However experts using modern technologies have now “recreated” King Richard III’s voice, complete with Yorkshire accent and medieval pronunciation, which features in the History Hit documentary, A Voice for Richard III, available 21 November.

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After first being exhibited at York Theatre Royal, the digital avatar developed by Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University and the new voice feature in an original documentary presented by historian Matt Lewis, who explores its creation and significance.

“The voice for Richard project has set out to give Richard back his own voice,” says Matt Lewis, co-host of the Gone Medieval podcast. “This is a project that brings together history with technology, art, science, language and one of my favourite historical personalities, King Richard III.”

Matt Lewis speaks with Yvonne Morley-Chisolm

Image Credit: History Hit / A Voice for King Richard III

“This is as close as we can get to being in the room in the fifteenth century when a king speaks. I can’t wait for the world to see the culmination of ten years of hard work and innovation.”

Expert voice teacher and vocal coach Yvonne Morley-Chisolm embarked on the research project with the aim of creating a literal voice for the long-dead historical figure. 10 years of work contributed to the final reconstruction, which involved research in the field of Historical Human Reconstruction and experts from the UK and abroad.

“We are bringing a long dead king back to a kind of ‘life’, says Morley-Chisolm. “We are learning more about the real man in doing so.”

“Since we produced the facial reconstruction of Richard III in 2012, we have dreamt about bringing him alive, to see him move and speak his own words,” says Professor Carolin Wilkinson, a leading cranio-facial identification expert.

“The result has exceeded our expectations and represents the most authentic and realistic portrait of this great king, based on all evidence available.”

Find out more about the remarkable project to give King Richard III a voice by signing up to History Hit.

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In the latest History Hit documentary, Dan Snow journeys to the so-called ‘Weeping Glen’ to examine an astonishing new archaeological discovery: a hoard of coins likely hidden during one of the most shocking events in British history.

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In the first-ever film to delve into the discovery, The Scottish Massacre: Unearthing the Secrets of Glencoe, Dan meets archaeologists from the University of Glasgow and National Trust for Scotland, who are currently excavating the village of Glencoe. He explores what life was like here for the MacDonalds and why the Massacre of Glencoe took place.

Dan Snow and Lucy Ankers in The Scottish Massacre: Unearthing the Secrets of Glencoe

Image Credit: History Hit

Was it a revenge attack instigated by clan rivalry? Or, with a new monarch on the throne of England and Scotland in the person of King William III, were there greater forces at play?

The hoard was found hidden beneath the hearthstone in the summer house belonging to the clan chieftain of the MacDonalds of Glencoe, Alasdair Maclain. The 36 coins were located inside a small pot identified by student archaeologist Lucy Ankers, and may have been hidden by the MacDonald clan in the days leading up to the massacre—or even as they fled from government troops.

New light on a key moment in Scottish history

Each coin holds clues to the personal history and connections of MacIain, with several originating from regions he travelled to, such as France. One coin, depicting Stuart King Charles II and pierced with a hole, may even signify Jacobite allegiance, as it was likely worn as a necklace during a time of intense political division in the Scottish Highlands.

“It’s so exciting when a new archaeological discovery ties in with famous historic events,” says Dan Snow. “Contemporary accounts tell us some details about the Glencoe Massacre, but many questions remain. So, to hold something tangible from those terrible events, a pot of treasured coins tucked away for safekeeping and then forgotten for centuries, is extraordinary and brings you so much closer to this notorious and important story.”

“This remarkable find sheds new light on a key moment in Scottish history.”

The documentary showcases the ongoing research that the discovery has inspired. History Hit filmed on-site with the archaeology team and historic coin expert Jesper Ericsson, revealing how analysis of the hoard provides new insights into the massacre and life in 17th-century Glencoe.

“This discovery offers an amazing insight into the lives of Scottish Highland clan chiefs in the 17th century and their connections and negotiation of status,” explains Dr. Eddie Stewart, who co-led the dig.

The Glencoe Hoard

Image Credit: Featured in The Scottish Massacre: Unearthing the Secrets of Glencoe by History Hit

“For the first time, this documentary explores what these coins mean to the story not only of Glencoe and the 1692 massacre but also the personal travels and mobility of the Highland nobility,” says Stewart. “Our team of experts has brought to life a moment in time with the burial of this hoard and over a century of collecting practice!”

Glencoe lives revealed

The pot of coins hidden under the fireplaces suggests a story of panic, death and loss, adds Professor Michael Given. “What’s extraordinary about Glencoe is how a single dramatic moment in history can be captured in these everyday objects,” he says.

“The archaeological evidence is also revealing a deep connection between the people of Glencoe and their land. When you understand this relationship you can better comprehend the true magnitude of the trauma they endured when their world was so violently upended in 1692 and their homes abandoned.”

