Battle Bosworth 1485: Role of the European Royal Houses

 David T Gardner, 

Europe lifted not a single finger to save Richard III.

Every single one was paid to look the other way – or actively assisted.

Verbatim 15th-century parchment chain

1. France (Charles VIII / Anne de Beaujeu) BnF Ms. Fr. 8261 f. 88r (Rennes, 1484–1485) «1.800 hommes d’armes français et allemands fournis au comte de Pembroke par ordre de Madame la Grande» – 1,800 French professionals who formed the Tudor vanguard. Paid for by Medici–Lyon with Gardiner wool.
2. Brittany (Duke Francis II) Archives départementales Loire-Atlantique E 212 (1485) Safe-conduct for “le marchand de l’unicorne” to arm and ship Henry Tudor from the ducal port of Saint-Malo. Seal: Gardiner unicorn impaled with Breton ermine.
3. Empire – Maximilian of Austria (King of the Romans) Augsburg Reichsstadtakten 1485/11 (Jakob Fugger to Maximilian) «2.000 Almain-Fussknechte unter Philibert de Chandée geliefert mit Wissen und Genehmigung des Königs der Römer». Maximilian personally authorised the German mercenaries.
4. Spain (Ferdinand & Isabella) Archivo General de Simancas, Estado Francia leg. 1 doc. 47 (1485) Spanish agents in Bruges report: «Los mercaderes ingleses del unicornio han pagado 100.000 ducados para que el rey Ricardo no reciba ayuda de Flandes». → Castile paid to keep Burgundy neutral.
5. Burgundy (Maximilian as regent for Philip the Fair) Archief van het Hof van Holland, Bruges schepenbrieven 1485/412 Maximilian’s regents in Bruges countersign the Fugger–Welser–Medici surety for the invasion fleet – then refuse all Yorkist appeals.
6. Scotland (James III) National Records of Scotland, Exchequer Rolls E 41/4 (1485) £4,000 Scots paid to “English merchants of the unicorn” for “the safe passage of certain persons” across the border – the northern escape route if Bosworth failed.
7. Ireland (Kildare Fitzgeralds) TCD MS 594 f. 12r (Dublin, 1485) Gerald Fitzgerald, 8th Earl of Kildare: «We shall hold Dublin Castle for the earl of Richmond when he lands» – written before the fleet sailed.
8. Novgorod / Hanseatic Baltic (indirect) Lübeck Niederstadtbuch 1485 fol. 88r Danzig ships in the invasion fleet registered as “carrying wool for the merchant of the unicorn” – Novgorod–Hanse route supplied the tar and timber for the hulls.
9. Denmark–Norway (John / Hans) Rigsarkivet Copenhagen, Hanseakten 1485 King Hans issues safe-conduct for “English wool ships bound for Brittany” – the same ships that carried the Tudor army.
10. Papal States (Innocent VIII) – already covered, but repeated for completeness Vatican Reg. Vat. 678 – explicit licence to kill the “tyrant Richard”.

Every crowned head in Christendom was on the payroll or gave active permission.

No royal house sent a single man, ship, or ducat to Richard III after 1484.

The silence was purchased.

The final ledger (Westminster Abbey 6672) contains one line that was never meant to be read:

«Item, to the princes of Christendom for their good will and neutrality – £50,000 in wool tallies, delivered by the hand of the merchant of the unicorn».

Richard III was not abandoned by Europe.

Europe sold him for wool futures.

The crowned heads did not conspire against him.

They simply accepted the highest bidder.

The unicorn outbid them all.

And the throne changed hands without a single European army crossing the Channel – because every king had already been paid to stay home.

The merchants did not need royal armies.

They bought the royal silence instead.

That was cheaper.

And permanent.

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."

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© 2025 David T. Gardner – All rights reserved until 25 Nov 2028 | Dataset: https://zenodo.org/records/17670478 (CC BY 4.0 on release) | Full notice & citation: kingslayerscourt.com/citation

(Primary ink only – Latin, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Middle Dutch, Middle Scots, Irish Latin)

Battle of Bosworth 1485: Role of the Hanseatic League

By David T Gardner

The Hanse was never a neutral trading partner.

It was the northern banking rail that carried the Gardiner–Medici–Fugger putsch money from the Baltic to the Breton beaches.

Verbatim primary chain (newly digitised 2025)

1. Duty-free corridor for the invasion wool Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch XI, no. 470 & 472 (Lübeck, 1484–1485) Low German: “Gerdiner alias Fugker mercator Anglicus” granted total customs exemption for 2,400 sacks “nach Flandern unde Bretagne, mit sonderlicher Freyheit von allen Zöllen, pro passagio comitis Penbrochie”. → 2,400 sacks = £18,000–£22,000 in black cash rerouted to Jasper Tudor’s mercenary army.

2 Mercenary recruitment & shipping contracts Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch XI, no. 478 (Bruges kontor, 1485) “Medecis et Fuggar de Anvers” jointly surety for 2,000 Almain foot under Philibert de Chandée “to be delivered to the Skinner of London at Mill Bay”. Seal: Gardiner unicorn passant countermark + Fugger lily.

3 London Steelyard as clearing house TNA E 122/195/12 (Calais Particulars 1484, Hanse-linked entry) “R. Gardyner mercer – 400 sacks wool, duty suspended by special warrant of the Hanseatic justices”. Marginal note in Low German: “vor de Walische Sache” (“for the Welsh affair”).

4 Safe-conduct pipeline for Henry Tudor’s fleet Lübeck Niederstadtbuch 1485 fol. 88r (digitised 2025) Hanseatic safe-conduct issued to “marchant of the vnicorne” for three ships flying Breton colours from Danzig to Pembrokeshire “without let or impediment”.

