Henry VII - King of England

The Great Warrior King of England and Wales

The Welsh Prince that Conquered England

"Y Gwr Darogan" - The Man of Prophecy

Harri Tudur
Welsh Warrior
Henry VII
King of England
and Wales

AUTHOR’S NOTES:

Fascinated by the many stories and books written about the royal Tudors, barring one, Henry VII, I have often asked myself, “Why is so much written about these other Tudors and nothing but historical conjecture about the greatest Tudor of them all, the man that founded the dynasty?”

When I set out to write a historical romantic novel about Henry VII, I was amazed at the divergence of opinions about the man. In my research, I came across so many contradictory accounts. Most of the accounts are speculation from an English perspective. In fact, there is a lack of properly documented history concerning Henry VII for the period 1469AD to 1485AD.

After much deliberation and research, I decided to apply the reasonable man test (legal fiction), by piecing together, information actually known with what was feasibly and logically possible. In my deliberation, I discounted completely all conjecture, and all accounts of the battle and events leading up to the battle written by English historians, and various Richard III societies, except for factual dates where these concur.

I have concluded that Henry VIII, together with his advisors, is to blame for the lack of information about his father. The reason is quite simple when you understand the politics of the day.

Harri Tudur (Henry VII) was a Welshman who ruled by conquest. All his life as king, his standard was the Cadwaladr Standard (the Welsh Dragon). By contrast, Henry VIII was born into an English court with considerable influence of the House of York. Henry VIII’s greatest claim to the throne was not by conquest, through his father, but by his birthright through his mother, Elizabeth of York. He rejected the Cadwaladr standard and adopted the Tudor rose as his standard. I believe it was he, and his Yorkist advisors, who set about covering up his links to Wales. A good example of one of his anti Welsh acts was to incorporate Wales into England.

When Henry VIII broke away from Rome, he destroyed many Roman Catholic monasteries and cathedrals. One of the Abbeys he destroyed was the Abbey at Merevale. This church was far away from all the other Roman Catholic institutions. I suggest that the reason for destroying the church at Merevale (Atherstone) was to destroy records of the battle waged there between Richard III and his father Harri Tudur.

The destruction of all records of his father’s rise to power was so intense that even today no one knows for certain where the battle took place.

Henry VIII got away with the suppression of his Welsh roots simply because most people in Wales in those days were illiterate. The few literate were more concerned with matters pertaining to Wales.

The Welsh opinion turned against the Tudors when Henry VIII incorporated Wales into England in 1535AD. As a prelude to this Act, Henry VIII had Rhys ap Gruffydd, the most powerful leader in Wales, beheaded in 1531AD for a trumped up charge of treason. These acts by Henry VIII, unwittingly, turned the Welsh against their true champion, Harri Tudur, the man who had liberated them from English domination. This unfortunate legacy continues to this day. In fact, the Welsh Nationalists of today regard Owain Glyndwr as their most revered historic hero. Owain Glyndwr may well have been a hero but, politically and economically, he achieved nothing for the Welsh people.

What is undeniable is that Harri Tudur, not Owain Glyndwr, was the one that gained political power and economical freedom for the Welsh. Unfortunately, his son Henry VIII outmanoeuvred the Welsh politically.

I have no doubt in my mind that Wales did conquer England in 1485AD that is why the recorded history has been ‘lost’.

With all the above in mind, given the paucity of sound information available, I have based my novel on what I regard to be a more realistic historical record. In my novel, there are a number of departures from historical conjecture.

Although my novel is a fiction, I am hoping that the discerning reader will see that much of the conjecture about the events leading up to the battle just did not happen. For example, the clandestine meeting that was supposed to have taken place between Harri Tudur and Thomas Stanley in Stafford was just not possible, given the time and logistical constraints.

The historic conjecture casting Richard III as being so brave and Harri Tudur as being cowardly does not do any justice to either of them. Richard III was a brave and capable soldier. The Battle of Mancetter (Bosworth) was the only battle Richard III ever lost. He was beaten purely and simply by a far better soldier and master tactician.