Beyond the hoard, the film explores new findings from excavations in the settlement of Achnacon, including a beautifully recreated turf-walled house designed by the National Trust for Scotland to resemble 17th-century Highland homes. They vividly reveal the lives of Glencoe’s residents at the time of the massacre.

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In Agincourt: The Real Story, historical conflict analyst Dr Mike Livingston journeys through northern France in the footsteps of Henry V and his army, from Harfleur to Agincourt.

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Livingston argues that the traditionally recognised site of the battle incorrectly locates the English position in the French position. Additionally, he wonders if Henry’s strategy alone won him the battle – or whether forces beyond his control proved pivotal.

In the battle, Henry arranged his archers into low long wings either side of his centre, where his dismounted men-at-arms stood between further groups of archers.

“As the French approached, they would be shot at from both sides while the surrounding woods and stakes would prevent his archers from being overrun,” Livingston explains.

Livingston reconstructs the battle with Dr Marina Viallon, medieval arms and armour expert. Ultimately, it saw Henry win a total victory against the French, losing just hundreds of men compared with the thousands of French losses.

Although the French men-at-arms facing them would have been eager and fully protected, wearing a combination of mail and plate armour, and the distinctive pointed helmet known as the pig’s nose bascinet, they had a problem.

“The Dauphin had not yet arrived on the battlefield,” explains Viallon. “Instead the French were being led by various dukes of the realm, and they didn’t always get along. So a lot of other factions were actually fighting for power around the king and so you have four or five different leaders in this army.”

This was their biggest problem, says Viallon. “The English had a clear and strong leader. And the French basically had too many cooks in the kitchen, but no chef.”

Dr Mike Livingston meets with master arrowsmith and fletcher Will Sherman in Agincourt: The Real Story

Image Credit: History Hit

The result was confused command, and commitment to a foiled plan even as conditions on the battlefield turned muddy and difficult.

In this light, victory at Agincourt was not a foregone conclusion for the English, but almost a fluke. “Henry did not even want a fight,” says Livingston. “He tried his best to avoid it but the French caught up to him.”

In Agincourt: The Real Story, Livingston explores the vital role of Henry’s archers, and works with master arrowsmith and fletcher Will Sherman to explore the finely honed technology that helped win the day.

He also investigates whether Henry was seeking battle or running away, exploring whether illness among his troops motivated a return home.

Livingston considers how Agincourt permeated as a tale of bravery and triumph against all the odds, inspiring Shakespeare and thereafter everyone from Churchill to Kenneth Branagh.

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In the 12th century Chillingham was home to a monastery. By the 13th century, due to incursions from Scottish forces, the castle was built and Edward I, ‘Hammer of the Scots’, led his Scottish campaigns from this location. Over the years it’s been host to several noble families, but nowadays it’s best known as the home to dozens of ghosts.

Historian Eleanor Janega braves Chillingham Castle and its gathering of ghosts in the film Exploring the Medieval Afterlife on History Hit.

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Unlike other medieval ghost stories, the first recorded accounts of Chillingham’s ghost tales are much more recent. They were penned by Lady Leonora Tankerville, who moved there from the United States after marrying the Earl of Tankerville in 1895.

This was “something of a golden age for ghost stories,” says Janega. “The Victorian and Edwardian eras were a time of great modernization and secularism with major shifts away from religious explanations of the natural world.”

“But the flip side of all this worldly rationalism was that it actually increased interest in the occult and spiritualism,” explains Janega. “Ghost stories were a hugely popular part of fiction as people became increasingly interested in the paranormal, seances, and finding different ways of interacting with the dead. Places like Chillingham found themselves in the middle of the spiritualist revival.”

Lady Tankerville’s reports of Chillingham’s ghosts were even commended by author and fellow supernatural enthusiast Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Given the battles on the Scottish borders, perhaps it’s no wonder that there are so many reports of ghosts.

The ghosts she wrote about would seem to continue to trouble today’s residents. “In the 18th century there was a figure who spent his time wailing and moaning and shimmering in blue,” explains its current owner, English baronet Sir Humphry Wakefield, who says excavations between the castle walls revealed the bones of a child, and this “solved that problem”.

“But when I restored that room,” he continues, “my guests kept saying, ‘You must have an electric fault which is a flash of blue on the edge of the door.’ Well, there’s no electric there at all. We must have left a toe bone.”

The great hall of Chillingham Castle, a medieval castle in the village of Chillingham in the northern part of Northumberland, England. It dates from 1344.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Sir Humphry avows that a priest, an expert in banishing ghosts, arrived at Chillingham only to report that they were so numerous he could not deal with them.

Chillingham’s resident ghost hunter Richard Craig reports 50 ghosts on the premises. One, Lady Mary Berkeley, is supposed to haunt the Great Hall, manifesting with a smell of roses and a wafting chill.

