Battle of Bosworth Field 1485
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1485 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | England | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Wars of the Roses | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | House of Lancaster, House of York, Kingdom of England | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 52.5911, -1.4103 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( BOZ-wərth) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England and Wales in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by an alliance of Lancastrians and disaffected Yorkists. Their leader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became the first Welsh monarch of England from the House of Tudor by his victory and subsequent marriage to the de facto Yorkist heiress, Elizabeth of York. His opponent Richard III, the last king of the House of York, was killed during the battle, the last English monarch to fall in battle. Historians consider Bosworth Field to mark the end of the Plantagenet dynasty, making it one of the defining moments of English history.
Richard's reign began in 1483 when he ascended the throne after his twelve-year-old nephew, Edward V, was declared illegitimate, likely at Richard's instigation. The boy and his younger brother Richard soon disappeared, and their fate remains a mystery. Across the English Channel Henry Tudor, a descendant of the greatly diminished House of Lancaster, seized on Richard's difficulties and laid claim to the throne.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Bosworth Field (revision 1380861767), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Wars of the Roses
- Battle of Hexham 1464
- Battle of Edgcote 1469
- Battle of Losecoat Field 1470
- Battle of Barnet 1471
- Battle of Tewkesbury 1471
- Battle of Stoke Field 1487
All 20 battles of the Wars of the Roses →
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