Forasmuch as the King our Sovereign Lord hath certain knowledge that Piers, Bishop of Exeter, Jasper Tudor son of Owen Tudor calling himself Earl of Pembroke, John late Earl of Oxford and Sir Edward Woodeville, with other divers his rebels and traitors, disabled and attainted by authority of the High Court of Parliament, of whom many be known for open murderers, adulterers and extortioners, contrary to the pleasure of God and against all truth, honour and nature, have forsaken their natural country, taking them first to be under the obedience of the Duke of Brittany, and to him promised certain things which by him and his Council were thought things too greatly unnatural and abominable for them to grant, observe keep and perform, and therefore the same utterly refused. The said traitors seeing that the said Duke and his council would not aid and succour them, nor follow their ways, privily departed out of his country into France, there taking themselves to be under the obedience of the King's ancient enemy Charles, calling himself King of France; and to abuse and blind the commons of this Realm, the said rebels and traitors have chosen to be their captain one Henry Tudor, son of Edmund Tudor, son of Owen Tudor, which of his ambitions and insatiable covetousness encroacheth and usurpeth upon him the name and title of royal estate of this Realm of England, whereunto he hath no manner [of] interest, right, title or colour, as every man well knoweth;... and if he should achieve this false intent and purpose, every man's life, livelihood and goods should be in his hands, liberty and disposition; whereby should ensue the disheriting and destruction of all the noble and worshipful blood of this realm for ever. And to the resistance and withstanding whereof, every true and natural Englishman born must lay to his hands for his own surety, and well. And to the intent that the said Henry Tudor might the rather achieve his said false intent and purpose by the aid ... of the King's said ancient enemy of France, [he] hath covenanted and bargained with him, and with all the Council of France, to give and release in perpetuity all the right, title and claim that the Kings of England have had and might have to the crown and realm of France, together with the duchies of Normandy, Anjou and Maine, Gascony and Guienne, the castles and towns of Calais, Guisnes, Hammes, with the marches appertaining to the same, and to dissever and exclude the arms of France out of the arms of England for ever.... And over this ... the said Henry Tudor and other the King's rebels and traitors aforesaid, have intended at their coming, if they can be of power, to do the most cruel murders, slaughters, robberies and disherisons that were ever seen in any Christian realm. For the which and other inestimable dangers to be eschewed ... the King our Sovereign Lord desireth, willeth and commandeth all and every of the natural and true subjects of this his realm, to call the premises into their minds, and like good and true Englishmen to endeavour themselves with all their powers for the defence of themselves, their wives, children, goods and hereditaments.... And our said Sovereign Lord, as a well-willed, diligent and courageous Prince, will put his royal person to all labour and pain necessary in this behalf ... and our Sovereign Lord willeth and commandeth all his said subjects to be ready in their most defensible array, to do his Highness service of war, when they by open proclamation or otherwise shall be commanded so to do for the resistance of the King's said rebels, traitors and enemies.
HENRY'S LANDING (August, 1485).
Source.—A Short View of the Long Life of that ever wise, valiant and fortunate Commander, Rice ap Thomas, Knight. (Cambrian Register, 1795.)
[Note.—The original manuscript, from which this account is taken, was written about the year 1605, and therefore cannot claim to have the value of a contemporary authority. But the continuator of the Croyland Chronicle, the only contemporary account, is extremely meagre in its details of Henry's journey through Wales; and this biography was based on contemporary materials, the traditions of the Welsh bards and similar matter. Moreover, in representing Rees as a confederate with Richmond before the landing, it agrees with the contemporary English ballad of the Lady Bessy.]
The Earl [of Richmond] having received Rice ap Thomas's answer, with other joyful and comfortable advertisements from Morgan of Kidwelly, he was so greatly encouraged therewith that no hopes of auxiliary forces from the French King or any other necessary provisions whatsoever, could make him any longer to disappoint his friends and confederates with an expectation of his coming, and therefore with all convenient speed furnishing himself with such men, money and munition as he could readily procure, he enshipped himself and weighed anchor from Harfleur, having but two thousand men in all, and they, God wot, poorly provided, and so in seven days, with a prosperous gale, he landed at Milford.
In the interim, Rice ap Thomas stood all upon thorns, as conceiving there might be some private compact and underhand working between the usurper and the French King, whereby the just pretences of Richmond should be for ever confounded.... Hereupon Rice musters up all his forces, calls all his friends about him, and where he found any want among them either of arms or other necessaries for the war, he supplied with his own store, whereof he had sufficient as well for ornament as for use; so that in few days he had gathered together to the number of two thousand horse and upward, of his own followers and retainers, bearing his name and livery. His kinsmen and friends who came besides with brave companies to do him honour were Sir Thomas Perrott, Sir John Wogan, and John Savage.[54] ... Arnold Butler, Richard Griffith, John Morgan and two of his own brothers, David the younger and John, all of them worthy soldiers and very expert commanders, with divers others.... There came likewise out of North Wales to this service many worthy gentlemen both of name and note, especially of the Salisburies, under the conduct of Robert Salisbury, a fast friend of Rice ap Thomas in the French wars.... He [Rice] then set forth in most martial manner towards the Dale, as his prophet whilom had advised him, a place not far from his castle of Carew, from whence at that time he led his army, and there meeting with the Earl of Richmond ready to take land, he received him ashore, to whom he made humble tender of his service, both in his own and in all their names who were there present, and laying him down on the ground, suffered the Earl to pass over him, so to make good his promise to King Richard that none should enter in at Milford unless he came first over his belly.... Rice ap Thomas having made an end of what he would say, the Frenchmen, lying aboard all this while, were sent for to land; who upon their coming were marvellously well received by the Welshmen, and entreated with all courtesy, (for that sole virtue of courtesy towards strangers I think the Welsh go beyond all nations of the world); every man, I say, striving to give them all contentment, and cheering them up with fresh victuals.... The Earl of Richmond then entreated the Earls of Oxford and Pembroke to muster the French, and to take a view of their defects, who, upon inquiry, found they wanted both necessary furniture of arms and other munition, besides that they were very raw and ignorant in shooting, and handling of their weapons; men, as it seemed, raised out of the refuse of the people and clapped upon the Earl to avoid his further importunities. Rice ap Thomas ... in his heart wished them back again in France, there being not one man of quality among them.... This being done they (Richmond and Rice) with the Earls of Oxford and Pembroke drew aside to consider of their present state and condition, and what course was best to be taken for their putting forward. In fine they concluded the Earl should shape his course by Cardigan, and Rice ap Thomas by Carmarthen, that so going several ways, the Welsh and the French might be kept asunder, to prevent such jars and quarrels as commonly arise between strangers; appointing Shrewsbury for their place of meeting.
Sir Gilbert Talbot's ten thousand dogs
In one hour's warning for to be,
And Sir John Savage's fifteen hundred white hoods,
Which would fight and never flee.