{"title":"Books by A.W. Boardman","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780750998970","title":"Towton 1461","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e‘Towton, the bloodbath that changed the course of our history . . . an invaluable book.’\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e - A.A. Gill, \u003cem\u003eThe Sunday Times Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e‘Boardman has unrivalled knowledge of the ground and the record, such as it is, of the battle fought there.’\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e - \u003cem\u003eTimes Higher Education Supplement\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e‘an admirably comprehensive account’\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e - \u003cem\u003eYorkshire Post\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ea marvel of evocation.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e’ - Robert Hardy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePalm 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.\u003c\/strong\u003e 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?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA.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, \u003cem\u003eTowton 1461: The Anatomy of a Battle\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298961437045,"sku":"9780750998970","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780750998970_59b4e455-9daf-47e4-a6f3-13515f6a91bb.jpg?v=1786014806"},{"product_id":"9781803992785","title":"St Albans 1455","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFor many years the first battle of St Albans was regarded as a ‘short scuffle in the street’. A.W. Boardman, the author of \u003ci\u003eTowton 1461: The Anatomy of a Battle\u003c\/i\u003e, proves this was not the case. Indeed, the battle was unique and a significant event in England’s medieval history.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSt 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?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56306877661557,"sku":"9781803992785","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781803992785_6275c3ff-efbd-4237-b8b7-fe05cb55b06a.jpg?v=1786027133"},{"product_id":"9781803990316","title":"The Medieval Soldier in the Wars of the Roses","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e‘An essential part of the library for anyone interested in the great political and military upheavals in the 15th century.’\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e – Graeme Rimer, Retired Former Academic Director of the Royal Armouries\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘\u003cem\u003eA creditable effort to examine a neglected aspect of medieval warfare.\u003c\/em\u003e’\u003c\/strong\u003e – Jim Bradbury, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘\u003cem\u003eEverything you need to know about being a soldier in the Wars of the Roses.\u003c\/em\u003e’\u003c\/strong\u003e – \u003cem\u003eThe Mail\u003c\/em\u003e Bookshop\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat 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?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirst 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?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAndrew 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307264553333,"sku":"9781803990316","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781803990316_7e344602-ad55-40d2-a488-c89dc6628cc9.jpg?v=1786027036"},{"product_id":"9781803997094","title":"The Rose, the Bastard and the Saint King","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘\u003cem\u003eA.W. Boardman’s latest book is another triumph of careful research, insight and feel for his subject. It’’s also very readable. For me, this is the best book currently available on the period.\u003c\/em\u003e’\u003c\/strong\u003e – John Simpson, \u003cem\u003eBBC News\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Siege of London on 12–14 May 1471 is a largely forgotten episode in the Wars of the Roses, but its implications were so far-reaching that the fate of the Lancastrian dynasty was sealed forever.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEdward IV’s gamble to reclaim the throne for the House of York was a triumph against the odds, yet even after winning two crucial battles against the Lancastrians, his position was far from assured. He might have been confident of total victory if not for Thomas Neville, the Bastard of Fauconberg, who, along with thousands of ordinary people, stormed London in a desperate attempt to free Henry VI from captivity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Rose, the Bastard and the Saint King\u003c\/em\u003e, the first ever full-length study of the siege of London and its aftermath, A.W. Boardman uses contemporary evidence to uncover the truth behind the rebellion of 1471 and the death of the last Lancastrian King of England. He also reveals answers to long-awaited questions such as where the battles for London took place? Who was the Bastard of Fauconberg? Why did Henry VI continue to be revered as a saint long after his death? And was the future Richard III actually responsible for Henry’s murder?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307503726965,"sku":"9781803997094","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781803997094_3642c7b6-ff38-4e8c-b207-bbaca08e5724.jpg?v=1786027337"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-aw-boardman.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}