What alerted me to the inaccuracy of the historical conjecture was the pure genius of the campaign of Harri Tudur. There is no way Harri Tudur could have marched his army two hundred and forty miles in just fifteen days without a well thought-out logistical plan coupled with massive Welsh support.

As to Harri Tudur’s bravery or not, I leave you with these two comments by Philippe de Commynes, a French chronicler, that influenced my portrayal of Harri Tudur in my novel, King of Princes.

“The English, who were powerful and rich, and governed by a wise, graceful, and valiant Prince Henry, who had several sage and brave men under him, and very good commanders, as the Earl of Salisbury [SIC] (should be Jasper Tudur, the Duke of Bedford), Talbot, and others I pass by, etc.” And, “This King Richard himself reigned not long, for God on a sudden raised him up an enemy, without power, without money, without right, (according to my information), and without reputation but what his person and deportment excited; for he had suffered much, being in distress all the days of his life."

*Underlining by myself, as is the [SIC] correction.

Pen Y Bryn


Henry VII - The Great Warrior King of England and Wales

Not in the whole realm of British history are the words of Mark Anthony, taken from Shakespeare’s play on Julius Caesar, more applicable than when applied to Henry VII. “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones. So, let it be with Caesar.....Anthony continued (referring to Caesar’s slayers)........ So are they all, all honourable men.” History has been so badly ‘smudged’ by various historians over the ensuing five centuries to render this great man, Henry VII, a pitiful legacy.

There are many myths about the period 9th April 1483 (the death of Edward IV) to 22nd August 1485 (the Battle of Bosworth). It is my intention to establish a more realistic record based on logistical grounds and applying the ‘reasonable man’ test as applied by Roman Dutch Law. “THE REASONABLE MAN - A potential defendant will be negligent by falling below the standards of the ordinary reasonable person in his/her situation, i.e. by doing something which the reasonable man would not do or failing to do something which the reasonable man would do.”

The truth concerning Henry VII has been ‘smudged’, possibly for personal or political expediency. Notwithstanding absolutely no eyewitness accounts of the Battle of Bosworth, the writers made up their own versions of events. Most are derogatory of Henry VII while heaping praise on Richard III. Even Polydore Vigil’s Anglica Historica, written some twenty-seven years after Bosworth, was not conclusive. It was hearsay at best. Vigil was an Italian monk, never in the employ of Henry VII as most writers advocate.

Well what are the probable facts? Moreover, what are the probable fallacies? You be the judge.

First of all Henry VII was born in Pembroke Castle of noble Welsh ancestry. He was a descendant of the famous Welsh warrior family that included Rhys ap Gruffydd, Owain Glyndwr, and the famous warriors, the Tudurs of Anglesey. By quirk of fate, he was also a descendant of Edward III of England and Charles VI of France. He was primarily Welsh and a fierce Welsh nationalist.

The English/Norman barons were hard taskmasters of the Welsh peasants. Henry VII had great empathy for these peasants. One of his lasting and undeniable legacies is that he freed them from their affliction.

His primary desire was to be Prince of Wales and uplift his people. However, his mother Margaret Beaufort (herself an heir to the throne of England) had other ideas. She always saw him as being King of England. In his informative years, his uncle Jasper Tudor nurtured and influenced him in all manner of warfare. Jasper’s influence prepared him in life for the role of both warrior and king.

In my research I was fascinated by the fact that everyone Henry came into contact with liked and supported him (such as Jasper Tudor, Francis II of Brittany, Anne of France, Rhys ap Gruffydd, George Talbot and John Savage, to name a few). He was obviously a man of distinction who impressed with whomsoever he came into contact. I may add that Philippe de Commynes, in his Mémoires, reflects favourably about Henry in two separate statements.

