The Wars of the Roses (Part 1)

 

A series of conflicts that lasted for 30 years, from 1455 to 1485. Do not confuse them with the Thirty Years' War, which lasted from 1618 to 1648, though; we will talk about the latter in the future... maybe.

The Wars of the Roses were named after the emblems of the Lancaster and York houses: a red rose and a white one respectively.

The House of Lancaster and the House of York both branched off the House of Plantagenet, who had been ruling England since 1154 (we talked about that HERE).

The House of Lancaster was created by the third son of King Edward III: John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (hence the name). The House of York was created by the fourth son of Edward III: Edmund of Langley, Duke of York (hence the name).

You see, King Edward, in his attempt to keep all his sons happy (how sweet of him!), created duchies left and right, bestowing them on his children. Little did he know what a mess that decision of his would cause!

Duchies provided their rulers with incomes and armies independent of the King. As a result, the dukes grew more and more powerful. Also, more and more greedy, ungrateful and power hungry!

When Edward III died, in 1377, he was succeeded by his grandson, Richard II (Edward III's firstborn son, the Black Prince, died before his father and, according to the rules, the eldest son's children were the next in line of succession).

Richard II's reign was tumultuous. Eventually, Henry Bolingbroke, the son of John of Gaunt (the third son of Edward III), exploited the public dissatisfaction, deposed Richard and was crowned King Henry IV, in 1399. And so, the House of Lancaster came to power.

However, the House of York was anything but cool with that. You see, they, too, had valid reasons to believe that they deserved to inherit the throne. For starters, they, too, descended from one of Edward III's sons, albeit the fourth one. Furthermore, just as the Lancastrians, they, too, believed that their dicks were impressively large.

So, which of the two houses should rule England? Well, there were two ways of resolving this...

1. A dick measuring contest.

2. A 30 year long or something war that would soak England in blood, destruction and misery.

Unfortunately, dick measuring contests were seemingly forbidden according to the royal protocol. Alas, the only viable solution left was warfare.

So, in 1455, at the Battle of St Albans, the royal forces clashed with those of the claimant to power, Richard of York, the grandson of Edmund of Langley (the fourth son of Edward III). Richard was supported by a really powerful nobleman, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (aka the Kingmaker). King Henry VI was taken hostage.

Due to that, Richard of York managed to be appointed Lord Protector (since Henry VI was mentally incapable anyway). Peace was restored (kinda) for four years.

Warfare resumed in 1459. Following a defeat of the Yorkists at Ludford Bridge, the two Rs (Richard of York and Richard Neville) fled to Ireland and France respectively.

After regrouping, they returned to England and counterattacked. At the battle of Northampton (1460), King Henry VI was taken prisoner. Again! (Seriously?)

Despite his victory, Richard of York soon found out that he did not enjoy enough support to claim the throne. So, after negotiations, the Parliament passed the Act of Accord, according to which Richard would inherit the crown after Henry's death.

Needless to say, Queen Margaret (King Henry's wife) was not exactly delighted that her son, Edward, had been disinherited.

Hostilities soon resumed. At the Battle of Wakefield, Richard of York was killed, before he could realize his lifelong dream of becoming king (better luck next time, Richie).

However, the latter's son, Edward, continued the war and eventually managed to be crowned King Edward IV at Westminster Abbey (1461).

The Wars of the Roses were far from over, though. More about that, next time!

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See you next time!