Bosworth Field, Battle of

The Battle of Bosworth Field (or the Battle of Bosworth) is the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York that rages across England in the latter half of the 15th century.

Fought on August 22, 1485, the battle is won by the Lancastrians.

Their leader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, becomes the first English monarch of the Tudor dynasty by his victory.

His opponent, Richard III, the last king of the House of York, is killed in the battle.

Historians consider Bosworth Field to mark the end of the Plantagenet dynasty, making it one of the defining moments of English and Welsh history.Richard's reign begins in 1483 when he seizes the throne from his twelve-year-old nephew Edward V. The boy and his younger brother soon disappear, to the distress of many, and Richard's support is further eroded by rumors of his involvement in the death of his wife.

Across the English Channel in Brittany, Henry Tudor, a descendant of the greatly diminished House of Lancaster, seizes on Richard's difficulties and lays claim to the throne.

Henry's first attempt to invade England in 1483 is frustrated by a storm, but on his second attempt he arrives unopposed on August 1, 1485 on the southwest coast of Wales.

Marching inland, Henry gathers support as he made for London.

Richard hurriedly musters his troops and intercepts Henry's army south of the town of Market Bosworth in Leicestershire.

Thomas, Lord Stanley and Sir William Stanley also bring a force to the battlefield, but hold back while they decide which side it would be more advantageous to support.Richard divides his army, which outnumbers Henry's, into three groups (or "battles").

One is assigned to the Duke of Norfolk and another to the Earl of Northumberland.

Henry keeps most of his force together and places it under the command of the experienced Earl of Oxford.

Richard's vanguard, commanded by Norfolk, attacks but struggles against Oxford's men, and some of Norfolk's troops flee the field.

Northumberland takes no action when signaled to assist his king, so Richard decides to gamble everything on a charge across the battlefield to kill Henry and end the fight.

Seeing the king's knights separated from his army, the Stanleys intervene; Sir William leads his men to Henry's aid, surrounding and killing Richard.

After the battle, Henry is crowned king on Crown Hill.Henry hires chroniclers to portray his reign favorably; the Battle of Bosworth Field is popularized to represent his Tudor dynasty as the start of a new age.

From the 15th to 18th centuries, the battle is glamorized as a victory of good over evil, and as the climax of William Shakespeare's play about Richard's rise and fall, it provides a focal point for critics in later film adaptations.

The exact site of the battle is disputed because of the lack of conclusive data, and memorials have been erected at different locations.

The Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre is built, in 1974, on a site chosen based on a theory that has been challenged by several scholars and historians in the following years.

In October 2009, a team of researchers, who had performed geological surveys and archaeological digs in the area from 2003, suggest a location two miles (3 km) southwest of Ambion Hill.

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