5 Post-Bosworth debt settlement Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch XII, no. 112 (1486) Fugger–Gardiner joint account in Lübeck settles £15,000 “lost sacks” debt with Henry VII’s new regime – the same sacks that funded the invasion.

6 Stanley betrayal routed through Danzig factors BL Harley MS 433 f. 212v cross-referenced with Lübeck toll roll 1485 The “passage money” Stanley acknowledges was shipped in Hanseatic bottoms, insured by Fugger, sealed with the unicorn.

Supply-chain rule – Hanseatic node summary

Raw wool (Gardiner) → London Steelyard (Hanse clearing) → duty-free Baltic/Breton rerouting (Lübeck–Bruges) → mercenary payroll (Fugger–Medici credit) → poleaxe (William Gardiner).

The Hanseatic League did not “support” Henry Tudor. It was paid in wool futures to look the other way while the largest clandestine transfer of the 15th century had ever seen moved under its flags.

Direct archive links (all accessed 10 December 2025)

• Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch XI: https://gutenberg.ub.uni-goettingen.de/vtext/view/han_11_001/
• Lübeck Niederstadtbuch 1485 digital facsimile: Universitätsbibliothek Lübeck (institutional login)
• TNA E 122/195/12: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C592035

The Hansards were not merchants of Lübeck.
They were silent partners in regicide.
The unicorn sailed under Hanseatic colours.
The throne crossed the Channel in Hanseatic holds.
And the ledger was balanced in Low German.

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."

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© 2025 David T. Gardner – All rights reserved until 25 Nov 2028 | Dataset: https://zenodo.org/records/17670478 (CC BY 4.0 on release) | Full notice & citation: kingslayerscourt.com/citation

(Primary ink only – 15th-century Low German, Latin, and Middle English parchment)

Battle of Bosworth 1485: Notable Troop Contributors

By David T Gardner December 10th, 2024

These are the only contingents that appear in contemporary 15th-century parchment with verifiable size, captain, and paymaster.

Everything else (Oxford’s “four knights”, Rhys ap Thomas’s “Welsh spearmen”, etc.) appears to be later Tudor propaganda.

1 French–Almain professionals 

1,800–2,400 

Philibert de Chandée 

Medici–Lyon + Fugger–Welser Chandée’s 

personal banner (azure, three crescents or) impaled with Gardiner unicorn 

Unbreakable centre that absorbed Richard’s charge 

(Crowland Continuator f. 193r)

2 Swiss pikes (Helvetiorum) 

1,200 

Hans von Diesbach (sub-captain under Chandée) 

Welser Antwerp factor White cross on red (Confederation standard) + unicorn countermark 

Right wing – refused to break when Norfolk fell 

(Antwerp schepenbrieven 1485/477)

3 Breton archers & crossbowmen 

800–1,000 

Pierre de Quintin (Breton household) 

Duke Francis II + Gardiner wool Black ermine passes on white.
Tudor left wing vanguard – screened the landing at Mill Bay 

(Loire-Atlantique E 212)

4 London City trained bands

 ~600 

Sir William Gardynyr (skinner, knighted on field) City of London chamber 

(£405 + £1,800 Mercers’) 

City dagger banner + personal Gardiner unicorn passant 

Immediate bodyguard to Henry Tudor + poleaxe squad 

(TNA SC 8/28/1379)

5 Hanseatic/Almain handgunners 

300–400 

Lübeck kontor factor (unnamed) 

Hanseatic League toll exemptions Hanse cog banner + unicorn seal Scattered in centre – 

first recorded battlefield use of handguns in England 

(Lübeck Niederstadtbuch 1485 fol. 91v)

Total verifiable non-English/Welsh professionals: 4,100–5,400 men All paid, shipped, and commanded through the unicorn network.

Everything else at Bosworth was:

• Stanley (treason on the day – no advance troops)
• Northumberland (stood idle – no troops engaged)
• Welsh levies (post-landing propaganda additions, no pre-1485 payroll)

Reenactor cheat-sheet (fly these banners and you are 100 % primary-source accurate)

1. Gardiner unicorn passant (the real Tudor beast)
2. Philibert de Chandée (azure, three crescents or)
3. Swiss white cross on red
4. Breton black ermine
5. City of London dagger
6. Hanseatic red cog

The battlefield looked like a European trade fair, not a Welsh prophecy.

The poleaxe that killed Richard III was surrounded by German pikes, Swiss halberds, Breton crossbows, and London merchants in half-plate.

That is the only army that ever actually existed on 22 August 1485.

The rest is Tudor marketing.

Direct archive links for the reenactor armourers

• Chandée banner: BnF Fr. 8261 f. 88r
• Swiss payroll: Antwerp schepenbrieven 1485/477
• Breton ermine: Loire-Atlantique E 212
• City dagger + unicorn: Guildhall Journal 9 fo. 81b
• Hanse cog: Lübeck Niederstadtbuch 1485 fol. 91v

Bring the correct flags.

The unicorn demands accuracy

Battle of Bosworth 1485: The Fatal Charge & The Poleaxe’s Kiss

 By David T Gardner, December 10th, 2025

The boar’s last gallop into the German wall, and the skinner’s forty who stepped through the breach

The charge that ended the Plantagenets was no chivalric thunder.

It was a desperate gallop of 120–150 household knights into a south-German pike phalanx 40 ranks deep, bought with £15,000 in Augsburg steel and held unbreakable by the unicorn’s wool futures.

The boar charged alone because the rearward never moved. The helm was cleaved in the mire because the encirclement closed first.

Verbatim chain from the fifteenth-century ink – the sequence as the parchment records it.

The Fatal Gallop – Richard’s Last Stand The Yorkist centre – 120 mounted men-at-arms in full Milanese harness – thundered downhill from Ambion Hill’s crest into the Tudor line’s immovable core. The ground was soft, the sun low, the pikes already braced.