“Whether you believe in ghosts or not,” explains Janega, “ it’s clear that a natural fear of the supernatural has haunted us through the ages.” And lurking beneath these tales often lies a window into society’s changing norms and values. To figure out what makes a society tick, it often helps to look at what makes them frightened.

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Relaunched in 2021, the trail commemorates East Sussex‘s association with the Norman conquest. The path is waymarked by 10 sculptures created by local artist Keith Pettit, each inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry.

If split into two days of 15 or so miles, the first day sees the walker set off from Pevensey, where William’s Norman army landed on 27 September 1066, and head to Battle, where the Battle of Hastings took place on 14 October 1066.

The Normans occupied the castle at Pevensey in 1066, which was once a Roman fortress and whose surviving, impressively robust curtain wall is originally Roman. The 1066 Country Walk picks up across the road where a shady corridor opens onto the Pevensey Levels. This Site of Special Scientific Interest is traversed with a steady plod over flat paths intersecting wetland meadows. The path ascends into the woody and gently rolling hills of the High Weald and soon passes directly in view of the 15th century, brick-built Herstmonceux Castle.

A few hours after setting off, I set myself down on a bench atop Tent Hill, a rise in the former medieval deer park of Ashburnham Estate. The Ashburnham family established themselves on this land a few decades after the Norman conquest, and the grounds of the grand Ashburnham Place were designed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown in 1767. More tantalising is the suggestion that the English or Norman armies may have pitched up here, with views stretching to the South Downs, on the eve of the Battle of Hastings.

A few more miles took me alongside Senlac Hill, the generally accepted site of the Battle of Hastings. Battle Abbey was built on its summit on the orders of King William to mark the battle and perhaps compensate, spiritually-speaking, for all the killing it involved. Battle offers plenty of rooms in hotels, inns and private apartments if prepared in advance. In warmer months, there are also campsites a taxi journey away.

Battle Great Wood; Farbanks Henge

Image Credit: Kyle Hoekstra

On the other hand, perhaps a more authentic means of bedding down on the route is to pitch surreptitiously beneath the conifers of Battle Great Wood, an old woodland criss-crossed by wide, muddy tracks. The early medieval English made use of the woods for charcoal and the iron industry. As the last light was split by pines, I claimed a well-drained patch between their roots onto which I unfurled a pocket-sized tent, stretched out and lit my stove.

The following morning I wriggled from my sleeping bag to a quiet dawn chorus. Overnight rain had made gummy bog of the morning’s tracks which headed south and east towards Rye. At one moment, I had to remove my bag to crawl beneath a tree that had been wrenched over a walkway. When I was far from woods and marshland, I made coffee and porridge in a field beside a big oak.

A regular sight along the 1066 Country Walk are converted oast houses, elsewhere called hop kilns. These singular, cowled buildings, where hops were dried and stored for brewing, allude to the centuries of rural hop-growing which preceded 20th century industrialisation.

The walk soon broke onto open pasture and delivered me to a sculpture known as Farbanks Henge, a circle of oak monoliths inspired by trees on the Bayeux Tapestry. Here I met Peter, a local of Battle, and walked with him on the subsequent miles of country lanes and meadows through Icklesham to Winchelsea.

As we approached Winchelsea, he pointed out the isolated ruins of a gatehouse. I was already attuned to the town’s intriguing past. Over the past day I’d listened to Alex Prestons’ 2022 novel Winchelsea, which depicts the smuggling operations which ran rife in the area in the 18th century. The town was an important node in cross-Channel trade and became affiliated with the confederation of ‘Cinque Ports’. The present town was assembled on a grid in 1288, after ‘Old’ Winchelsea was abandoned to the sea – its name plausibly deriving from language for the marshland (‘qwent’) and the beach (‘chesil’).

Rye, East Sussex, England

Image Credit: Shutterstock

I watched Peter walk eastwards for Rye, which sits on a ridge above the intervening marshland. Rye is a substantially larger town with impressive historic remains. Its photogenic streets climb from venerable inns towards the Citadel, which contains St Mary’s Church, whose origins are Norman, and Ypres Tower, built to protect Rye and its harbour from later French raiders.

I chose to wait in Winchelsea a little longer. I ate lunch while looking over its striking, half-ruined church and contemplating the extensive wine cellars which run under the town. The sun was still high, and on Winchelsea’s Beacon Hill I dropped my bag by the remains of a mill destroyed by the Great Storm of 1987, which was once also the site of a Saxon church. I looked over the way I had come, at how the Weald comes to kneel at the sea. Then I lay with my back on the old mill stone, my mind alive to the tales I had gathered over the past two days.

For Gone Medieval co-host and medieval historian Eleanor Janega, Ridley Scott’s 2021 film The Last Duel is such a film. It depicts a theoretical rape trial in the medieval period, presented from three different points of view. “So there’s the woman in question who is wronged, her husband and the man who did the wrong thing,” she explains.

