Marches & West Midland Region
THE SEARCH CONTINUES ...
THE BATTLE
THE SUN IN SPLENDOUR
The Battle of Mortimers Cross was one of the key events that shaped the course of the Wars of the Roses. In the mid-15th Century, England was a kingdom divided: a vicious power struggle existed between the royal houses of York and Lancaster.
In the early weeks of 1461, the House of York found itself without its leader, Richard, Duke of York. Some weeks earlier he was defeated by the King's Lancastrian army at Wakefield. Richard was summarily executed along with his seventeen-year son, Edmund.
The victorious Lancastrian army was led by King Henry VI's formidable queen, Margaret of Anjou. The pious Henry, who was rarely lucid, was merely a figurehead, often unfit to rule.
Richard of York had challenged the King's rule, making his own claim for the crown. This dispute escalated and became the bloody conflict that was to become known as the Wars of the Roses or, as it was known then, the War of the Cousins.
Following her victory at Wakefield, Margaret's army was now marching toward London.
King Henry's stepbrother, Jasper Tudor, along with his father, Owen Tudor (founder of the Tudor dynasty) had assembled a polyglot army of French and Irish mercenaries in Wales and began its march east to join up with Margaret.
Th e title, Duke of York, now passed to Richard's eldest son, the 19-year old Earl of March, Edward Mortimer, whose castle at Wigmore in Herefordshire, was a short distance from the Yorkist stronghold in the Marches, Ludlow Castle.
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Most visitors to this site will be familiar with the Battle of Mortimers Cross. But because of the lack of contemporary accounts, the many where-when-how questions remain a matter of conjecture. While the purpose of the MXBP is to help determine the battle site more accurately, you may now share your views with us. Go to the Forum page to start or join a discussion. There is also a Documents page to view and stimulate discussion.
Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick (The Kingmaker) was now assumed to be the one to save the House of York. He led an army to meet Margaret on her march south.
Edward, leading his own army for the first time, was preparing to rendezvous with Warwick when he received news that Jasper Tudor was approaching the Welsh Marches with the threat that he may seize the castles of Ludlow and Wigmore.
Jasper Tudor arrived at Mortimers Cross and found Edward's army waiting for him.
On Candlemas Day, Feb 2nd, 1461 the battle took place. It is best known for the appearance of three suns – a phenomenon known as a parhelion, or mock suns. Legend has it that Edward used this spectacle as a good omen to spur on his troops to victory. He later used the Sun in Splendour as his badge of cognizance as an acknowledgement of his first and decisive victory.
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Owen Tudor was captured after the battle and taken to Hereford where he was executed in High Town.
Edward's crowning as Edward IV was secured by a second victory at Towton a few weeks after Mortimers Cross. But although recorded history has favoured Towton as the decisive battle, without Mortimers Cross, there would have been no Townton.
It is unfortunate that it has been so often overlooked, probably because it is one of the least documented battles fought on English soil. The purpose of The Mortimers Cross Battlefield Project is to establish its rightful place in the history of England
"Three glorious suns, each
one a perfect Sun...
.. sever’d in a pale
clear-shining sky.”
- William Shakespeare,
King Henry VI, Part III
