Editing Battle of Stoke Field (section)

==Yorkist rebellion==
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[[File:Lambert Simnel, Pretender to the English Throne, Riding on Supporters in Ireland.gif|thumb|A 19th-century illustration depicting Irish supporters carrying Simnel]]

The Yorkist fleet set sail and arrived in [[Dublin]] on 4 May 1487. With the help of [[Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare]], and his brother [[Thomas FitzGerald of Laccagh]], [[Lord Chancellor of Ireland]], Lincoln recruited 4,500 Irish mercenaries, mostly [[kern (soldier)|kern]]s, lightly armoured but highly mobile infantry. With the support of the Irish nobility and clergy, Lincoln had the pretender Simnel crowned "King Edward VI" in Dublin on 24 May 1487.<ref name=Castelow>[http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/The-Battle-of-Stoke-Field/ Castelow, Ellen. "The Battle of Stoke Field", ''History Magazine'']</ref> Although a parliament was called for the new "king", Lincoln had no intention of remaining in Dublin and instead packed up the army and Simnel and set sail for north [[Lancashire]].

On landing on 4 June 1487, Lincoln was joined by a number of the local gentry led by Sir Thomas Broughton. In a series of forced marches, the Yorkist army, now numbering some 8,000 men, covered over 200 miles in five days. On the night of 10 June, the Yorkists were camped at Bramham moor, and the pro-Tudor forces under Clifford were camped near [[Tadcaster]]. Lovell led 2,000 Yorkists on a night attack against Clifford's 400 men. The result was an overwhelming Yorkist victory.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baldwin |first=David |title=Stoke Field, the last battle of the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Pen and Sword |year=2006 |isbn=1-84415-166-2 |pages=42–43}}</ref> Lincoln then outmanoeuvred King Henry's northern army, under the command of the [[Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland|Earl of Northumberland]], by ordering a force under [[John Scrope, 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton|John, Lord Scrope]], to mount a diversionary attack on [[Bootham Bar]], [[York]], on 12 June. Lord Scrope then withdrew northwards, taking Northumberland's army with him.

Lincoln and the main army continued southwards. Outside [[Doncaster]], Lincoln encountered Lancastrian cavalry under [[Edward Woodville, Lord Scales]]. There followed three days of skirmishing through [[Sherwood Forest]]. Lincoln forced Scales back to [[Nottingham, England|Nottingham]], where Scales' cavalry stayed to wait for the main royal army. However, the fighting had slowed down the Yorkist advance sufficiently to allow King Henry to receive substantial reinforcements under the command of [[George Stanley, 9th Baron Strange|Lord Strange]] by the time he joined Scales at Nottingham on 14 June. [[Rhys ap Thomas]], Henry's leading supporter in Wales, also arrived with reinforcements.<ref name = "van">Van Cleve Alexander, Michael, ''The First of the Tudors: A Study of Henry VII and His Reign'', Taylor & Francis, 1981, pp. 57–58.</ref> Henry's army now outnumbered the Yorkists. In addition, it was "far better armed and equipped" than the Yorkist army.<ref name = "van"/> His two principal military commanders, [[Jasper Tudor]] and [[John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford]], were also more experienced than the Yorkist leaders.