Religious/ Ritual Equipment Bosworth Cross
Object number
LDSAL446
Production date
15th century
Material
bronze
Technique
Gilding
Dimensions
height: 570mm
width: 270mm
weight: 1.4kg
width: 270mm
weight: 1.4kg
Location
Burlington House -
Associated place
Market Bosworth
Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Object history note
It is known as the 'Bosworth Cross' due to its recorded place of discovery in Leicestershire. It was presented to the Society by James Comerford FSA in 1881, and was published by the historian John Nichols FSA in 1811, who, quoting a Mr Sharp of Coventry, described it among other finds as being ploughed up on the Field of Bosworth about 1778. The Bosworth cross has the unique feature of a hinged metal ring about the base which would have held a cloth wrapped around the shaft or a tassel, and Nichols noted that the decaying remains of a wooden staff which had traces of paint and gilding were found with it, supporting the suggestion that this cross was lost in its processional mode, and might have been abandoned on the battlefield.
Recent reassessment of the Cross has suggested that it may have been a Catholic relic that came through the Fortescue family of Husbands Bosworth since at least the 1530s, as opposed to having been discovered in 1778 in Market Bosworth.
The sunburst symbols on the reverse of the cross's roundels have been interpreted as the Yorkist sun emblem, and are known on two other examples of English processional crosses of this kind.
Exhibited in 'Rebellious North : 1000 Years of Challenge and Change' at Palace Green Library, Durham University from 1 June 2015 - 31 August 2015.
References
Reference (free text)
John Ashdown Hill, 'The Bosworth Cross', Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society 78 (2004): 83-93.
Reference (free text)
Colum Hourihane, The Processional Cross in Late Medieval England: The 'Dallye Cross' (London: Society of Antiquaries of London, 2005), p. 99.Illustrations (Photographs), figs. 69 and 70, pp. 98, 100.
Reference (free text)
David Gaimster, Sarah McCarthy, and Bernard Nurse, eds., Making History, Antiquaries in Britain, 1707-2007 (London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2007), p. 119, no. 83.Illustration, p. 119.
Reference (free text)
The History and Antiquities of the County of LeicesterJohn Nichols, 4 (part 2), 1811, p. 557
Reference (free text)
'Correspondence'Letter in response to the 2004 article by John Ashdown-Hill, by Peter Foss, in Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical SocietyVol. 87, 2013pp. 233-235
Reference (free text)
Philip Schwyzer2013pp. 97-98
Reference (controlled)
'Rebellious North : 1000 Years of Challenge and Change' (2015). [Exhibition]. Palace Green Library, Durham University. 1 June 2015 - 31 August 2015.
Bronze-gilt cross with the four evangelists engraved on its roundels and Yorkist sunburst badges on its reverse. The cross was found on the site of the Battle of Bosworth (1485), in Leicestershire, a decisive battle in the Wars of the Roses.
The Bosworth Cross was presented to the Society in 1881. It was first discovered in 1778, and was said to have been found on the ‘Field of Bosworth’ – the famous site of the battle between Richard III and Henry VII that decided the Wars of the Roses.
An account of its discovery was published by the historian John Nichols in 1811, who described it as having been revealed during ploughing and that the decaying remains of a wooden pole, with traces of paint and gilding, had also been found.
The Bosworth Cross is a processional cross, which would have been mounted on a base for display or on a pole for carrying in a religious procession. It dates to the 15th century (before 1485) and has a strong association with the Yorkist dynasty, confirmed by the blazing sun motif that can be seen on the reverse of each of the roundels, which themselves display symbols of the four Evangelists. The sunburst motif was an emblem of the House of York and their supporters and represented the ‘sun in splendour’, which perhaps had connotations of a new dawn.
It was believed that the cross must have been carried by Richard’s supporters before being lost in the field of battle during the conflict at Bosworth. More recently there has been the suggestion that the cross had been retained as a Catholic relic by a family in Husband Bosworth, and that it does not have an association with the battle site. However, a number of objects have been recovered from the site, including silver-gilt badges bearing Richard’s symbol of the boar, coins, and the largest collection of round shots ever found on a medieval battlefield in Europe.
An account of its discovery was published by the historian John Nichols in 1811, who described it as having been revealed during ploughing and that the decaying remains of a wooden pole, with traces of paint and gilding, had also been found.
The Bosworth Cross is a processional cross, which would have been mounted on a base for display or on a pole for carrying in a religious procession. It dates to the 15th century (before 1485) and has a strong association with the Yorkist dynasty, confirmed by the blazing sun motif that can be seen on the reverse of each of the roundels, which themselves display symbols of the four Evangelists. The sunburst motif was an emblem of the House of York and their supporters and represented the ‘sun in splendour’, which perhaps had connotations of a new dawn.
It was believed that the cross must have been carried by Richard’s supporters before being lost in the field of battle during the conflict at Bosworth. More recently there has been the suggestion that the cross had been retained as a Catholic relic by a family in Husband Bosworth, and that it does not have an association with the battle site. However, a number of objects have been recovered from the site, including silver-gilt badges bearing Richard’s symbol of the boar, coins, and the largest collection of round shots ever found on a medieval battlefield in Europe.