On this day in Tudor history, 22nd August 1485, Henry Tudor was proclaimed king after he and his men defeated Richard III's army at the Battle of Bosworth. This triumph would mark the end of over thirty years of bitter wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster, two rival branches of the House of Plantagenet, known as The Wars of the Roses.
I
wanted to write a blog post in honour of this important day in Tudor history,
but I figured a lot of people would be doing that today and they would describe
the battle in greater detail than I ever could, so, I decided to write something
a little different instead.
The
location of ‘Bosworth Field’ had been hotly debated until The Bosworth
Battlefield Survey proved the location was 2 miles away from where originally thought.
One of the most exciting pieces of evidence found to back this up, was the
discovery of a 29 mm long silver-gilt Boar Badge found in 2009.
The emblem of Richard III was the white boar and in 1483, many boar badges were made for his coronation and also the investiture of his son, Edward. The badge that was found would have been worn by one of Richards high ranking supporters, due to it being made of base metal. It could have been lost during the battle, or perhaps even discarded when Richard III lost his life. It has been declared a treasure by the Coroner for North Leicestershire and Rutland, Trevor Kirkman.
As
we know, King Henry VII went on to marry Elizabeth of York, a marriage which united both
the houses of Lancaster and York. The Tudor family went on to rule England for over 118 years!
You
can see the boar badge at the Bosworth battlefield heritage centre, I would love to visit the Bosworth battlefield and soak in the history.
Have you ever visited?
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References:
- Ridgway, Claire, On this Day in Tudor History, 2015
- Matusiak, John, A History of the Tudors in 100 Objects, 2019
- BBC History Magazine, August 2020, pg 67
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10183117
- https://www.bosworthbattlefield.org.uk/site-history/
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