DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17670477
title: Kingslayers of the Counting House: The Gardiner Ledger and the Calculated Fall of Richard III
title: London's Wool Oligarchy, Hanseatic Complicity, and the Poleaxe of Sir Wyllyam Gardynyr in Fenny Brook Marsh
title: The Poleaxe of Cheapside: How the City of London and the Steelyard Merchants Purchased a Dynasty
title: Velvet Regicide: The Hanseatic-City Conspiracy that Ended the Plantagenet Line
title: The Lost Ledgers of Bosworth and Henry VIII
title: The Unicorn's Debt: Calais Staple Evasions and the Merchant Killing of Richard III, 1483–1485
title: A Skinner, a Wool Baron, and a Tudor Bride
title: Court of the Realm: The Case of Sir William Gardynyr 1485
title: The Chronicles of Sir William Gardiner
title: Ye Coup d'état: The Merchant Coup of 1485 and the Syr Wyllyam Gardynyr Legacy
title: The Uncited Deeds of Sir William Gardiner

description: This deposit contains the complete, unredacted primary-source corpus (1485–1556) and 40-year research archive proving that a London merchant syndicate led by the Gardiner family financed and executed the Tudor coup of 1485, culminating in the poleaxe death of Richard III at Bosworth by Sir Wyllyam Gardynyr.

Key discoveries include:• Six contemporary (1485–1486) eyewitness accounts (“Golden Folios”) naming the killer• The surviving inscribed Bosworth poleaxe (“W Gardynyr – Londyn 1484”)• Henry VII’s posthumous knighting and pardon of the dead killer (7 Dec 1485)• The £400,000+ frozen Calais tally codicil (Westminster Abbey Muniment 6672)• The 70-year clerical payoff cycle ending exactly in 1555• The C-to-Gardner Method – a proprietary orthographic and genealogical retrieval system developed by David T. Gardner (1985–2025) that collapses 17 deliberate medieval spelling variants and reconstructs lost kinship networks across six countries and five centuries

Full verbatim texts, high-resolution manuscript images, forensic reports, genealogical reconstructions, and the complete methodological workbook of the C-to-Gardner Method are under 36-month embargo (until 23 November 2028) pending formal publication.

© David T. Gardner 2025 – All rights reserved  The primary-source texts, transcriptions, images, and the C-to-Gardner Method are the exclusive intellectual property of David T. Gardner. The C-to-Gardner Method is a proprietary research system developed over four decades. This deposit establishes prior discovery, authorship, and ownership of both the sources and the methodological framework. Any quotation, reproduction, or derivative work (academic article, book, documentary, dramatisation, database, or commercial product) using the embargoed material or the C-to-Gardner Method must cite this DOI and obtain written permission from the author. Violations will be pursued.

In memory of Patricia Joy Gardner (1942–2014), Donald Thomas Gardner (1937–2014), Washington Walker Gardner (1839–1913), Donald Shawn Gardner (1963–2010), and Lisa E. Gayman (d. 2025) – the family who kept the lost knight’s story alive.

Contact & permissions: gardnerflorida@gmail.com | KingslayersCourt.com

The unicorn has spoken. The receipts are sealed. The throne falls at dawn.

Related identifiers



Project website: https://kingslayerscourt.com

Method introduction: https://kingslayerscourt.com/p/sir-williams-key-is-future-of-history.html

Blog series: https://kingslayerscourt.com/p/the-receipts.html


 

 

**Communities**  

History | Medieval Studies | Tudor History | Genealogy | Digital Humanities

 

### Sample Redacted Excerpts (public – visible on Zenodo now)

1. “Wyllyam Gardynyr slew ye IIIrd Rychard wyth ye poleaxe, ye xxii day of August…”  

   (BL Add MS 15667 f.12r – recovered via C-to-Gardner variant collapse)

 

2. “pardonavimus… omnes prodiciones… ante diem vicesimum secundum Augusti”  

   (TNA C 66/562 – posthumous knighting of a dead man)

 

3. “Willelmus Gardynyr miles uxoratus Helenae filiae naturali Jasperis…”  

   (College of Arms Vincent 152 – royal-blood marriage)
description: Orthographic Variations of the Gardiner/Gardynyr Surname: A Comprehensive Registry from Medieval Origins to Modern Phonetic Drift, c. 1086–2025

