The battle of Towton: frost and fury

In 1485, England stood at a crossroads, scarred by decades of civil war. Against this grim backdrop, two armies headed for a fateful confrontation: one led by a battle-hardened king determined to ensure the success of a dynasty he had fought to protect for years; the other by a new challenger in an old conflict.In this final episode of our History’s Greatest Battles series charting the Wars of the Roses, Emily Briffett is joined by historian and author Lauren Johnson to explore how, in one fateful meeting on one remarkable day, a new king would be crowned – and history would never look the same again.-----GO BEYOND THE PODCASTCurious to find out more about the Wars of the Roses? Check out HistoryExtra’s archive of essential reading, listening and watching here: https://bit.ly/4qCI8KQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Survivors desperately fleeing to the apparent safety of a nearby abbey. A young prince on the brink of death. A dynasty on the precipice. The battle of Tewkesbury, which played out during May 1471, certainly had its fair share of high drama, and high stakes, as armies clashed and the Lancastrian cause was shattered.

April 1471: a thick, blinding fog smothered the fields near Barnet, swallowing banners, muffling orders and turning friend into foe. Opposing armies became disoriented – and then one mistake proved fatal.In this third episode of our History’s Greatest Battles series charting the Wars of the Roses, Emily Briffett joins historian and author Lauren Johnson to chronicle the clash at Barnet, in which lines buckled and trust collapsed.–––––GO BEYOND THE PODCASTCurious to find out more about the Wars of the Roses? Check out HistoryExtra’s archive of essential reading, listening and watching here: https://bit.ly/4qCI8KQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

History’s Greatest Battles is back! This time around, Emily Briffett and historian and author Lauren Johnson will be chronicling the most momentous clashes of the Wars of the Roses. In this first episode, they explore 1455’s First Battle of St Albans, a bitter brawl that sparked a dynastic struggle and set in motion a chain of events that would redefine power in England for centuries to come.

This new run delves into the Wars of the Roses, exploring the blood-soaked 15th-century struggle for the English throne. Across five dramatic episodes, Emily Briffett and historian Lauren Johnson offer expert insights into the decisive moments, power players and most gripping clashes, revealing what these brutal encounters tell us about survival and supremacy in medieval England.