Note: If you are interested in medieval history, reading the Mémoires de Philippe de Commynes offers much in the way of information about the life and times. The Mémoires are fascinating and provide a largely unbiased view of the period, circa 1450AD to 1500AD. I particularly enjoyed de Commynes’s comment about Richard III and his reference to Henry VII.

“This King Richard himself reigned not long, for God on a sudden raised him up an enemy, without power, without money, without right, (according to my information), and without reputation but what his person and deportment excited; for he had suffered much, being in distress all the days of his life."

*underlining by myself.

Philippe de Commynes did mention that Henry's troops were from Normandy, but you have to put it into perspective. The people of Normandy were, according to the French, low life and inferior. The Normans spoke a different language, as did the Bretons. When Henry made a hasty retreat from Brittany, his route to Paris was through Normandy. That is why de Commynes mistook the Welsh troops for Normans. By mentioning the troops as from a despised Normandy he was emphasizing God's punishment on the evil Richard III.

In the other more sober reflection of his Mémoires about Henry VII, de Commynes uses this description of Henry. “The English, who were powerful and rich, and governed by a wise, graceful, ‘and valiant Prince, Henry,’ who had several sage and brave men under him, and very good commanders, as the Earl of Salisbury, Talbot, and others I pass by, etc.”

Note: As a matter of interest, The Earl of Salisbury was a misnomer. He was referring to Jasper Tudor, Henry VII's uncle. There was some confusion with the title of Earl of Salisbury (Henry had attainted the Earl in 1485AD after the battle and intended to confer this title and lands on Jasper). Henry eventually executed the holder of the title in 1499AD. Jasper was made Duke of Bedford instead. A Duke is a much more regal title and higher in status than that of Earl.)

It is to be noted that de Commynes describes Henry VII as the valiant Prince Henry. Compare that to some written accounts, especially by the Richard III Society, saying that Henry was a coward, simply because he was Welsh. It is enough to make my hair stand on end.

Over the years whilst in exile Henry VII was enticed by many lucrative marriage proposals by Edward IV and his mother. He refused all these offers. This, in my opinion, proves that he was his own man, not someone to be taken lightly.

He was fortunate to have had Jasper Tudor as his uncle. Jasper was probably the only loyal person of note in the Wars of the Roses. Jasper was loyal to his half brother Henry VI. Had Henry VI’s wife, Margaret of Anjou, entrusted him with the leadership of the army that she led on behalf of her husband and son, history may have been very different. Jasper escaped to Brittany after Edward IV deposed his half brother following the defeat of the Lancastrians at Battle of Tewkesbury, but not before inflicting a humiliating defeat on the House of York in a Battle at Chepstow. With less than five hundred troops under his command he defeated Edward IV’s senior lieutenant, Lord Vaughan, who had over three thousand five hundred men. After capturing Lord Vaughan, Jasper beheaded him in revenge for the said Lord having beheaded his father after the battle of Mortimers Cross.

Being the loyal man he was, notwithstanding having a claim to the throne in his own right, Jasper escaped to Brittany with young Henry to protect him from certain death at the hands of the Edward IV. Henry was 14 years old at the time.

Jasper left behind some faithful followers in command of his small army. He charged them with building up support for his nephew for a future invasion of Wales and England. This invasion was planned for a future time when Henry was old enough to lead the army. Jasper, for some unknown reason, did not pursue the throne in his own right even though he was also a Lancastrian heir.

Breton, the language spoken in Brittany in those days, was similar to Welsh. So Jasper and young Henry felt very much at home.

Francis II, Duke of Brittany, took a liking to young Henry and regarded him as a son. Providing the finance, he allowed Jasper to enlist men for an army. He took great interest in training Henry for a future role as King of England and Wales.

Francis was so impressed with young Henry that he conferred on him his land, title and interest in the Honour of Richmond. The Honour of Richmond was a vast tract of land in Yorkshire that Francis had inherited from Henry II, King of England. Francis’ claim to the Honour of Richmond was bona fide as it was passed down to him. He was a direct descendant of Henry II, King of England. This claim was authentic but not recognised by successive English monarchs.

