The Tudor Society
  • #OTD in Tudor history – 22 August

    Portraits of Henry VII and Richard III

    On this day in Tudor history, the forces of Henry Tudor defeated those of King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, and John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was executed for his part in putting his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, on the throne…

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  • August 22 – The end of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and the Battle of Bosworth Field

    On this day in Tudor history, 22nd August 1553, in the reign of Queen Mary I, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was beheaded on Tower Hill along with his friends and supporters, Sir John Gates and Sir Thomas Palmer.

    Northumberland was executed for his part in putting his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, on the throne.

    His execution was actually scheduled for the previous day. The executioner was ready and a crowd had turned up to see him die, but the duke was taken to church instead.

    Wny?

    Find out, and also hear a contemporary account of the duke’s execution…

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  • 22 August – John Dudley’s execution and the Battle of Bosworth

  • Battle of Bosworth Wordsearch

    22nd August was the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth Field, the battle that took place on 22nd August 1485 and which saw the death of one king and the beginning of a whole new royal dynasty: the Tudors.

    I thought it was only right to have the battle as our theme for this week’s puzzle. This Sunday’s brainstretcher us a wordsearch. Warning – words can go in any direction!

    Click on the link or image below to open the wordsearch and print it out. Good luck!

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  • 22 August – The Battle of Bosworth Field and the beginning of the Tudor dynasty

    Today is the anniversary of the battle which started the Tudor period: the Battle of Bosworth Field. The Tudor dynasty on the throne of England began on this day, when Henry Tudor’s forces beat those of King Richard III, and Richard was killed.

    In today’s talk, I explain what happened on that day in rural Leicestershire, and how Henry Tudor was victorious even though Richard III came into battle with a huge advantage.

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  • The Battle of Bosworth continues

    In this week’s Claire Chats, I explain the situation with Bosworth Battlefield, what it’s all about, what happened at the planning meeting and what we can about it.

    Please so sign the petition at https://www.change.org/p/planning-hinckley-bosworth-gov-uk-stop-building-a-high-test-track-on-bosworth-battlefield

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  • Good news for Bosworth Battlefield (at the moment)

    The result of the Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council’s planning committee regarding plans to build a driverless car track on part of Bosworth Battlefield is great news for those of us who objected to the plans.

    Dan Martin, reporting on the meeting on Leicestershire Live, reported that councillors voted 12 to 2 to defer on a decision tonight. This was following Councillor Stuart Bray’s proposal to defer a decision.

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  • Battle of Bosworth Resources

    Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth on 22nd August 1485. This battle was, of course, the start of the Tudor dynasty because it was at this battle that the forces of Henry Tudor, who had returned from exile to claim the throne of England, defeated those of Richard III. Richard was killed during the battle and Henry was crowned King Henry VII. He ruled until his death, by natural causes, on 21st April 1509.

    You can read more about the battle in our article The Battle of Bosworth – 22 August 1485, and you can also find out more about the battle and the two kings involved with the following resources:

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  • Expert Talk – Henry VII: Bosworth to Coronation by Nathen Amin

    This month we’re thrilled to welcome back Nathen Amin to speak about Henry VII between the Bosworth to his coronation. Nathen has a great way of making history come to life and Henry VII is his topic!

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  • Was there really no chaplain available for Richard III before the Battle of Bosworth?

    A portrait of King Richard III

    Thank you to William (Bill) for asking this question. His full question was: “Paul Murray Kendall’s book Richard The Third states that there was no chaplain available for services in the King’s army before the Battle of Bosworth. What does this mean? It seems incredible that Catholic soldiers would not hear Mass before going forth to battle.”

    I forwarded the question to author and historian Nathen Amin, and in the meantime, I did some digging. I knew that Michael Jones said the same in his book Bosworth and that the information came from “The Crowland Chronicle”. I looked it up and found this bit in the chronicle:

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  • The Battle of Bosworth – An informal video

    Long term Tudor Society member, Catherine Brooks, recently went to Bosworth to see the events over the Battle of Bosworth weekend. She took a little video of the battle and then spoke to Tim Nightingale, one of the reenactors of the day. We hope you enjoy this video!

