A.W. Boardman – författare

‘Towton, the bloodbath that changed the course of our history . . . an invaluable book.’ - A.A. Gill, The Sunday Times Magazine.‘Boardman has unrivalled knowledge of the ground and the record, such as it is, of the battle fought there.’ - Times Higher Education Supplement.‘an admirably comprehensive account’ - Yorkshire Post.‘a marvel of evocation.’ - Robert Hardy.Palm Sunday 1461 was the date of a ruthless and bitterly contested battle fought by two massive armies on an exposed Yorkshire plateau for the prize of the Crown of England. This singular engagement of the Wars of the Roses has acquired the auspicious title of the longest, biggest and bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil. The slaughter left an indelible mark on the population that has been largely forgotten until relatively recent times: Shakespeare likened the struggle to the wind and tide of a mighty sea that set father against son and son against father. But what drove the contending armies of York and Lancaster to fight at Towton? And what is the truth behind the legends about this terrible battle where contemporaries record rivers ran red with blood?A.W. Boardman answers these questions and many more in this new and fully updated fourth edition of his classic account of Towton. Illustrated throughout with contemporary artwork, modern photographs and specially drawn maps, Towton 1461: The Anatomy of a Battle is a fascinating insight into the reality of the battlefield and the men who fought there in a blinding snowstorm over half a millennium ago.

‘An essential part of the library for anyone interested in the great political and military upheavals in the 15th century.’ – Graeme Rimer, Retired Former Academic Director of the Royal Armouries‘A creditable effort to examine a neglected aspect of medieval warfare.’ – Jim Bradbury, Cambridge University Press‘Everything you need to know about being a soldier in the Wars of the Roses.’ – The Mail BookshopWhat was it like to fight in a Wars of the Roses battle? What kind of men fought at St Albans, Northampton, Wakefield, Towton, Tewkesbury and Bosworth? How was the medieval soldier recruited, paid, equipped, fed and billeted? And how was a battle contested once both sides resorted to all-out conflict?First published in 1998, this classic study of the medieval soldier in the Wars of the Roses examines these and other questions using various documentary sources and recent evidence. Eyewitness accounts, contemporary chronicles, personal letters, civic records, archaeology and surviving military equipment are used to paint a fascinating picture of the medieval soldier. Evidence gleaned from the mass war grave found close to the battlefield of Towton in North Yorkshire sheds new light on those that lived and died in the civil wars. But what do we know about the psychology of those involved? And how did soldiers feel about killing their fellow Englishmen?Andrew Boardman explores the grim reality of medieval soldiering on land and sea during this crucial period of aristocratic violence and dynastic upheaval. He makes us question the current historical record, such as it is, and our perceptions of chivalry and warfare in Lancastrian and Yorkist England. The text is supported by many contemporary illustrations, diagrams and maps, making this updated work an indispensable guide to medieval soldiering in the late fifteenth century.

‘This book should be in your hands!’ – Medieval History Magazine'A detailed and readable account of Hotspur’s life that conveys a sense of the endemic violence of the Border Marches.’ – Northern History‘Boardman has studied the battlefields of Otterburn, Homildon Hill and Shrewsbury and combines knowledge of terrain, weapons, and tactics with contemporary narratives to produce feasible reconstructions and explanations of what actually occurred.’ – Michael HicksImmortalised by Shakespeare in Henry IV, Part I, Henry Percy, nicknamed ‘Hotspur’, is among the best known of all his warlike characters.As the young, honourable but impatient rebel soldier whose chivalrous exploits on the battlefield end in disaster at Shrewsbury in 1403, Hotspur is the archetypal anti-hero: a character of such tragic and dramatic significance that even his well-known nickname has passed from history into legend. But who was the historical Henry Percy, and why did his rise to fame bring him into direct confrontation with his king?This fully updated book tells the story of the real Henry Percy and his overbearing family, and how the survival of a great northern dynasty led to open rebellion and ultimately military failure.

For many years the first battle of St Albans was regarded as a ‘short scuffle in the street’. A.W. Boardman, the author of Towton 1461: The Anatomy of a Battle, proves this was not the case. Indeed, the battle was unique and a significant event in England’s medieval history.The street fighting was widespread, the town was pillaged in the aftermath, Henry VI was almost killed, and the battle’s political consequences proved so problematic for both sides that parliament used official propaganda to conceal the truth.St Albans was, along with other lesser-known battles of the early 1450s, the genesis of the Wars of the Roses, and it is probably the best-documented encounter of the period. The battle heralded the beginning of an intense blood feud that fuelled the civil wars between York and Lancaster for many generations. But what really happened in the streets of St Albans on 22 May 1455? What prompted Richard Duke of York and the Neville family to rebel against Henry VI? And who were the instigators of the conflict that caused the execution and deaths of a substantial portion of England’s nobility by the end of the fifteenth century?This book answers these questions and discusses the theories about St Albans following a detailed and multi-disciplined approach. A.W. Boardman reveals the anatomy of a battle hidden beneath the streets and alleyways of this modern city and explains the wider issues of the Wars of the Roses in northern England. Illustrated throughout with contemporary images, modern photographs and specially drawn battle maps, this new and fully updated edition is a thorough examination of the sources, the terrain and the military significance of the first battle of St Albans: a battle where the streets ran red with blood.