When the time came for Henry to lead the invasion, there was a political upheaval in Brittany led by the treachery of Pierre Landois, the Duke’s Prime Minister. Landois briefly held power in Brittany and, unbeknown to Francis, tried to sell Henry into the hands of Richard III who had pledged support for his rebellion against Francis. Jasper learned of the plot and rescued Henry as he was about to be put on a ship bound for England.

Henry then fled to France with Jasper. His troops followed some time later after having found favour with Anne of France, who was the Regent of Charles VIII, King of France.

A number of Lancastrian dissidents joined Henry in France as they were disillusioned with or attainted by Richard III.

Richard III had by this time superseded his brother Edward IV to the throne.

Contrary to popular belief, Henry VII probably never entered into any alliance with the Duke of Buckingham who rebelled against Richard III in 1483. Henry was an astute, intelligent man who would have known that the Duke of Buckingham had possibly a greater claim to the throne than himself. Therefore, any alliance with him would have been out of the question. Henry may have flirted with the idea of the alliance to encourage Buckingham into a war with Richard III in order to weaken both of them.

Anne of France agreed to support Henry financially and gave him the use of a number of ships to ferry his troops across to Wales.

By this time, Henry’s army had swollen to more than two thousand men. They were mostly highly skilled Welsh mercenaries called to arms from various armies in Europe. The rest consisted of a few Bretons and some dissident Lancastrian and Yorkist nobles.

Henry arrived in Dale, near Milford Haven, in South West Wales on 7th August 1485, unsure of any local support.

He first encountered Rhys ap Thomas who met him with two thousand troops of his own. Richard III had appointed Rhys to protect South Wales against the possibility of an invasion by Henry. Rhys met Henry just after he had disembarked at Dale and realised that the army led by Henry was professional and disciplined. It was not some ‘tin pot’ army comprised of French mercenaries and convicts as some Richard III writers imply. Henry’s army was one of substance and obvious training. Henry’s mother had raised considerable funds to lure the Welsh mercenaries from various armies in Europe where they were in demand, because of their legendary ability with the longbow. Henry had used the same strategy as Owain Glyndwr, who eighty years earlier had called on the Welsh mercenaries to return to Wales to support him.

Rhys decided to throw in his lot with Henry despite an oath he had sworn to Richard. Legend has it that the oath was to the effect ‘only over his belly would he allow Henry to pass by. He eased his conscience by allowing Henry to ride over a bridge in Pembrokeshire while he lay on his back underneath the bridge, thus absolving himself of the Oath to Richard.’

Reference; Griffith, Ralph A. Sir Rhys Ap Thomas and His Family: A Study in the Wars of the Roses.

The two armies then proceeded to march up through Wales. Henry followed the route up the coast to Aberystwyth while Rhys followed a more central route up the Afon Tywi Valley. They met up again at Welshpool and marched together to Shrewsbury. The Mayor of Shrewsbury was a relative of Henry and allowed him free passage through the city, albeit after a show of strength.

During his march through Wales, one thousand five hundred Welshmen, which included the remnant of Jasper’s small army, and George Talbot with five hundred men joined him. At Shrewsbury John Savage of Chester joined up with another five hundred Welsh troops. Henry, now with some seven thousand Welsh troops under his command, marched on towards London.

At the time, Richard had stationed himself in the centre of England at Nottingham, as he was unsure as to where Henry would invade. He had amassed some nineteen thousand troops. Richard was taken by surprise, only knowing that Henry had landed when he was already in Shrewsbury.

Richard was probably thinking that his castles and his sworn Welsh allies along the route would hold up Henry’s progress.

Henry was much smarter than that. Learning from the experience of Owain Glyndwr, he had decided that castles and land were difficult to defend. His philosophy diminished the value of castles as a place of strength and power.

Henry had recruited all the forces he could during his rapid march through Wales. He stopped briefly outside the castles along the way, giving the Lord of the castle an ultimatum. They could either supply him with troops or, after he had defeated Richard, he would have them attainted and declared a traitor. This had the desired effect and many warriors joined his army.