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  • 22 August 1485 – The Battle of Bosworth

    On this day in history, the 22nd August 1485, in rural Leicestershire near Market Bosworth, the armies of King Richard III and Henry Tudor faced each other in a battle that would see the death of the King and the beginning of a new dynasty: the Tudor dynasty.

    When Henry Tudor challenged the King on that August day, Richard III had been King for just over two years. He had gone from being Lord Protector to the young King Edward V, the twelve-year-old son of Richard’s brother Edward IV, to being King after Edward IV’s sons were declared illegitimate. His challenger, Henry Tudor, was the son of Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, and Lady Margaret Beaufort, a woman descended from John of Gaunt, third son of Edward III. As a Lancastrian, Henry had fled to Brittany in France, after Edward IV successfully regained the throne from Henry VI in 1471. He returned to England after his mother had conspired with Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV’s widow, to arrange a marriage between Elizabeth’s daughter, Elizabeth of York, and Henry, and to promote Henry as an alternative to Richard III.

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  • The Tudors’ Journey to Bosworth: Part 7 – The Battle of Bosworth by Tony Riches

    In this series, I have followed the progress of Henry and Jasper Tudor from Pembroke Castle to their long exile in Brittany and their return with an army to Wales. Their long march, covering as much as twenty-six miles a day, ended when they encountered King Richard III’s army camped at Ambion Hill, close to Sutton Cheyney.

    The Battle of Bosworth is poorly documented, with no first-hand accounts surviving. Anything we read about the battle, therefore, has to be looked at closely to see who wrote it and when. One of the best summaries of the often conflicting accounts is Chris Skidmore’s book, Bosworth – The Birth of The Tudors. Even as Chris was writing the book, news emerged of a new location for the battlefield site, and the bones of Richard III were discovered in a car park as he completed the first draft.

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  • The Tudors’ Journey to Bosworth: Part 1 by Tony Riches

    Henry Tudor’s return from exile to victory at Bosworth has to be one of the greatest moments in the history of the Tudor dynasty. So why is the Bosworth story so often told from the perspective of Richard III, with Henry depicted as lucky to have won?

    I was born within sight of Pembroke Castle and have always been intrigued by the small room where the thirteen-year-old Lady Margaret Beaufort gave birth to the future king, Henry Tudor. I’ve also stood on the remote beach at Mill Bay near Milford Haven imagining how Henry would have felt as he approached with his uncle Jasper and his mercenary army.

    All I knew about Jasper’s father, Henry’s grandfather, Owen Tudor, was that he’d been a Welsh servant who somehow married the young widow of King Henry V, Queen Catherine of Valois. Inspired to write a historical fiction trilogy about them, I wanted to research their stories in as much detail as possible and to sort out the many myths from the facts.

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  • August 2016 Tudor Life Magazine

    This month we travel a little further back in the Tudor period to look at the early Tudors… We have an article by Leanda de Lisle on Owen Tudor, and a day-by-day build-up to the Battle of Bosworth by Debra Bayani, along with other excellent articles by a whole host of historians and authors.

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  • Expert Talk: Susan Fern on Bosworth’s Lost Commander

    Here’s this month’s expert talk, a wonderful description of the times just before the battle of Bosworth, when the houses of Lancaster and York were both trying to win the support of Rhys ap Thomas and Wales.

    Susan Fern, author of “The Man Who Killed Richard III: Rhys ap Thomas” takes us step by step through these turbulent times and helps us to understand who Rhys was, and why he was to change the course of history.

    This is PART ONE of a two part talk recorded exclusively for the Tudor Society. Susan will be joining us live in the chatroom on 14th October, 10pm UK time.

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  • Battle of Bosworth Quiz

    As yesterday was the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth, why not test your knowledge of this historic battle.

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  • The Road to Bosworth by Sarah Bryson

    The Battle of Bosworth has gone down in record as one of the most pivotal battles in English history. The aftermath of the battle changed the course of England and saw a new monarch and dynasty come to the throne.

    The 1st of August 1485 was to be the day that Henry Tudor would finally leave France after fourteen years of exile in Brittany and France aiming to lay claim to the English throne. He set sail from Harfleur, France accompanied by approximately 400 Englishmen, 800 Scots and approximately 1500 French troops. The exact number of French troops is hard to estimate as different reports record different numbers.

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