English Politics After Bosworth
The accession of Henry Tudor to the throne of England in 1485, the Crown had been fought over by the great magnates. When Elizabeth I died 118 years later, the Crown was master over them via the Court with the gentry its willing accomplices. Penry Williams examines the means by which the Tudors achieved this political dominance.
The Battle of Bosworth presents in retrospect a random, almost casual, appearance. Henry Tudor commanded a tiny army of 5,000 men; Richard led one that was only slightly larger – 8-10,000. Eight peers fought for the reigning monarch and three for his rival. Few men were prepared to commit themselves on either side. The outcome was largely decided by chance, when Richard's bold charge against Henry led to his own death after he had refused the offer of a horse on which to flee, preferring to fight on in the midst of Tudor's troops.
The consequences of the engagement were out of all proportion to its size. One might have expected that, if one dynasty was to be so easily overturned, its successor would be equally insecure, that chance events would continue to raise up and cast down English Kings. Yet this was not to be: the twenty-five years of Yorkist rule, marked by violent dynastic feuds and rapid changes of political fortune, were followed by more than a century of relative security for the ruling house.
The consequences of the engagement were out of all proportion to its size. One might have expected that, if one dynasty was to be so easily overturned, its successor would be equally insecure, that chance events would continue to raise up and cast down English Kings. Yet this was not to be: the twenty-five years of Yorkist rule, marked by violent dynastic feuds and rapid changes of political fortune, were followed by more than a century of relative security for the ruling house.
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