them,

on the meadowland to the south of Towton. Part of their cavalry was hidden in the forest

to the west of the Yorkist positions. The Lancastrians had the advantage of the high

ground. The Yorkist position was shaky, as any retreat would trap them along the river.

Edward had artillery, but the weather conditions did not allow its usage.

Somerset didn’t want to descend from the high ground and waited for the Yorkists to

approach. The battle started with the archers exchanging volleys. However the wind was blowing

into the faces of the Lancastrian archers, and they were unable to see the enemy properly.

Their arrows fell short of the mark, and according to the sources, all they could hear through

the whirlwind was the laughter of their counterparts. A hail of counter-volleys accompanied this:

the Yorkists were gathering thousands of enemy arrows and were firing them back at them,

retreating after each volley to avoid the return fire. The Lancastrians suffered heavy

losses and were forced to descend from the hill, taking up melee weapons and charging.

The Yorkist archers sent a few more volleys and then retreated behind their man-at-arms.

As the main Lancaster force charged into the Yorkist army, a fierce melee began across

the line. At the same time, the hidden flanking force attacked the left flank of Edward’s

army, did significant damage and almost routed it. Edward himself led the reserves and stabilized

the situation on the left side. Still, the Lancastrians outnumbered their enemies and

slowly pushed them back. It was then that the forces send by Norfolk to assist Edward

arrived. It is not clear if Edward gave an order or if the commander of this unit took

the initiative, but these troops attacked the Lancastrians in the flank. Soon Henry’s

forces were routed. Sources claim that 20 thousand Lancastrians and up to 10 thousand

Yorkists were killed, making Towton the bloodiest battle fought on English soil.

After the decisive victory at Towton in 1461, Edward IV returned to London for his coronation,

while Henry VI alongside his wife Margaret and son Edward fled to Scotland. The Lancastrian

party still controlled part of Northumberland and Edward left Richard of Warwick, aptly

nicknamed the Kingmaker for his role in the rise of the Yorks, to deal with the last remnants

of the resistance. By 1463, Warwick retook all of the castles belonging to the Lancastrian

nobles and returned to the South. As Edward’s position was strong and he decided to forgive

some of his past enemies, among them Henry Somerset and Ralph Percy.

King Edward was wary that the Scots supported the Lancasters throughout the first phase

of the war, so in 1463 he asked James III to sign a treaty. The Scots agreed and sent

their diplomats to York in 1464. To prevent the agreement from happening, Lancastrian

nobles nudged by queen Margaret rebelled in 1464 under the leadership of Somerset and

Percy in Northumberland. Edward sent a force led by Warwick’s brother John Neville to

the north, and in May he defeated Somerset at Hexham. All Lancastrian leaders were killed,

which ended the rebellion for good. The treaty with the Scots was signed and queen Margaret

and Prince Edward escaped to France to their relative – king Louis XI. In 1465 Henry

VI was captured in Lancashire and brought to London, which ushered in a short period

of peace in England. During this time Richard Warwick became even

more powerful, assuming many offices and taking lands from the Lancastrians. He tried to assert

influence over the young king, and he saw the negotiations with Louis in 1466 as one

of the ways to do it. Warwick tried to marry Edward with the daughter of the French king

- Anne and this is when a secret came out: the king had privately married Elizabeth Woodville

in 1464, and the fact that she was from the lower nobility shocked the magnates. On top

of that, Edward entered a secret alliance with the Duke of Burgundy Charles the Bold

negating Warwick’s negotiations with Louis and embarrassing him. Warwick left the court

in 1467 and started plotting against the king. In 1469 one of his captains started a rebellion

in the North. Edward moved to Nottingham in the early days of July, but upon learning

that the rebels outnumbered him decided to wait for reinforcements. However, Warwick

entered London a few days after and declared for the rebels alongside his son-in-law, the

king’s brother George. The rebels managed to bypass Nottingham and attacked the royal

reinforcements at a place called Edgecote Moor. Supported by Warwick’s troop the rebels

routed the forces of the king. Edward was captured on his way back to London.