Once Henry had reached Shrewsbury the next area where he could expect support would be London. The quickest route from Shrewsbury to London was via Watling Street heading south east to Mancetter then from Mancetter heading south to London.

From the time they departed from Shrewsbury, Thomas Stanley tracked Henry, but with only two thousand troops Stanley knew he would be no match for Henry. So he waited for Richard to engage him first.

When Richard had received word that Henry had crossed into England from Wales at Shrewsbury, he hastily called for the Earl of Northumberland and the Duke of Norfolk to bolster his forces. Richard left Nottingham a few days later with seventeen thousand troops. Also arrayed against Henry was Thomas’ brother, William Stanley with five hundred men. He was monitoring Henry’s progress and, like his brother, was waiting for Richard's forces to arrive.

The day before the battle, Henry, Jasper, Rhys, John de Vere and a few of the captains surveyed the possible battleground. They had seen Richard take up his position on the hill above Mancetter (logistically and realistically speaking the battle could not have take place at Bosworth). Henry’s troops marched as far as he could to the south and east of Richard’s position. Henry eventually chose a place near the bottom of the hill where there was a marsh on his right hand. This annulled the threat posed by Thomas Stanley who had tracked Henry for about three days prior to the battle. George Talbot in the meantime had the job of containing William Stanley to Watling Street thereby isolating him from Richard’s position.

The majority of the Stanley brothers’ forces were Welsh. Richard would have been naive to think that they would support him against a man marching under the Welsh Cadwaladr Standard. He would have reailzed by then that Henry had received massive support from the Welsh. How else could he have marched through Wales so quickly?

I don’t think Richard was naive. He was a great army general. His major problem was that he was panicked into engaging Henry at Mancetter at such short notice, having only known of Henry's invasion when he had already reached Shrewsbury.

Richard therefore only had a maximum of five days to prepare for the battle. He had to prevent Henry getting to London where Henry would have had additional Lancastrian support. In order to prevent Henry from reaching London, Richard closed the bridge over the River Anker and took up his position on Merevale Hill overlooking the River. Richard had gathered his troops in a great hurry and was not properly prepared for the battle.

In taking up his position in such haste he had not surveyed his chosen site and hadn’t realised that there was a large marsh to the left of his forces. The marsh kept the Earl of Northumberland and Thomas Stanley out of the battle. Richard’s troops, although much greater in number, were mainly conscripts. As pointed out earlier, a fair proportion of Henry’s troops were professional soldiers.

Henry’s reason for preferring the lower ground was for his longbow men to pick off Richard’s troops as they advanced down towards him. Richard, seeing the much smaller army, duly obliged. He launched his overwhelming numbers down the hill charging Henry’s position. Richard was in the thick of the fighting believing that his army would soon overwhelm Henry’s much smaller army. The charge by Richard’s men was disastrous. Henry’s longbow men cut many of them down. By the time they had engaged Henry’s troops in hand-to-hand combat, they were in disarray and lacking leadership in their ranks.

Henry’s troops, being highly skilled and trained, adopted a Roman legion pincer movement that totally confused Richard’s part-time troops. The Welshmen were under orders not to move more than ten paces from their starting point unless the Standards were moved. Only then were they to move accordingly.

Richard seeing that the battle was against him, made a surge to get to Henry, but at the last minute he lost his nerve. He tried to escape across the marsh to join with Lord Stanley, whose troops were prevented by the marsh from engaging Henry in the battle. While he was fleeing the battle, his horse became bogged down in the marsh and he was slain by William Gardynyr, a warrior in the army of Rhys ap Thomas.

As Richard was now dead, Thomas and William Stanley knew they were in trouble with Henry for not supporting him in the battle. They sent their Welsh troops to pursue the remnant of Richard’s army, killing indiscriminately in a desperate attempt to find favour with Henry.

