59. THE BATTLE OF ST. ALBANS 21-22 MAY, 1455
Amongst the Ch. Misc., 37, iii, 4-11, there is an English narrative of the Battle of St. Albans, which seems to have been written and circulated in the interest of the Yorkist party. It was communicated to Archæologia (vol. xx, pp. 519-22) in 1822 by John Bayley, keeper of the Records in the Tower, who attributed it to Sir William Stonor, misled as it would seem by the fact that Sir William Stonor was 24 years afterwards steward of St. Albans Abbey at Wallingford (see No. 244). The presence of the document amongst the Stonor MSS. seems to be accidental. Dr. Gairdner reprinted the text from Archæologia in the Paston Letters, No. 283. There is thus no need to re|print it here, though it seems right to record the source whence it was derived. Apart from some slight variations in spelling the printed text is accurate, ex|cept at two points. The name of the place in St. Peter's Street, where the King's banner was pitched, should be "Goslawe" not "Boslawe". In the list of Lords who were hurt there should be inserted between Buckingham and Stafford: "the lord of Dudle with an arowe in the vysage". The original is on a large sheet of paper folded to make 16 pages; the narrative is written on the first 6½ pages.