Portrayals - General History of the War

The Wars of the Roses are often seen as a series of civil wars in England from the 1450’s to 1480’s. In a real sense, though, it was less a time of true civil war than of dynastic struggle between two houses competing for the English throne. There were no “revolutionary” or competing political doctrines, only a clash for supremacy. The thirty year time frame is also somewhat misleading. Campaigns were brief and the disruption to the common man was usually fairly limited as both dynasties hoped to rule an economically prosperous England once the dispute was settled. The English themselves were not the only participants either. Scottish, French, Burgundian, and even Netherlands interests were at times played out, with “invasions” coming out of, or backed by, some of these countries. Furthermore, even the name “Wars of the Roses” is a bit misleading. It is true that both competing houses had roses contained in some of their badges, but the idea for this name for the conflict seems to be taken from much later writers such as Shakespeare and Sir Walter Scott.

The origins of the Wars of the Roses stem from the dynastic struggle of the Houses of York and Lancaster for supremacy in England. Both houses felt they had a reasonable claim to the throne. These competing claims would probably not have lead to war had it not been for the weak and ineffectual rule of King Henry VI, the English monarch at the time. At first Henry VI ruled in name only under a Protectorate, as he was only 9 months old when his father, King Henry V, died. Even after Henry was old enough to rule on his own, he was seen as weak and not able to control the nobility under him. Indeed, after the Battle of Castillion (1453), where England lost much of its possessions in France, Henry endured a bout of mental illness that only accentuated the weak view of him as ruler. This exacerbated the rivalry between the two competing houses.

Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York and leader of that house, was the heir of Henry VI and was named England’s Protector while the King was incapacitated. York would be replaced as Henry VI’s heir when Henry’s son, Edward of Lancaster was born in 1453. Henry was able to regain his wits long enough to see York fall from favor and York’s main rival, Lancastrian Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, recalled to royal favor. Somerset, who also had a healthy claim to the throne, though debarred, was favored by King Henry’s wife, Margaret of Anjou. Margaret certainly poured fuel on the fire of the rivalry between Somerset and York, always with an eye to her own (and her son’s) interests.

The defeats in France brought about a recall of many English soldiers from the continent. Many of these men were disgruntled with the way the King and his advisors had run the war. This carried over into their feelings for how the advisors to the king were handling domestic policy as well. The King’s and his advisors’ popularity continued to plummet. This general sense of unrest was shown in the revolt led by Jack Cade, an English veteran of the French Wars, who in 1450 aimed to overthrow the king’s officials, who were seen as corrupt. After Cade’s defeat, York became generally seen as the head of this opposition. This opposition was at first not to the king himself, but to his councilors.

The machinations and quarreling between the two houses eventually lead to open hostilities. The king could not control the majority of the nobles, who in essence, retained private armies. Nobles flocked to either the Yorkist or Lancastrian banners out of a sense of required duty formed from the ties brought about under bastard feudalism or as a way to further their own political agendas. Private quarrels between noble houses helped fuel this warlike fire as many hoped to even old scores.

The Houses of York and Lancaster, along with their allies, finally came to blows in 1455 at the First Battle of St. Albans. Somerset was killed in the battle and afterward a time of reconciliation was attempted. York was back in his ascendancy as he was again appointed Protector. Henry was incarcerated and again suffered a bout of mental illness. There was some question as to whether his heir would be his son or the Duke of York once more. Queen Margaret would have no part in any compromises that allowed the disinheritance of her son, however.

Tensions mounted once more and, after the Battle of Northampton (July 1460), Henry was captured by the Yorkists. Parliament declared Richard’s son heir to the throne, but would not dethrone Henry. The tide turned somewhat after the Battle of Wakefield (December 1460) when Richard was killed by Lancastrian forces that were rallied to Queen Margaret’s and her young son Edward’s cause.

Richard’s son, also named Edward, now became the Duke of York and continued his father’s struggle, aided by the powerful Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (the largest single land owner in England). Queen Margaret was able to raise a new army in the North and, following a Lancastrian loss at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross (February 2, 1461), successfully retrieved King Henry after the Second Battle of St. Albans (February 17, 1461). The decisive battle, however, took place at Towton (March 1461). Here the Yorkists’ victory caused Henry, Margaret, and their son to flee to Scotland, while Edward, Duke of York, is crowned King Edward IV. Parliament had accepted his claim to the throne just prior to his march to Towton.

Edward consolidated his reign and, generally, peace was kept for nearly ten years. Henry VI was captured and placed in the Tower of London. The alliance between Edward IV and Warwick deteriorated, leading to open hostilities between the two. Edward was captured by Warwick in 1469 and many of his newly appointed noble councilors (especially those related to Edward’s wife) were executed by Warwick’s command. Edward was eventually liberated by his brother and took his revenge on Warwick, forcing him to flee and join the cause of his former enemy, Queen Margaret.

For a brief time King Henry VI was actually restored to the throne and Edward IV was forced to flee to the Netherlands. Edward then received aid from King Louis of Burgundy and invaded England, killing Warwick at the Battle of Barnet (April 1471). The remnants of the Lancastrian forces were defeated at the Battle of Tewkesbury (May 1471). Queen Margaret was confined in the Tower, her son, Prince Edward was killed, and Henry VI was not long after murdered.

Another time of relative peace followed until Edward IV’s death in 1483. His son, Edward V was only 12 years old and placed under the protectorate of Edward IV’s brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Richard convinced Parliament that Edward IV’s marriage was invalid and that his heirs were illegitimate. Gloucester was then named King Richard III.

At this point Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, was the focus of Lancastrian hopes. He had his own claim to the throne through his mother. Richard’s and Henry’s forces met at the Battle of Bosworth (August 1485). Richard was killed in the battle and Henry was proclaimed King Henry VII. Henry had to face challenges to his ascendancy, such as at the battle of Stoke in 1487, but the Tudor dynasty came to be firmly set atop the English throne for years to come.