edwardslovelyelizabeth:

On this day in history, July 28, 1488: Elizabeth Woodville’s youngest brother, Edward, is killed at the battle of St Aubin du Cormier, just a few months after being made a Knight of the Garter.Edward was fighting for Britanny against the French. Legend has it that of the men from the Isle of Wight Edward had taken to fight abroad, only one, a page named Diccon Cheke, returned. A ballad reads:. 

Fight on, fight on, my Island men Still gallant Wideville cried. Ah, how he fought till stricken sore Our Captain fell to rise no more Within these arms he died.. 

A recent article in “The Ricardian” by Hannes Kleineke cites evidence that Edward was originally intended for the Church, like his brother Lionel. By 1471, however, these plans seem to have been abandoned, and Edward was made a Knight of the Bath, along with his royal nephews, in 1475. He jousted in 1478 at the festivities surrounding the wedding of Richard, Duke of York and Anne Mowbray. In 1482 he accompanied Richard, Duke of Gloucester, on his campaign in Scotland and was made a knight banneret by Richard. During the dramatic events of April/May 1483, he was at sea, where he had been sent by the council to deal with French raiders; learning of Richard’s order for his arrest, he fled to Brittany and met up with one Henry Tudor, for whom he fought at Bosworth. Sir Edward Woodville was a prominent courtier and a trusted soldier at Henry VII’s court. Under Henry VII he was appointed as Lord of the Isle of Wight in the first year of the new king’s reign. He was also given command of Porchester Castle again, along with Carisbrooke CastleSir Edward’s biographer Christopher Wilkins calls him “a true hero whose significance in the politics of the period is often overlooked”, describing him as an “essentially Medieval” figure, whose actions in Spain, England and France helped form, sometimes contrary to his intentions, modern nation-statesHe was buried in Brittany. In 1988 a monument was erected by Breton nationalists at the site of the battle, which commemorates the English forces, but erroneously refers to their leader as “Talbot Earl of Scales”. In 2009 English Heritage put up a memorial plaque to him at Carisbrooke castle.

Pictured: Memorial plaque at Carisbrooke castle.