The Black Arrow · Chapter
The Battle of Shoreby explained
Richard of Gloucester leads a surprise attack on Shoreby, with Dick Shelton advising a strategic seizure of a poor quarter.
What happens
Richard of Gloucester leads a surprise attack on Shoreby, with Dick Shelton advising a strategic seizure of a poor quarter. Dick is assigned to defend a narrow street leading to the marketplace, where he builds a barricade and holds against a fierce Lancastrian assault led by Sir Daniel Brackley. After a brutal hand-to-hand struggle and cavalry charge, Dick's post holds, and Gloucester knights him on the field. The duke reveals his obsessive desire to personally kill Earl Risingham, and Dick is disturbed by Gloucester's wild, cruel spirit.
Themes in this chapter
War and Political Conflict
The entire chapter depicts the brutal street battle for Shoreby, a key engagement in the Wars of the Roses.
Honor and Chivalry
Gloucester knights Dick on the battlefield for his valor, linking personal honor to martial prowess.
Greed and Corruption
Gloucester's obsessive desire to personally kill Risingham hints at a corrupting thirst for glory and revenge.
Characters to notice
- Dick Shelton
Advises Gloucester on strategy, defends the barricade, is knighted by Gloucester after the battle.
- Richard of Gloucester
Leads the Yorkist assault, chooses the Chequers as headquarters, knights Dick, and reveals his obsession with killing Earl Risingham.
- Sir Daniel Brackley
Seen ordering Lancastrian troops in the marketplace, leading the attack against Dick's post.
- Catesby
Attendant to Gloucester, questions the duke's exposure to danger.
- Earl Risingham
Mentioned as the target of Gloucester's personal vendetta; not present in the chapter.
Key passages
“The whole distance to be crossed was not above a quarter of a mile. But they had no sooner debouched beyond the cover of the trees than they were aware of people fleeing and screaming in the snowy meadows upon either hand.”
The crossing was short, but as soon as they left the trees, they saw people running and screaming in the snowy fields.
Describes the immediate alarm upon the Yorkist advance.
“Go, win your spurs. Win glory for me: one Richard for another. I tell you, if I rise, ye shall rise by the same ladder.”
Go earn your knighthood and bring me honor; if I succeed, you will rise with me.
Gloucester's exhortation to Dick before assigning him to guard the street.
“His face was as pale as linen; but his eyes shone in his head like some strange jewel, and his voice, when he spoke, was hoarse and broken with the exultation of battle and success.”
Gloucester's face was deathly pale, but his eyes glittered like jewels, and his voice was rough with battle excitement.
Portrays Gloucester's intense, almost inhuman demeanor after victory.
“The insane excitement, the courage, and the cruelty that he read therein filled him with dismay about the future. This young duke’s was indeed a gallant spirit, to ride foremost in the ranks of war; but after the battle, in the days of peace and in the circle of his trusted friends, that mind, it was to be dreaded, would continue to bring forth the fruits of death.”
Dick saw in Gloucester's eyes a terrifying mix of excitement, bravery, and cruelty, and feared what such a mind would do in peacetime.
Dick's foreboding about Gloucester's character beyond the battlefield.