Wars of the Roses

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surnames/tags: United_Kingdom Wars

See the category for the groupings of battles/profiles]].

Background:
The Wars of the Roses is a name given to a series of civil wars in England during the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV and Richard III from 1455-1485. The name "Wars of the Roses" refers to the heraldic badges associated with the two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet fighting for control of the English throne; the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster.

Collectively, these battles occurred in sporadic episodes between 1455 and 1485, but there were skirmishes both before and after this period. The conflict resulted from social and financial troubles following the Hundred Years' War which had lasted from 1337-1453.

Causes of the Wars of the Roses
After the Hundred Years War wih France the English monarchy's prestige was weakened by emergent socio-economic troubles. This weakened prestige unfolded structural problems with bastard feudalism, a system developed by the powerful duchies created by Edward III. Combined with the mental infirmity and weak rule of King Henry VI, these structural problems revived interest in the Yorkist claim to the throne by Richard of York. Historians disagree over which of these factors was the main catalyst for the wars. It was also used as a proxy war between France (on the Lancastrian side) and the Burgundian State (on the Yorkist side). For more information see: Causes of the Wars of the Roses

At the close of the Hundred Years War with the French many thousands of ruffians, whose occupation was now gone, had been let loose in England. At the same time the power of feudalism had become concentrated in the hands of a few great lords, who were wealthy enough and powerful enough to become king-makers. The disbanded mercenaries were enlisted indifferently on either side of Lords supporting who they wanted to be king. This corruped the ordinary feudal tenantry with the evil habits of the French wars, and they pillaged the countryside, with accompaniments of murder and violence, wherever they went.

These years of internal strife and conflict were marked by a ferocity and brutality which are practically unknown in the history of English wars before and since.

Houses involved in the Wars of the Roses

• The House of Lancaster
• The House of York
• The House of Beaufort
• The House of Neville

The Wars of the Roses Ended with last significant battle called The Battle of Bosworth Field (or Battle of Bosworth). It was there Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III and won the final victory against the last Yorkist king. Henry was a remote Lancastrian claimant, and he married Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth of York to unite the two houses. Subsequently, the House of Tudor ruled England and Wales for the next 117 years.

Wikitree Battle Categories:
Over 30 years there were a series of battles fought in England between the rival Plantagenet houses of Lancaster and York, they chose the respective symbols of red and white roses.

• First Battle of St Albans, May 22nd 1455 - considered to be the first battle of what has come to be known as the Wars of the Roses.
• Battle of Bamburgh Castle -
• Battle of Blore Heath -
• Battle of Ludford Bridge -
• Battle of Sandwich -
• Battle of Northampton -
• Battle of Wakefield -
• Battle of Mortimer's Cross -
• Second Battle of St Albans -
• Battle of Ferrybridge -
• Battle of Towton, on Palm Sunday, March 28th 1461 - Considered to be the bloodiest battle on English soil, leading to the defeat of Henry VI and the Lancastrian hold on the throne and the succession of Edward IV son of Richard Duke of York.
• Battle of Hedgeley Moor -
• Battle of Hexham - 15th May 1464; Victory to House of York
• Battle of Edgecote Moor - 26 July 1469.
• Battle of Losecoat Field -
• Battle of Barnet -
• Battle of Tewkesbury -
• Battle of Bosworth Field -
• Battle of Stoke Field -

External Links to descriptions of Battles in the Wars of the Roses

• The First Battle of St. Albans, 1455
• The Battle of Blore Heath, 1459
• The Rout of Ludford, 1459
• The Battle of Northampton, 1460
• The Battle of Wakefield, 1460
• The Battle of Mortimer's Cross, 1461
• The 2nd Battle of St. Albans, 1461
• The Battle of Towton, 1461
• The Battle of Hedgeley Moor, 1464
• The Battle of Hexham, 1464
• The Battle of Edgecote, 1469
• The Battle of Losecoat Field, 1470
• The Battle of Barnet, 1471
• The Battle of Tewkesbury, 1471
• The Treaty of Pecquigny, 1475
• The Battle of Bosworth Field, 1485
• The Battle of Stoke Field, 1487

People involved in the Wars of the Roses

Henry VI	Ralph Neville, 2. Earl of Westmorland	John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford
Margaret of Anjou	Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury	John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford
Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York	Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick	Thomas de Clifford, 8. Baron Clifford
Edward IV	Edward Neville, Baron Bergavenny	John de Clifford, 9. Baron Clifford
Elizabeth Woodville	William Neville, Lord Fauconberg	John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester
Richard Woodville, 1. Earl Rivers	Robert Neville, Bishop of Salisbury	Thomas Grey, 1. Marquis Dorset
Anthony Woodville, 2. Earl Rivers	John Neville, Marquis of Montagu	Sir Andrew Trollop
Jane Shore	George Neville, Archbishop of York	Archbishop John Morton
Edward V	John Beaufort, 1. Duke Somerset	Edward Plantagenet, E. of Warwick
Richard III	Edmund Beaufort, 2. Duke Somerset	John Talbot, 2. E. Shrewsbury
George, Duke of Clarence	Henry Beaufort, 3. Duke of Somerset	John Talbot, 3. E. Shrewsbury
	Edmund Beaufort, 4. Duke Somerset	John de la Pole, 2. Duke of Suffolk
	Margaret Beaufort	John de la Pole, E. of Lincoln
	Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond	Edmund de la Pole, E. of Suffolk
	Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke	Richard de la Pole
	Humphrey Stafford, D. Buckingham	John Sutton, Baron Dudley
	Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham	James Butler, 5. Earl of Ormonde
	Humphrey Stafford, E. of Devon	Sir James Tyrell
	Thomas, Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby	Edmund Grey, first Earl of Kent
	Sir William Stanley	George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent
	Archbishop Thomas Bourchier	John, 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton
	Henry Bourchier, Earl of Essex	James Touchet, 7th Baron Audley
	John Mowbray, 3. Duke of Norfolk	Walter Blount, Lord Mountjoy
	John Mowbray, 4. Duke of Norfolk	Robert Hungerford, Lord Moleyns
	John Howard, Duke of Norfolk	Thomas, Lord Scales
	Henry Percy, 2. E. Northumberland	John, Lord Lovel and Holand
	Henry Percy, 3. E. Northumberland	Francis Lovell, Viscount Lovell
	Henry Percy, 4. E. Northumberland	Sir Richard Ratcliffe
	William, Lord Hastings	William Catesby
	Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter	Ralph, 4th Lord Cromwell
	William Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel	Jack Cade's Rebellion, 1450
	William Herbert, 1. Earl of Pembroke

External Informational Links: See also:

• Hinckley Past and Present; The War of the Roses
• Wikipedia: Wars of the Roses
• The Wars of the Roses