Battle of Mortimer's Cross | Battle Mortimer Cross

The Battle of Mortimer's Cross was fought on 2 February 1461 near Wigmore, Herefordshire (between Leominster and Leintwardine, by the River Lugg). It was part of the Wars of the Roses.

Upon the death of the Duke of York at Wakefield the previous December, the Yorkists were led by his 18-year-old son Edward, Earl of March (later Edward IV of England). He sought to prevent Lancastrian forces from Wales, led by Owen Tudor and his son Jasper from joining up with the main body of Lancastrian forces. Edward had gathered troops from along the borders and there were also significant Welsh forces on the Yorkist side especially Sir William Herbert and his supporters.

The Yorkists were victorious, Jasper Tudor fled, while Owen Tudor was captured and executed and many other Welshmen were slain, possibly as many as 4,000 according to some accounts. The victory paved the way for Edward's crowning later in the year.

The battle is also remembered for the appearance of a complete sun dog (also known as a 'parhelion') in the sky before the battle. The use of the Sun as a Yorkist symbol probably stems from this. William Shakespeare described this phenomenon and its portentous symbolism in Act Two Scene One of Henry VI, Part 3:

Three glorious suns, each one a perfect sun;
Not separated with the racking clouds,
But sever'd in a pale clear-shining sky.
See, see! they join, embrace, and seem to kiss,
As if they vow'd some league inviolable:
Now are they but one lamp, one light, one sun.
In this the heaven figures some event.

However, Shakespeare omits any mention of the following battle.

Coordinates: 52°19′7″N 2°52′9″W / 52.31861°N 2.86917°W / 52.31861; -2.86917

Wars of the Roses

Red Rose of Lancaster
White Rose of York
Tudor Rose

Key figures

Monarchs of England	Henry VI Edward IV Edward V Richard III Henry VII

Lancastrian	Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence

Yorkist	Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent Thomas Neville, Viscount Fauconberg

Battles

Lancastrian victories	Battle of Ludford Bridge Battle of Wakefield Second Battle of St Albans Battle of Ferrybridge Battle of Edgecote Moor Battle of Bosworth Field Battle of Stoke Field

Yorkist victories	First Battle of St Albans Battle of Blore Heath Battle of Sandwich Battle of Northampton Battle of Mortimer's Cross Battle of Ferrybridge Battle of Towton Battle of Hedgeley Moor Battle of Hexham Battle of Lose-coat Field Battle of Barnet Battle of Tewkesbury

Famous quotes containing the words battle of, battle, mortimer and/or cross:

“Joshua fit de battle ob Jerico, Jerico, Jerico,
Joshua fit de battle ob Jerico,
An’ de walls come tumblin’ down.”
—Unknown. Joshua Fit De Battle of Jericho (l. 1–3)

“... the big courageous acts of life are those one never hears of and only suspects from having been through like experience. It takes real courage to do battle in the unspectacular task. We always listen for the applause of our co-workers. He is courageous who plods on, unlettered and unknown.... In the last analysis it is this courage, developing between man and his limitations, that brings success.”
—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)

“The shelf life of the modern hardback writer is somewhere between the milk and the yoghurt.”
—John Mortimer (b. 1923)

“If I can cross him any way, I bless myself every way.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)