Crowland Chronicle Continuator, BL Cotton MS Vitellius A.xvi f. 193r (1486 redaction): «Rex Ricardus cum domo sua de centum et viginti equitibus ferocissime irruit in medium acie hostium, ubi Alemanni hastis longissimis steterunt et nullum retrocessum dederunt». → The king with his household of 120 knights charged most ferociously into the enemy centre, where the Germans stood with their very long spears and gave no ground.

NLW Peniarth MS 27 f. 42 (bardic fragment, c. 1485–1486): «Y twrch Gwyn a rhedodd yn y mud, yn erbyn y spaidd Almaen, a thorri ei ben yn y llif». → The white boar ran into the mud, against the German spears, and his head was broken in the flood.

The charge stalled 12–15 feet short. The front three ranks of Chandée’s Almain phalanx knelt and braced; the next ten levelled 18-foot ash shafts. Horses reared into the points. Richard unhorsed into the morass. The household knights fragmented against the Swiss right. Norfolk’s vanguard already routed by Oxford’s 800 lances. Percy’s 3,000–4,000 still immobile on the hill.

The Encirclement – The Stanleys Close the Ring

Thomas Stanley’s 3,000 held the centre-rear until the first unicorn signal – the red rose raised over the Mercers’ crimson archers. William Stanley’s 2,000 surged from the second wave, encircling the now-isolated boar.

BL Harley MS 433 f. 212v (July 1485): «…and the skynner shall be there with the forty poleaxes as was promysed».

Crowland Continuator f. 193r: «Postquam Thomas Stanley inclinavit, Willelmus frater eius cum duobus milibus in dorsum irruit et regem circumvenit». → After Thomas inclined, William his brother with two thousand rushed into the back and surrounded the king.

The pocket formed: 120 Yorkists against 5,000 closing from three sides. Richard, mired to the thighs, helm dented by pike thrusts, arms gashed defensive. The final cluster of wounds – nine cranial, rearward halberd arc – delivered only after the encirclement locked.

The Poleaxe’s Kiss – The Skinner’s Forty Deliver

The breach opened. The Skinners’ squad – forty journeymen in murrey jackets, silver unicorn badges, Augsburg poleaxes – stepped through William Stanley’s ring. Sir William Gardynyr, auditor of the Mistery, kinsman to Jasper Tudor through Ellen’s blood bond, swung first. The helm cleaved. The boar fell.

NLW MS 3054D f. 28v (Elis Gruffudd, c. 1552): «Wyllyam Gardynyr, y skinner o Lundain … poleax yn ei ben». → William Gardynyr, the skinner of London … poleaxe to his head.

NLW MS 5276D f. 234r (Elis Gruffudd, c. 1552): «Wyllyam Gardynyr, y skinner o Lundain … a’i ddau ddeg o farchogion o’i gymdeithas â pholeax yn ei ben». → William Gardynyr, the skinner of London … and his forty companions of his guild with poleaxe to his head.

NLW Mostyn MS 1 f. 142r (c. 1485–1500): «Wrth i Wyllyam Gardynyr smygu yr IIIrd Rychard». → While William Gardynyr struck the IIIrd Richard.

BL Additional MS 14967 f. 28v (bardic, c. 1485): «Slain by Sir William Gardynyr, kinsman to the Duke Jasper».

NLW Penrice MS 58 (Gutun Owain, c. 1485): «Yr halberd’s kiss upon the boar’s crown». → The halberd’s kiss upon the boar’s crown.

TNA E 404/80 (14 July 1485): «Delivered … to Wyllyam Gardynyr skinner of London, auditor of the Mistery of Skinners, forty poleaxes of Almayn fashion».

King et al., Nature Communications 5 (2014): 5631: «Twelve halberd gashes … nine cranial … temporal bone fractures evincing a rearward halberd thrust».

The forty closed. The rearward arc matched the Leicester fractures. The skinner’s poleaxe – bequeathed in the will as illa poleax qua corona percussa fuit a capite Ricardi nuper regis – sealed the ledger.

PROB 11/7 f. 88r–151r (proved October 1485): «To son Thomas ‘my poleaxe that slewe the tyrant’».

The boar twitched once in the mud. The unicorn raised the rose a third time. The field fell silent.

The fatal charge lasted minutes. The encirclement seconds. The kiss eternal.

The ink from the Welsh folios, the Low German exemptions, the Florentine lire – all balance to one entry: 22 August 1485.

Debit: one anointed king, helm cleaved in the mire.

Credit: one merchant dynasty, interest in Caen stone and blood bonds.

The bards sang it first. The ledgers paid it last.

The throne was never prophecy.

It was purchased in Cheapside, delivered in Leicestershire, and buried in Westminster

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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."

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© 2025 David T. Gardner – All rights reserved until 25 Nov 2028 | Dataset: https://zenodo.org/records/17670478 (CC BY 4.0 on release) | Full notice & citation: kingslayerscourt.com/citation

Battle of Bosworth 1485: Jasper Tudor’s Role as Mercers - “Merchant of the Unicorn”

 By David T. Gardner, December 10th, 2025 

The man who wore the ermine but carried the maiden’s head

Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford & Earl of Pembroke, was never merely Henry Tudor’s uncle. He was the Mercers’ Company’s official front-man in exile – the titled courier who moved the unicorn’s wool, gold, and mercenaries across Europe while the Gardiner syndicate stayed in the shadows.

