1480s in England

Events from the 1480s in England. This decade marks the beginning of the Tudor period.

1480s in England

Other decades

1460s | 1470s | 1480s | 1490s | 1500s

Incumbents

• Monarch – Edward IV (until 9 April 1483), Edward V (starting 9 April, until 26 June 1483), Richard III (starting 26 June 1483, until 22 August 1485), Henry VII (starting 22 August 1485)
• Regent – Richard, Duke of Gloucester (starting 30 April, until 26 June 1483)[1]
• Parliament – 6th of King Edward IV (starting 20 January, until 18 February 1483), King Richard III (starting 23 January, until 20 February 1484), 1st of King Henry VII (starting 7 November 1485, until c. 4 March 1486), 2nd of King Henry VII (starting 9 November, until c. 18 December 1487), 3rd of King Henry VII (starting 13 January 1489)

Events

• 1480
  • 1 August – Treaty of Perpetual Friendship between England and Burgundy.[2]
  • Magdalen College School, Oxford, established by William Waynflete.[3][4]
• 1481
  • William Caxton publishes The Historie of Reynart the Foxe, the first English edition of the tale,[2] and also his 1480 translation of Mirrour of the Worlde, the first book printed in England to include woodcut illustrations.
  • 1481 or 1482 – Thomas de Littleton's Treatise on Tenures published posthumously, the first ever printed text on English law.
• 1482
  • June – Richard, Duke of Gloucester invades Scotland and captures Edinburgh.[2]
  • 24 August – capture of Berwick: Scots surrender Berwick-upon-Tweed to Richard, ending his campaign;[2] the town remains permanently English hereafter.
  • Act concerning Swans sets out that swans are the property of the monarch (or those given permission by him to own them).
• 1483
  • 9 April – following the death of Edward IV, the 12-year-old Edward V becomes king with his uncle the Duke of Gloucester acting as Lord Protector.[5]
  • 13 June – summary execution at the Tower of London of William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings for allegedly conspiring against the new Protector's life.
  • 26 June – Richard becomes Richard III after Edward V is declared to be illegitimate by Parliament.[5]
  • 6 July – coronation of Richard III at Westminster Abbey following a procession on the Thames.[6]
  • Late Summer – disappearance of the Princes in the Tower, Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York.[5]
  • 8 September – Edward of Middleham is invested as Prince of Wales[2] by his father the king at the Archbishop's Palace in York.
  • October – a rebellion by Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham is crushed by Richard III.[2]
  • 2 November – Henry Stafford executed at Salisbury.[2]
  • William Caxton publishes his English translation of the Golden Legend, his most popular publication.
• 1484
  • January – Parliament passes the act Titulus Regius.
  • 2 March – a royal charter is granted to the College of Arms, the official English heraldic authority, established in London.[2]
  • 26 March – William Caxton publishes his English translation of Aesop's Fables.
  • July – Richard III establishes a judicial Council of the North.[2][7]
  • 21 September – Treaty of Nottingham: three-year truce between England and Scotland signed.[2][8]
• 1485
  • 31 July – Thomas Malory's 1470 book Le Morte d'Arthur published by Caxton.[5][6]
  • August – start of serious outbreak of sweating sickness.
  • 22 August
    • Wars of the Roses: Battle of Bosworth Field is fought between the armies of King Richard III and rival claimant to the throne Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. Richard dies in battle and Henry becomes King Henry VII of England, ending the Middle Ages in England and beginning of the Tudor dynasty.[5]
    • Creation of the Yeomen of the Guard.[9]
  • 30 October – coronation of Henry VII at Westminster Abbey.[5]
• 1486
  • 18 January – marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York uniting the House of Lancaster and the House of York.[2]
  • April – Henry defeats the Stafford and Lovell Rebellion.[2]
  • 20 September – birth of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York's eldest son Arthur at Winchester.
  • 6 October – John Morton enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury.
  • The Book of Saint Albans is published.
  • First recorded use of the word 'football' to describe a game in which the ball is kicked.[2]
• 1487
  • 24 May – Lambert Simnel is crowned King "Edward VI of England" in Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland. He claims to be Edward, Earl of Warwick and on 5 June lands in Furness with an army to challenge Henry VII for the throne.[5]
  • 16 June – Wars of the Roses: at the Battle of Stoke Field, the final battle of the conflict, the rebellion of pretender Lambert Simnel, led by John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln and Francis Lovell, 1st Viscount Lovell, is crushed by troops loyal to Henry VII.[5]
  • 25 November – coronation of Elizabeth of York as Queen consort of England.[2]
• 1488
  • The price of knitted woollen hats is fixed by law.[2]
• 1489
  • 14 February – Treaty of Redon: England allies with Brittany against France.[2]
  • 26 March – the Treaty of Medina del Campo between England and Spain includes provision for a marriage between Arthur, the son of King Henry VII, and Princess Catherine of Aragon.
  • 28 April – Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland murdered by protesters against new war tax; revolt quickly suppressed.[2]
  • 13 June – Battle of Dixmude: Anglo-Habsburg victory over France.[2]
  • 29 November – Arthur Tudor is named Prince of Wales.
  • The Gold Sovereign is first issued.
  • King Henry VII gives a city charter to Southwold.

