BattlefieldsCourtenay Rising at Exeter, October 1483
Medieval

Courtenay Rising at Exeter, October 1483

1483
Devon, England
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Campaign
Location
Devon, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Peter Courtenay, Bishop of Exeter, and the Courtenay rebels
Forces
Richard III moved quickly against all rebel forces across England.
VS
Victor
Richard III
Forces
Peter Courtenay, Bishop of Exeter, and his brother Walter Courtenay led the rising in Devon and Cornwall
Outcome
The rising failed; Peter Courtenay fled to the continent and was subsequently attainted by Parliament in January 1484.
The Battle

History & Significance

The Courtenay Rising at Exeter in October 1483 formed part of the wider collection of uprisings known as Buckingham's rebellion, a co-ordinated effort by disaffected gentry to unseat King Richard III, who had deposed the young Edward V earlier that year. The overall plan, as it concerned the west of England, called for the Bishop of Exeter to lead a revolt in Devon, which would then link up with Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, marching from Wales, and ultimately with the forces of Henry Tudor landing from Brittany. It was Peter Courtenay, Bishop of Exeter, together with his younger brother Walter Courtenay, who attempted to incite this rising in Devon and Cornwall on behalf of Henry Tudor, the future King Henry VII.

The rising ultimately failed. Elsewhere in England, a premature uprising in Kent had forewarned Richard III of the conspiracy, enabling him to move swiftly against the rebels. Henry Tudor's planned landing was frustrated by a storm that scattered his fleet. With the broader rebellion collapsing, the Courtenay rising in the south-west likewise came to nothing. Bishop Courtenay fled to the continent and joined Tudor in exile at Vannes in Brittany. In January 1484 he was attainted by Parliament and his temporalities were forfeited, though his attainder was later reversed after Henry Tudor's victory at Bosworth.

Confirmed battlefield location
Buried history

Peter Courtenay, Bishop of Exeter, and his younger brother Walter attempted to raise Devon and Cornwall for Henry Tudor in October 1483 as part of the co-ordinated plan for the Bishop of Exeter to lead a revolt in the south-west, before joining forces with Buckingham and then with Tudor himself. When the wider rebellion collapsed, Courtenay fled to exile at Vannes in Brittany, accompanied Henry Tudor on his eventual return to England, and was made Keeper of the Privy Seal on 8 September 1485 following the Yorkist defeat at Bosworth, a remarkable reversal of fortune for a man who had been attainted only months earlier.

Casualties & Losses

Unknown from the sources provided.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Unlimited access

Uncover the history of anywhere in the UK

Pick any location and Aubrey pulls together everything the record actually holds about it:

GeologyDomesday BookLocal findsScheduled monumentsRoman BritainBattlefieldsCivil WarLIDAR terrainLocal namesHistorical mapsLiteratureFull timeline
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your first month for £4.99
Aubrey Research

Explore the landscape around Devon

Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the UK — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.

Research a location near DevonView a sample report
Sources