The social structure of the participants of the battle of Towton 29 Marth 1461

The object of study is the personal composition of participants of the battle of Towton 29 March 1461, the aim is to study the relationships and behaviors in the period of socio-political crisis known as the Wars of the Roses. The study is based on the prosopographic method. Were used sources, containing the names of the participants in the battle. These include letters of contemporaries with the description of the battle (letters of Willim Paston to her brother, the letters of George Neville, bishop of Exeter, Richard Beauchemp, bishop of Salisbury, Nicolas O'Flanagan, bishop of Elphyn, and physician Master Antonio to the legate of the Pope Francesco Coppini, bishop of Teramo), Parliamentary Rolls with the names of 82 persons, recognized to the atteinder for participating in the battle, Gregory's Chronicle, the poem Rose of Rouen with praise of Edward IV. A list of 117 people (96 Lancasters and 21 Yorkists) was compiled on the basis of these sources. The most numerous among them were representatives of the nobility - dukes, counts, viscounts, lords (31 people) - and the gentry - knights, squires and gentlemen (69 people), but also meet the yeomen (9 men), clerics (5 men) and burghers (3 men). Their biographies were reconstructed on the basis of sources containing personal information (these include mainly the Patent Rolls and Fine Rolls). A significant number of kinship and matrimonial ties between the parties, and the vassal-liege relationships was revealed. Representatives of both single and of the opposite "parties" were associated by it. The study identified three patterns of social behavior of the participants. First, it is the most faithful supporters of Lancaster and York, who have supported them in the previous battle and after it, - they accounted for 45 % of the participants. The second, largest group (47 %) are those who only once fought on the side of one of the two "parties". They did their duty, but did not want to become exiles and emigrants. Lancasters reconciled to the victory of Edward IV also join this group. The smallest group consists of 8 people sided with the York after the battle and actively supported the new king in the future. For example, Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers, and his eldest son Anthony Lord Scales were among them. They were only bowing to the regime until their daughter and sister Elizabeth became Queen of England. Violation of allegiance during the Wars of the Roses was not a common model of social behavior.

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