The Battle of Towton :Nasty, brutish and not that short

The Economist ^ | Dec 16 2010

[worst-case scenario]

Medieval warfare was just as terrifying as you might imagine.

THE soldier now known as Towton 25 had survived battle before. A healed skull fracture points to previous engagements. He was old enough—somewhere between 36 and 45 when he died—to have gained plenty of experience of fighting. But on March 29th 1461, his luck ran out.

Towton 25 suffered eight wounds to his head that day. The precise order can be worked out from the direction of fractures on his skull: when bone breaks, the cracks veer towards existing areas of weakness. The first five blows were delivered by a bladed weapon to the left-hand side of his head, presumably by a right-handed opponent standing in front of him. None is likely to have been lethal.

The next one almost certainly was. From behind him someone swung a blade towards his skull, carving a down-to-up trajectory through the air. The blow opened a huge horizontal gash into the back of his head—picture a slit you could post an envelope through. Fractures raced down to the base of his skull and around the sides of his head. Fragments of bone were forced in to Towton 25’s brain, felling him.

[worst-case scenario]

It's estimated that 1% of the general British population was killed at this battle, one of the chief ones of the War of the Roses.

[FrdmLvr]

ping

[Red_Devil 232]

The wars[Wars of Roses] arose from the slow breakdown of government under Henry VI, a man who was prone to bouts of mental illness and “curiously incapable” even when well. As decision-making under Henry drifted, factions formed and enmities deepened.

Sounds familar.

[Interesting Times]

New information on the battle that put Edward IV on the throne.

[La Lydia]

Old bones ping

[MrPiper]

From behind him someone swung a blade towards his skull

Yep,, its the one you don't see that gets you.......

[SunkenCiv]

· GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach · · join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·
	Antiquity Journal  & archive  Archaeologica  Archaeology  Archaeology Channel  BAR  Bronze Age Forum  Discover  Dogpile  Eurekalert  Google  LiveScience  Mirabilis.ca  Nat Geographic  PhysOrg  Science Daily  Science News  Texas AM  Yahoo  Excerpt, or Link only?	Thanks FrdmLvr. Battle of Towton, the birth of modern warfare and the killing of 1% of the population [2010] Skeletons Of Bloodiest Day (Towton - 1461AD) [2006] Towton, the bloodbath that changed the course of English history [2008] Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
· History topic · history keyword · archaeology keyword · paleontology keyword · · Science topic · science keyword · Books/Literature topic · pages keyword ·

[SunkenCiv]

Whoops! And thanks La Lydia!

[Red_Devil 232]

This article is a very interesting and very graphic discription of warfare some 500 years ago.

[njslim]

The bill - English version of Halberd was vicious weapon
Able to cut man in two with a single blow....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_(weapon)

[zot]

Thanks for the ping. Very interesting analysis.
Clear indications of the roaring rage in which defeated soldiers were killed.

[BenLurkin]

yup

[Oshkalaboomboom]

Interesting bit of history, thanks for posting it.

[iowamark]

[Red_Devil 232]

HALBERD

[Red_Devil 232]

ENGLISH BIL

[JimSEA]

The expression “being poleaxed” comes to mind. It wasn’t only cattle that were dispatched that way.

[wildbill]

[Minstrel]singing] Bravely bold Sir Robin rode forth from Camelot. He was not afraid to die, oh brave Sir Robin. He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways, brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Robin. He was not in the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp, or to have his eyes gouged out, and his elbows broken. To have his kneecaps split, and his body burned away, and his limbs all hacked and mangled, brave Sir Robin. His head smashed in and heart cut out, and his liver removed, and his bowels unplugged, and his nostrils raped and his bottom burned off and his penis...

Sir Robin: That’s, uh, that’s enough music for now, lads... looks like there’s dirty work afoot.

[worst-case scenario]

Picture is worth a thousand words, eh? He was probably dead from the blow to the back of the skull before this coup de grace was given. At least one hopes so.

What sort of bloodrage must one be in in order to inflict this sort of blow on another human?

[SunkenCiv]

• Skeletons Of Bloodiest Day (Towton -- 1461AD)
• Towton, the bloodbath that changed the course of English history. (Well worth reading)
• Battle of Towton, the birth of modern warfare and the killing of 1% of the population