Royal Standard of Richard III of England

Sir Percival Thirlwall was the

standard-bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

of Richard III during the Battle of Bosworth Field, the penultimate battle in the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

which ultimately brought an end to the reign of the

Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in ...

s and inaugurated the

Tudor dynasty The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and it ...

. Thirlwall fought alongside Richard during his final charge against Henry VII – which was considered to be the "swan song of medieval chivalry" – as he was his standard-bearer. He was slain after the intervention of Sir William Stanley and his force. Legend has it that, although Richard's group was failing, Sir Percival held the standard of his King aloft whilst fighting a desperate fight, continuing to do so even with the loss of his legs during combat; he is said to have held the standard until his last breath.

Family

Sir Percival Thirlwall was of the Thirwall family, and so he would likely have lived in

Thirlwall Castle Thirlwall Castle is a 12th-century castle in Northumberland, England, on the bank of the River Tipalt close to the village of Greenhead and approximately west of Hexham. It was built in the 12th century, and later strengthened using stones f ...

, as his family had done so from around 1330 until 1748.

Portrayal in the Ballad of Bosworth Fielde

This is how Sir Percivall Thirlwall was portrayed in the Ballad of Bosworth Fielde: "Sir Percivall Thriball, the other hight, & in his hart was true; King Richards’ standard hee kept upright until both his’ leggs’ were hewen him froe; to the ground he wold neuer let itt goe, whilest the breath his brest ws within; yet men pray ffor the knights’ that ever was soe true to their King."

References

{{Reflist 15th-century English people People of the Wars of the Roses