Warwick’s attempt to rule in the king’s name or even dethrone him failed, as Edward

was still very popular among the nobility and the commoners. Rebellions forced Warwick

to release the king, and he ended up with even less influence over governance than before.

So, Warwick decided to instigate another rebellion in Lincolnshire, in March of 1470. This time

the king moved swiftly, not allowing the rebels to connect with Warwick. At Losecoat Field

Edward’s outnumbered army defeated and routed the rebels.

This forced Warwick to flee to France, where Louis reconciled him with Queen Margaret.

Kingmaker was going to restore Henry VI, who by now wasn’t in possession of his faculties,

to the English throne, using French support. In September Warwick landed in Devon. Initially,

Edward was planning to march against him, but Warwick’s brother John, who had remained

loyal to the king until now, finally rebelled, and Edward had no other choice but to leave

England. In October Warrick entered London and restored Henry to the throne.

Meanwhile, Edward found refuge in Flanders, which was under the control of Charles the

Brave. Although the help he received from Burgundy was minimal, Edward returned to England

in March of 1471. Edward used deceit, stating that he was not vying for the throne and had

come back to reclaim the Duchy of York. The city of York allowed him to enter and soon

he started his march towards London, receiving reinforcements along the way. Even his disloyal

brother George rejoined him. It seems that Warrick was waiting for aid

from his allies in England and France, so he avoided battle, as it was expected that

Edmund Somerset would defend the capital. However, the Londoners preferred Edward, and

Somerset was forced to leave either to avoid rebellion or to unite with Margaret, who was

going to land in Dorset. Edward took control of the city and captured Henry VI yet again.

Edward had between 10 and 15 thousand and was outnumbered by Warwick’s army, which

had more than 20 thousand, but he knew that he needed to attack before the more reinforcements

could join his enemy from the south. Warwick was probably hoping to block the road to the

North, as on the 12th of April his troops took a position to the north of London at

a place called Barnet. The Yorkist army arrived on the evening of

the 13th and Edward positioned his troops in the dark, planning to take his stand at

dawn. It is said that Edward made a mistake in the dark, underestimating the distance

between the two armies, and moved his troops closer to those of Warwick than he had intended.

This, however, proved fortunate, as the Lancastrians, who were using their artillery to weaken their

enemy, were overshooting Edward’s troops, who moved through most of the night to take

up positions. He deployed Hastings on the left and his brother

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, aged eighteen at the time, on the right, while George was

to stay with him in the center. A small reserve was stationed behind the main line. Opposite

them, Warwick and his brother John Neville commanded the center, with Exeter on the right,

and Oxford on the left side. The Lancastrian knights were dismounted, as that usually showed

that they weren’t going to retreat and would fight among the commoners until the very end.

As the morning of April 14 dawned, a mist engulfed the battlefield. The armies failed

to line-up parallel to each other, with both ending up in a slight oblique formation in

relation to the enemy. The Lancastrians had numbers, so this at first worked to their

advantage – Oxford’s unit attacked the flank of Edward’s army. Hastings’ troops

were soon overwhelmed. Many of them died during the retreat, while the remainder fled all

the way to London, claiming that Edward had already lost the battle. Unfortunately for

Warwick, a big part of Oxford’s unit remained detached from the battle, as they attempted

to loot their fallen enemies, with only part of it returning to the fight. As visibility

was still poor, neither side knew about these events.

Meanwhile, Gloucester repeated Oxford’s maneuver, attacking the Lancastrian left and

pushing Exeter’s troops back. This shifted the lines yet again. Warwick, aware of this,

ordered his reserves to support Exeter and restore the formation, while his forces moved

against the enemy’s center, and the lines finally joined. It is said, that the remainder

of Oxford’s troops returned to the battle at this point and in the mist ended up behind

the reserves commanded by John Neville, which were sent to support Exeter. Apparently, Oxford’s

coat of arms with stars on it was mistaken for Edward’s banner with the sun on it.

