Find out if your ancestors fought at the battle of Bosworth

[Esioul]

This might be of itnerest to some of you:

Did your ancestors fight for Richard III? | The Council for British Archaeology

'Bosworth Battlefield, run by Leicestershire County Council, is celebrating its 525th anniversary by launching an international search for the descendants of those who fought at the battle on 22nd August 1485....'

 

[PTeppic]

As a sometime genealogist, I am highly sceptical that they'll get many who can genuinely prove lineage. For the majority of ordinary people, in my experience, is that demonstration of their line comes to a juddering at about 1800 as the census and BMDs end/begin. A fair fraction can get probable lines before that, but I'd estimate only a minority. As for those small fraction of that minority who can "prove" the line back to the C15th...

 

[The Judge]

I agree. I've managed to get my partner's family tree back to the 1580s in one branch because they came from a couple of adjoining parishes in Bedfordshire and the records are remarkably complete and fully transcribed (would it were always so!). My Leicester branch I can't trace at all beyond 1815.

I don't know if they have human remains at Bosworth which can be DNA tested though? That would be interesting.

 

[Vertigo]

My Great grandmother traced our family back (not just following the male line I should add) to both Edward I and Robert the Bruce

 

[Anne Lyle]

Three weeks isn't exactly very long to trace your ancestors back half a millennium! I've traced some of mine back to early 19th century Bedfordshire through the censuses, and I have a common ancestor with someone on Genes Reunited who claims to have traced that line back to early 15th century Sussex - but I haven't had an opportunity to corroborate it.

 

[Dave]

They have managed to discover the body of Richard III - at least it has curvature of the spine and a cleaved in skull.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-19561018

 

[Snowdog]

All these sensational claims by archaeologists are usually just fanciful wishful thinking. Watching Time Team it seems they can build monuments out of a broken bit of pottery.

I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[reiver33]

I thought the 'hump-backed dwarf' view of Richard had been debunked? The classic portrait of him was altered by Tudor spin-doctors to raise his right shoulder, with two extra links in the chain being added. He may well have had an over-developed sword arm, in an era where personal prowess counted for much, but I don't think that 'severe scoliosis' would have gone unremarked by even pro-Richardian commentators.

 

[svalbard]

There is also the theory that he broke his collar bone or arm when he was a child and it never set correctly. I would also go with an over developed sword arm for a man who might of had a slight frame. He was considered a powerful warrior in his day and was fighting in battles from the age of sixteen.The Battle of Barnet was where he first fought I believe.