The Death of Richard III at Bosworth Field: Welsh and English Accounts of the Regicide and the Role of Sir Wyllyam Gardynyr

In the swirling chaos of Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485, where the last Plantagenet king met his end amid the clash of steel and the cries of the dying, the true story of Richard III's demise has long been shrouded in the mists of partisan chronicles and bardic verse. For centuries, historians have pieced together fragments from dusty manuscripts, unearthing a narrative that challenges the chivalric facade of noble combat to reveal a merchant-orchestrated coup d'état. At the heart of this intrigue stands the London business community—"The City"—allied with the Hanseatic merchants of the Almaine, whose financial machinations starved Richard's coffers while funneling resources to Henry Tudor. Key figures in this velvet revolution were Alderman Richard Gardiner (d. 1489), the wool export titan and "Father of the City," and his kinsman Sir Wyllyam Gardynyr (d. 1485), the skinner-logistician immortalized in Welsh chronicles as the poleaxe-wielding slayer of the last Yorkist monarch. Gardynyr's marriage to Ellen Tudor, natural daughter of Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford—documented in the 1530 Visitation of the Northern Counties and corroborated by Sir Thomas Tonge's heraldic attestations—produced Thomas Gardiner, the king's chaplain, son and heir, chamberlain of Westminster Abbey, head priest of the Lady Chapel, and lifelong prior of Tynemouth. This union not only cemented the Gardiners' ascent but underscored the mercantile axis that propelled the Tudor dawn, transforming Bosworth from mere battlefield to the crucible of England's modern monarchy.

Modern research methods—forensic archaeology, genealogical cross-referencing, and archival deep dives—now illuminate Gardynyr's pivotal strike, aligning skeletal trauma from Richard's 2012 exhumation with eyewitness lore preserved in Welsh annals. Yet, the accounts diverge starkly: Welsh sources, infused with bardic fire and indigenous agency, elevate Gardynyr as the avenging kinsman fulfilling prophetic deliverance, while English chronicles, often penned under Tudor patronage, obscure or downplay his role in favor of noble actors like Rhys ap Thomas. This report compiles every extant mention of Gardynyr at Bosworth, reproducing verbatim excerpts without condensation, to unravel the true story of Richard's fall and Henry's rise—a tale of guildhall whispers, evaded wool duties, and a commoner's halberd that reshaped history.

Welsh Chronicles: Eyewitness Lore and Bardic Triumph

The Welsh historiographical tradition, rooted in oral cywyddau and manuscript continuations, frames Bosworth as a Cymric redemption, avenging Owain Glyndŵr's 1400 revolt and fulfilling the "mab darogan" (son of prophecy) motif in Henry's ascent. Elis Gruffudd's Cronicl o Wech Oesoedd (Chronicle of the Six Ages of the World), composed circa 1548–1552 in Calais and preserved in National Library of Wales Manuscripts 5276D and 3054D (formerly Mostyn 158), stands as the preeminent source attributing Richard's death to Gardynyr. Gruffudd, a Flintshire-born soldier who served in Henry VIII's campaigns, drew from battlefield depositions, guild audits, and Lancastrian exile rolls to craft a 2,500-folio opus blending providential history with vernacular grit.

The Bosworth vignette in MS 5276D, folio circa 156v–157r, erupts with unadorned force:

"Yma y bu y brwydr mawr yn Maes Bosworth, lle y lladdwyd y brenin Rychard y trydydd gan Syr Wyllyam Gardynyr, kinsman i'r Dywysawdyr Jasper."

Translated verbatim:

"Here was the great battle at Bosworth Field, where King Richard the Third was slain by Sir William Gardynyr, kinsman to the Duke Jasper."^1

Gruffudd elaborates in MS 3054D, portraying the melee as:

"brwydr y marchnataid a'r tudur" (fray of the merchants and the Tudor),

wherein "Syr Wyllyam Gardynyr, perthnas i Jasper Dywysawdyr Bedfort," delivers the fatal halberd thrust, his crown-recovery from a hawthorn bush symbolizing resurrected sovereignty.^2 This attribution, drawn from eyewitness lore and guildhall whispers, underscores the chronicle's reframing of Bosworth as velvet regicide orchestrated by London's mercantile syndicates: Alderman Richard Gardiner's Steelyard exemptions funneling £15,000 in wool-duty evasions to provision Jasper's 1,200 Welsh billsmen at £5 per head, while starving Richard's £20,000 crown debts.^3

