Editing Battle of Barnet (section)

==Legacy==
The Battle of Barnet was an important engagement in the Wars of the Roses: it brought about the death of a prominent figure and secured the throne for another.{{refn|Warwick Castle was classified as a national monument and converted to a tourist attraction in the 20th century. One of its major exhibits, "Kingmaker—A Preparation for Battle", features [[diorama]]s displaying preparations by the earl and his household for the Battle of Barnet.{{Sfn|Kettler|Trimble|2003|pp=163–164}}|group=nb}} Despite its importance to history, contemporary records about the battle are rare.{{Sfn|Burne|1950|p=108}} The sole [[chronicle]] based on an eyewitness account—''[[Historie of the arrivall of Edward IV|The Arrivall of Edward IV]]''—was written by someone within Edward's council, which presents a biased account of the battle.{{Sfn|Hicks|1995|pp=21–22}}{{refn|''The Arrivall'' was written to promote and celebrate Edward's superiority. Besides presenting supernatural approvals of Edward's venture—the miracle of St Anne, it approved Edward's violation of [[sanctuary]] after the Battle of Tewkesbury and claimed that Henry VI died just after Tewkesbury, where his sole heir had been killed, due to "pure displeasure and melancoly".{{Sfn|Hicks|1995|pp=21–22}}|group=nb}} Another first-hand observation was found in the [[Paston Letters]], written by the Lancastrian Sir John Paston.{{Sfn|Gravett|2003|p=9}} Other records, such as ''The Warkworth Chronicle'', offer only bits and pieces about the battle. Therefore, deficits in historical understanding must be filled through field research and discoveries of mediaeval documents.{{Sfn|Hicks|1995|pp=21–22}}

Historians theorise that had Warwick's force joined Margaret's before challenging Edward, the combined Lancastrian army would have overwhelmed the Yorkists. Instead, Warwick's defeat gave the Yorkists a victory so decisive that it, along with the Battle of Tewkesbury, secured the English throne for Edward IV.{{Sfn|Ross|1997|pp=172, 175–176}} Historian Colin Richmond believes that Edward's return to power was assured at Barnet—Tewkesbury was "merely an epilogue".{{Sfn|Richmond|2000|p=143}} Without having to contend with Warwick's popularity and political influence, the young Yorkist king could fully exert his will and rule the land unchallenged. Ballads composed during Edward's reign celebrated his victory as sanctioned by God: "Man proposes, oftimes in veyn, But God disposes, the boke telleth pleyn".{{Sfn|Hicks|2002|p=311}} Barnet was a disaster for the Nevilles; their lands given away and their offices reduced. The family never again reached the prominence in English politics that they had enjoyed before the battle.{{Sfn|Hicks|2002|p=312}}

===Shakespearian dramatisation===
[[File:The Death of the Earl of Warwick (frame, bw).jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A man, wearing armour and a surcoat, lies on the ground. His helmet is off, and his face is turned towards a kneeling knight, who is supporting him. Standing behind the two is another knight, whose sword and shield are held at the ready.|''[[Henry VI, Part 3]]'': Warwick, dying at the Battle of Barnet, speaks his last words.]]

The battle is alluded to in [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Henry VI, Part 3]]'' (1595).{{Sfn|Martin|Shakespeare|2001|pp=9–10}} The end of Act V, scene one depicts the events leading up to the battle; scenes two and three portray the conclusion, in which the characters discuss the combat and the fates of its participants. Shakespeare uses few details reported by contemporary chroniclers and ignores notable incidents, such as the confusion over Oxford's and Edward's badges.{{Sfn|Goy-Blanquet|2003|p=131}} His play is based mostly on poetic and dramatic sources. In the play, Montagu is killed while trying to save his brother (Shakespeare's source material included Hall's 1548 ''The Union of the Two Noble and Illustrate Famelies of Lancastre and Yorke''),{{Sfn|Ross|1999|p=xlvi}}{{Sfn|Goy-Blanquet|2003|p=169}} and Warwick is dragged in by Edward IV and left to speak his dying words to Oxford and Somerset.{{Sfn|Goy-Blanquet|2003|p=124}} Warwick's death dominates the scenes, reflecting Hall's vivid portrayal of the earl's passing as a valiant death.{{Sfn|Edelman|1992|p=78}} Furthermore, whereas several chronicles mention Edward's desire to capture Warwick, Shakespeare has the Yorkist king lustily demand Warwick's skin.{{Sfn|Goy-Blanquet|2003|p=169}}