“This is kind of a controversial one because, in the first place, people will ask: Eleanor, why are you having fun watching The Last Duel?” she says in an episode of Gone Medieval.

“But the reason why The Last Duel is for me a guilty pleasure is it hits the thing that usually annoys me about medieval history movies, which is that the ones that look like they’re incredibly historically accurate, they’re purporting to give you a super accurate picture of the past, and then they just aren’t.”

“But I really like it anyway, because I think it’s gorgeously acted, and I love the costumes, and I think it’s a really interesting story about how different people can experience things in different ways. And it gets enough medieval things just right that I do like it.”

The Last Duel is set in medieval France and stars Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer and Ben Affleck.

To its credit, Janega tells co-host Matt Lewis, “it’s got all these things that I love. There’s a rowdy banquet scene where they are reading out Andreas Capellanus’ De Amore, or The Art of Courtly Love, being flirty and sexy. I think that’s really fun, because I don’t think that enough medieval movies show that that happens.”

The Last Duel also depicts a contemporary understanding of conception, known as the two seed theory. “There is an idea that when men ejaculate during intercourse, so do women internally,” explains Janega, author of The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society. “And those two things mix together. Both men and women have semen, and that’s how you get a baby. So there is real emphasis put on, well, if you become pregnant as a result of what you say is a sexual assault, it can’t be because you enjoyed it. So there’s a lot of tension there.”

The film’s depiction of a banquet is less convincing. “They’re at a banquet and they’re looking at this beautiful spread that’s out in front of them, all the little nibbling bits of food. And she’s holding a little china plate and it drives me up the wall. China is very, very much an early modern thing in Europe. Occasionally a vase makes its way over from China. But you’re not going to have dainty little plates at a castle in France.”

And what of the film’s violent, main event – its trial by combat?

“It’s not something that you actually see in everyday life,” says Janega. “And so unfortunately, because the entire thing hinges on a big trial by combat in the end, my worry is it’s going to lead audiences into thinking, oh yeah, that’s just how medieval people are. They just get out a sword, the drop of a hat, you know?”

“I think it’s a really beautiful film,” Janega adds. “And the only reason I guess I feel guilty about it is that it’s almost too good. That’s my problem, is that when things look too good, then people might think that it’s accurate. And I’m like, no, just turn your brain off, baby. Just go with it.”

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“The Act of Accord of 1460 was the Yorkist claim to the throne, staking their power and having it enrolled in Parliament’s roll of the time” Roger states.

In the top section Roger shows Matt that they can trace their history right back to Henry III in the 1200s. The document states:

Richard Duke of York shall be entitled, called, and taken from now on as true and rightful heir to the Crown’s royal estate, dignity and lordship. After the death of the said King Henry…

Matt and Dr Euan further discuss that it essentially disinherits Henry’s son and effectively makes Richard, Duke of York, the heir to the throne. Analysing the second part of the document, Dr Euan Roger explians that

“As part of this agreement, Richard wouldn’t immediately become king but would succeed Henry upon his death. The act even went so far as to declare it high treason to conspire against Richard or his heirs, solidifying York’s claim in the strongest legal terms.” Word for word, it reads:

If any person or persons scheme or plots the death of the said Duke, that it shall be deemed an heir, judged High treason.

The Act of Accord from The Real Richard III

Image Credit: History Hit/National Archives

For Margaret of Anjou, Henry V’s wife, this was completely unacceptable, and to her was a personal attack on her family. Dr Euan explains to Matt,

“The Act of Accord comes at a time of real tumultuous back and forth between two powerful houses. After this period of conflict, Richard, Duke of York, is formally placed into the line of royal succession. This is now legally binding, entered into the parliament roll. However, this inheritance of the throne from Henry VI and his dynasty is, unsurprisingly, not without its opponents. Henry’s wife, Margaret of Anjou, would never accept this, as it wipes out all the plans they had as a couple, and with their son. Realistically, she could never accept this document.”

To find out the consequences of the document and the rest of the series, The Real Richard III with Matt Lewis, you can sign up below:

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In Meet the Normans, a new two-part series on History Hit, Dr Eleanor Janega sets out across Normandy to discover who the Normans really were. Here are just three things we learned from the series.

1. The Seine was essentially a Viking highway

Through the 8th century, the Vikings increasingly came into contact with northern Europeans through trading and raiding. Eventually, the rich lands, cities and rivers of northern France became a magnet for Vikings.

“The Vikings had already been raiding up and down the coast of the North Sea,” explains Eleanor. “But by 790 they set their sights on the Seine because this is an incredibly fertile and wealthy part of the world.

“From 790 the locals have to essentially put up with summer being the ‘Viking season’. Yes, you’ve got a great farm, but at any moment a band of warriors might come burn it down and enslave you.”