Births

• 1482
  • Richard Pace, diplomat (died 1536)
• 1483
  • Thomas Parr, Alleged oldest living man (died 1635)
• 1485
  • Hugh Aston, composer (died 1558)
  • Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, statesman (died 1540)
  • John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, royal minister (died 1555)
• 1486
  • 20 September – Arthur, Prince of Wales, son of Henry VII of England (died 1502)
• 1488
  • Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, Lord Chancellor (died 1544)
  • Myles Coverdale, Bible translator (died 1568)
• 1489
  • 2 July – Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (died 1556)

Deaths

• 1481
  • 23 August – Thomas de Littleton, judge and legal author (born c. 1407)
  • 19 November – Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk (born 1472)
  • Mary Woodville, noblewoman (born c. 1454)
• 1482
  • 25 August – Margaret of Anjou, exiled queen consort of Henry VI (born 1430)[10]
  • Approximate date – William Worcester, topographer, antiquary and chronicler (born 1415)
• 1483
  • 4 April – Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex (born c. 1405)
  • 9 April – King Edward IV of England (born 1442)
  • June – William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings (executed) (born 1431)
  • 13 June – Richard Grey, half brother of Edward V of England (executed) (born 1458)
  • 25 June – Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers (executed) (born 1442)
  • 2 November – Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, politician (born 1454)
  • George Nevill, Duke of Bedford (born 1457)
  • Edmund Sutton, nobleman (born 1425)
• 1484
  • 9 April – Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales (born c. 1473)
  • 2 October – Isabel of Cambridge, Countess of Essex (born 1409)
• 1485
  • 16 March – Anne Neville, queen of Richard III of England (born 1456)
  • 22 August (killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field)
    • King Richard III of England (born 1452)
    • Robert Brackenbury courtier to Richard III (year of birth unknown)
    • William Brandon, supporter of Henry VII (born 1426)
    • John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk (born 1430)
    • Richard Ratcliffe, supporter of Richard III (year of birth unknown)
  • August – William Catesby, supporter of Richard III (executed) (born 1450)
  • 17 October – John Scott of Scott's Hall, Warden of the Cinque Ports (born c. 1423)
• 1486
  • 30 March – Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor of England (born c. 1404)
  • 11 May – William Waynflete, Lord Chancellor and bishop of Winchester (born c. 1398)
  • 19 September – Richard Oldham, cleric (year of birth unknown)
• 1487
  • 16 June – John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln (born c. 1463)
  • 30 September – John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1400)
  • William FitzAlan, 16th Earl of Arundel (born 1417)
• 1489
  • 28 April – Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland (born c. 1449)

References

1. Powicke, F. Maurice; Fryde, E. B., eds. (1961). Handbook of British Chronology (2nd ed.). London: Butler & Tanner Ltd. p. 38.
2. Palmer, Alan; Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 132–135. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
3. Stanier, R. S. (1958). Magdalen School: a history of Magdalen College School, Oxford (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.
4. Clarke, D. L. L. (1980). Magdalen School: Five Hundred Years On. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-12516-7.
5. Williams, Hywel (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 187–189. ISBN 0-304-35730-8.
6. Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
7. "Richard III – A Man and his Times". The Richard III Foundation, Inc. Archived from the original on 2011-01-19. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
8. Moody, T. W.; et al., eds. (1989). A New History of Ireland. 8: A Chronology of Irish History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-821744-2.
9. "The Monarchy Today > Ceremony and symbol > Ceremonial bodies > Yeomen of the Guard". Archived from the original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
10. "Margaret of Anjou | queen of England". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-04-15.