BattlefieldsBattle of Radcot Bridge
Medieval

Battle of Radcot Bridge

1387
Oxfordshire, England
Also known as: Radcot Bridge 1387
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Oxfordshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Royalists (Robert de Vere)
Forces
royalists c.2,000–3,000
VS
Victor
Lords Appellant (Gloucester / Derby)
Forces
Lords Appellant c.4,000–6,000
Outcome
De Vere's army routed; Richard II's favourite fled to France
The Battle

History & Significance

The military climax of the Lords Appellant crisis that humiliated Richard II. His favourite Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, marched an army south to support Richard but was intercepted at Radcot Bridge. De Vere's force melted away; he escaped by swimming the Thames and fled to France, dying in exile. The Appellants then controlled the government through the "Merciless Parliament." Richard remembered the humiliation until his revenge a decade later.

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