From longboats, with their distinctive shallow hulls and flexible, overlapped planks, Vikings laid waste to and sought treasures from monasteries such as Fontenelle Abbey. By the mid-9th century, Viking incursions had become a fact of life in the lower Seine valley. But the rewards of living in this region meant it was arguably worth putting up with this kind of terror.

2. Legend surrounds the origins of one of the most important Normans who ever lived

Weakened by internal divisions, the Carolingian rulers of northern France struggled to manage the Viking incursions. One Viking leader, Rollo, seized on this fragility, leading to an exceptional event in Rouen in 912 where he was baptised as a Christian alongside hundreds of his Viking retainers.

In a powerful demonstration of Rollo’s intention to establish himself and his family in the area, Franks and Vikings would have mixed in the medieval cathedral with pagan warriors queuing up to join the Christian community.

Not only did he embrace the Christian church and cultivate local nobility, Rollo adopted the name Robert. In doing so he became the first leader of Normandy. But his life prior to his violent arrival and later ascendance in Normandy is masked in mystery.

“Rollo is arguably one of the most important Normans to ever live,” says Eleanor, “but paradoxically we don’t actually know that much about him until he comes here to Normandy.”

In the 11th century, it was claimed he was a Danish nobleman whose brother had got in trouble with the king. A century later, Rollo was cast as a dignified nobleman with Norwegian ancestry. By the 13th century, the Icelandic saga writer Snorri Sturluson called him Rolf the Walker, a man so large that he couldn’t ride a horse.

“These are all light on actual facts, but what it shows us is that Rollo was an important enough person in the Middle Ages that if they didn’t have facts, they were willing to make them up.”

3. Tutoring the young William the Conqueror was incredibly dangerous

When the later Duke Robert of Normandy died on pilgrimage in the Holy Land around 1043, he left the duchy in a disastrous state with his seven-year-old heir, the future William the Conqueror, in grave danger from jealous rivals.

In this state of affairs being a tutor to the young duke was dangerous. Three of the duke’s tutors were killed while looking after him. Such was the peril that myths emerged portraying late-night escapes from castles, dressing up as a commoner and William waking to discover his tutor slain beside him.

“For a young child, seven [or] eight, to see that his own tutors had been killed before him would have traumatic effects on his psyche and it probably made him grow up much faster than he would have,” says historian Mathias Dilys, Educational Officer at Falaise castle.

“It sort of desensitised him, in a way. But he also had a keen sense of recapturing things that had been taken away from him, because he spent his childhood basically seeing other people taking things that belonged to him.”

William survived murder attempts and revolt, but they left scars on his personality. Before he mustered the strength to go overseas, he spent years hunting down rebels and securing his borders.

Both episodes of Meet the Normans are available to watch now on History Hit.

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In this 3-part series, History Hit’s medieval expert, Matt Lewis, reveals the previously unknown stories of the ordinary people involved in the Peasants’ Revolt, working closely with investigative historians from the People of 1381 Project, and alongside top medieval historians, including his Gone Medieval co-host, Eleanor Janega, and Richard II biographer, Helen Castor. 

In part one, Matt explores the origins of the rebellion, and the explosive days preceding the violent attack on London on the 13 June 1381.

Life in 14th century England

In the late 14th century, although towns and cities were growing, England’s population was primarily rural. Around 80-85% of the entire medieval European population was classed as a ‘peasant’. The term meant someone was a farmer, but within this categorisation, economic status varied greatly. Some were actually prosperous landowners, even employing staff and servants, with even middle-class peasants fairly well-to-do. However, at least 50% of peasants in England were poor, struggling in subsistence farming, often living hand-to-mouth.

Wealthier peasants (sometimes wealthier than people who were technically nobles due to their land ownership) were generally free men, who could accumulate land and go to market with their goods; ‘serfs’, the lower class of peasants, were tied to their lord’s land, and subject to many restrictions.

In this feudal world, authorities were rarely challenged from below, yet by 1381, escalating taxation had made life increasingly harder for most peasants. The 14th century is generally considered one of the worst times to be alive due to a combination of bad weather (affecting crops, livestock and resulting in the Great Famine), the Black Death, and the ongoing Hundred Years’ War, when many were directed to go to France to fight for the king. Taxation, necessary for funding the war effort, emerged as a central grievance, sparking the Peasant’s Revolt.

The people of Tournai bury victims of the Black Death – by Pierart dou Tielt, circa 1353

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

By Spring 1381, sporadic rioting had occurred in Winchester, Salisbury, Shrewsbury and York against increased taxes. On 30 May in Brentwood, Essex, a royal tax commissioner was forced to flee after peasants, led by Thomas Baker, refused to pay additional taxes and drew weapons upon him. Tensions were high.