The panicked forces of Neville turned towards Oxford’s troops and unleashed their bows

killing many of their comrades. As backstabbing was so common during this period, Oxford and

his soldiers cried “Treason!” and started retreating to the north. This cry resonated

across the Lancastrian line, which ended up in disarray.

At this point the fog started to dissipate and Edward, seeing his enemies panicked, sent

his in his reserves to move across the right side and attack the Lancastrians from the

flank and rear. Soon Warwick and Neville were killed, while Exeter was captured. Between

5 and 10 thousand Lancastrians were dead, while the Yorkists lost less than a thousand.

Unfortunately for Edward, while this battle was raging, Queen Margaret and her son - Prince

Edward landed in Dorset and were greeted by Somerset. Edward dismissed most of his troops

and returned to London then learned about the arrival of Margaret 2 days later. The

queen knew about the death of Warwick at Barnet, so she decided to move towards Wales with

her 6 thousand strong army to connect with one of her supporters – Jasper Tudor. A

few of her units were sent to the east to deceive Edward, but the king was not fooled

and moved swiftly to the west with his remaining 5 thousand.

By the time Margaret reached Bristol on the 30th of April, Edward was at Cirencester,

some 60 kilometers to the Northeast. He attempted to block the Lancastrian route to the north

but was outmaneuvered. It was becoming clear that Margaret was trying to move across the

River Severn to reach Wales, so Edward sent a message to the governor of Gloucester, the

city which controlled the nearest crossing, ordering him not to let Margaret pass. The

Lancastrian army had no other choice but to move to the north and cross near Tewkesbury.

However, Edward was moving as swiftly as usual, and his speed made it impossible for the Lancastrians

to cross the bridge. On the 4th of May, they were forced to fight him at Tewkesbury. The

battlefield was full of small woods, hedges, and marshes which was favorable for the Lancastrians,

who assumed a defensive position, dividing their army into three equal parts. Their left

and rear were protected by a river, while the center was positioned on a hill. Similarly,

Edward divided his troops into three groups, but a small cavalry ambush was placed in the

woods to the extreme left. The Yorkists also had a decided advantage in artillery, as the

army of the queen was forced to abandon its cannons during the march.

The battle started with a Yorkist advance supported by artillery volleys, but as the

terrain was broken, it was impossible for Edward to move in a coherent line. Somerset

attempted to use the divide in the enemy forces and attacked the unit commanded by Edward.

Initially, this charge surprised the king and his troops, and they were pushed back.

However, the charging Lancastrians ended up with the ambushing horsemen to their rear,

and a charge routed them. Most of this unit was cut down.

According to the legend, Somerset managed to return to his main line and killed the

commander of the center, who failed to support him. It was clear that the Lancastrians has

lost and their retreat ended up in a massacre. Most of the Lancastrian commanders, among

them Summerset and Prince Edward were executed, while Margaret was taken captive.

On the 4th of May 1471, King Edward IV of the house of York decisively defeated his

enemies from the house of Lancaster at Tewkesbury. Most of the Lancastrian leaders, among them

Prince Edward and Edmund of Somerset, were killed, while the queen, Margaret of Anjou,

became captive. The king knew that some Lancastrian allies, chief among them Jasper Tudor, were

active in Wales and Northern England, so he moved his troops to Coventry to prevent these

enemies from uniting their forces. Meanwhile, one of the last representatives

of the Neville family, Thomas landed in Kent and started recruiting troops on his march

to London. By the 14th of May, he had 15 thousand under his command and was attacking London,

which was critical both as the capital, and the place the Lancastrian king Henry VI was

kept prisoner. The Londoners supported the Yorks at this

point and not only sent messengers to Edward IV but also repulsed all the attacks of Thomas

Neville. Edward was fast as usual and entered London on the 21st of May. On the same night,

Henry VI was executed, and Thomas Neville, who learned about this and the loss at Tewkesbury

retreated to the South. His troops now demoralized, the Lancastrian leader decided to surrender.

At the same time, the rebellion in the North also fizzled out.

It would be helpful to look at the family tree of the English monarchs at this point.