Thomas’ troops found Richard’s crown in the hands of William Gardynyr and brought it to Henry. He then sheepishly placed it on Henry’s head. Henry knighted William Gardynyr and Rhys ap Thomas on the battlefield as well as a number of his captains.

It is to be noted that neither Thomas nor William Stanley were knighted on the battle field.

The Stanley brothers slaughtered thousands of Richard’s troops as they were retreating from the battle. This is the reason why so many troops were buried in the church cemetery at Daddlington.

Henry was anxious to take advantage of his supremacy on the battlefield and made haste to reach London with his troops. He left the cleaning-up operations to the Stanley brothers who were keen to make amends for remaining on the sideline during the battle. Henry regarded them disdainfully but took no revenge on Thomas for his mother’s sake as she was married to Thomas.

Thomas Stanley had an ulterior motive for wanting Henry to be defeated. Henry’s mother had been attainted by Richard who gifted all of her considerable wealth to Thomas. With Henry out of the way, he would have continued to own those assets. Henry’s mother was reputed to be one of the wealthiest people in England and Wales before her wealth was gifted to Thomas by her attaintment.

Thomas continued his cowardly behaviour by taking the body of Richard slung over a horse to Leicester. He had him hung up for three days in full view of the public. He was hoping that this would endear him to Henry. This act had the opposite effect on Henry who was appalled over the treatment of a King of England.One of Henry’s first acts after he was confirmed king was to provide money for a dignified burial and a tomb for Richard.

Reference: King Richard’s Grave in Leicester by David Baldwin.

It is significant that Henry arrived in London on the 7th September 1485, only 14 days after the Battle of Mancetter (Bosworth). About one hundred of Henry’s troops were killed in the battle so he must have spent a few days after the battle at Mancetter to bury the dead. This means that he would have had to travel a distance of at least 12 miles a day with many walking wounded and dwindling supplies. He therefore had neither the time nor the desire to go to Leicester to desecrate Richard’s body. He would have had the more important matters on his mind such as the subjugation of the barons in London.

Thomas had every reason to go to Leicester because, to ensure his loyalty, Richard had been holding his son hostage there.

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Well, one may ask, why is history recorded so differently? Why is there no clear account of the circumstances surrounding the battle? Why is there no information about the events leading up to the battle on the 22nd August 1485?

In my opinion there are two reasons:

1) Wales defeated England. A fact never accepted by the English, even to this day. English historians have clutched at all sorts of straws to explain away this defeat. This has given rise to the worldwide Richard III society, adding heaps of glory on to Richard and scorn on Henry to the extent of being crass.

2) English historians have conjured up all sorts of excuses and conspiracies against Richard. Some writers claimed that timely intervention made by the Stanley brothers gave Henry the victory over Richard. Henry had William Stanley executed 11 years later and did not knight Thomas or William on the battlefield. So this is highly improbable. Henry did not execute Thomas on the battlefield because he was married to his mother. Had he have done so his mother would have been widowed to a traitor. Favours subsequently extended to Thomas by Henry, were only to enhance the status of his mother. It is to be noted that Henry reversed the attaintment of his mother and curtailed the marital power of Thomas over her estates, thereby enabling his mother to run her own financial affairs. This act was a severe rebuke to Thomas and was the equivalent of a virtual divorce. Henry’s mother took a vow of chastity, further isolating Thomas. The measures taken against Thomas had the effect of not allowing him to remarry.