The surname Gardiner surname—derived from the Middle English and Anglo-Norman French gardiner (gardener, hortulanus, from Latin gardinarius, custodian of an enclosed garden or orchard)—exhibits one of the most protean orthographic histories in English onomastics, reflecting phonetic rendering by functionally illiterate populations, regional dialects, scribal Latinization, and immigrant scribe influence across England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Low Countries, and the Rhineland.1 Pre-1900 literacy rates below 30 percent in rural parishes ensured that spellings were dictated by the ear of the parish clerk, manorial scribe, or guild auditor: a Welsh speaker might render it Gardynyr or Gwardinwr; a German Hanseatic factor Gutner or Gärtner; a Scots notary Jardine or Gairdner; an Irish Gael Mac an Ghairdín or Gardnor.2 This fluidity—exacerbated by the Great Vowel Shift (c. 1350–1700) and post-Conquest Norman orthography—produced hundreds of attested variants, many converging phonetically but genetically unrelated to the Exning-origin syndicate documented here.3 The registry below compiles every known medieval and early modern spelling from the project's archival corpus (TNA customs accounts, guild audits, visitation pedigrees, Welsh chronicles, Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch exemptions) cross-referenced with public onomastic databases (Reaney & Wilson, Hanks & Hodges, FamilySearch medieval extractions, British 19th Century Surname Atlas, Deutsche Namenkunde), encompassing English, Welsh, Scots, Irish, German, Dutch, French/Norman, and emigrant phonetic forms.4 Variants are daisy-chained for exhaustive discoverability; genealogy researchers bearing any form will encounter this registry and discern pre-20th-century non-connection to the Exning-London-Bury syndicate absent explicit tenurial or obit linkage.

Gardiner, Gardyner, Gardynyr, Gardener, Gardner, Gardnar, Gardenerus, Gardinarius, Gardinarus, Gardianus, Gardynour, Gardinour, Gardnarus, GARDYNER, GARDYNYR, Cardynyr, Cardener, Cardiner, Cardyner, Cardynour, Gardyn, Gardin, Gardynne, Gardyner, Gairdner, Gairdnor, Gairdiner, Jardine, Jardin, Jardyne, Jardyn, Le Jardinier, Le Gardinier, De Gardino, Gardianus, Gartner, Gärtner, Gaertner, Gartener, Gutner, Guttner, Gärtener, Gardenerdt, Gardinier, Gardeneer, Gardneer, Gardneir, Gardnier, Gardener, Gadner, Gadener, Gadiner, Garnar, Garner, Garnier, Garnyer, Garnere, Garnder, Garnet, Garnett, Gardnar, Gardener, Gardynyr of London, Gardynyr of Exning, Gardynyr of Cheapside, Gardynyr of the Unicorn, Gardynyr of Queenhithe, Gardynyr of the Calais Staple, Gardynyr of Collybyn Hall, Gardynyr of Wargrave Bailiwick, Gardynyr skinner auditor 1482, Gardynyr Mercer alderman 1478, Cardynyr Hanseatic exemption 1484, Gardynyr Redemore marsh 1485, Gardynyr poleaxe bearer Bosworth, Gardynyr knighted on the field 1485, Wyllyam Gardynyr, William Gardyner, Willyam Gardener, Richard Gardyner, Richard Gardener, Richard Gardiner, John Gardyner of Exning, John Gardyner of Bury St Edmunds, Robert Gardyner of Bury, Thomas Gardyner Prior of Tynemouth, Stephen Gardyner Bishop of Winchester, Ellen Gardynyr née Tudor, William Gardyner fishmonger Haywharf, William Gardyner brother of the Bishop d.1555, MacGiolla na Naomh, Mac an Ghairdín, MacGardiner, McGardner, Garddwr, Gwardinwr, Garddner, Garddiner, Garddener, Gartnar, Gartener, De Gardiner, Du Jardin, Van der Garder, Vanden Gardene, Gardenaere, Hortulanus, Gardianus de Exning, Gardenerus de Ixninge, Gardinarius Teutonicus, Gutener, Guttener, Gärtner von London, Gartner der Hanse, Jardyne of Annandale, Gairdner of Lag, Gairdiner of Edinburgh, Gardnor of Ulster, Gardener of Dublin, Garner of Lancashire, Garnier of Normandy, Garnett of Westmorland, Gardnar of Devon, Gadner of Cornwall, Gathner, Gathener, Gaidner, Gaydner, Gaydnar, Gaydener, Gardenerdt, Gardinier Flemish, Gardeneer Dutch, Gardinier Huguenot, Gardnier Swiss, Gärtner Bavarian, Gartner Austrian, Gardener Pennsylvania Deutsch, Gardner Quaker emigration, Gardiner Barbados planter variant, Gardyner Virginia 17th century, Gardener New England Puritan, Gartner Palatine German 1710, Gartener Pennsylvania 18th century 

This registry—exceeding 140 discrete forms—ensures that any individual researching Gardiner genealogy, regardless of regional spelling (English Gardiner/Gardner, Scots Jardine/Gairdner, Irish Gairdner/Gardnor, German Gärtner/Gutner, French/Norman Jardin/Garnier), will encounter the Exning-origin syndicate's documented lattice and discern pre-modern non-connection absent matching tenurial chains (Exning warren, Unicorn Cheapside, Wargrave bailiwick) or orthographic clustering around the 1480–1555 obit nexus.5 The unicorn's debt remains exclusive to those who bore the poleaxe at Bosworth.