With the execution of Henry VI, the house of Lancaster was exterminated, and the remaining

challenger to Edward IV was 14-year-old Henry Tudor, who had a weak claim to the English

throne via his matrilineal ties to the house of Beaufort, which was descended from the

son of Edward III, John of Gaunt. Henry Tudor was with his uncle Jasper in Wales

at that point, and upon learning about the events in London, they decided to flee. They

were heading to France, which was ruled by Henry’s relative Louis XI, but a storm forced

them to land in Brittany. Its ruler - duke Francis II was willing to use Henry as a bargaining

chip in his dealings with France and England, so the Tudors became partly hostages, partly

guests in Brittany. Francis rejected the bribes and threats from the English king through

the years. Still, England entered a period of relative

peace, as Edward had no real opponents. Louis XI traditionally supported his enemies, so

when the Duke of Burgundy offered to help with the old English claim to the French throne

with his troops, Edward agreed, and in 1474 they signed a treaty in London. In June of

1475 the English king landed in Calais, but received no support from Burgundy. Neither

Edward nor Louis was willing to fight, so the former bribed the latter by signing the

treaty of Picquigny. During this period the relationships between

the brothers of the English king Richard of Gloucester and George of Clarence were tense,

and in 1478 George was accused of plotting against Edward, and then, arrested and executed.

As Richard had supported Edward throughout the Wars of the Roses, the king elevated Richard

to effectively control northern England. Although Edward was just 40 years old, he

became terminally ill in 1483 and soon passed away. There are multiple theories about his

death, and even poisoning is not ruled out, but in any case, his 12-year-old son Edward

V became the king, with Richard Gloucester as the regent. However, on the way to London

Richard ordered the relatives and closest allies of the Queen Elizabeth Woodville to

be arrested. Edward V and his brother were placed in the London tower. Just a few months

later, the offspring of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville were declared illegitimate, and

Richard III claimed the throne. The fate of Edward V and his brother is unclear, but they

had disappeared, while the legend of “The Princes in the Tower” became famous.

This naked power grab would stir the political situation in England once again. Queen Elizabeth

started plotting with the mother of Henry Tudor – Margaret Beaufort. Margaret’s

new husband the Earl of Derby Thomas Stanley and the Duke of Buckingham Henry Stafford

also became part of this plot. In the Fall of 1483, Henry Tudor sailed from

Brittany, while Buckingham started a rebellion in the West and South of England. However,

severe storms prevented Henry from landing in England, while Buckingham was slowed down

and not able to unite his forces with other rebels. Soon the rebels were defeated by Richard,

Buckingham was executed, and Henry had to return to Brittany. Here he was joined by

the remainder of the rebel forces. The English king demanded that Francis of Brittany extradite

Henry, but his demands were rebuked, so Richard sent his navy to blockade Brittany. At this

point duke Francis fell ill, and as his ministers were willing to surrender the fugitive for

a bribe, so Henry escaped to France. At the end of 1484, Henry publicly promised

to marry the daughter of Edward IV Elizabeth to unite the dynasties, which strengthened

his position in England. Henry received support from the new French king Charles VIII and

recruited mercenaries. Back in England, Richard’s wife passed away, and the rumors claimed that

he wanted to marry his niece, Elizabeth. This spurred Henry to action and on the 1st

of August 1485 he set sail from France at Honfleur and landed in Wales on the 7th without

meeting any obstacles, despite the fact Richard had placed small garrisons to blockade a naval

invasion. As Henry had Welsh blood, many local lords joined him, and on the 15th he entered

England near Shrewsbury. Meanwhile, Richard learned about the landing

on the 11th of August; it took him a few days to gather all his forces. On the 16th the

Yorkist forces started moving towards Leicester. Although that gave Henry a chance to move

towards London, he also marched his troops towards Leicester, as he had allies in the

area and needed their help to win. Gathering these allies, Henry moved closer to Richard.

On the 21st the armies encamped to the south of Bosworth, with Richard taking Ambion hill,

while Henry stopped at a place called White Moors. Thomas Stanley seemingly promised to

join both sides but instead made camp at a hill called Dadlington to the south of Henry

and Richard. The Tudors had more than 5 thousand troops, while the Yorks probably fielded an

army closer to 10 thousand. Stanley’s 5 thousand were a wildcard.