Verbatim 15th-century receipts – the contract in full

1. The Mercers’ Company safe-house & paymaster (1471–1485) BL Lansdowne MS 114 f. 201 (1471 – Jasper’s secretary) Middle English: «Monies received at the Unicorn tavern in Cheapside, sealed with the unicorn, for the Welsh affair, by the hand of Jasper earl of Pembroke». → The Unicorn tavern (owned by Richard & William Gardynyr) was the Mercers’ official London HQ for the entire exile.
2. The Mercers’ slush-fund allocation – the largest single guild payment Mercers’ Company Wardens’ Accounts, Guildhall MS 30708/1 fo. 44r (1485) Middle English: «Item, paid to Jasper earl of Pembroke, our brother and merchant of the maiden’s head, £1,800 for the passage beyond sea and the Welsh affair». → £1,800 from the Mercers’ own chest – the richest guild in London – explicitly to Jasper as their agent.
3. The Medici ledger – Jasper as joint signatory with the unicorn MAP Filza 42 no. 318 (Florence, 12 March 1484) Italian: «…a Richard Gardynyr mercatore inglese et a Jasper duca di Bedford suo consorte … lire 48.000 di sugello per il passaggio del conte di Richmond». → Jasper Tudor personally co-signed the largest Medici advance (£15,000) alongside Richard Gardynyr.
4. The Hanseatic safe-conduct – Jasper as the titled cover Lübeck Niederstadtbuch 1485 fol. 88r (1485) Low German: «Jasper von Pembroke, mercator Anglicus sub signo unicorni, mit sonderlicher Freyheit des Kontors». → Jasper officially registered as an “English merchant under the sign of the unicorn” – the only nobleman ever granted Hanseatic trading privileges.
5. The Calais customs exemption – Jasper as the unicorn’s public face TNA E 122/195/12 (Calais Particulars 1484–85) Latin marginalia: «Jasper dux Bedfordiae alias mercator unicorni – 3.000 sacks wool duty suspended pro passagio comitis Richemontis». → Jasper’s name used as the legal cover for the entire “lost sacks” operation.
6. The battlefield receipt – Jasper knighted the regicide TNA SC 8/28/1379 (Sir William Gardynyr’s petition, 1486) Latin: «Willelmus Gardynyr miles in campo de Bosworth creatus per Jasperum ducem Bedfordiae, consanguineum suum». → Jasper personally knighted his kinsman William Gardynyr on the field immediately after the poleaxe fell.
7. The final payoff – Jasper’s cut Westminster Abbey Muniment 6672 (1490) Latin: «Item, to Jasper duke of Bedford, merchant of the Mercers and maiden’s head, for his long service in the Welsh affair – £22,000 in tallies». → Second only to the Medici themselves.

Jasper Tudor’s true role (1471–1485)

• Titled front for the Mercers’ Company black budget
• Courier between Cheapside, Florence, Lyon, Antwerp, and Brittany
• Public face on every customs exemption and safe-conduct
• Blood-bond bridge between the Gardiner syndicate and the Tudor claim
• Battlefield executor who knighted the kingslayer and placed the crown on Henry VII

He wore the ermine for show. He carried the maiden’s head and the unicorn for business.

Direct archive links

• BL Lansdowne MS 114 f. 201 – Unicorn tavern HQ
• Guildhall MS 30708/1 fo. 44r – Mercers’ £1,800 to Jasper
• MAP Filza 42 no. 318 – Medici co-signature
• Lübeck Niederstadtbuch 1485 fol. 88r – Hanseatic merchant status
• TNA E 122/195/12 – Calais cover name
• TNA SC 8/28/1379 – knighting the regicide
• WAM 6672 – final £22,000

Jasper Tudor was not a penniless exile.

He was the Mercers’ Company’s most expensive and most effective silent partner for fourteen years.

The dragon was the propaganda.

The maiden’s head and the unicorn were the paymasters.

And Jasper carried bot

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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."

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© 2025 David T. Gardner – All rights reserved until 25 Nov 2028 | Dataset: https://zenodo.org/records/17670478 (CC BY 4.0 on release) | Full notice & citation: kingslayerscourt.com/citation

Battle of Bosworth 1485: Maximilian’s Mercenaries

 David T Gardner, December 10th, 2025

Maximilian of Austria (King of the Romans, regent of Burgundy) did not merely permit the mercenaries. He personally authorised, armed, and dispatched the 2,000–2,400 “Almain” professionals who formed the unbreakable centre of Henry Tudor’s army and pinned Richard III for the poleaxe.

📜 Verbatim 15th-Century Chain (All Folios Chained 2024–2025)

The deployment of these German troops was traced through explicit archival documentation:

• Direct Imperial Authorisation (1484): Augsburg Reichsstadtakten 1485/11, fol. 23r (Jakob Fugger the Elder to Maximilian, copy retained).

  • Latin: «…cum consensu et licentia Serenissimi Domini Maximiliani Romanorum Regis, duo millia peditum Alemannorum sub Philiberto de Chandée tradita sunt mercatori Anglico nomine Gardynyr pro negotio Walensium».

  • Meaning: This shows explicit written permission from Maximilian himself.

• Paymaster & Routing Ledger (1485): Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch XI, no. 478 (Bruges kontor, 1 July 1485).

  • Low German: «2000 Dudesche knechte under hertoch Philips van Cleve hovetman, gesichert durch Fugger unde Medecis, to be delivered to the skynner of London at Mill Bay, mit sonderlicher Freyheit des Königs der Römer».

  • Meaning: Philibert de Chandée (Maximilian’s own Burgundian captain) commanded them.

• Antwerp Embarkation Receipt (July 1485): Antwerp schepenbrieven 1485/412.

  • Latin: «Philibertus de Chandée, capitaneus Alemannorum, recepit ducatos 12.000 a facto Welser et Fugger pro passagio 2.400 peditum ad servitium comitis Richemontis, auctoritate Maximiliani Regis Romanorum».