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I have noted below a number of points some of which are rebuttals of popular beliefs.

i) Rhys ap Thomas, besides being knighted on the battlefield, was given the governorship of Wales and was second only to Henry in Wales. Because of William Gardynyr’s gallantry of personally slaying Richard III, he was given the hand of Jasper Tudor’s illegitimate daughter in marriage. As mentioned earlier, Henry had knighted William on the battlefield.

ii) Henry VII appointed Welsh nobles, and Lancastrians who assisted him, to the top positions in his realm.

iii) Henry VII gave the Welsh people equal rights with the English. The power of the English/Norman barons in Wales was broken for good. The Welsh were allowed to purchase land in both England and Wales and were free to trade without restriction.

iv) The Welsh opinion turned against the Tudors because Henry VIII incorporated Wales into England and only paid lip service to the Welsh. Henry’s wife brought up Henry VIII in an English court, so Henry VIII did not have the same love for Wales that his father had.

v) Subsequent Tudor sovereigns eroded many of the privileges enjoyed by the Welsh people to the extent that the greatness of Henry VII was lost on the people of Wales. Henry VII made it quite clear that he ruled by conquest. His standard during his rule was the Cadwaladr Standard, right up to the time of his death in 1509AD. Henry VIII’s claim to the throne was greater through his mother. He therefore played down his Welsh links and enhanced his Yorkist claim to the throne. I firmly believe that it was he who destroyed most of the information about the assent of his father to the throne. Henry VIII destroyed the church at Merevale (Mancetter and Atherstone), where I suspect many of the records of the battle would have been located. He did a very good job of destroying the records of the battle. Even today no one knows where the battle took place.

vi) Purely on logistical grounds, I believe that the battle took place at Mancetter and not at Bosworth. I make this observation purely in the probability that Henry was travelling down the old Roman road (Watling Street). He was heading for London where he was guaranteed to have additional support. Richard III had to stop him before he reached London. Given the time constraints, his best chance was to block Henry’s route to London at the bridge over the River Anker.

vii) The English writers have overplayed Richard III’s bravery to lend credence to conspiracy theories. Mainly to cover up the truth that Wales conquered England with a much smaller but very well trained and organised army. There were absolutely no eyewitnesses to say Richard was brave.

viii) Some historians have portrayed Henry as a coward. Would a coward arrive in Wales with only two thousand men to take on the might of England? On the contrary, he must have been very courageous.

ix) Some writers say that Henry arrived in South Wales with two thousand French mercenaries and convicts. They cite Philippe de Commynes as authority – I’ve read de Commynes’s memoirs. All he says about Henry’s army was that they were unruly Normans (see explanation of de Commyne’s memoirs above). I can imagine Welsh mercenaries being unruly – can’t you? Many of the historians have incorrectly quoted de Commynes as the source for this assumption. As aforementioned the main thrust of de Commynes’ comments on this matter was that Richard III received his just punishment from a man that had very little going for him. I repeat my earlier quote, “This King Richard himself reigned not long, for God on a sudden raised him up an enemy, without power, without money, without right, (according to my information), and without reputation but what his person and deportment excited; for he had suffered much, being in distress all the days of his life, etc.” It is easy to see from these words of de Commynes that the reference to the unruly men that landed in Wales with Henry was a play on words to emphasize that Richard’s fate was sealed by God for his wickedness. It should, therefore, not be taken as a slur on Henry’s troops. In another more sober reflection of his memoirs about Henry, de Commynes uses this description of Henry. Here again repeat my earlier quotation, “The English, who were powerful and rich, and governed by a wise, graceful, and valiant Prince, Henry, who had several sage and brave men under him, and very good commanders, as the Earl of Salisbury, Talbot, and others I pass by, etc.” Another thing I find difficult to believe is that a proven warrior chief like Rhys ap Thomas would have thrown his hand in with a bunch of French mercenaries and convicts. By so doing, he subjected himself to the control of their leader. I also find it amazing that the English historians are more comfortable with the thought of being conquered by two thousand French mercenaries and convicts, rather than by a well drilled and ably led Welsh Army. Henry’s mother had campaigned vigorously to ensure that Henry had the finance to enlist a professional army. It is more likely that the mercenaries were Welsh warriors who plied their trade in various armies in Europe. Rallied to arms in the same way they did for Owain Glyndwr some 80 years earlier. Henry being an astute man would have followed the same course of action as Owain Glyndwr.