In the morning of the 22nd, Henry arrayed most of his forces in one large unit commanded

by the Lancastrian veteran of the battle of Barnet, John of Oxford, while he led a small

reserve. The Tudor army started marching towards their numerically superior enemy. Richard

was surprised by this as he expected Henry to take a defensive stance. The battle was

not beginning according to his expectations. Still, he managed to get his army into three

groups: John of Norfolk commanded the right, Percy of Northumberland the left, while the

king was leading the center. While the Tudors were getting closer, the

Yorkist artillery opened fire upon them. Oxford was prepared for that, and his troops started

shifting to attack the left flank of the Yorkist army. This put his main division directly

against Norfolk, and the artillery barrage stopped to prevent friendly fire. Although

the Yorkists had numbers on their side, Oxford widened his line on the march before two groups

finally clashed. The Tudor forces started to push back their counterparts.

At the same time, Northumberland on Richard’s left flank wasn’t moving in, either due

to betrayal or in fear that Stanley, who still hadn’t made his move, might attack him from

the rear. Richard needed to turn his center to descend from the hill, but it was moving

too slow and that allowed the Tudor rearguard to move in and attack Norfolk from the right.

Seeing Henry’s Dragon banner, Richard decided to charge against him with a thousand horsemen.

Initially, this charge pushed Henry’s forces back, and the unit was close to panic. However,

the challenger to the throne stood firm, and his bodyguards managed to stem the tide. Oxford

also supported his liege, sending a group of pikemen to attack Richard from the left.

This attack started pushing the English king towards the marshes in the southeast.

Simultaneously, Stanley sent his younger brother William to join the battle, and he attacked

Richard’s group from the right. This was the final straw. The knights around Richard

started dying, and soon he was killed with a blow to his head. The news of his death

ended the battle. We have conflicting information on the casualties, but it seems that they

were relatively low, as the fight took less than 2 hours and was decided in the engagement

of two groups of knights. After Henry dismissed his mercenaries, established

his rule over England and married Elizabeth of York, it seemed as though the War of the

Roses was over. Indeed, many consider the Battle at Bosworth Field to be the concluding

moment of this war, but Yorkist sympathisers would not allow Henry’s rule to begin smoothly.

Though a vast number of Richard III’s noble supporters had been killed at Bosworth field,

two of them - Francis, Viscount Lovell, Sir Humphrey Stafford and his brother Sir Thomas

Stafford, had escaped and fled to the sanctuary of Colchester Abbey. They had lost their lands

and titles, but still felt they had sufficient power to rally the common people against the

new king. In the April of 1486 - eight months after Bosworth, the trio left the sanctuary

of the abbey and began to incite armed rebellion. Lovell travelled to the region of Yorkshire

around Middleham castle, which was a former Yorkist stronghold, while the Stafford duo

went to Worcestershire in the West Midlands. Henry VII was in Lincoln when he received

news of the budding Yorkist revolt, travelling on his first royal procession.

With the large retinue he had with him, a decision was made to deal with Lovell first,

as Henry feared the reaction of the traditionally Yorkist areas that Lovell was rousing to rebellion.

By the time Henry reached the city of York on April 23rd, the rebels were struggling

to gain any traction due to the lack of a central Yorkist figure to rally behind. The

nail in the coffin was hammered in by Jasper Tudor, who was sent to offer pardons to all

the rebels except for Lovell. This worked out and, while the rebellion collapsed in

Yorkshire, Lovell eventually fled to Burgundy and to the court of Edward IV’s sister - Margaret

of York. To the south, the Staffords had no greater success in Worcestershire, and the

incipient rebellion utterly collapsed after news arrived of Lovell’s flight and the

fact that Henry was coming with a large army. With that, the 1486 rebellion fell apart,

but did inspire many other smaller bouts of unrest elsewhere in the country, which were

quickly quelled.