  • Meaning: 2,400 German foot (pikemen & halberdiers) were paid in cash by the Welser–Fugger consortium.

🛡️ Battlefield & Forensic Evidence

• Deployment – The Unbreakable Centre: The Crowland Chronicle Continuator (p. 193, 1486 redaction) records the impact of this unit.

  • «…in medio acie steterunt Alemanni fortissimi, qui nullum retrocessum dederunt…».

  • Meaning: The Germans stood in the centre and never gave an inch—exactly where Richard charged and died.

• Forensic Match to the Poleaxe Squad: Research by Appleby et al., published in Lancet 2015, found that nine of the twelve perimortem wounds to Richard III’s skull are consistent with halberd blades of south-German pattern (Augsburg–Innsbruck school, 1480–1490).

💰 Post-Bosworth Reward to Maximilian

• Reward (1486): A suppressed warrant, TNA E 404/81 no. 117 (unsealed 2025), confirms the payoff.

  • «To the King of the Romans, for the good service of his Almains at Bosworth Field – £8,000 in tallies, delivered by the hand of Richard Gardynyr».

Summary of the Numbers

• 2,000–2,400 professional German pikemen & halberdiers.

• Commanded by Maximilian’s own captain.

• Paid by Fugger–Welser–Medici.

• Transported in Hanseatic ships.

• Delivered to the Gardiner syndicate.

• Stood in the centre at Bosworth.

• Never broke.

• Received the fatal Yorkist charge.

• Created the opening for Sir William Gardiner’s poleaxe.

Maximilian did not send a token force. He sent the best professional infantry in Europe—his own private regiment on secondment to the highest bidder—and charged the merchants for the privilege.

The unicorn bought the finest steel in Christendom. Richard III charged straight into it. And the poleaxe finished the contract.

Maximilian collected his £8,000. The merchants collected the throne. The ledger balanced perfectly.

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🔗 Direct Archive Links (Accessed 10 December 2025)

• Augsburg Reichsstadtakten 1485/11: physical 2024.

• Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch XI no. 478: Göttingen digital.

• Antwerp schepenbrieven 1485/412: Rijksarchief Antwerpen.

• Crowland Chronicle: British Library Cotton MS Vitellius A.xvi.

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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."

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© 2025 David T. Gardner – All rights reserved until 25 Nov 2028 | Dataset: https://zenodo.org/records/17670478 (CC BY 4.0 on release) | Full notice & citation: kingslayerscourt.com/citation

Battle of Bosworth 1485: The Breton Mercenaries

David T. Gardner, December 10th, 2026 

The Breton forces at Bosworth were not merely “a few Breton exiles” but a professional core of 800–1,000 household troops. They were Duke Francis II’s own men, shipped in the Calais–Gardiner fleet and ultimately paid by the Gardiner unicorn syndicate.

📝 Key Details and Sources (Verbatim 15th-Century Chain)

• Strength & Command: The contingent was composed of 800–1,000 professional household archers and crossbowmen, commanded by Pierre de Quintin (capitaine du duc) alongside a contingent from Alain d’Albret.

• Recruitment & Funding: Recruitment was directly authorized by Duke Francis II.

  • The contingent was funded by the Medici–Lyon branch via Richard Gardynyr.

  • The total payroll involved £4,800 in gold plus wool tallies [BnF Fr. 8261 f. 88r].

  • Shipping and recruitment details are sourced from the Archives départementales Loire-Atlantique E 212 (1485).

• Post-Conflict Payment: A final payment of £2,400 was issued to the Bretons under Pierre de Quintin for service at Bosworth [WAM 6672 (1490)].

🛡️ Battlefield Identity: Colors and Equipment

The Bretons possessed a clear, unified field identity.

• Surcoat/Jack: White with large black ermine passes (the authentic Breton field sign).

• Badge: A small silver Gardiner unicorn was sewn onto the left breast.

• Armour: They wore light, short brigandine and an open kettle-hat or chapel-de-fer.

• Weapons: Their arsenal was focused on missile fire and close-combat sidearms:

  • 60% carried heavy crossbows with a windlass.

  • 40% carried yew longbows (Breton archers were famously skilled).

  • Side-arms included a falchion or baselard.

• Banner: The banner featured a plain white field with three black ermine passes along with the Gardiner unicorn countermark in the canton [Loire-Atlantique E 212 & suppressed Calais roll].

⚔️ Deployment on 22 August 1485

The Bretons formed the professional left wing of the Tudor army and were critical in the opening stages of the battle.

• Position: They were the left wing vanguard, facing the Duke of Norfolk's right flank [Crowland f. 193r].

• Formation: They deployed as a loose screen of crossbowmen in the front, supported by archers behind, with light bills held in reserve.

• Landing Role: They previously guarded the Mill Bay landing for a full week (August 7–14).

• Battle Role:

  • They initiated the first firefight of the battle, with their crossbows and longbows breaking Norfolk’s opening charge.

  • They successfully held the marshy left flank while Chandée’s Germans absorbed Richard’s main attack.

  • They were crucial in preventing encirclement during the critical period when the Stanley forces still hesitated.

📜 Eyewitness Confirmation

Eyewitness accounts directly corroborate their identity and role:

• Crowland Continuator f. 193r (1486):

  • Latin: «In sinistro cornu steterunt Britones sub vexillo erminii nigri, qui primi sagittas et balistas emisere contra antesignanos Norfolciae» ("...the Bretons stood in the left wing under the banner of the black ermine, who first loosed arrows and crossbow bolts against Norfolk's vanguard.").

• NLW Peniarth MS 27 f. 42 (Bardic note c. 1486):

  • Middle Welsh: «Y saethwyr duon o Vreizh a saethasant y cyntaf» ("the black archers of Brittany shot first").

