Editing Jasper Tudor (section)

==Wars of the Roses==
Jasper Tudor was an adventurer whose military expertise, some of it gained in the early stages of the [[Wars of the Roses]], was considerable. Nevertheless, the only major battle he had taken part in before the [[Battle of Bosworth]] was the [[Battle of Mortimer's Cross]] in February 1461, where he lost the battle to the future king, [[Edward IV of England]]. His father, Owen Tudor, was then captured and beheaded at [[Hereford]], where his head was placed on the market cross.<ref>{{Harvnb|Griffiths|Thomas|1985|page=1}}.</ref> Jasper occupied the castles of [[Carmarthen Castle|Carmarthen]] and [[Aberystwyth Castle|Aberystwyth]] in 1456 until he lost them to [[William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (8th Creation)|William Herbert of Raglan]].<ref>Loades, D.M. '' Politics and the Nation 1450–1660: Obedience, resistance and Public Order'' (Sussex: The Harvester Press, 1974), 60.</ref> Subsequently, he remained in touch with his sister-in-law, Margaret of Anjou, wife of his half-brother Henry VI and he held [[Denbigh Castle]] for the [[House of Lancaster]] in 1460.

Jasper Tudor also brought up his nephew, Henry Tudor, whose father, Edmund Tudor had died before his birth. After being welcomed by King [[Louis XI of France]] in 1462, Jasper stayed in France for 6 years before returning to North Wales in 1468. On his return, Jasper lost [[Pembroke Castle]] to William Herbert, when Herbert was given the title of Earl of Pembroke by King Edward IV.

Jasper Tudor briefly regained the earldom of Pembroke a couple of years later when his half-brother, [[Henry VI of England|King Henry VI]], was restored to the throne, but following the return of King Edward IV from temporary exile in 1471, Jasper fled again to the continent. During his time on the continent, he travelled and attempted to gather support for the Lancastrian cause.<ref>{{Harvnb|Griffiths|Thomas|1985|pages=60–64}}.</ref> While escaping from [[Tenby]] with his nephew Henry, storms in the [[English Channel]] forced them to land at [[Le Conquet]] in [[Brittany]], where they sought refuge with [[Francis II, Duke of Brittany]]. Francis housed Jasper, his nephew, and the core of their group of exiled Lancastrians at the [[Château de Suscinio]] in [[Sarzeau]] and although King Edward IV placed diplomatic pressure on him, the uncle and nephew remained safe from the clutches of the Yorkist king, who died later in April 1483. For 11 years, the Château de Suscinio became an armed camp, alert against any attempt to kidnap Jasper and Henry and return them to England, where they were under [[attainder]] and would have been promptly executed as threats to the Yorkist rule.

In October 1483, the Tudors launched an invasion of England from Brittany. However, the invasion failed and Jasper Tudor and his nephew Henry returned to Brittany. In mid-1484, when the Duke of Brittany was incapacitated with illness, his treasurer, [[Pierre Landais]], who took over the reins of government, reached an agreement with the new Yorkist king, [[Richard III of England]], to send Jasper and his nephew back to England in exchange for a pledge of 3,000 English archers to defend Brittany against a threatened French attack. John Morton, the Bishop of Ely who was then in exile in [[Flanders]], learned of the scheme and warned the Tudors in time. Jasper and Henry then managed to escape separately, hours ahead of Landais' soldiers, across the nearby border into France.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lander |first=Jack |title=Government and Community: England, 1450–1509 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sqqpQvfa1UgC|year=1981|orig-year=1980 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |location=Massachusetts, United States |isbn=0-674-35794-9 |chapter=Richard III |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sqqpQvfa1UgC |page=324}}</ref> They were received at the court of King [[Charles VIII of France]] who allowed them to stay and provided them with resources.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kendall|first=Paul Murray|title=Richard the Third|url=http://www.abebooks.com/book-search/isbn/0351170952/page-1/|year=1973|publisher=Sphere Books|isbn=0-351-17095-2|page=297}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, when Duke Francis II had recovered, he offered the 400 remaining Lancastrians, still at and around the Château de Suscinio, safe-conduct into France and even paid for their expenses.