A new contribution for the bookworms among our readers:

David Santiuste, Edward IV and the Wars of the Roses.  Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 2010.  ISBN   9781844159307 (Hardback)

As the title indicates the aim of this book is not to offer a comprehensive biography of Edward IV, but as the author says “to illuminate Edward’s personal role during the Wars of the Roses”.  So the focus is on Edward’s military career.   I have to admit military matters do not normally interest me much, but I found this book very rewarding and interesting. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Books, Contemporaries, Edward IV

Towton Cross

Sensational find at the Towton Battlefield

The Battle of Towton was fought on Palm Sunday 29 March 1461 between Edward IV’s Yorkists and the Lancastrians fighting for Henry VI.  The weather was atrocious, very cold with wind and snow.  The Yorkists won a decisive victory, securing the throne for Edward IV, however at huge cost of lives.  It is estimated that up to 28,000 soldiers were killed on a single day, approx. one per cent of the English population at the time, which makes it one of the bloodiest battles to ever take place on English soil. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Battles, Edward IV, Henry VI, Towton

This is the third part of Win’s talk about Scotland which was presented to our Branch on 9 October 2010.

James III of Scotland reigned 1460-88. He cultivated friendship with England by a marriage being arranged between his son James later IV and Edward IVs 3-year-old daughter the Lady Cecilia. This marriage did not take place as it was cancelled by Edward IV.

James IV of Scotland

When negotiations broke down skirmishing broke out between the two countries. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Edward IV, Henry Tudor, Richard III, Scotland

Congratulations to Anne Easter Smith who just let us know that she won the 2010 Romantic Times Book Review Magazine Award for Best Historical Biography for The King’s Grace.  The Grace of the title is Grace Plantagenet, an illegitimate daughter of Edward IV, her mother is unknown.  Indeed all we know about her is that she was one of two mourners (the other is an unnamed “gentilwoman”) on the funeral barge of Elizabeth Woodville in 1492.  From this Anne spins a fascinating story about the Perkin Warbeck mystery.  For if Perkin Warbeck was indeed Richard of York, this Grace would have been his half-sister.

With the award Anne beat another contender, which also deals with the question of what happened to Elizabeth Woodville’s sons by Edward IV:  Philippa Gregory’s The White Queen.  Having read both books, I can only agree with the judges.  We congratulate Anne on this award.  It is her first, but should not be her last.  I believe Anne is at present working on a book on Cecily of York, the mother of among others Edward IV, Richard III as well as Margaret of Burgundy.  Richard played an important role in Anne’s A Rose for the Crown, while Margaret was portrayed in Daughter of York.  Can’t wait for her to bring Cecily to life!

Tags: Books, Cecily Neville, Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Richard III

During last weekend’s conference, Lynne reviewed Richard:  The Young King to Be by Josephine Wilkinson.  You can read her review here.

Tags: Anne Neville, Edward IV, Richard III

The recent discovery of the actual site of the Battle of Bosworth made headlines around the world.  It now seems that we might also have to rethink the location of the Battle of Barnet.

The Battle of Barnet was fought on Easter Sunday, 14 April 1471, between Edward IV, who had returned from exile in Burgundy, and the Yorkists on the one side, and the Earl of Warwick and the Lancastrians on the other.  This was the first battle in which the then 18 year-old Richard, Duke of Gloucester, fought and some think that he commanded the vanguard.  Visibility was greatly reduced due to a thick mist.  This mist seems to have lasted until the present, because the exact location of the site is still being disputed.  The reason is that so far no archaeological evidence has been found, possibly because researchers were looking at the wrong spot and had concentrated on the registered site in Hadley Green. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Barnet, Battles, Edward IV, Richard III, Wars of the Roses