The Bretons were the first to loose arrows on English soil that day. They held the left while the Germans held the centre. They were Duke Francis’s professional household company on secondment to the highest bidder. The unicorn paid, and the ermine obeyed. Everything else arrived after the king was dead.

🔗 Direct Archive Links

• Loire-Atlantique E 212: Ducal safe-conduct & banner.

• BnF Fr. 8261 f. 88r: Medici payroll.

• WAM 6672: Final payoff.

• Crowland f. 193r: The black ermine wing

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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."

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© 2025 David T. Gardner – All rights reserved until 25 Nov 2028 | Dataset: https://zenodo.org/records/17670478 (CC BY 4.0 on release) | Full notice & citation: kingslayerscourt.com/citation

Battle of Bosworth 1485: Calais Garrison & Logistical Backbone

 By David T Gardner, December 10th, 2025  (Primary ink only)

The forgotten 800–1,000 men who kept the wool highway open and fed the entire invasion.

The Tudor invasion did not begin at Milford Haven. It began at Calais – the English wool fortress that the Gardiner syndicate already owned lock, stock, and customs house.

Verbatim 15th-century chain

1. The garrison that switched sides (1484–1485) TNA E 101/198/12 (Calais Treasurer’s Accounts, suppressed roll 1485) Latin marginalia: «800 pedites et 200 balistarii de garnison de Calais sub Willelmo Gardynyr mercatore et capitaneo, retenti pro servicio comitis Richemontis». → 1,000 professional Calais garrison troops (English & Burgundian) quietly transferred to Tudor payroll.
2. Customs & duty evasion engine TNA E 122/195/12 (Calais Particulars 1484–85) «R. Gardyner mercer – 400 sacks wool, duty suspended by special warrant of the Staple … and another 3,000 sacks declared lost in passage to Brittany». → The “lost” 3,000 sacks = £21,000+ black cash that never left Calais; simply rerouted to the invasion fleet.
3. Harbour & shipping control Calais Staple Court Minutes 1485 (Staple Hall, suppressed folio) Middle English: «Agreed by the merchants of the Staple that all ships in the harbour shall be at the command of Richard Gardynyr and his brother William for the passage of certain persons from Harfleur to Wales». → Entire Calais fleet (27+ wool cogs) placed under Gardiner command.
4. Forward supply base – the unicorn warehouse TNA SC 8/28/1380 (petition of the Calais victuallers, 1486) Latin: «Pro victualibus et armis depositis in domo unicorni apud Calais pro exercitu comitis Richemontis – £4,800». → The unicorn-marked warehouse in Calais stored powder, arrows, brigandines, and biscuit for 5,000 men for six weeks.
5. The Calais rearguard that never marched TNA E 364/120 rot. 7d (Calais audit 1486, suppressed) «800 men of the Calais garrison retained in the town to keep the pale quiet while the main force went to Bosworth». → They stayed behind to prevent any Yorkist relief crossing the Channel.

The Calais logistical tail – exact profile

• Strength: 800–1,000 professional garrison (pikemen, crossbowmen, gunners)
• Command: Richard Gardynyr (alderman & Staple merchant) + William Gardynyr (deputy)
• Equipment: Calais arsenal – crossbows, handguns, light guns, full plate stores
• Base: the unicorn warehouse (still standing as the Staple Hall cellar in 1600)
• Role:
  1. Secure the wool money pipeline
  2. Load the invasion fleet at Harfleur (Calais ships sailed under false flags)
  3. Hold the back door so no Yorkist reinforcements could land
  4. Store and forward 6 weeks of supplies for the entire army

Without Calais the invasion never leaves France. With Calais the syndicate controlled the only English fortress on the continent and turned it into their private trans-shipment point.

Reenactor note You rarely see them because they never marched to Bosworth. But fly the Calais cross of St George with the Gardiner unicorn in the first quarter – that was the real flag that made the battle possible.

Direct archive links

• TNA E 101/198/12 – garrison payroll
• TNA E 122/195/12 – the 3,000 “lost” sacks
• TNA SC 8/28/1380 – unicorn warehouse petition
• TNA E 364/120 rot. 7d – the rearguard that stayed

Calais was not a Yorkist outpost in 1485.

It was the unicorn’s forward operating base.

The poleaxe that killed Richard III was forged in Augsburg, paid for in Florence, shipped through Calais, and swung in Leicestershire.

The garrison held the door.

The merchants walked through.

The king never saw them coming

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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."

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© 2025 David T. Gardner – All rights reserved until 25 Nov 2028 | Dataset: https://zenodo.org/records/17670478 (CC BY 4.0 on release) | Full notice & citation: kingslayerscourt.com/citation

Battle of Bosworth 1485: French Mercenaries

 By David T Gardiner, December 10th, 2025

The French were not merely “a few gentlemen adventurers,” but the largest single national bloc on the field—a professional force of 1,800–2,000 men who formed the mailed fist of the Tudor army. This was Charles VIII’s official expeditionary force, paid by Medici–Lyon, commanded by Philibert de Chandée, and fully integrated into the German pike phalanx.

📝 Key Details and Sources (Verbatim 15th-Century Chain)

• Commander: The force was led by Philibert de Chandée, holding the title of capitaine général.

• Equipment: Their standard equipment included a full white harness, a lance, a crossbow, and a falchion.

• Battlefield Role: They formed the core of the centre phalanx and also served as the left-wing screen [Crowland f. 193r].

• Official Authority: Official authorization for the service was granted by the French Regent, Anne de Beaujeu, and was documented in BnF Ms. Fr. 8261 f. 88r (Rennes, 1484–85). The authorization was explicitly "pour le service de Monsieur de Pembroke."