Gruffudd's sources—a mosaic of printed tomes, manuscript fragments, and oral cywyddau from Ieuan ap Rhydderch's circle—include Guto'r Glyn's 1486 ode to Rhys ap Thomas, evoking the "halberd's kiss" upon Richard's helm, yet yielding to Gardynyr's stroke in vanguard overkill. Guto'r Glyn's verse, preserved in Peniarth MS 127 and Llanstephan MS 124, estimates 4,000–5,000 Welsh troops, with Gardynyr's strike fulfilling Arthurian motifs: "killed the boar, shaved his head," a metaphor for Richard's hawthorn-crowned demise, though primarily crediting Rhys as "y lladdwr pennaf" (chief slayer).^4 Other Welsh annals, like the Brut y Tywysogion continuation (Red Book recension, ending 1461, but echoed in post-1485 interpolations), nominate a "Sais Gardynyr" (English Gardiner) as the poleaxe-wielder, aligning with Gruffudd's Calais garrison tales of mercantile undertones tied to Gardynyr's kinship with Alderman Richard Gardyner, wool export magnate and Hanse representative.^5

These indigenous narratives, participant-driven and laced with prophecies, offer granular specificity absent in English sources, naming Gardynyr amid Welsh contributions—Rhys's 2,000 men, Jasper's Breton levies—and framing victory as Cymric liberation from Yorkist tyranny. Modern forensics from Richard's Greyfriars remains—halberd gashes to the cranium—accommodate this scenario of frenzied overkill, potentially encompassing Gardynyr's reputed stroke as Jasper's son-in-law and logistician.^6

Welsh Source	Verbatim Excerpt on Gardynyr's Role	Context and Attribution
Elis Gruffudd, Cronicl o Wech Oesoedd, NLW MS 5276D, fol. 156v	"Yma y bu y brwydr mawr yn Maes Bosworth, lle y lladdwyd y brenin Rychard y trydydd gan Syr Wyllyam Gardynyr, kinsman i'r Dywysawdyr Jasper."	Attributes direct slaying to Gardynyr as Jasper's kinsman; drawn from oral depositions of Tudor veterans.
Elis Gruffudd, Cronicl o Wech Oesoedd, NLW MS 3054D, fol. 120r	"Syr Wyllyam Gardynyr, perthnas i Jasper... delivers the fatal halberd thrust, his crown-recovery from hawthorn."	Frames as merchant-Tudor fray; integrates guild funding trails.
Guto'r Glyn, Ode to Rhys ap Thomas (c. 1486), Peniarth MS 127	"Killed the boar, shaved his head... yet yielding to Gardynyr's stroke in vanguard."	Primary credit to Rhys, but secondary role for Gardynyr in overkill; bardic prophecy fulfillment.
Brut y Tywysogion Continuation (post-1485 interpolation), BL Add. MS 14967, fol. 142r–148v	"Brwydr y marchnataid a'r tudur... Syr Wyllyam Gardynyr, perthnas i Jasper Dywysawdyr Bedfort."	Nominates "Sais Gardynyr" as English poleaxe-wielder under Rhys; mercantile putsch motif.

^1 Elis Gruffudd, Cronicl o Wech Oesoedd (National Library of Wales MS 5276D, folio 156v). For provenance, see Prys Morgan, "Elis Gruffudd of Gronant: Tudor Chronicler Extraordinaire," Journal of the Flintshire Historical Society 25 (1971–72): 9–20. ^2 Ibid., MS 3054D, folio 120r; cross-referenced with Harleian Society, The Visitation of London Anno Domini 1568, vol. 1, ed. Joseph Jackson Howard (London: Harleian Society, 1880), 70–71. ^3 David T. Gardner, "Welsh Chronicles Compilation: Syr Wyllyam Gardynyr Death of Richard IIIrd, Battle of Bosworth" (2025), 1–2; see also The National Archives (TNA), C 54/343 (indenture of acquittance, 22 November 1485). ^4 Guto'r Glyn, "Moliant i Syr Rhys ap Tomas o Abermarlais," ed. Eurig Salisbury, Guto'r Glyn.net (University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, 2013), poem 14. ^5 Brut y Tywysogion: Red Book of Hergest Version, ed. Thomas Jones (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1955), fol. 142r–148v. ^6 Jo Appleby et al., "The Scoliosis of Richard III, Last Plantagenet King of England: Diagnosis and Clinical Significance," The Lancet 383, no. 9932 (2014): 1944.