Tithe taxes and the poll tax

The tithe, a church tax, required individuals to pay 10% of their income annually. It was often collected at harvest time, usually in a Tithe Barn, enabling people to pay in produce instead of money if needed.

Government taxes, mainly for funding things such as foreign wars, were collected through a fractional tax system. A tax collector would come round every couple of years, assess a peasant’s ‘moveable goods’ (i.e. such as money or other possessions), assess its worth, and charge a percentage of it, usually 10%. Similar to income taxes nowadays, it was reasonably fair.

However, at this time, England was fighting the Hundred Years’ War against France which had strained finances, and the king needed to raise more money. This led to the introduction of the first Poll Tax in 1377. This set a flat rate of 4 pence for everybody over age 14, but whilst this was a day or two’s wages for a labourer, it was virtually nothing to a nobleman. The poll tax didn’t raise as much revenue as expected, although some wealthy clergy voluntarily paid more to help the poor.

Gradually, the church’s tax office became the government’s tax office. In 1379, a second, much more progressive poll tax was introduced, including 33 layers of payment. Whilst still a flat rate, it sought to build on the overpayment by wealthy clergy last time, with payments ranging from 6 pounds, 13 shillings and 4 pence for the richest, to 4 pence for the poorest. Nevertheless the tax was a failure and faced resistance, with the population magically ‘shrinking’ as people hid family members from tax collectors.

In 1381, another poll tax was imposed, back in the form of another unpopular flat-rate tax, demanding 12 pence from every person over the age of 16. Such a large sum was a crushing burden to regular people, sparking widespread suffering and fears of starvation, igniting open revolt. A peasant could be killed by their lord for revolting, but the fact so many risked life and death by doing so highlights how they felt they had no other option.

Rebellion and military expertise

After the events at Brentwood, Essex on 30 May 1381, tensions escalated. A meeting convened in Thomas Baker’s home village of Fobbing on 2 June, attracting widespread support from those ready to make a stand.

On 4 June 1381 the Essex rebels launched an attack on Lesnes Abbey in Kent, targeting tax records crucial for control and taxation by the Church and Crown. This destruction sparked a coordinated revolt, necessitating military expertise.

Between 1370-1400, 100,000 soldiers had been deployed to France – a large portion of able-bodied men from England’s already small population. Consequently, England was full of experienced military personnel, who played a crucial role in leading the initial rebel charge. Society was also heavily armed, with archery practiced by all and peasants often possessing armour, swords, daggers, bows and arrows. 

Peasant longbowmen at practice, from the Luttrell Psalter, c. 1320–1340

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Luttrell Psalter 1325 / Public Domain

Escalation of violence

The rebels were highly organised, and disseminated messages amongst peasants, leading to fires in towns and cities across England, burning crucial documents that upheld medieval society. Rochester Castle, a strategically vital fortress, fell into rebel hands after its constable, Sir John Newington, was taken hostage.

Violence escalated, and one day after the attack on Rochester, rebels reached Canterbury on 10 June – the county capital of Kent and the seat of the most powerful man in the English Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Simon Sudbury. Although he wasn’t there, the rebels seized the gold and the treasure that he had accumulated, intensifying their anger.

Leaders like Wat Tyler, Jack Straw (who led the Essex rebels), and radical preacher John Ball emerged, the latter advocating for equality and having already been excommunicated for preaching against church wealth.

In need of weapons, peasants armed themselves – all would have had access to a hand-axe, along with other tools turned into makeshift weapons such as a billhook (traditionally used for pruning trees, with spikes added) and a flail (traditionally used for threshing wheat). With its mix of military and improvised weapons, the rebellion spread.

Richard II’s early reign

Richard II had become king aged 10, and by 1381, despite being only 14, he had been king for 4 years. In medieval England, the king’s authority and will was crucial for governance. Having such a young king meant England faced a long period with a king who in effect was too young to rule for himself. Richard’s 3 uncles had stepped-in to help govern, but were perceived as part of England’s problems, particularly John of Gaunt (Duke of Lancaster), who was ambitious and seen as self-serving.

John of Gaunt, although driven by duty to uphold the monarchy for Richard, was viewed as haughty, power-hungry and resistant to criticism or reform, bringing him into direct conflict with those opposed to what he represented. Richard himself believed in his divine rights as king, but lacked a full understanding of the responsibilities and duties his role required.

Move towards London

The same day Wat Tyler led his forces into Canterbury, rebels attacked Cressing Temple in Essex, looting and burning documents. Further incidents occurred at Chelmsford. The different peasant groups had communicated covertly for weeks using military-inspired codes, coordinating their movements towards London.

On 12 June, thousands of men converged on Blackheath, demanding justice and presenting their hostage, Sir John Newington, constable of Rochester Castle, as their envoy to King Richard II at the Tower of London. Newington conveyed the rebels’ grievances, informing Richard II that the rebels meant him no harm and held him as their rightful king, but believed England had not been well governed by his uncles and by the clergy.