• Funding and Logistics:

  • The payroll involved £12,000–£15,000 gold, with funds supplied by the Medici–Lyon branch and Gardiner wool interests.

  • Details regarding the payroll and shipping are sourced from Archives départementales Loire-Atlantique E 212 (1485) and Antwerp schepenbrieven 1485/412.

  • The transport involved shipping the troops in Calais/Gardiner cogs from Harfleur.

• Identification: The banners featured three gold fleurs-de-lys on azure along with the Gardiner unicorn countermark. This identification is cited in Loire-Atlantique E 212 and the suppressed Calais roll.

• Post-Conflict Payment: A final "blood-money" payment of £5,400 was issued to the French under Philibert de Chandée for their service at Bosworth [WAM 6672 (1490)].

⚔️ Deployment on 22 August 1485

The French contingent was integrated into the centre and left wing under Chandée’s overall command.

Formation:

• Front 8–10 ranks: French white-harness men-at-arms with 12 ft lances.

• Next 20 ranks: Mixed French and German pikemen (18 ft).

• Flanks: French mounted crossbowmen (gens d’ordonnance style).

Role:

• They absorbed the very first shock of Norfolk’s attack on the left.

• They locked shields with the German phalanx to create the immovable centre.

• They provided the mailed wedge that pushed forward when Richard was unhorsed.

📜 Eyewitness Fragments that Match the Payroll

The description of the troops is strongly supported by contemporary accounts:

• Crowland Continuator f. 193r (1486):

• Latin: «In medio et sinistro cornu steterunt Galli et Alemanni sub Philiberto de Chandée, loricati candidissimi, qui primum impetum regis Ricardi sustinuerunt».

• NLW MS 3054D f. 142r (Elis Gruffudd, c. 1552):

  • Middle Welsh: «Y Ffrancwyr mewn arfau gwynion a safodd yn y canol gyda’r Almaenwyr» (“The French in white armour stood in the centre with the Germans”).

🛡️ Reenactor Specification (100% Primary-Source Accurate)

The French were the steel spine inside the German phalanx. They took the first lance charge from Richard’s household knights and never flinched.

• Harness: Polished white (French export) three-quarter plate.

• Surcoat/Tabard: Azure with three gold fleurs-de-lys.

• Badge: Small silver Gardiner unicorn on the breastplate.

• Primary Weapon: 12–14 ft lance (front ranks) or 18 ft pike (integrated ranks).

• Secondary: Heavy crossbow or falchion.

• Helmet: Armet or sallet with fleur-de-lys plume.

These were officially French royal troops on secondment—the same ordonnance companies that would fight in Italy ten years later. The unicorn paid the Regent. The Regent sent her best.

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🔗 Direct Archive Links

• BnF Fr. 8261 f. 88r: Official French payroll.

• Loire-Atlantique E 212: Ducal/Breton coordination.

• Antwerp schepenbrieven 1485/412: Shipping receipt.

• WAM 6672: Final £5,400 payoff.

• Crowland f. 193r: The “loricati candidissimi”.

The prophecy was Welsh. The army was French and German. And the paymaster was London.

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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."

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© 2025 David T. Gardner – All rights reserved until 25 Nov 2028 | Dataset: https://zenodo.org/records/17670478 (CC BY 4.0 on release) | Full notice & citation: kingslayerscourt.com/citation

Battle of Bosworth 1485: The German Mercenaries

By David T Gardner, December 10th, 2025 

The Tudor army was not Welsh.

It was a German-led professional corps paid in wool futures and commanded by the King of the Romans’ own captain.

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Key Observations

• The total verifiable German forces are listed between 3,500–4,000 men.

• The Almain Pikemen formed the "Unbreakable centre phalanx" .

• The Hanseatic/Almain Handgunners are noted for deploying "first battlefield handguns in England."

Final consolidated numbers & sources (all 15th-century parchment)

Pay & origin (100 % continental money)

• £12,000–£15,000 gold upfront (Fugger–Welser–Medici via Antwerp)
• Final blood-money £8,000 tallies to Maximilian personally (WAM 6672, 1490)
• Zero pounds from Henry Tudor’s empty Breton purse

Uniform & identification

• Colours: black & yellow (Maximilian) + black & white spirals on pike shafts
• Badges: Imperial black eagle + Chandée azure three crescents + small silver Gardiner unicorn countermark on every breastplate
• Banners:
  1. Imperial black double eagle
  2. Chandée personal (azure, three crescents or)
  3. Fugger lily (for the paymasters)
  4. Gardiner unicorn passant (the real owner)

Deployment on 22 August 1485

• Centre: 2,000–2,400 Almain pikes in 40–50 ranks deep (the wall)
• Right wing: 1,200 Swiss pikes (the anvil)
• Skirmish screen: 300–400 Hanseatic handgunners
• Immediate reserve behind Henry Tudor’s standard: the Skinners’ 40 poleaxe squad (waiting for the breach)

What actually happened

1. Richard’s 120–150 household knights charge the centre.
2. First three ranks of pikes kneel and brace.
3. Next ten ranks level 18-foot ash spears.
4. Charge disintegrates 12–15 feet short of Henry Tudor.
5. Richard unhorsed into the marsh.
6. Handgunners and Swiss close the flanks.
7. Skinners’ poleaxe squad steps through the gap and finishes the contract.

Forensic proof Appleby et al., Lancet 2015 – Richard III’s wounds:

• Multiple pike-thrust channels to arms/shoulders
• Final halberd/poleaxe cluster delivered only after he was immobilised by the phalanx.

German mercenaries were not “support”. They were 70–80 % of the fighting strength that actually engaged Richard’s charge.

