A book Review:The Wars of the Roses by David Grummitt

 

The Wars of the Roses by David Grummitt

Volume 1 The Triumph of York 1455-1461

Published by Helion and Company

Helion sent a me a copy of this marvellous new history to review. Before I start I should declare that David Grummitt is a friend of mine and we have played games and have drunk beer together, however, I will not let that influence my review, although, on reflection I think he still owes me a beer!

The book is well laid out with the occasional photograph or map and begins with a chronology, as well as a list of abbreviations and acknowledgements and ends with an appendix which is basically a short essay about the Nobility of England and its involvement in the wars. Finally there are several pages of tables containing the manuscript sources for each chapter. In the centre of the book there are ten pages of beautiful illustrations by Bruno Mugnai and a map of the archaeological finds at Towton by Glenn Foard.

Pic Edward IV in London 1461

The Introduction discusses sources and information and lays out how and why the book has been written, to me this felt a little defensive almost like a justification but as I read on I realised why the author has taken this approach, this is a controversial history and he is expecting to be challenged and as you will see, this is probably a wise expectation. This book is different to most narrative histories relying as it does only on the original sources, although it also discusses the accepted traditional narratives and the later sources which inform them. The author uses a deliberate, methodical approach and relates frequently to the contemporary sources and modern archaeological evidence to challenge the current accepted history of events. 

This book will suit best those who have some knowledge of the period and particularly those who seek accuracy in their history and wish to get things right, it is as much a history of what didn’t happen as it is about what did, more so probably, as more of the book is about debunking the myths than stating what the author thinks did happen. The author quite rightly refuses to speculate where there is no original source material to provide information.

The first chapter, the Road to War, clearly lays out the reasons for the conflict and describes the situation in the years preceding the war however, I should insert a word of warning here, the book assumes a working knowledge of the history and process of the WotR and will prove a challenge to readers who are coming to this for the first time. Newcomers to the period would do well to read this after or alongside a more traditional, less detailed history as a primer. 

In the second and third chapters the battles of St Albans, Blore Heath and Ludford bridge are dealt with fairly quickly, the original sources seem to support much of what we know, which is not a lot.

The next chapter on Ireland and Calais was well written and very interesting to me and filled a huge gap in my knowledge of the period, the book is worth having in your collection for this chapter alone.

Chapter five concerns the battle of Northampton which is dealt with in the same thorough manner and spends some time discussing the field defence works and the defection of Grey

PIC Billman , Yorkist army Battle of Mortimers Cross February 1461

The chapter about the “battle” of Wakefield brings the first big surprise. Traditionally this battle has always been portrayed as a large army of Lancastrians catching a smaller army of Yorkists unawares outside of Sandal Castle and wiping them out. Several reasons have been given for this action happening usually in the form of a ruse from the devious Lancastrians -ambushing a foraging party seeking firewood which was reinforced from the castle, a Lancastrian force disguising themselves in Yorkist livery or hiding a detachment of cavalry in a nearby wood. All these narratives paint the Lancastrians as crafty, cunning, treacherous…almost as if the Yorkists had written the history themselves, and none of them are grounded in fact

The same narratives paint a desperate defence and the tragic loss of the Earl of Rutland cut callously down in his prime on a nearby bridge and possibly tortured, and Richard, Duke of York being slain after a brave fight and being beheaded after which a paper crown was fixed to his head.

The author using only the original sources completely destroys these narratives. David writes in a clear and very readable style and uses the terms probably and likely and rarely uses absolutes but discusses various possibilities and where there is no information he says so. This a refreshing style compared to the didactic approach many historians. 

The author produces a compelling argument dismissing each of the traditional accounts in turn and returning to the original and, more importantly, contemporary sources which declare quite simply that Richard, his son and the Duke of Salisbury were taken by surprise while riding with a small force, captured and then murdered in cold blood. The evidence for this theory was always there, several of the original sources state that York was murdered, none of them mention a battle.

And so we learn that York, Rutland and Salisbury were captured and put to death probably in Pontefract Castle – there was no battle of Wakefield!

pic The Map of the Second Battle of St Albans 

Mortimers Cross and the Second battle of St Albans each have a chapter and are dealt with fairly swiftly, although some time is spent considering the evidence for the approach of the two armies at St Albans as this informs what happens in the battle. The original sources seem to suggest that a cavalry charge may have won the day for the Lancastrians although there is also a suggestion of treachery. Great possibilities for any wargamer seeking to refight this battle.

