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FIRST BATTLE OF ST.ALBANS 1455
by
BOARDMAN, A.W.
The first battle of St Albans was a significant event in England's medieval history. What prompted Richard of York to take up arms in the first place? Where did the main action take place? This book answers these questions and discusses the theories about the battle: a battle of the Wars of the Roses where the streets ran red with blood.
Stock: Special Order, Normally supplied within 14 days
Format: Paperback
Published: 01/07/2006
Publisher: THE HISTORY PRESS LTD
ISBN: 0752429833
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Reviewed By: |
BBC History Magazine |
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Date: |
09/08/2006 |
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Reader Rating: |
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Review:
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This imaginative book marks the 650th Anniversary of the out break of the War of the Roses. It relates the opening engagment in the streets of St Albans on 22nd May 1455. King HenryVI's court, en route from London to Leicester, was attacked by Richard Duke of York. The battle is the best recorded of the Wars:three narratives are translated, albeit not very well. Yet little is know of the movements of the Yorkists before 20th May and of the composistion and location of either army.Boardman sucessfully fills some of the gaps,establishing for instance, that the Yorkists arrived first.
This is a through re- examination of the sources, terrain and their interpretation. It is also a Yorkist version. Boardman approves York's motives and condems those of his rival. He is uncritical of the Duke's treasonable assault and allows King Henry no legitimate alternative to surrender to the Duke's demands. York is even excused the indiscriminate archery and gunnery that wounded the King and might have killed him. Had Henry VI perished,might St Albans have been the last, as well as the first,battle of the Wars of the Roses?
Michael Hicks |
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Reviewed By: |
Additional Info |
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Date: |
09/08/2006 |
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Reader Rating: |
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Review:
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'I saw a man fall with his brains beaten out, another with his throat cut, and a third with a stab wound to his chest, while the whole street was strewn with corpses' - Abbot John Whethamstede, eyewitness to the battle fought on the streets of St Albans on 22 May 1455. Contrary to popular opinion, the first battle of St Albans was an extremely significant event in England's medieval history. Not only did it mark the vacillating beginning of the Wars of the Roses, but it also proclaimed the start of an intense family blood feud which fuelled the wars over many succeeding generations to come. Indeed, the great family vendetta pursued by the Neville's and Percy's in the second half of the fifteenth century was instigated in the streets of St Albans. What prompted Richard of York to take up arms in the first place? What remains of the medieval town today? Where did the main action take place? Andrew Boardman answers these tantalising questions and discusses other misinterpreted theories about the first battle of St Albans: a battle of the Wars of the Roses where the streets ran red with blood. |
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