On August 22, 1485, at Bosworth Field, Richard III fell, the Wars of the Roses ended, and the Tudor dynasty began. The clash is so significant because it marks the break between medieval and modern; yet how much do we really know about this historical landmark? Michael K. Jones uses archival discoveries to show that Richard III's defeat was by no means inevitable and was achieved only through extraordinary chance. He relocates the battle away from the site recognized for more than 500 years. With startling detail of Henry Tudor's reliance on French mercenaries and a new account of the battle action, the author turns Shakespeare on its head, painting an entirely fresh picture of the dramatic life and death of Richard III, England's most infamous monarch.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"a very exciting re-interpretation of the battle which totally tranforms our undestanding of what actuallty happened on that fateful day."
From the Publisher
1485. The battle of Bosworth marked an epoch in the lives of two great houses: the house of York fell to the ground when Richard III died on the field of battle; and the house of Tudor rose from the massacre to reign for the next hundred years. Michael Jones rewrites this landmark event in English history with startling evidence to suggest that the site of the battle recognized for over 500 years is wrong. He not only shifts the location of the battle, but shifts our perspective of its heroes and villains and its place in history.
Michael K. Jones is an independent scholar specializing in medieval English history. He lives in London. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating insight to new book on Bosworth,
This review is from: Bosworth 1485: The Psychology of a Battle (Hardcover)
The battle of Bosworth marked the end of the reign of Richard III. Today it is one of the most intriguing medieval battles that took place in history with not enough information known.The traditional view of where the battle took place has been a controversial point along with where the key players of the battle took place. Mr. Jones provides new insight and offers an entirely new perspective on the attitude of Richard III. Jones overturns Shakespeares account separating the literary Richard III from the historical figure showing us a man who knew and understood medieval chivalry, battle tactics and the society in which he lived. Jones touches on the illegitmacy of Edward IV, his similarity between his role at Bosworth and his father's role in 1441 in Pontoise and the significance of the crown that he wore into battle. Jones relocation of the battle to the villages of Atherstone, Atterton and Fenny Drayton commands not only our attention but more research into the villages and locations in proximity to the current and traditional location. The book is beautifully illustrated with maps showing the new and traditional sites. Jones meticulous research on Bosworth Joe Ann Ricca
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bosworth 1495: Psychology of a Battle,
By
This review is from: Bosworth 1485: The Psychology of a Battle (Hardcover)
Dr. Jones led a tour I was on to the battlefields of Kursk, Moscow and Stalingrad and his presentations were so fascinating I wanted to read his Bosworth 1485. I had, for reasons that escape me, great difficulty getting the book finally having to get a used copy from Alibris but the effort was well rewarded. I am not a specialist in that period of history or the battle but found the book well written and convincing . It was interesting to say the least to have a different point of view about Richard III from the one most of us have from reading and seeing Shakespeare. And most of all for a reader interested in military history is was a good read.
7 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Certain facts you can't change.....,
By lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bosworth 1485: Psychology of a Battle (Revealing History) (Paperback)
I found this book to be well written and very clever in its presentation. While Battle of Bosworth remains one of the main subjects of the book, its not the true subject of the book. The true subject of the book rest on the author's efforts to restored King Richard III's good name and hopes that his actions were done in honor and respect while maintaining the ruthless elements of his days.
However, the author failed to make his points because he failed to delivered on certain elements of logic and facts that cannot be changed. Even if we accept the illogical fact that Edward IV was not a legitimate heir of the House of York, he remains the legitimate King of England. As a legitimate King of England, Richard swore an oath of loyalty to him as his lord and liege. While Edward's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was unpopular, it was legal. Their two children cannot be considered as bastards even if their father was. (Sons of a bastard is not a bastard themselves.) If their father was the legitimate King of England, then they were his legitimate heirs and Edward V was Richard's lawful and legitimate King. They cannot be bastardized because of their father's status. The author totally missed this point in his long chapters which from his perception, seem to legalized Richard's actions because his older "half brother" (according to the author's premise) was not a true heir to the House of York. That shouldn't matter at all. I think the author was bit obsessive about how Shakespeare protrayed Richard III instead of how historians protrayed him. Richard did murdered his nephews, he did overthrow a legitimate young ruler to gained power and he lost his throne and crown to an upstart Henry Tudor who probably had every right to be more ruthless due to his initial lack of foundation of his family rule. I have no doubts that Richard did have many redeeming quality as the author like to point out and he was a "man of his time". But his actions reflects a power hungry man who wanted to be King of England. He fought well at Bosworth and was let down by his other commanders. The author failed to explained why Richard allowed himself to be place in a situation where he might be easily betrayed. The battle analysis was bit better and I really kind of wished that the author stay on this with greater degree. His attempts to turn Richard's reputation proves to be bit meaningless and it took away from what should be the main subject of the book.
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