The chapter on the Battle of Towton is where this book is at its best and it’s most controversial. The traditional account is one of two large armies coming together in a blizzard on large hill, after a skirmish at a river crossing the previous day, with the Yorkists using the advantage of the wind to shoot arrows at the Lancastrians whose reply into the wind and swirling snow was less than effective. There is a narrative that Fauconberg, a  prominent Yorkist, deliberately used the weather as ruse to get the Lancastrian army to waste their arrows which the Yorkists then cleverly shot back at them. Thus a ruse led to the Lancastrians retreating which became a rout at Cocks Beck, a small but deep river, and there thousands of men were slaughtered, so that fugitives escaping the rout crossed the beck over a bridge of the dead. Towton has always been seen as a decisive defeat of the Lancastrians and with a claimed 28,000 casualties is considered to be Britain’s “bloodiest battle” This narrative has been repeated, unchallenged, in all modern history books for the past century.

The author’s assertion is that there was no one big battle of Towton, that it was instead a series of large skirmishes or small battles that took place all in one day. The author explains in detail his reasoning which is based on the original sources and archaeological evidence and makes a very strong case.

David explains that the sources describe three major skirmishes and a fourth pursuit phase. The first of these  was a large affair near Ferrybridge at or shortly after dawn, followed by one of similar size, a “fluid battle”, later in the day which began at Sherburn in Elmet and ended somewhere near Scarthingwell, later known as Dintingdale, and finally the battle on Towton Dale , which may itself have been a string of smaller skirmishes. It is this last engagement that has been traditionally presented as the decisive set piece battle with the Duke of Norfolk arriving late and swinging the balance of forces in favour of the Yorkists. This it seems is complete nonsense and it’s likely that the Duke was not even present at the battle as he was unwell the day before. No contemporary source mentions the blizzard nor the slaughter at Cocks Beck which was, it would seem, a Tudor invention.

David’s account features a cavalry charge from the Lancastrians that nearly carried the day, sweeping away the Yorkist mounted men at arms, and that certainly does not fit with the traditional narrative but will surely be greeted with joy by all red blooded gamers!

The Epilogue brings this volume to a neat end and covers the aftermath of Towton and the reversal of roles of the newly crowned Edward IV representing the safe and rightful government of the realm with Henry VI as the rebel and the Yorkists gradually establishing control of the nation. This closing chapter also deals with the constant threat from France during this period and ends with Edward firmly established but the Earl of Warwick holding “much of the real power”

This book is literally a game changer! Like all brilliant ideas simplicity lies at the heart of it, going back to and only using the original sources adds a simple clarity. The author does not lightly dismiss the established narrative but considers the sources that it emerged from and discusses their veracity and purpose. Once you have dismissed the Yorkist and Tudor propaganda a nub of truth remains. Wargamers will find it a fascinating read and maybe also a frustrating one as we tend to reach for exact details about numbers, timings and battle sites. I am sure there will be the cries of “why do they have to meddle with everything!!” that greet any such work that questions our understanding of the past. However I believe this honest approach is refreshing and presents the gamer with some interesting choices about how to recreate or refight these battles. Personally, I like the challenge this presents, and I am already making plans to refight Towton (redux) as a short campaign and I am planning to add the Death of York to my list of Ruckus last stand scenarios along with Somerset at the Castle Inn and Warwick at Barnet. Best of all David has given us an excuse to use our cavalry!

I think time will show this book to be one of the most important military histories of our times concerning this particular conflict and it will rest on the same shelf as I keep my other revisionists, with the John  Keegens and the Peter Connollys, after all, if a history is not revisionist, what is the point of it?

David Grummitt is a respected historian and is a Staff Tutor at the Open University, having previously worked at the universities of Oxford and Kent, as well as the History of Parliament Trust. He also holds a position as Director of The Richard III Society and a member of the advisory panel for The Battlefields Trust.  All pictures used with the kind permission of Charles Singleton of Helion and Company