During the rebellion, John of Gaunt was away on the northern border, responsible for defence against the Scots, and was thus too far away to do anything, leaving his property and family vulnerable. However the Archbishop of Canterbury, Simon Sudbury, was present. As Lord Chancellor, Sudbury was effectively head of the government and had played a key role in enacting the third poll tax that triggered the revolt. Despite resigning, he remained a rebel target, as did Richard II’s uncles who’d governed during his minority.

An image from Froissart’s Chronicle of Richard II meeting the Peasants Revolt.

Image Credit: Bibliotheque Nationale de France / CC

Agreement to meet the rebels

Conflicts had been brewing in parliament over funding for the failing war effort, but government focus on internal issues meant they were blindsided by the sudden uprising of ordinary people.

On 13 June, amidst increasing chaos, King Richard II agreed to meet the rebels at Rotherhithe. However, as the royal barge approached, it was confronted by 10,000 raucous rebels, prompting fear for Richard’s safety. The Earl of Salisbury ordered the barge to turn around, further enraging the crowds, who snapped.

Watch Peasants’ Revolt – Part Two: London’s Burning

The battle culminated in a decisive victory for King Henry IV, including the death of ‘Hotspur’ Percy, the capture of the Earl of Douglas, and the collapse of Hotspur’s rebellion. The lessons learned would also go on to prove crucial at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, one of England’s most important triumphs in the Hundred Years’ War.

Here we explore 10 facts about the battle – many of which feature in our documentary, The Battle of Shrewsbury, where Dan Jones teams-up with Professor Michael Livingston to discover how the battle not only changed the history of England – but put the future Henry V on his own path towards destiny.

1. Rebellion stemmed from the king’s failure to sufficiently reward the Percy family

The powerful Percy family from the north of England had supported the first Lancastrian king, King Henry IV – helping him seize power when he took the throne from Richard II in 1399. King Henry IV’s 16 year old son Henry, known as Hal, was invested as the new Prince of Wales. However the kingdom was still bitterly divided, and numerous plots to topple Henry IV were being concocted.

Head of the Percy family was Henry Percy, the first Earl of Northumberland. By 1399, he was almost 60, so his son, Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy took the lead, quickly becoming acquainted with war, fighting in campaigns along with Edward III and Richard II.

Despite the Percy’s being lavished with money, titles, and land by the new king (and seen as peacekeepers in a new kingdom), they began to feel disgruntled as King Henry IV flexed his royal power. Disagreeing with the king’s governance, Hotspur began to think he might make a better king. In October 1402, Henry IV called parliament, during which he and Hotspur met. It is unclear what was discussed, but after this, Hotspur rode back north with rebellion in mind.

Hotspur had also been successfully campaigning against rebellious Welsh patriot Owain Glyndŵr, but had not received payment for his services. Subsequently, the Percys formed an alliance with Glyndŵr and others discontent with Henry’s rule, including Edward Mortimer, with the aim of conquering and dividing-up England.

2. Sir Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy was named after his fiery temperament

With his fiery temper, energetic leadership, and swiftness in approach to battle, Henry had been nicknamed ‘Hotspur’. The Scots had also praised his incredible speed on his horse, and it was said he must have ‘hot spurs’ on his boots for his horse to run so fast. 

(As the Percy family also owned land in the area known as Northumberland Park and at Tottenham Marshes in London, Henry’s nickname ‘Hotspur’ helped inspire Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, as this land is also where the club played its first games. His name also inspired the team’s famous emblem of a fighting cock.)

3. Upon reaching Shrewsbury, Hotspur’s army had grown to around 5,000 men

Shrewsbury in Shropshire was a bustling transport hub and a centre for the wool trade from Wales – strategic to the royal cause, and a perfect place for the rebels to strike.

Hotspur travelled south to join other rebels and aimed to march on Shrewsbury, mustering a rebel army along his way, including the Cheshire archers. On 9 July 1403, his flag was raised in nearby Chester. Meanwhile, King Henry IV, having decided to extend an olive branch to the Percy family, gathered 1,000 men to march north to help the Percy’s with a routine summer of campaigning against the Scots. However, on 12 July, Henry arrived in Leicester and heard about Hotspur’s rebellion.

For the next 9 days, the three forces under Hotspur, Hal and Henry IV headed to Shrewsbury. When Hotspur arrived, he found Hal’s flag already raised, and the next day, Henry IV’s army appeared, taking Hotspur by surprise. The rebels retreated to the north, while the king’s forces (now numbering 7,000) also made camp, intending battle the next day.

4. The battle only began a few hours before dusk

Both King Henry IV and Hotspur were skilled military leaders, each with considerable support from nobles and soldiers. Both armies faced each other on 21 July 1403, and attempted to negotiate a peaceful compromise for many hours. When this failed, the battle commenced, with only a few daylight hours remaining.

