Wednesday, May 4

WildCard Wednesday: History Edition

Happy WildCard Wednesday everybody!!

As you may or may not know but today is May 4. What's so special about May 4th, you may be asking? I didn't think today was anything special either and since I drew the Club card today, I decided to challenge myself by finding an event that occured on this day. I found a few things, but only one really caught my eye.

On this day, 540 years ago, the Battle of Tewkesbury began and ended! This battle was also nicknamed 'The Battle of Queen Margaret and Edward'. Whats so special about this battle? Well, this battle was the last major battle fought in the War of the Roses in England. As we all that war was a bitter battle for the throne. Anyway, I find myself becoming destracted. Here's a little tid bit about what happened before, during, and after the Battle of Tewkesbury:
Margaret of Anjou, ex-Queen of England (widow of the last King, who is fighting for her son's right to sit on the throne), had returned to the shores of England a few days before May 4th. She actually arrived on the same day as Warwick is defeated and killed. She meets up with Duke of Somerset, who convinces her to contiue to fight to good fight. She begins her journey and finds herself being followed by Edward, a contender for the throne of England. She heads north and meets up with Devon and Cornwall. On May 3rd, they reach Tewkesbury.

Edward, the contender, catches up to the widow Queen and her entourage. Her army and his army clash. She slips away and escapes. After just a few hours of bloody battle, it ends with victory going to Edward. The Widow Queen's son and Duke Somerset are captured and executed that same day. A few days later Queen Margaret is captured and taken prisoner. Throughout her imprisonment, she is treated with honor and respect She would remain prisoner for years, but is then released and sent to France to live out the rest of her days in poverty.
This battle that happened 540 years ago ended the long and bloody War of the Roses. This day was a huge day in English history and French history. For more about the battle click HERE. The find out more about Queen Margaret of Anjou click HERE or if you want to know more about King Edward click THIS.



Queen Margaret of Anjou

King Edward IV

I hope you enjoyed this little taste of history! I would love to learn more about this time period and read more books set in this time. Any good suggestions?

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<3Carole Rae

2 comments:

Jenny said...

Actually, that's a portrait of Richard III, Edward's brother.
Lots of books - start with Philippa Gregory: Lady of the Rivers, The White Queen, the Red Queen. Also try Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time - different angle!!

Carole Rae said...

Ah you are correct mam! I've read "The Red Queen" and I plan to check out the others. Thanks Jenny!