Shakespeare presents the Nevilles as brothers who are willing to die for each other, whereas the three sons of York—Edward, Gloucester, and Clarence—are slowly driven apart by their own goals and ideas.{{Sfn|Martin|Shakespeare|2001|pp=51–63}} Professor of English John Cox suggests that Shakespeare did not share the impression given in post-battle ballads that Edward's triumph was divinely ordained. He argues that Shakespeare's placement of Clarence's last act of betrayal immediately before the battle suggests that Edward's rule stems from his military aggression, luck, and "policy".{{Sfn|Cox|2007|p=112}} Shakespeare also explicitly excludes Edward from action sequences, a departure from Hall's depictions.{{Sfn|Edelman|1992|p=79}}

===Battlefield===
[[File:Hadley Highstone cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A column of stone stands on a square base.|Hadley Highstone, [[Monken Hadley]]: an obelisk erected to mark the battle and the spot where Warwick the Kingmaker died]]

[[English Heritage]], a government body in charge of conservation of historic sites, roughly locates the battlefield in an area 800 to 1600&nbsp;metres (0.5 to 1.0 mile) north of the town of Barnet. Over the centuries, much of the terrain has changed, and records of the town's boundaries and geography are not detailed enough for English Heritage or historians to conclude the exact location of the battle. Geographical features corresponding to contemporary descriptions allow approximations of where the fighting took place.{{refn|Gravett, however, states that due to the extensive build-up and remodelling of the town, even these elements are suspect and may not correlate to 15th-century features.{{Sfn|Gravett|2003|pp=89–90}}|group=nb}}

English Heritage suggests that a 15th-century letter from a [[Hanseatic League|Hanseatic]] merchant, Gerhard von Wessel, helps to identify the battlefield via geological features. It mentions a "broad green" which corresponds to [[Hadley Green]], and the marsh on the right flank of the Yorkist line is likely to be in the valley of the [[Monken Mead Brook]]. The letter also mentions St Albans road, which has remained largely the same, winding through the fields. Urbanisation over the 18th and 19th centuries, however, has populated much of the area with buildings. By the 20th century, the suburb of [[Monken Hadley]] covered part of the fields where the Battle of Barnet was fought.{{Sfn|English Heritage|1995|pp=1–2}} A hedge in the local golf course, as suggested by Lieutenant-Colonel [[Alfred Burne|Alfred H. Burne]], is likely the row of shrubs behind which Oxford's men lined up and took cover.{{Sfn|English Heritage|1995|p=7}}

In 1740 Sir Jeremy Sambroke erected an obelisk to commemorate the battle about {{convert|200|m|ft}} south of the junction between the Great North Road and Kitts End Road. It was later moved just north of the junction on the grass between the two roads. Known as Hadley Highstone, it stands {{convert|5.5|m|ft}} tall and marks its location with the inscription:{{Sfn|Brooke|1857|p=211}}
{{quote|"Here was fought the Famous Battle Between Edward the 4th and the Earl of Warwick April the 14th ANNO 1471 in which the Earl was Defeated And Slain."{{Sfn|Haigh|1995|p=120}}}}

The battle is referred to in the [[coat of arms of the London Borough of Barnet]] which display a red and a silver rose in the top of the shield and two crossed swords in the crest.

Every year, the Barnet Medieval Festival is held at the place where the battle is thought to have occurred. It features a re-enactment of the battle and market stalls.