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    The White Rose and the Red
    The White Rose and the Red
    The White Rose and the Red
    Ebook44 pages31 minutes

    The White Rose and the Red

    By Bard of Burgh Conan

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    About this ebook

    The White Rose and the Red is a narrative poem in blank verse which describes one of the key battles of the Wars of the Roses, The Battle of Wakefield, from a Conisbrough perspective. Richard, Duke of York, rushes north to prevent the Lancastrian domination of Yorkshire. He visits Conisbrough Castle and then Sandal where he stations his arm of 5,000 men. Unfortunately he is unaware that the Lancastrian army already numbers 15,000 and is growing rapidly.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBard of Burgh Conan
    Release dateJul 20, 2017
    ISBN9781370418169
    The White Rose and the Red
    Author

    Bard of Burgh Conan

    Bard of Burgh Conan is the pen name Christopher Webster uses for his writing about his home town, Conisbrough. He was brought up in Conisbrough, went to Station Road School, and has lived at various times on Daylands Avenue, Roberts Avenue and Castle Avenue. The town, with its rich history and magnificent castle, has been an important influence in his life and has inspired some of his best work, hence his pen-name, Bard of Burgh Conan (from a medieval form of the town’s name). He read English at St David’s, Lampeter and Leeds University, and is now a teacher and writer. His first educational publication was Poetry Through Humour and Horror (Cassell, 1987). This was followed by many more educational publications including books for KS3 and GCSE English Language and Literature published by Hodder, and the best-selling 100 Literacy Hours (Scholastic, 1997/2005). He has also published several novels and some volumes of poetry under his own name. His writing about Conisbrough includes Crusader, The Abduction of Lady Alice, Richard of Conisbrough, The Poet and the Castle, Conisbrough Tales, Coal Dust Kisses and three books of short stories.

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      Book preview

      The White Rose and the Red - Bard of Burgh Conan

      THE WHITE ROSE AND THE RED

      A narrative poem about the Battle of Wakefield,

      one of the key events in the Wars of the Roses

      Bard of Burgh Conan

      Copyright © 2017 Christopher Webster

      aka Bard of Burgh Conan

      All rights reserved.

      CONTENTS

      Introduction

      THE WHITE ROSE AND THE RED

      Historical Note

      About the Author

      INTRODUCTION

      This poem was written for inclusion in the new edition of Conisbrough Tales (forthcoming September, 2017) which I describe as A Canterbury Tales for Conisbrough. It consists of a series of narrative poems that tell the story of Conisbrough from Celtic times to the 1980's. Although this poem focuses mainly on the Battle of Wakefield, the central story of the Wars of the Roses is told by a brief backward glance to the Battle of St Albans, and a brief glance ahead to the Battle of Towton.

      THE WHITE ROSE AND THE RED

      Richard of York gave battle in vain

      ―Old Memnonic

      I

      It had not been an easy journey northwards:

      December weather was but half of it.

      The roads were quagmires, rutted, waterlogged,

      and sometimes flooded deep as a man's waist.

      Fords were impassable, and bridges broken,

      forcing a detour to find one that stood.

      The other problem was the enemy:

      cunning Lancastrians who shadowed their march

      and picked off stragglers or scouting parties.

      The worst of these attacks took place at Worsksop

      where a forward patrol took heavy casualties

      thanks to the Duke of Somerset. Now, at last,

      they were in friendly territory: Yorkshire,

      county of the White Rose, and better still,

      within the borders of the Duke's own Manor

      of Conisbrough and not far from the castle.

      Richard the Duke of York rode in the van

      with Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury

      and his son Thomas. All the mud

      and blood and turmoil of their journey north

      and the dark clouds, threatening another storm,

      could scarcely dim the brilliance of his arms:

      French fleurs and England's lions, quarterly,

      with Mortimer and De Burgh, and overall

      an inescutcheon of three lions, Or;

      nor was his harness tarnished, but still gleamed

      reflecting the last light of dying day,

      as if in token of his dauntless spirit.

      Among the knights and squires, and men-at-arms,

      forming the army's centre, and the safest

      from skirmishers, rode Richard's second son,

      Edmund the Earl of Rutland – a toy knight,

      for he was only twelve, and yet his harness

      was every bit as knightly as his father's.

      Each

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