George Goodwin (1)Recensioni

This was interesting, a focus on the rivalry between James IV of Scotland & Henry VIII of England and how that played out in the early 16th century. It results in the battle of Flodden. It traces the peace between the two countries, the actions on the preceding 30 or so years and the relationship between the countries and the sovereigns.
If it could have done with anything, a timeline of the events covered and a clear demonstration of who was on the throne in each country at the time, both would have helped me to orient myself in time.
The description of the battle was vivid and illustrated with a couple of battlefield maps. The final chapter seemed to be rather short, especially in contrast with the previous chapters leading up to the battle.
At time the writing was slightly stodgy, which made the battle even more dramatic.

I renewed this three times and really tried to finish it, but it kept making me fall asleep. I do appreciate the extensive visible endnoting, though, and the double set of illustration plates.½

There are times when I really need to be paying closer attention to "impulse" reads, as while this book ostensibly concentrates on the notorious battle, it's really about the slow-motion fall of Henry VI and the House of Lancaster. That said, I'm not so saturated in medieval English history that I didn't get anything out of this work. Goodwin's main virtue is to emphasize how the walking leadership void that was Henry contributed to the ferocity of the "Wars of the Roses," arguing that only an active monarch with a certain degree of military and political skill could have had a chance of controlling the forces undermining the English state. As for the battle itself, Goodwin goes to some lengths to argue that Towton still deserves its notoriety for being the bloodiest day in English intramural combat. I wasn't convinced, but Goodwin does seem like he's providing a reasonable accounting.½

Excellent account of the events leading up to the battle at Flodden. Before reading Goodwin's account I was aware that Flodden had been catastrophic for the Scots, and that one of the fallen has a tomb in the ruins of the collegiate chapel at Castle Semple Loch, but with the help of George Goodwin's account I now have a clearer idea of why he died.

This book takes a long view of the battle of Flodden, with some review of Anglo-Scottish relations going back to the foundation of the two nations, and discussing in more detail the reign of Henry VII of England the whole reign of James IV of Scotland and the reign of Henry VIII iof England up to 1513, The book is notable for its positive focus on James IV, seen as Scotland's greatest medieval king, the first to effectively unite all of Scotland (by gaining control of the western isles) and presiding over a brilliant renaissance court (Chesterton's line that Scotland had the reformation without the renaissance is amply disproved). He strongly rejects the view (held by most Scottish historians from the 16th to the 19th century) that James was rash to fight the battle. He admits that James could have gone home without battle after having already fought a highly successful campaign, taking and destroying nearly all the major English border forts. but he argues James had realistic reasons to believe he could in the battle, and that he would have done so if the ground where his pikemen advanced had not been so soggy --a factor Goodwin says James cold not have seen from his command post before the advance. I think myself that he would have been wiser to avoid battle, which even then was regarded as notoriously subject to fortune, but it is fair to say he had more and arguably better soldiers and better artillery than the English. My views may be influenced by the act that I have loved Walter Scotts Marmion from my youth, with the Scottish hero defying the ghostly summons that called the king and his nobles to their deaths from the high cross at Edinburgh (and episode Goodwin rejects as a myth).

A very readable slice of history which is subtitled Henry VIII, James IV and the battle for Renaissance Britain. Goodwin has the idea of comparing and contrasting the two kings in an age when ideas from the Italian renaissance had seeped into the culture of both England and Scotland.

Goodwin rolls back the period to 1496 when Henry VII was on the throne in England and James IV had established himself as king of Scotland. James had given refuge to Perkin Warbeck a Yorkist pretender to the English throne and it was a time of tit for tat raids across the Border. Warbeck was never able to mount a serious challenge and James did little more than provide him a refuge and lend him a ship. Warwick was eventually captured and hanged at Tyburn in 1499. Meanwhile Henry VII was negotiating with James IV a treaty of perpetual peace which was finally signed in 1503. From then until its breakdown in 1513 the treaty held and Goodwin fills in the details of James IV achievements in uniting the Scottish clans and making himself their undisputed king. He also tells the background history of the major players on the continent: France, the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope and how they influenced the two kingdoms on the British Isles.

When Henry VIII came to the English throne in 1509 he had a lot of catching up to do to surpass the renaissance court of James IV. In his younger days he saw himself as a warrior king and it was not long before he was planning an invasion of France and was sparking off an arms race in ship building. The irony of comparing the two kings was that when the battle of Flodden was fought Henry was in France leading an invasion force, while James IV was leading his country on the battlefield in Northern England. Henry had left the control of the government in the capable hands of his first wife Catherine of Aragon and it was she who organised the war effort against the Scots. Her commander in the field was Thomas Howard earl of Surrey who was smarting at not being with the king in France. The traditional catholic Howard family were being eclipsed in the Tudor court and Thomas Howard and his son also Thomas Howard (referred to as the admiral in the text) were desperate to prove themselves. They had to win against the Scots to secure their family in England.

Goodwins background to the battle is impressive taking up nearly two thirds of his book and when the war eventually comes he does an equally excellent job in the lead up to Flodden and then describing the battle itself. The opposing armies were fairly equally matched and James started off with many advantages in that he had prepared his position well and had at his disposal (so he thought) the more effective artillery. Goodwin does an excellent job in describing why he came unstuck and his previous background history goes a long way in backing up his arguments.

The book has plenty of notes a good bibliography and index. It also contains an interesting chapter on a select list of Flodden related organisations and places to visit, all of which points to the book being aimed at the more general reader. I am not tempted to visit the battlefield or become involved in the Flodden Archeological 500 project, but its kinda nice know they are their. A very enjoyable read and a four star history

For the 550th commemoration of the battle of Towton which took place in northern England on March 29th in 1461, George Goodwin has written a good general introduction to the War of the Roses that led up to this battle which is usually marketed as England's bloodiest. This claim is not backed by facts. The large number of participants in this battle, far larger than in all the other battles of the War of the Roses relies either on monkish non-witness sources or on a napkin calculation of England's male population. In my guesstimate, it is unlikely that more than 30.000 men were engaged. If one counts actual fighters, the numbers would shrink even further. Given the absence of documentation, all numbers are but speculations.

Goodwin thus speaks of "England's most brutal battle", even if the true butchery happened after the battle. As in most medieval battles, the majority of casualties occurred in the aftermath of the battle, when the blocked fleeing Lancastrians were massacred. The battle is, however, only the endpoint of this book, its final tenth chapter. The first eight chapters recap the origin of the conflict between the Yorkists and Lancastrians. I found the presentation of Henry VI's schizophrenia one of the highlights of the book. The character vignettes are also well done. The military aspects and the quality problems of the Lancastrians would have merited a more extensive treatment than chapter nine's examination of the campaign and the battle of Towton in chapter ten. Those interested in the battlefield mechanics should look to Boardman's and Haigh's books about the battle. Recommended to the general reader.½