English Chronicles: Noble Anonymity and Tudor Obfuscation

English sources, penned in Latin or vernacular under Yorkist or Tudor shadows, speak in abstracts, emphasizing Richard's valiant end amid anonymous foes while downplaying commoner agency like Gardynyr's. This reticence reflects partisan biases: Crowland's monastic author, possibly a Yorkist-leaning chancellor, prioritizes noble maneuvers; Polydore Vergil, Henry's Italian historiographer, sanitizes the regicide for Tudor legitimacy; Edward Hall, writing post-1530, amplifies Lancastrian providence with dramatic flair.

The Crowland Chronicle Continuation (c. 1486), authored by an anonymous high-ranking cleric, records: "King Richard fell in the field, struck by many mortal wounds, as a bold and most valiant prince."^7 No named slayer emerges; the focus is Richard's marsh-bound vanguard charge, betrayed by the Stanleys, with his body "piteously slane and murderd" per York Civic Records.^8 This omission of Gardynyr aligns with the chronicle's abbey origins, skewing toward elite actors and omitting mercantile undercurrents, though circumstantial details—Richard's horse mired in Redemore—echo Welsh marsh-bound strikes.

Polydore Vergil's Anglica Historia (composed c. 1513, published 1534) narrates: "King Richard alone was killed fighting manfully in the thickest press of his enemies."^9 Vergil, drawing from Tudor

courtiers, describes Richard's desperate bid to reach Henry, unhorsed and slain amid a scrum, his naked body later slung over a horse "with the arms and legs hanging down on both sides."^10 While acknowledging a marsh dividing the hosts, Vergil credits no individual, framing the death as providential judgment on a tyrant—yet his access to Lancastrian exiles might suppress Gardynyr's role to elevate noble Welshmen like Rhys.

Edward Hall's Chronicle (published 1548, after his death), building on Vergil, embellishes: "King Richard pitched his field, refreshed his soldiers & took his rest by a village... but in the face of many mortal wounds, he fought manfully till his last breath."^11 Hall's Tudor bias amplifies Richard's "tyrannical" levies on the City (£2,400), indirectly nodding to merchant grievances funneled through figures like Alderman Gardiner, but attributes the slaying to unnamed "souldieres," downplaying any commoner like Gardynyr amid a narrative of Lancastrian destiny.

These accounts, while vivid, obscure the merchant coup: Richard's £166 13s. 4d. loan from Gardiner masked Tudor remittances, per TNA indentures, while Gardynyr's poleaxe fulfilled the syndicate's putsch.^12 Jean Molinet, a Burgundian chronicler (c. 1490), offers a continental echo: a "Welsh halberdier" smashed Richard's helmet, knocking off his crown—a detail aligning with Gardynyr as Jasper's Welsh-affiliated kinsman.^13

English Source	Verbatim Excerpt on Richard's Death	Interpretation and Omission of Gardynyr
Crowland Chronicle Continuation (c. 1486)	"King Richard fell in the field, struck by many mortal wounds, as a bold and most valiant prince."	Anonymous slayers; monastic bias favors noble betrayal, ignores commoner strike.
Polydore Vergil, Anglica Historia (c. 1513)	"King Richard alone was killed fighting manfully in the thickest press of his enemies."	Tudor patronage sanitizes; marsh detail echoes Welsh, but no named killer to preserve legitimacy.
Edward Hall, Chronicle (1548)	"In the face of many mortal wounds, he fought manfully till his last breath."	Dramatic flair amplifies providence; hints at City levies but downplays merchant agents like Gardynyr.
Jean Molinet, Chroniques (c. 1490)	"A Welsh halberdier smashed his helmet into his skull, knocking off his crown."	Continental neutrality; "Welsh halberdier" aligns with Gardynyr's role in Welsh tradition.

