Shakespeare's Kings (113 page)

The
sun
rose
on
the
22nd
to
reveal
the
two
armies
already
drawn
up in
line
of
battle.
The
King's
vanguard
occupied
the
top
of
the
hill. Commanded
by
the
Duke
of
Norfolk,
it
contained
both
cavalry
and infantry,
both
archers
and
gunners.
Behind
this
was
Richard,
his
helmet ringed
by
a
golden
circlet,
surrounded
by
a
corps
of
picked
men-at-arms and
another
detachment
of
cavalry.
In
the
rear
were
the
troops
of
the Duke
of
Northumberland,
3,000
strong.
The
army
of
Henry
Tudor was
in
a
much
inferior
position
at
the
foot
of
the
slope.
Commanding his
centre
was
the
Earl
of
Oxford,
with
Sir
John
Savage
on
the
left
wing and
Sir
Gilbert
Talbot
on
the
right.
Henry
himself
was
behind
Oxford, with
a
small
troop
of
horsemen
and
a
few
men-at-arms
on
foot.
He had
already
dispatched
an
urgent
appeal
to
the
Stanleys
for
assistance, but
had
received
a
characteristically
evasive
answer.
As
it
happens, Richard
had
sent
them
a
similar
message
at
about
the
same
time, threatening
to
kill
Strange
if
his
father
did
not
rally
at
once
to
the
royal standard;
Henry
would
have
been
considerably
cheered
had
he
known

1. We know
little
, if anything, more of the battle of Bosworth than we do of its predecessors in the Wars of the Roses. Apart from a very brief mention in the Croyland chronicle, our only source is Polydore Vergil - who did not arrive in England till 1502, although he certainly seems to have talked to a number of eyewitnesses. The present '
Battle
field Centre' on what is believed to be the site gives a vivid picture of the encounter, but its historical
accuracy must be open to doubt.
that
Stanley
had
still
refused
to
be
drawn,
replying
ominously
that Strange
was
not
his
only
son:
he
had
others.

It
was
clear
that
the
Stanleys
would
not
move
until
they
saw
the
turn the
Battle
was
taking;
and
also
that
the
beginning
of
that
battle
could no
longer
be
delayed.
Oxford,
fully
aware
of
his
disadvantage,
knew that
he
must
not
wait
for
the
enemy's
downhill
charge;
he
must
seize the
initiative
while
there
was
still
time.
He
gave
the
order
to
advance up
the
slope
-
and
immediately
Norfolk
attacked.
With
his
numerical superiority,
he
might
have
carried
the
day
with
a
single
charge;
but Oxford,
drawing
on
his
long
experience,
ordered
his
men
to
group themselves
into
a
tight
wedge,
so
that
not
one
of
them
was
more
than ten
feet
away
from
the
standards.
The
very
density
of
their
mass
split the
charge
in
two,
breaking
its
momentum.
Norfolk
was
obliged
to regroup
his
men;
and
the
hand-to-hand
fighting
began.

From
this
point
onwards
the
picture
becomes
impossibly
confused. An
early
casualty
seems
to
have
been
Norfolk
himself,
shot
through the
throat
by
an
arrow
after
Oxford
had
smashed
his
gorget.
It
seems too
that
Henry,
determined
to
make
one
last
appeal
to
the
Stanleys, suddenly
rode
off
towards
them;
and
that
Richard,
recognizing
his banner,
led
his
men
against
him
in
a
direct
attack.
As
the
two
households struggled
with
each
other
in
the
fearful
slogging
match
that
constituted so
much
of
medieval
warfare,
Henry
found
himself,
for
the
first
time, fighting
for
his
life.
He
fought,
we
are
told,
with
considerable
courage; but
his
men
were
heavily
outnumbered,
and
before
long
it
looked
as though
he
—
and
the
whole
Tudor
cause
-
was
doomed.

He
was
saved
by
Sir
William
Stanley.
His
elder
brother
still
refused to
move;
but
Sir
William,
who
had
been
closely
following
the
progress of
the
fighting
from
his
own
position
perhaps
half
a
mile
away,
finally made
up
his
mind.
He
gave
his
men
the
order
they
had
so
long
been awaiting,
spurred
his
horse
and
galloped
to
Henry's
rescue.
This
sudden arrival
of
3
,000
men,
fresh
and
ready
for
the
fray,
changed
the
entire course
of
the
Battle
.
Richard,
whose
white
charger
had
been
shot
from under
him,
was
still
fighting
desperately
on
foot.
Seeing
that
their
cause was
lost,
his
men
urged
him
to
flee;
but
he
refused
to
listen
to
them, continuing
to
swing
his
heavy
mace
with
manic
energy
until
he
was finally
himself
struck
down.
It
was
his
army
that
took
to
its
heels.
He himself,
shouting
'Treason!
Treason!'
with
his
last
breath,
died
as
he was
determined
to
die,
King
of
England
to
the
end.

★

Bosworth
was
a
small
battle
as
battles
go.
It
lasted
only
two
hours
-
it was
probably
over
by
eight
o'clock
in
the
morning.
If
we
include
the fleeing
remnants
of
the
royal
army,
pursued
by
the
Earl
of
Oxford
and hacked
down
as
they
ran,
it
saw
the
death
of
well
under
1,000
men. None
the
less,
it
was
a
turning-point
of
English
history.
It
marked
the end
not
only
of
the
Plantagenets
and
the
Wars
of
the
Roses,
but
also of
the
Middle
Ages.
The
England
of
Henry
Tudor
and
his
successors would
be
a
very
different
—
and
happier
-
place.