Henry Tudor and the Battle of Bosworth: The End of a Dynasty and the Dawn of a New Age
Henry Tudor and the Battle of Bosworth: The End of a Dynasty and the Dawn of a New Age
Blog Article
Introduction
The Battle of Bosworth, fought on August 22, 1485, was not merely a military engagement—it was a decisive turning point in English history. It marked the end of the Wars of the Roses, the fall of the Plantagenet dynasty, and the beginning of the Tudor era. At the heart of this conflict stood Henry Tudor, a relatively obscure Lancastrian claimant, who would go on to become King Henry VII, founding a dynasty that would transform England forever.
The Wars of the Roses: A Brief Background
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars fought between two branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the House of Lancaster (red rose) and the House of York (white rose). These conflicts, spanning from 1455 to 1485, were rooted in disputes over legitimate succession and exacerbated by weak monarchs, noble rivalries, and social unrest.
By the 1480s, England had been deeply scarred by decades of civil strife. Edward IV of York had briefly restored stability, but his untimely death in 1483 triggered a new crisis. His son, Edward V, was swiftly declared illegitimate by his uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who seized the throne as Richard III.
Who Was Henry Tudor?
Born in 1457 in Pembroke Castle, Wales, Henry Tudor was the son of Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort. Although his claim to the throne was tenuous—being descended from the illegitimate Beaufort line of John of Gaunt (a son of Edward III)—Henry was the last significant Lancastrian heir after the deaths of King Henry VI and his son.
Henry spent much of his youth in exile in Brittany and France, watched closely by Yorkist kings who feared his potential claim. Yet over time, support for his cause grew, particularly among those disillusioned with Richard III’s rule. The suspicious disappearance of the “Princes in the Tower” further eroded Richard’s support and cast a dark shadow over his reign. shutdown123 Report this page