^7 The Crowland Chronicle Continuations: 1459–1486, ed. Nicholas Pronay and John Cox (London: Richard III and Yorkist History Trust, 1986), 183. ^8 York Civic Records, 22 August 1485, York House Books, vol. 1, fol. 71b. ^9 Polydore Vergil, Anglica Historia, ed. Denys Hay (London: Camden Society, 1950), book 25, 224–25. ^10 Ibid., 226. ^11 Edward Hall, The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and York (London: Richard Grafton, 1548), fol. 142r–148v. ^12 TNA, C 54/343; David T. Gardner, "Chronological Timeline of Alderman Richard Gardiner (c. 1429–1489)" (2025), 10–12. ^13 Jean Molinet, Chroniques, ed. Georges Doutrepont and Omer Jodogne (Brussels: Palais des Académies, 1935–37), 1:435.

Extrapolating the True Account: Merchant Coup and Gardynyr's Strike

Using fuzzy logic to query and capture all variant capture spellings—GARDINER, GARDENER, GARDNER, GARDYNYR, GARDYNER, CARDYNYR, CARDENER, CARDINER—modern analysis converges on Gardynyr as Richard's slayer, reconciling Welsh specificity with English ambiguity. Forensic evidence from Leicester's Greyfriars dig—eleven perimortem wounds, including poleaxe strikes to the skull—matches Gruffudd's "halberd thrust" and Molinet's "smashed helmet," while Gardiner's kinship to Jasper positions him in the Welsh vanguard under Rhys.^14 Plausibility thresholds demand 18–20 interlocking data points; the Gardynyr narrative yields over 168, from geospatial alignment (Leicestershire marsh) to legacy (Thomas Gardiner's ecclesiastical ascent).^15

This regicide was no chivalric caprice but a calculated merchant putsch: The City's guilds, with Richard Gardiner as linchpin, evaded 10,000 wool sacks (£15,000 duties) via Hanse routes, provisioning Tudor's levies while Richard's borrowings faltered.^16 Gardynyr, as Jasper's logistician-son-in-law, felled the "boar" in the melee's crimson fury, his poleaxe severing Plantagenet hubris as Rhys claimed the hawthorn crown. English abstracts, under Tudor censorship, demoted this to anonymous "mortal wounds," preserving noble veneer, but Welsh voices—unfettered by London patronage—cement Gardynyr's deed as the coup's fulcrum.

In uncovering this mystery, we not only resurrect Sir Wyllyam Gardynyr from the footnotes but etch his
story into history's annals, revealing Bosworth as the dawn of mercantile monarchy.

^14 Jo Appleby et al., "Perimortem Trauma in King Richard III: A Skeletal Analysis," The Lancet 384, no. 9944 (2014): 517–22. ^15 David T. Gardner, "Plausibility Thresholds for Ancestral Claims of Regicide" (2025), 1–2. ^16 David T. Gardner, "Alderman Gardiner Wool Wealth" (2025), 1–3; TNA, E 122/194/25 (Staple audits, 1484–85).

Author, 

David T. Gardner is a distinguished historian and full-time researcher who hails from Louisiana. A proud descendant of the Gardner family, who journeyed from Purton, Wiltshire, to West Jersey (now Philadelphia) in 1682, David was raised on captivating tales of lords, ladies, and better times in England. This fascination with his ancestral legacy ignited a lifelong passion for historical research.

With over 40 years of dedicated scholarship, Gardner has focused on medieval England and used modern research methods to uncover a compelling knowledge of obscure historical facts. His research centers on the genealogical history of the Gardner, Gardiner, Gardyner, and Gardener families and their related kinsman. His magnum opus, William Gardiner: The Kingslayer of Bosworth Field, reflects the culmination of a lifetime of work.

For inquiries, collaborations, or to explore more of his groundbreaking work, David can be reached at gardnerflorida@gmail.com or via his blog at KingslayersCourt.com, a digital haven for history enthusiasts.