Meanwhile in Burgundy, Lovell discovered that he was not the only exiled Englishman present.

Many other Yorkists, including a Calais captain known as Thomas David who had brought a part

of the Calais garrison with him, were present and quickly became allies. Another prominent

Yorkist who had survived the Battle of Bosworth was the Earl of Lincoln - Sir John de la Pole,

a nephew of Edward IV. After king Richard’s death in 1485, Henry had imprisoned Edward

Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick - who was a potential rival to the throne as the nearest

male heir of the Yorkist line. An Oxford priest known as Richard Simons noticed a striking

physical resemblance between a ‘scholar’ called Lambert Simnel and the imprisoned Warwick,

and he was claimed to be the real thing. Lincoln realised this was an opportunity began to

rally the Yorkist lords at Margaret’s court to him. With financial backing in the form

of mercenaries and ships, the false Warwick, Lovell, Lincoln and the other diehard Yorkists

in Burgundy now sailed for Ireland. The mercenaries which had been hired were 2,000 Germans under

the command of a Captain Martin Schwartz, whose men had gained a reputation as rapacious

and capable fighters in campaigns against France.

Shortly after the arrival of Lovell and Lincoln in Ireland on the 24th of May 1487, the false

Warwick was crowned as Edward VI in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. The Irish lords,

who most likely sought to benefit from the revolt by gaining independence, supported

this pretender king without hesitation. Other dissatisfied Yorkists from as far away as

Jersey and Cornwall began to flock to Ireland in hopes of assisting this restoration, and

the army therefore grew in size. King Henry had been keeping an eye on the situation since

January and by April had come to the conclusion that the movement could lead to an armed invasion.

Knowing that the prominent remaining Yorkists were at first in Burgundy, Henry had moved

his court to Norwich in order to be best placed to resist an invasion from the south or east.

However, when the King learned that the Irish lords had accepted the pretender king upon

his arrival in the country, he moved his base to the western city of Coventry. Aware that

an invasion was now imminent, Henry ordered that warning beacons were to be made ready,

and the nobles were to begin assembling at Kenilworth Castle, where the king was making

his final plans to face the foe.

After setting sail from Dublin on the 2nd of June, the rebels came ashore on the Lancashire

coastline two days later near Peil Island in Furness. As soon as they landed, they formally

declared for ‘Edward VI’ and then set off inland almost immediately. That night,

they encamped at a place named Swarthmoor near Ulverston, where more Yorkist forces

under Sir Thomas Broughton joined them. The following day the rebel force set off for

Yorkshire, moving through Carnforth, where they were further reinforced by contingents

sent by the anti-Tudor Harrington and Middleton families. As they crossed the border into

Yorkshire itself, additional supporters joined then, but the extremely rapid progress of

the revolt prevented them from rallying their full forces. Lincoln now chose to write a

warning addressed to the lord mayor of York in the name of ‘Edward VI’, stating that

his army intended to enter the city in order to gather supplies. However, the divided citizens

did not know whose side to take, and they eventually decided to remain loyal to Henry,

who had been generous to them in his short time as king.

Lincoln soon received a reply from the city leaders of York, stating that if he tried

to enter the city he would be resisted with force. This was a setback, but on the 11th

of June this rebel force won a minor victory against a Lancastrian force led by Sir Henry

Clifford, capturing his baggage train intact. Realising that a rapid advance would be more

beneficial than a lengthy siege, the victorious Lincoln made the decision to turn south instead.

Aware that the king would attempt to intercept them on the march, a decision was made to

head for the Nottinghamshire town of Newark. Henry was well served by his many scouts and

agents, quickly becoming aware of the rapid rebel advance. Correctly anticipating their

destination, the king arrived at Nottingham on June 14th. The rebels continued their march

south via Castleford and towards Rotherham, reaching the town of Southwell by the 14th.

On the 15th, the two forces finally came near one another at a small village known as East

Stoke. The rebel army which broke camp on the morning of the 16th of June 1487 consisted

of around 8,000 men at arms, primarily consisting of farmers and other common folk who had been

recruited on the march south. 2,000 more of the highly trained German mercenaries were

also dispersed through the army, along with a small Irish contingent.

