The War of The Roses

The War of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England, fought
between supporters of two rival branches of the Royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of
Lancaster and York (the "red" and the "white" rose, respectively). They were fought in several
spasmodic episodes between 1455 and 1485. The final victory went to a relatively remote
Lancastrian claimant, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who married Elizabeth of York, the
daughter of the late Yorkist king Edward IV, to reconcile the two factions and founded the
House of Tudor, which subsequently ruled England and Wales for 117 years, until the
accession of the Scottish House of Stuart in 1603.
Although armed clashes had occurred previously between supporters of York and Lancaster,
the first open fighting broke out in 1455 at the First Battle of St Albans. Although peace was
temporarily restored, the Lancastrians were inspired by Margaret of Anjou to contest York's
influence. Fighting resumed more violently in 1459. York was forced to flee (a fugit) the
country, but one of his most prominent supporters, the Earl of Warwick, invaded England
from Calais and captured Henry at the Battle of Northampton. York returned to the country
and became Protector of England, but was advised not to claim the throne. Margaret and the
irreconcilable Lancastrian nobles gathered their forces in the north of England, and when
York moved north to suppress them, he and his second son Edmund were killed in battle at
the end of 1460. The Lancastrian army advanced south and recaptured Henry at the Second
Battle of St Albans, but failed to occupy London, and subsequently retreated to the north.
York's eldest son, Edward, Earl of March, was proclaimed King Edward IV. He gathered the
Yorkist armies and won a crushing victory at the Battle of Towton early in 1461.
A period of peace followed, but King Edward died unexpectedly in 1483. His surviving
brother Richard of Gloucester first moved to prevent the unpopular Woodville family of
Edward's widow from participating in government during the minority of Edward's son,
Edward V, and then seized the throne for himself, using the suspect legitimacy of Edward
IV's marriage as pretext. Henry Tudor, a distant relative of the Lancastrian kings who had
inherited their claim, overcame and defeated Richard at Bosworth in 1485. He was crowned
Henry VII, and married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, to unite and reconcile the
two houses.
Name and symbols
The Red Rose of the House of Lancaster

The White Rose of the House of York
The name "War of the Roses" is not thought to have been used during the time of the wars but
has its origins in the symbols associated with the two royal houses, the White Rose of York
and the Red Rose of Lancaster. The term came into common use in the nineteenth century,
after the publication of Anne of Geierstein by Sir Walter Scott. Scott based the name on a
fictional scene in William Shakespeare's play Henry VI Part 1, where the opposing sides pick
their different-coloured roses at the Temple Church.
The names of the rival houses have little to do with the cities of York and Lancaster, or the
counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire. In fact, the lands and offices attached to the Duchy
(ducat) of Lancaster were mainly in Gloucestershire, North Wales and Cheshire, while the
estates and castles which were part of the Duchy of York were widespread throughout
England, although there were many in the Welsh Marches.
Tudor Rose
Historians still debate the true extent of the conflict's impact on medieval English life, and
some revisionists, such as the Oxford historian K.B. McFarlane, suggest that the conflicts
during this period have been radically overstated, and that there were, in fact, no Wars of the
Roses at all.
On the other hand, it has also been suggested that the traumatic impact of the wars was
exaggerated by Henry VII to magnify his achievement in stopping them and bringing peace.
Henry VII, wary (atent la) of any further fighting, kept the barons on a very tight leash,
removing their right to raise arm, and supply armies of retainers so that they could not make
war on each other or the king. As a result the military power of individual barons declined,
and the Tudor court became a place where baronial fights were decided with the influence of
the monarch.
Few noble houses were actually exterminated during the wars. For example, in the period
from 1425 to 1449, before the outbreak of the war, there were as many extinctions of noble
lines (25) as occurred during the period of fighting (24) from 1450 to 1474. However, the
most openly ambitious nobles died, and by the later period of the wars, fewer nobles were
prepared to risk their lives and titles in an uncertain struggle.

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What were the symbols associated with the houses of York and Lancaster?

How did Henry VII consolidate his power after becoming king?

The War of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England, fought

The Red Rose of the House of Lancaster

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