Book Reviews
The Military Campaigns of the Wars of the Roses, Philip A. Haigh, Bramley Books
ISBN 1-85833-770-4
Price - Paperback £10.99 Hardback: £18.99
This is an excellent account of the entire period of the Wars of the Roses with all the major battles and events surrounding them. If you learnt most of the information contained within this book you’d be an expert on the period. It is generally reliable with only a few minor errors that I’ve picked upon. Here is a quote from the book concerning one of the less scrupulous members of the Stafford family,
‘The most unfortunate casualty of Northampton must have been Sir William Lucy. Sir William, who lived near Northampton, heard the artillery fire at the start of the battle and rushed to the king’s assistance. But he arrived just as the battle finished, and it is said that a Yorkist knight (reputedly Sir John Stafford), who noticed his approach and recognized him as his rival, took the opportunity to kill him. The motive for this killing was rumoured to be that Stafford was in love with Sir William’s wife, and therefore seized the chance to make her a widow, and then, after a respectable amount of time in mourning, make her his wife. Indeed Stafford did marry the widow Lucy the following year.
By Phil Howell
Osprey Warrior Series - English Longbowman 1330 – 1515, Clive Bartlett Gerry Embleton
ISBN 1-85532-491-1
Price - Paperback £8.99
One of those infamous osprey books, fortunately this one doesn’t have loads of pictures with the people standing in stupid poses. It contains plenty of information about our period and is very accurate, with many colour plates showing the kind of kit we should have. This book should help plug any gaps in your knowledge about the more practical side of the period and complements the other book well. This quote from the book is by Friar Antonio Agapida concerning Sir Edward Woodville who fought with 300 of his retainers in the conquest of Granada,
‘This cavalier was from the island of England and brought with him a train of his vassals, men who had been hardened by certain civil wars which had raged in their country…They were huge feeders and deep carousers and could not accommodate themselves to the sober diet of our troops, but must fain eat and drink after the manner of their own country. They were often noisy and unruly, also, in their wassail, and their quarter of the camp was prone to be a scene of loud revel and sudden brawl. They were withal of great pride, yet it was not like our Spanish pride… their pride was silent and contumelious. Though from a remote and somewhat barbarous island, they yet believed themselves the most perfect men on earth…’
By Phil Howell
By Phil Howell
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 10 March 2005 )
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