标题: Battle of Towton, in War of the Roses [打印本页] 作者: choi 时间: 4-17-2012 15:04 标题: Battle of Towton, in War of the Roses Tom Shippey, The Carnage Of the Roses; Lancastrians and Yorkists fought in a slogging death-match between armored men wielding chopping weapons and stabbing swords. Wall Street Journal, Apr 9, 2012 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 63464235075848.html
(book review on George Goodwin, Fatal Colours; Towton 1461: England's most brutal battle. Norton, 2012)
Quote: "On reaching the battlefield, the Yorkists found themselves heavily outnumbered. Part of their force under John de Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, had yet to arrive. The Yorkist leader Lord Fauconberg turned the tables by ordering his archers to take advantage of the strong wind to outrange their enemies. The one-sided missile exchange—Lancastrian arrows fell short of the Yorkist ranks—provoked the Lancastrians into abandoning their defensive positions. The ensuing hand-to-hand combat lasted hours, exhausting the combatants. The arrival of Norfolk's men reinvigorated the Yorkists and, encouraged by Edward, they routed their foes.
(4)
(i) Cullodem, Highland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culloden,_Highland
(from Scottish Gaelic Cùl lodain, "back of the small pond")
(ii) Battle of Culloden http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Culloden
(Apr 16, 1746; The Jacobite cause of overthrowing the reigning House of Hanover and restoring the House of Stuart to the British throne was dealt a decisive defeat at Culloden)
(5) Henry VI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VI_of_England
(1421-1471; reigns 1422-1461 and 1470-1471; House of Lancaster; the only child and heir of King Henry V of England; section 7 Return to the throne: "The Yorkists [led by Edward IV] won a final decisive victory at the Battle of Tewkesbury on May 4,1471, where Henry's son Edward was killed"; section 8 Imprisonment and death)
(6) Edward IV of England http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_IV_of_England
(1442-1483; reign 1461-1470 and 1471-1483; the first Yorkist King of England; His younger brother Edmund, Earl of Rutland, died along with his father fighting for the Yorkist cause)
(a) Edward IV's father was
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_of_York,_3rd_Duke_of_York
(1411-1460; Although Richard never became king, he was the father of Edward IV and Richard III (one other son was Edmund, Earl of Rutland); section 12 Final campaign and death: "The larger Lancastrian force destroyed York's army in the resulting Battle of Wakefield. York was killed in the battle. Edmund of Rutland was intercepted as he tried to flee and was executed")
(7) The "lay" in "the lay of land" is a nouon that means:
"the way in which a thing lies or is laid in relation to something else <the lay of the land>"
(10)
(a) billhook (n; First Known Use 1604): "a cutting or pruning tool with a hooked blade"
(b) bill (n; Middle English bil, from Old English bill sword; First Known Use 14th century):
"1: a weapon in use up to the 18th century that consists of a long staff ending in a hook-shaped blade
2: BILLHOOK"
(c) billhook http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billhook
(11) For River Cock, see Cock Beck http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cock_Beck
(also known as the River Cock or Cock River. The name 'cock' refers to a mature salmon, as it was a spawning ground for salmon and trout)
(a) For beck, see gill (stream) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beck_(stream)
(Where the word Ghyll refers to a valley, the stream flowing through it is often referred to as a Beck)
(12) The "flange" in "flanged mace" is a noun.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange
(13) backstory (n; First Known Use 1984): "a story that tells what led up to the main story or plot (as of a film)"
(14) The last paragraph ofthe book review said, "Once they [symptoms] did appear, a deposition attesting to his insanity would have only hastened the civil war over succession."
deposition (n): "an act of removing from a position of authority"
(15)
(a) Yorkist Edward IV died in 1483. The eldest son became king (Edward V; at age 13; 1470-1483?) but he and his younger brother Richard (1473-1483?) disappeared into Tower of London. His uncle (and younger brother of Edward IV) became king that same year (Richard III; 1452-1485; reign 1483-1485).
(b) Lancastrian Henry Tutor (1457-1509) killed Richard III at Battle of Bosworth Field on Aug 22, 1485 and seized the crown as Henry VII, married Edward IV's daughter, Elizabeth of York and united the two houses.