Fatal Rivalry: Flodden 1513—Henry VIII, James IV and the Decisive Battle for Renaissance Britain

Much has been written about Mary, Queen of Scots, and the rivalry between her and her cousin, Elizabeth I of England, which ended in Mary’s execution. But this was not the only fraught relationship between a 16th-century Scottish monarch and an English one that culminated in bloodshed. British historian Goodwin (Fatal Colours: Towton 1461) explores an earlier rivalry that played an influential role in the conglomeration of Great Britain 200 years later. While England’s Henry VII sought to keep the peace, even giving his daughter Margaret in marriage to Scotland’s James IV, Henry VIII took the English throne in 1509 as a teenager eager for glory. The monarchic brothers-in-law had much in common, and both were “masters of majestic display,” argues Goodwin, but while the more mature James regarded the display of might as “a substitute for war,” Henry regarded it as preparation for battle. Goodwin’s detailed account of the events leading up to the clash at Flodden on Sept. 9, 1513, places James at the center of the story, and it provides a fresh and provocative take on the intertwined histories of Tudor England and Stuart Scotland. 8 pages of color, 8 pages of b&w illus. (Aug.)