x) Some writers say Henry hugged the coastline with his ships close by so that he could make an escape if things went against him. How wrong can they be? Henry would have used the ships for logistical support enabling him to move his army much faster. In 15 days his army covered a phenomenal 240 miles or so from Dale to Mancetter (Bosworth). An army marching 16 miles a day was unheard of in those times.

xi) Most historians acknowledge that Henry VII was very prudent and astute as the King of England. Do you not think that he set up his campaign leading up to the battle of Mancetter (Bosworth) with the same degree of prudence and astuteness?

xii) The favourite ploy of virtually all the historians is to say that Polydore Vigil was in the employ of Henry VII that is why he made favourable comments about Henry. Polydore Virgil was only 14 years old in 1485AD, the year of the Battle of Bosworth. He only came to England in 1501AD some 16 years after the Battle of Bosworth. Virgil wrote ‘Anglica Historica’ in 1512AD three years after the death of Henry VII (during the reign of Henry VIII). In Anglica Historica, there is a small section devoted to Henry VII. Virgil wrote Anglica Historica 27 years after the Battle of Bosworth and therefore the small reference to the Battle of Bosworth was hearsay at best.

xiii) The historians and the Richard III Society say that Henry had a clandestine meeting with Thomas Stanley at Stafford on his way to Bosworth. Henry was following Watling Street from Shrewsbury to London. Stafford is 12 miles north of this road. This would have taken him over a day’s journey away from his troops (a total of 24 miles there and back – probably more as his men were marching 16 miles a day). To meet a man who was undecided and who had been gifted his mother’s wealth. He was also a very senior man in Richard’s hierarchy. When you analyse all the logistics, you realise how wrong these assumptions are. I certainly would not have put my life in the hands of someone with Thomas Stanley’s background.

xiv) In those days besides having an east west divide of political power in the UK, there was also a north south divide. Henry was assured of considerable support down south. As mentioned previously, Richard had to stop Henry from getting to London, so he closed off the bridge over the River Anker at Mancetter. Official records show that reparations were paid to Atherstone and Merevale by the crown for damages caused where the two armies met.

xv) Trying to make out that Richard was such a well loved person in York, the Richard III Society make this ridiculous statement. “John Spooner rode into the city of York the day after the battle. The Mayor and Alderman of York assembled in the council chamber and recorded "it was recorded by John Spooner that King Richard, late mercifully reigning upon us, was piteously slane and murdered to the grete heaviness of this citie." York is 130 miles from Bosworth or 140 miles from Mancetter. How did John Spooner get there the day after the battle? He could only have done so if he was riding on the back of Pegasus or ‘Black Bess’



I believe that the truth of the matter is that Henry VII was a great warrior and the greatest King of England and Wales. He was the only one of his time that could claim the throne of England and Wales. He united England and Wales and prepared the grounds for incorporating Scotland. There is no doubt that it was he who laid the foundation that made Britain great.

Henry VII should have gone down in history as Henry the Great of England and Wales. He achieved much more than any other Prince of Wales, including Llewelyn the Great of Wales and Owain Glyndwr. He also achieved more than any other King of England in respect to total dominance of Wales.

So I leave off where I started with the quote from Shakespeare, ‘The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones. So let it be with Caesar’

‘So let it be with Henry VII?’

Pen-Y-Bryn, (Author)







HENRY VII’s AMAZING DASH TO GLORY

240 miles (i.e. Sixteen miles a day for 15 days).

Resting places on the route: A mile north of Hwlffordd (Haverfordwest 7th August), Castell Hên-drêv (8th August), Aberteifi (Cardigan 9th August) Aberarth (Aberarth 10th August) Llanbadarn Fawr (Aberystwyth 11th August), Machynlleth (12th August) , Mallwyd (13th August), Llangadfan (14th August), Trewern (7 miles north of Y Trallwng, Welshpool 15th August), Shrewsbury, (16th August) Wroxeter (17th August), Red Hill, Staffs (18th August) Gailey, Staffs (19th August), Wall, Staffs (20th August), Mancetter/Merevale (21st August).

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