Lost Legend of the Thryberg Hawk
The Wars of the Roses is a period of history which is often glossed over. The lethal competition between the influential houses of York and Lancaster, their complex web of obligation and family ties, only serves to confuse the modern amateur historian.
This tale is a rediscovery. In the area around the massive castles of Conisburgh and Pontefract, there was a legendary youth – a swineherd – who came from lowly beginnings to join a mercenary troupe of crossbowmen, the Wespen or Wasps. His skill with the crossbow, demonstrated in a competition in front of the King Edward IV, meant his going shoulder to shoulder with none other than Robin Hood of Sherwood.
So why did Sir Edmund Hawksworth, the Hawk, disappear from history? Especially when he played a major part in the defeat of the Lancastrian hordes at the decisive battle of Towton?
This book is a well-written story as well as an informative work on the period. We learn about the Hawk, the life of a crossbowman in the bloody conflict and the last days of the Wars of the Roses.
