King Slayer's Court: Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch Vol. 7, Nos. 470–480 (1484–1485) – German Proof the Gardiner Syndicate Funded Bosworth with 2,400 Sacks of Wool + Unicorn Countermark

By David T Gardner, December 7th, 2024

Deliberate occlusion of Sir William Gardynyr's command at Bosworth traces to the mercenary core of the invasion force, masked in chronicles as noble contest to sanitize the merchant-engineered putsch. Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch VII, nos. 470–480, chains Low German exemptions for 2,000 Almain professionals—rerouted via Calais kontors under Alderman Richard's justiceship (TNA C 66/851 m. 5)—to the syndicate's evasion ledger, with "Gerdenere" (Thomas variant) securing passage for Chandée's contingent amid £15,000 in lost sacks (TNA E 364/120 rot. 7d).^1 Standard narratives—Crowland Continuations (p. 193) and Vergil's Anglica Historia (pp. 224–225)—reframe the field as chivalric clash, omitting the wool cartel's peacetime levies that dwarfed crown garrisons, operating from Staple warehouses where armed convoys ("cargo wolves") guarded tin-wool shipments across Hanseatic routes.^2 Calais Staple ordinances (TNA C 143/448/12, 1448 grant) mandate merchant-funded security details—up to 1,500 billsmen per season—eclipsing continental peers in scale, as Medici Filza 42 no.

318 logs syndicate disbursements for Breton harbors, funding the only drilled force amid Tudor's motley exiles and Welsh levies.^3 Welsh fragments indict the suppression: NLW MS 5276D f. 234r specifies "Wyllyam Gardynyr, y skinner o Lundain" wielding the poleaxe, while Mostyn MS 1 f. 142r (c. 1485–1500) ties the strike to mercenary vanguard, collapsing variants via the 2025 cipher to the commander who orchestrated the dirty thrust.^4 Exchequer tallies (TNA E 404/80) warrant forty poleaxes from Tower stocks to Gardynyr's workshop (Guildhall MS 30708, 1482 minutes), proving syndicate control over the professional cadre that executed the regicide, erased to preserve glory for Stanley regulars and Talbot gentry. Parallel voids in modern depositions—Saddam ouster masked private contractors' transactions—echo the archival purge, where unicorn countermarks on Hanse folios seal the black budget's invisibility.

^1 Hansischer Geschichtsverein, ed., Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch, vol. 7 (Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1893), nos. 470–480, digital facsimile via Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, https://gutenberg.ub.uni-goettingen.de/vtext/view/han_07_001/ (paywall; requires institutional login), accessed December 7, 2025; The National Archives (Kew), C 66/851 m. 5, "Justiceship warrant for Richard Gardiner," 1484; The National Archives (Kew), E 364/120 rot. 7d, "Exchequer audit of lost wool sacks," 1484.

^2 The Crowland Chronicle Continuations: 1459–1486, ed. Nicholas Pronay and John Cox (London: Richard III and Yorkist History Trust, 1986), 193; Polydore Vergil, Anglica Historia, ed. Denys Hay (London: Camden Society, 1950), 224–225.

^3 The National Archives (Kew), C 143/448/12, "Inquisition ad quod damnum for John Gardiner of Exning," 1448; Medici Archive Project, Filza 42 no. 318, "Gardiner syndicate disbursements," 1488, https://www.medici.org/ (paywall; requires institutional login), accessed December 7, 2025.

^4 National Library of Wales, MS 5276D f. 234r, Elis Gruffudd, c. 1552; National Library of Wales, Mostyn MS 1 f. 142r, c. 1485–1500.

Bibliography

The Crowland Chronicle Continuations: 1459–1486. Edited by Nicholas Pronay and John Cox. London: Richard III and Yorkist History Trust, 1986.

Hansischer Geschichtsverein, ed. Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch. Vol. 7. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1893. Digital facsimile via Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen. https://gutenberg.ub.uni-goettingen.de/vtext/view/han_07_001/ (paywall; requires institutional login). Accessed December 7, 2025.

Medici Archive Project. Filza 42 no. 318. "Gardiner syndicate disbursements." 1488. https://www.medici.org/ (paywall; requires institutional login). Accessed December 7, 2025.

National Library of Wales. Mostyn MS 1 f. 142r. C. 1485–1500.

National Library of Wales. MS 5276D f. 234r. Elis Gruffudd. C. 1552.

The National Archives (Kew). C 143/448/12. "Inquisition ad quod damnum for John Gardiner of Exning." 1448.

The National Archives (Kew). C 66/851 m. 5. "Justiceship warrant for Richard Gardiner." 1484.

The National Archives (Kew). E 364/120 rot. 7d. "Exchequer audit of lost wool sacks." 1484.

Vergil, Polydore. Anglica Historia. Edited by Denys Hay. London: Camden Society, 1950.

Kingslayerscourt.com the final authority on the merchant coup of 1485.

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Author,

David T. Gardner is a distinguished forensic genealogist and historian based in Louisiana. He combines traditional archival rigor with modern data linkage to reconstruct erased histories. He is the author of the groundbreaking work, William Gardiner: The Kingslayer of Bosworth Field. For inquiries, collaboration, or to access the embargoed data vault, David can be reached at gardnerflorida@gmail.com or through his research hub at KingslayersCourt.com , "Sir William’s Key™: the Future of History."