Welsh Journals

SHORT NOTICES Leicestershire County Council are in process of transforming the site of the battle of Bosworth (22 March 1485) into an imposing public amenity for the historically-minded visitor. The Battle of Bosworth, by D. T. Williams (Leicester University Press, 1973: 24 pp., 7 plates, 2 maps, £ 0.25), is presumably intended to provide him with an account of the fighting and its immediate background. The booklet is certainly well and cheaply produced, the text clearly written; apart from some footnotes which would be of more direct value to site-ramblers if they were in- corporated in the text and not relegated to the end, it is well arranged for touring the battle scene. Judged by other criteria, the booklet comes off less well. The realistic portraits of Richard III (at Windsor) and Henry VII (at the National Portrait Gallery) would have made better reproductions than the later, cruder portraits chosen here. Moreover, the events of 22 March are less certainly established than Mr. Williams implies-even such basic matters as the size of the opposing armies, the routes they followed to the battlefield, and their disposition on the eve of battle. Mr. Williams provides a plausible account of what might have happened, but with little more than Polydore Vergil's reportage to rely on, it is impossible to be certain. For example, Mr. Williams is probably mistaken in thinking that the circumspect Lord Stanley was with his more volatile brother, Sir William, during the battle: when the latter finally threw his weight on Henry's side, it is likely that the former continued to hold aloof. Nor should the story of Richard's circlet being found on a thombush and promptly planted on Henry's head be repeated so uncritically. Mr. Williams extends some sympathy and admiration to Richard III, the king surrounded by traitors but putting up an heroic fight in the battle. But there is little appreciation of Henry Tudor, the friendless exile of many years standing, with none of the resources of a kingdom to support his challenge, but neverthess displaying courage and fortitude when Richard came thundering towards him at the critical moment. Passions are still roused by this battle, historians still quarrel in assessing the two kings, and the fighting leaves a lot to the imagination after 500 years. A flavour of some of these controversies is recaptured by this booklet: the informed tour of the site which it promotes will do so even more vividly. A recent publication is Harm Wiemann, Die Grundlagen der landst- andischen Verfassung Ostfrieslands (No. 8 of 'Quellen zur Geschichte Ostfrieslands'), Aurich, 1974. East Frisia, a province in the extreme north-west of Germany, long remained distinctive in the preservation of the Frisian language and culture and in its democratic social and political organization. A lively