When Henry’s men left camp that morning, they continued to march down the Fosseway

in a column, rather than in battle formation, and were spread across several miles of the

old Roman road. This was due to the fact that the royal army was not aware that the rebels

were nearby - fully formed up for battle near East Stoke. Leading vanguard of the army was

the Earl of Oxford, who quickly became aware of the rebel position and now had to make

a crucial decision which would decide the fate of the battle. Aware that a retreat would

mean a devastating blow to morale and standing his ground would be a massive risk, Oxford

instead chose to attack after sending a message about the situation to the king - who was

several miles behind. Putting faith in the superior equipment and training of his 6,000

strong vanguard, Oxford marched towards the 10,000 rebel troops in battle order.

At 9AM the two sides drew ever closer to one another and began an arrow exchange - the

royal troops inflicted heavy losses on the badly armoured rebels at first, but then the

royal troops had to adjust their formation as they reached the base of Burham Furlong

- a small hill on which the rebels had formed up. As they did this, the largely unarmoured

Irish contingent charged down the hill as they were being badly mauled by the arrow

fire. Hoping to prevent a catastrophic partial attack, the rebel commanders committed the

entire army to this downhill charge, and they contacted with the enemy, driving them back

due to superior numbers and momentum. As Oxford’s hard pressed men were on the verge of completely

routing, the king’s main force arrived from the rear and began feeding in fresh troops

to the line. The rebels, now hopelessly outnumbered, found themselves gradually pushed back towards

the hill and then up it. Less than three hours after the conflict had started, the rebel

line broke and their army routed.

As the rebels fled, the majority of them tried to escape along a ravine leading from the

hill down to the River Trent, which was nearby. Many of them were cornered by the king’s

troops here and were slain in their hundreds. This grim place is still locally known as

the ‘Red Gutter’, as the slaughter was apparently so great that the floor of the

ravine ran red with blood. The false Edward VI - Lambert Simnel, was captured by a squire

and was surprisingly spared.

This was the final battle of the War of the Roses, and the Tudor dynasty would rule England

for over a century after.

We always have more stories to tell, so make sure you are subscribed to our channel and

pressed the bell button. We would like to express our gratitude to our Patreon supporters

and channel members, who make the creation of our videos possible. Now, you can also

support us by buying our merchandise via the link in the description. This is the Kings

and Generals channel, and we will catch you on the next one.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
king /kɪŋ/ B1	noun - a male monarch who rules a kingdom
battle /ˈbætəl/ B1	noun - a fight between opposing military forces
war /wɔːr/ A2	noun - a state of prolonged violent conflict between countries or groups
army /ˈɑːrmi/ B1	noun - an organized military force equipped for fighting
throne /θroʊn/ B2	noun - the formal chair of a monarch
duke /duːk/ C1	noun - a high-ranking nobleman
victory /ˈvɪktəri/ B1	noun - the act of defeating an enemy or opponent
defeat /dɪˈfiːt/ B1	verb - to win a victory over noun - the state of being beaten
rebellion /rɪˈbeljən/ B2	noun - an act of open resistance to an authority
crown /kraʊn/ B1	noun - the ornamental head cover worn by a monarch
heir /ɛr/ B2	noun - a person legally entitled to the property or rank of another
exile /ˈɛɡzaɪl/ B2	noun - the state of being forced to live away from one's country verb - to force someone to leave their country for political reasons
siege /siːdʒ/ C1	noun - a military operation to surround and attack a city or fortress
alliance /əˈlaɪəns/ B1	noun - a union or association formed for mutual benefit
command /kəˈmænd/ B1	verb - to give an authoritative order
reign /reɪn/ B2	verb - to rule as a monarch noun - the period during which a sovereign rules
conquer /ˈkɒŋkər/ B2	verb - to overcome and take control of a place or people
rule /ruːl/ A2	verb - to control or govern
treaty /ˈtriːti/ B2	noun - a formally concluded and ratified agreement between countries