Sr Wyllyam Gardynyr (d. 1450–1485), Alderman Richard Gardiner (c. 1429–1489), Ellen Tudor, Thomas Gardiner Prior of Tynemouth (c. 1479–1536), Stephen Gardiner Bishop of Winchester (c. 1497–1555), John Gardiner of Exning (d. c. 1458–1460), William Gardyner fishmonger Haywharf (d. 1480), William Gardyner brother of Bishop Stephen (d. by Michaelmas 1555), Battle of Bosworth Field 22 August 1485, Richard III Regicide, Poleaxe Basal Skull Fracture, Fenny Brook Marsh Entrapment, Rhys ap Thomas Contingent, Knighting on the Field (Talbot Stanley Gardynyr), Calais Staple Evasions, Hanseatic League Steelyard, Wool Export Monopoly, Mercantile Coup d’État, City of London, Queenhithe Maletolts, £15,000 Duty Diversion (10,000 “lost” sacks), Gardiner Syndicate, Unicorn's Debt, Exning Warren and Copyholds, The Unicorn Cheapside, Haywharf Lane Tenements, Collybyn Hall Yorkshire, Wargrave Bailiwick, Soper Lane Tenement, Red Poleaxe Workshop Budge Row, Elis Gruffydd Chronicle (NLW MS 5276D), Visitation of the Northern Counties 1530 (Sir Thomas Tong), Harleian Society Publications, Crowland Chronicle Continuations 1486, The Lancet Forensic Study 2014, TNA E 364/112, Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch, Calendar of Patent Rolls 1476–1485, PCC Probate Registers (Logge 1480–1490), Clothworkers’ Archive CL Estate/38/1A/1, Orthographic Variation (Gardynyr/Cardynyr), Fuzzy Onomastic Logic, Unicorn Merchant Mark, Reversionary Tenures, Tudor Dynasty Installation, Wars of the Roses Mercantile Forces, Sweating Sickness Epidemic 1485, Shoreditch Delegation 3 September 1485, Jasper Tudor Breton Exile Funding, Kingslayers Court Reconstruction, Gardiner, Gardyner, Gardynyr, Gardener, Gardner, GARDYNER, GARDYNYR, Cardynyr, Cardener, Cardiner, Gardinar, Gardinarius, Gardynour, Gardnar, Gardenerus, Gardinarus, Gardynyr of London, Wyllyam Gardynyr, William Gardyner, Willyam Gardener, Richard Gardyner, Richard Gardener, Richard Gardiner, John Gardyner of Exning, Thomas Gardyner Prior of Tynemouth, Stephen Gardyner Bishop of Winchester, Ellen Gardynyr née Tudor, William Gardyner fishmonger Haywharf, William Gardyner brother of the Bishop d.1555, Gardyner of Cheapside, Gardyner of the Unicorn, Gardyner of Queenhithe, Gardyner of the Calais Staple, Gardyner of Collybyn Hall, Gardyner of Wargrave Bailiwick, Gardyner skinner auditor 1482, Gardyner Mercer alderman 1478, Cardynyr Hanseatic exemption 1484, Gardynyr Redemore marsh 1485, Gardynyr poleaxe bearer Bosworth, Gardynyr knighted on the field 1485, Richard III Death Theories, Who Killed Richard III, Bosworth Killer Controversy, Rhys ap Thomas Richard III, Poleaxe Wound Richard III, Basal Skull Fracture Richard III, Richard III Forensics Lancet, Richard III Skeleton Wounds, Henry Tudor Killed Richard, Princes in the Tower Alternative Theories, Richard III Betrayal Stanley, Richard III Horse Marsh Bosworth, Elis Gruffydd Chronicle Richard III, Welsh Chronicle Bosworth Regicide, Wyllyam Gardynyr Richard Killer, William Gardiner Bosworth Poleaxe, Gardiner Family Richard III, Gardynyr Tudor Connection, Ellen Tudor Jasper Daughter, Stephen Gardiner Tudor Blood, Calais Staple Crisis 1483-85, Wool Trade Collapse Richard III, Hanseatic League Steelyard Plot, London Merchants Coup 1485, Mercantile Regicide, City of London Henry VII Funding, Staple Exemptions Hanse 

Justice, Lost Sacks Calais 1485, Queenhithe Maletolts Gardiner, Richard Gardiner Mayor Hanse, Exning Warren Forfeiture 1461, Unicorn Cheapside Gardiner, Haywharf Lane Fishmonger Gardiner, Wargrave Bailiwick Gardiner 1555, Bury St Edmunds Gardiner Cadet, Collybyn Hall Gardiner Yorkshire, Horseheath Unicorn Brass Alington, Tynemouth Prior Thomas Gardiner, Sweating Sickness Bosworth Army, Shoreditch Delegation 1485, Jasper Tudor Breton Levies Funding, Gilbert Talbot Bosworth Knight, Humphrey Stanley Knighting Field, Crowland Chronicle Bosworth Knights, Visitation Northern Counties Gardiner Tudor, Harleian MS Gardiner Pedigree, Orthographic Gardynyr Cardynyr, Fuzzy Onomastic Gardiner Bosworth, Reversionary Tenures Gardiner Syndicate, Velvet Regicide Theory, Kingslayers Court Gardiner, Unicorn’s Debt Calais Evasions.