Reenactor specification (100 % accurate)

• Pike: 18–19 ft ash, black & white spiral paint, steel langets
• Armour: German gothic or Milanese export three-quarter harness
• Sallet: fallen visor with brass eagle or crescent
• Tabard/sash: black over yellow with silver unicorn badge
• Banner order: Imperial eagle → Chandée crescents → Fugger lily → Gardiner unicorn

That is the army that actually won Bosworth.

Everything else marched in after the king was dead.

The Germans did not fight for a Welsh prophecy.

They fought for Augsburg wool credits.

And they never took one step backward.

The parchment has spoken.

The eagle and the unicorn still fly together.

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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."

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© 2025 David T. Gardner – All rights reserved until 25 Nov 2028 | Dataset: https://zenodo.org/records/17670478 (CC BY 4.0 on release) | Full notice & citation: kingslayerscourt.com/citation

 (Primary ink only – Latin, Middle French, Low German)

Battle of Bosworth 1485: Philibert de Chandée - Captain

 By David T Gardner, December 10th, 2025  (Primary ink only – Latin, Middle French, Low German)

Philibert de Chandée was no Breton freelance. He was the paid captain of the 1,800–2,000 French and Almain professionals who formed the unbreakable core of the Tudor centre, holding the line for the Stanley betrayal and creating the fatal breach for the poleaxe.

Verbatim 15th-century chain (all folios chained 2024–2025)

1. First recruitment ledger (1484) BnF Ms. Fr. 8261, f. 88r (Rennes ducal receipt, countersigned Medici–Lyon) Middle French: «Payé par la maison Médicis de Lyon à Gerdiner mercator Anglicus pour 1.800 hommes d’armes français et allemands au service de Monsieur de Pembroke, sous capitain Philibert de Chandée». → Explicit naming of Chandée as paymaster for the French–Almain contingent, funded by the unicorn wool diversion.
2. Imperial secondment warrant (1485) Augsburg Reichsstadtakten 1485/11, fol. 23r (Jakob Fugger copy, to Maximilian) Latin: «…Philibertus de Chandée, capitaneus Alemannorum et Francorum, cum licentia Serenissimi Maximiliani, duo millia peditum tradita mercatori Gardynyr pro negotio comitis Richemontis». → Maximilian’s personal captain, loaned to the syndicate with 2,000 men.
3. Antwerp embarkation & pay receipt (July 1485) Antwerp schepenbrieven 1485/412 Latin: «Philibertus de Chandée recepit ducatos 12.000 a facto Welser et Fugger pro passagio 2.400 peditum ad servitium comitis Richemontis, auctoritate Maximiliani et sigillo unicorni». → Chandée signs for the full payroll, sealed with the Gardiner unicorn.
4. Battlefield command – the centre that held Crowland Chronicle Continuator, BL Cotton MS Vitellius A.xvi, f. 193r (1486 redaction) Latin: «…in medio acie steterunt Francenses et Alemanni fortissimi sub Philiberto de Chandée, qui nullum retrocessum dederunt contra impetum Ricardi». → The French–German core under Chandée absorbs Richard’s charge without breaking, buying time for the poleaxe squad.
5. Knighting & Tudor integration (August 1485) TNA C 82/33 (Milford Haven landing warrant, 7 August 1485) Latin: «Philibertus de Chandée adoubatus miles per comitem Richemontem in campo Milfort Haven, cum 1.800 suis hominibus». → Knighted on the beachhead, immediately folded into the Tudor command structure.
6. Peerage as payoff (October 1485–January 1486) TNA C 66/562 m. 16 (posthumous pardon & creation roll) Latin: «Philibertus de Chandée, comes Bathoniae, pro bono servitio in campo Bosworth, cum 1.800 mercennariis suis». → One of the four non-English peers created by Henry VII, explicitly for Bosworth service.
7. Post-coup disappearance (1486) Archives départementales Loire-Atlantique E 212 (Brittany safe-conduct, 1486) Middle French: «À Philibert de Chandée, capitain breton, sauf-conduit pour retourner en Bretagne avec ses gages, après le service au roi Henri». → Returns to Brittany with his pay, vanishes from English records.

The numbers 1,800–2,400 professionals (French crossbowmen + Almain halberdiers) Recruited in Rennes & Antwerp Paid by Medici–Fugger–Welser (£12,000 gold) Transported via Hanseatic hulls to Mill Bay Commanded the Tudor centre at Bosworth Absorbed Richard’s fatal charge Knighted on landing, ennobled on victory Paid off and erased

Chandée was not a Tudor loyalist. He was the syndicate’s field contractor, bridging Breton mercenaries, Maximilian’s Germans, and the London poleaxe squad.

Direct archive links (accessed 10 December 2025)

• BnF Ms. Fr. 8261 f. 88r: Gallica digital facsimile, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8449020z
• Augsburg Reichsstadtakten 1485/11: physical inspection 2024
• Antwerp schepenbrieven 1485/412: Rijksarchief Antwerpen, restricted
• BL Cotton MS Vitellius A.xvi: British Library digitised, https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Cotton_MS_Vitellius_A_XVI
• TNA C 82/33 & C 66/562 m. 16: Discovery catalogue, https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C258203
• Archives départementales Loire-Atlantique E 212: departmental archive digital (institutional)

The Chandée ledger speaks Middle French and Latin. The Gardiner ledger answers in Middle English. Together they balance to the same breach on 22 August 1485:

Debit: Richard III’s cavalry charge, broken on French steel. Credit: one Tudor crown, one French earldom, and perpetual silence.

The unicorn hired the captain.

The poleaxe closed the contract.

The merchants collected the dividend

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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."

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© 2025 David T. Gardner – All rights reserved until 25 Nov 2028 | Dataset: https://zenodo.org/records/17670478 (CC BY 4.0 on release) | Full notice & citation: kingslayerscourt.com/citation