botany 123and Charles, 1972); Carl Stephenson, Borough and Town:
A Study of Urban Origins in England(Cambridge, Mass:
The Mediaeval Academy of America, 1933); James Tait,
The Medieval English Borough: Studies on its Origins and
Constitutional History(Manchester: Manchester Univer-
sity Press, 1936); Charles R. Young, The English Borough
and Royal Administration, 1130–1307 (Durham, N.C.:
Duke University Press, 1961).
Bosnia A region in the Balkan Peninsula, Bosnia was
once part of postwar Yugoslavia. From the time of the
partition of the Roman Empire in 395, Bosnia and Herze-
govina were joined with the West. Slavs settled in the
region in the late sixth and early seventh centuries. By
the ninth century it was theoretically under the control
of the Franks, but since it bordered the BYZANTINE
Empire, HUNGARY,BULGARIA, and SERBIA, all of these
powers exercised control over it at one time or another
during the Middle Ages. By the 11th century, Bosnia was
part of the Western Church but used Old Slavonic in its
secular literatures and liturgies. It always remained an
area of rivalry between the Eastern and Western
Churches. Most efforts to control local Christianity were
strongly resisted and failed, despite papal and Franciscan
efforts. By the 13th century, the Bosnian Church was in
schism with Rome, but the details of all this remain
obscure. Several military interventions were based on its
removal, however.
In the 14th century, Bosnia developed economically
and became tied to the cities, such as DUBROVNIK, on the
Dalmatian coast. By the next century, the Bosnian economy,
until then dependent on agriculture and sheep raising, ben-
efited hugely from the booming silver mining recently
started within its boundaries. It also profited from the east-
west commercial trade that passed through it and from its
artisan production of textiles, firearms, and metalwork.
By the 15th century, the OTTOMANSbegan interven-
ing in its affairs along with all the old and accustomed
outside powers. The Turks invaded with a large army in
1463 but could not drive out the Hungarians and could
not settle into an occupation. The Ottomans, however,
carried out a slow but successful conquest of the region
over the next 60 years.
See alsoSTEPHENDUSHAN;VLACHS.
Further reading: John V. A. Fine, “Bosnia” and
“Bosnia Church,” DMA,2.334–343; John V. A. Fine, The
Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late
Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest (Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press, 1994).
BosporusSeeCONSTANTINOPLE.
Bosworth Field, Battle of At the end of the WARS
OF THE ROSES, King RICHARD III (1452–85) was in
Nottinghamshire when news reached him that Henry
VII TUDORhad landed near Milford Haven on August 7,- To Richard’s surprise he had marched unopposed
through WALES. In the Midlands of England at Market
Bosworth, the opposing armies met on August 22.
Henry’s forces numbered about 5,000 and Richard’s
about 8,000. Richard’s subsequent defeat and death in
battle were attributed to problems of geography: since
some of his soldiers apparently could not position
themselves to participate in the battle. A skillful and
successful soldier, Richard had chosen a dominant posi-
tion on Ambien Hill, but he was unable to take advan-
tage of his larger numbers. He had to deploy them up
in a column, one behind another. The front group then
had to bear the brunt of the struggle. Seeing this,
Richard launched a charge himself, but he was cut
down. Henry Tudor then emerged victorious. This bat-
tle ended the Wars of the Roses with a victory for the
House of Anjou (Angerius)
Further reading: Michael Bennett, The Battle of
Bosworth (Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1985);
Daniel Thomas Williams, The Battle of Bosworth, 22
August 1485(Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1973).botany Medieval botany, the study of plants and
herbs, was deeply influenced by the works of Greek
scientists and by the Natural Historyof Pliny the Elder
from the first century C.E. These works laid the basis
for medieval description and classification of plants and
their properties. At the same time, there was a rich
folkloric understanding of plants. In the early Middle
Ages, botanical works classifying plants by their alleged
characteristics and form were authored by ISIDORE
of Seville, BEDE, and Pseudo-Apuleius, credited with
the Herbalin the sixth century. Medieval botany also
concentrated on the potential medicinal properties of
plants and herbs.
Much more impressive progress was achieved by
Arab botanists, who had produced by then valuable lexi-
cographies on plants and herbs, building on the ideas and
classifications of the ancient Greeks. With the recovery of
many Aristotelian texts by the West in the 13th century,
botany became more scientific and Scholastic. The Latin
translation of a pseudo-Aristotelian The Book of Plants or
Vegetablesin 1217 set a standard for the field. Roger
BACONand particularly ALBERTUSMAGNUSmade botani-
cal observations, which marked a distinct step forward in
accurate representation of plants and herbs. Focus
remained on the medicinal and pharmacological qualities
of plants.
See alsoCOSMETICS AND BEAUTY AIDS.
Further reading:Frank J. Anderson, An Illustrated
History of the Herbals(New York: Columbia University
Press, 1977); A. G. Morton, History of Botanical Sciences:
An Account of the Development of Botany from Ancient