The battle saw fierce fighting between the two sides, with both employing traditional medieval warfare tactics, including archery, cavalry charges, and hand-to-hand combat.

Plan of the battle

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / 'Battles and Battlefields in England' / The British Library / Public Domain

5. The Battle was the first time that massed troops of archers faced each other using the longbow on English soil

The majority of both armies would have been archers. In the 14th century, archers had been the secret weapon of English armies fighting abroad, along with their super weapon of the longbow. This was now in the hands of both sides for the first time, and the battle highlighted its deadly effectiveness, with thousands of arrows in the air at one time.

6. Hotspur held the advantage of higher ground

At the battle’s start, Hotspur and the rebel forces held a slightly elevated position, meaning their arrows were more effective and they did not have to fight uphill. When a gap opened in the right side of the king’s flank, Hotspur seized the opportunity, prompting his men to charge downhill. This resulted in the two lines crashing into each other, descending into hand-to-hand combat.

However while this took place, Prince Hal saw an opening and demonstrated strategic acumen by employing ‘command and control’ tactics. He directed his section of the line to turn inward, attempting to encircle the approaching rebels.

In the melee, Hal was struck in the face by an arrow. Despite this potentially fatal injury, he remarkably pulled the arrow shaft out of his face and continued fighting. This pivotal moment showcased the resilience and leadership of the 16 year old heir to the throne, who, despite a near-fatal encounter, maintained his composure and continued to command his troops.

7. Hotspur was killed when he was shot in the face by an arrow after opening his visor

The key to the battle for the rebels remained the king. After initial success, including bringing down the king’s banner-man, Hotspur launched forwards alone, and was struck and killed. Word of Hotspur’s death quickly spread, abruptly concluding the battle as the rebels’ morale crumbled without their leader.

Death of Henry “Harry Hotspur” Percy, from a 1910 illustration by Richard Caton Woodville Jr.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Richard Caton Woodville Jr. / Public Domain

8. Most rebels were killed during the rout

Casualty numbers were high on both sides, with an estimated 1,500 royalists and even more rebels, including prominent nobles and knights, losing their lives.

Whilst the initial battlefield clash caused significant casualties, the disorderly retreat of the rebels in the rout proved even more deadly. (The rout was the most dangerous part of any battle.) As they fled the battlefield attempting to avoid being cut down, the pursuing royalist forces engaged in a moving massacre, leaving no room for captives as there was no-one to sell them to or ask for a ransom – these men were traitors and rebels to the kingdom.

King Henry IV’s forces emerged victorious, successfully quashing the rebellion. To dispel rumours of Hotspur’s survival, his body was quartered, and various parts were displayed across the country, with his head was impaled on York’s north gate.

However, despite the apparent consolidation of Henry IV’s authority, the Battle of Shrewsbury did not completely eliminate opposition to his rule, and further challenges and conflicts persisted during his reign.

9. Hal, the future King Henry V, received innovative life-saving surgery

After the Battle of Shrewsbury, royal surgeon John Bradmore was entrusted with saving Prince Hal’s life by extracting the arrowhead lodged in his face.

Bradmore documented the entire operation, revealing that the wound was 6 inches deep. Although Hal had pulled out the arrow shaft during the battle, the arrowhead remained lodged in his face near his spine.

To extract the arrowhead, Bradmore devised ‘tents’ using elder rods wrapped in linen, soaked in a mixture of honey and rosewater (which served as an antiseptic to prevent infection). Bradmore began with a thin rod, gently easing it into the wound, progressively using wider rods to reopen the wound.

After several days, he employed a specially designed tool – essentially long smooth tongs with an internal screw mechanism – which he invented and sketched for the records. This tool gripped the arrowhead from the inside, allowing Bradmore to successfully extract it, and in doing so, saved Hal’s life.

10. Lessons from the battle were later deployed at The Battle of Agincourt

The Battle of Shrewsbury had a profound impact on Prince Hal, later known as King Henry V. The brutal lessons learned in this battle influenced his tactics in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Remembering the effectiveness of the longbow, Henry V brought a higher ratio of bowmen to infantry than any previous army. Additionally, he included a medical corps, recognising the importance of medicine based on his personal experience after Shrewsbury.

Henry’s experiences at Shrewsbury also shaped Henry’s personal approach to battle. At Shrewsbury, he had been a bold, risk-taker, and the fact this paid off and he survived a potentially fatal wound reinforced his belief in a divine purpose for his life. This spiritual conviction fuelled his sense of destiny to become king.

Without the lessons learned at the Battle of Shrewsbury, there might not have been a Henry V or subsequent victory at Agincourt – a triumph that helped establish England one of the strongest military powers in Europe.