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    The Wars of the Roses: 1455–1485
    The Wars of the Roses: 1455–1485
    The Wars of the Roses: 1455–1485
    Ebook138 pages1 hour

    The Wars of the Roses: 1455–1485

    By Michael Hicks

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    About this ebook

    The Wars of the Roses raged from 1455 to 1485 - the longest period of civil war in English history. They barely affected the daily routine of the civilian population, yet for the leaders of the opposing houses of York and Lancaster, the wars were devastating. First hand accounts reveal how the lives of their women and children were blighted during three decades of war, as many of their male relatives met with violent deaths. This book examines in detail the causes, course and results of each of the main wars and concludes with a fascinating insight into why the wars ended so abruptly.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateJun 6, 2014
    ISBN9781472810182
    The Wars of the Roses: 1455–1485
    Author

    Michael Hicks

    Michael Hicks is Head of History at the University of Winchester, UK

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    • 5/5
      Michael Hicks excels in his specialist period of expertise in this comprehensive, concise and perhaps somewhat controversial work in which he challenges many long-held assumptions about the key figures and events in the Wars of the Roses, and demonstrates how some of these have their origins in Yorkist propaganda.

      Were the wars until 1460 truly a dynastic struggle? Contemporaries did not think so, and until this time, Hicks shows the Yorkist faction stated that their main aim was political reform. Was Richard of York treated `harshly' by Henry VI? Not if you count escaping execution and being pardoned for treason four times as harsh.

      This was indeed the case with Richard of York, who rebelled and raised arms against the King no less than 4 times between 1450 and 1459, and on at least two occasions his forces physically attacked the King's retinue. All of these were treasonable acts according to the law, so Richard was guilty of treason several times over, yet was pardoned in exchange for his oath of allegiance or capitulation.

      In this regard King Henry was incredibly lenient towards York, but they Yorkists did not extend that magnanimity towards their rivals. As Hicks demonstrates they adopted a policy of eliminating their rivals in battles, skirmishes and even peacetime. The `battles' in which noblemen opposed to York were amongst the only casualties are testament to this.

      Hicks also raises some intriguing issues surrounding Richard of York's title and claim to the throne, by demonstrating that there was not one single `right' or `true' system of succession in 15th century England, but rather several different systems, that could favour both York and Lancaster. He also shows how the circumstances in the infamous parliament of 1460 ensured that they were bound to favour York's claim.

      What fascinated me the most was how Hicks succinctly demonstrated that the view of Henry IV's reign and usurpation that has existed since the time of Shakespeare and before is very much influenced by Yorkist spin, which is still prevalent today. All too often the Yorkists are viewed as the victims of Tudor propaganda, but few realise that House of York were all too were masterful in deployment of such propaganda for their own ends, which still colours our view of the Lancastrians today.

      It cuts through simplistic and 'black and white' interpretations of this period in which the Yorkists are the `goodies' and the Lancastrians seen as the `baddies' by revealing the complexity of the politics of the age in which all sides were often equally immoral and dishonourable in their conduct. The author is not `pro' Lancastrian that I can see, and he is more then willing to criticise this side, but uses the same measure for the Yorkists. Hence this book is more balanced then many on the subject.

      This book is `scholarly' but I did not find it nearly as hard going as many such books (as a History student I read a lot of them) and the author's method of breaking up long chapters into shorter sections under their own headings made the book a lot more readable. Overall this was an excellent and fascinating and challenging work that I find to be more balanced than most.

    Book preview

    The Wars of the Roses - Michael Hicks

    Introduction

    The Wars of the Roses were the longest period of civil war in English History. They followed immediately after the final English defeat in the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453) and commenced under the Lancastrian Henry VI (1422–61), a weak and ineffective king, who was briefly mad (1453–54). The wars did not end in 1485 at the battle of Bosworth, as so many historians since the Tudors have claimed, and they did not actually cause the strong rule of the Tudors, although they may have made it easier to achieve. The Tudor dynasty managed to keep the throne and endured for more than a century. The last serious challenge was in 1497, with the defeat and capture of the pretender Perkin Warbeck, but the potential threat supposedly posed by the White Rose of York continued at least until 1525.

    This book surveys these wars as a group and investigates them in detail. It treats the international scene and the contexts of particular battles, and considers the impact of the wars on English society as a whole and on particular individuals. It deals not with a single war or campaign, but with a series of conflicts spread over thirty years. Some of the same issues are therefore examined separately for each war. It concerns itself with what the wars have in common – the underlying causes and systems – and what is distinct about each. The Wars of the Roses cannot simply be lumped together as a single conflict with common objectives, sides and personnel. The book looks at the causes, course, and the results of each war.

    General summary

    The Wars of the Roses were a series of wars. Besides the minor clashes and also the lesser disorders that occurred in every reign, there were three periods of sustained conflict: 1459–61, 1469–71, and 1483–87.

    The loss of English occupied France made it difficult for Henry VI’s government to resist its critics. Calls for reform by Richard Duke of York (d. 1460) and the emergence of two sides, Lancaster and York, several times overflowed into violence before sustained conflict began in 1459. Defeated and exiled, the Yorkists under Warwick the Kingmaker returned triumphantly in 1460 to present York’s claim to the Crown and thereby provoked the most violent phase, from which there emerged York’s son Edward IV (1461–83) as the first Yorkist king; Towton (1461) was the deciding battle.

    Edward’s new regime took until 1468 to achieve recognition and to eliminate lingering Lancastrian resistance in Northumberland, north-west Wales and Jersey. Yorkist divisions led to a coup in 1469 and the Lincolnshire Rebellion of 1470, both led by Warwick and Edward’s next brother, George Duke of Clarence (d. 1478). Defeated and exiled, as in 1459, the rebels allied later in 1470 with Lancastrian exiles and swept Edward away. Henry VI reigned again: his Readeption (1470–71). With foreign support, Edward exploited divisions amongst his enemies, decisively defeating first Warwick at Barnet and then the Lancastrians at Tewkesbury (1471); his triumph was complete.

    Edward IV was succeeded in 1483 by his eldest son Edward V, aged 12, but 11 weeks later Edward IV’s youngest brother Richard III seized the throne. He alienated many of the Yorkist establishment, who rebelled, apparently initially on behalf of Edward V, who disappeared, and then Henry Tudor. Buckingham’s Rebellion in 1483 failed, but the Bosworth campaign of 1485 did defeat and kill Richard. Opposition to the new regime and a plethora of Yorkist claimants and pretenders led to further rebellions, invasions, and plots. The battle of Stoke in 1487 did not end the Yorkist conspiracies against Henry VII (1485–1509) and even his son Henry VIII (1509–47).

    The place of the wars in history

    The Wars of the Roses happened over 500 years ago and created little if anything of the modern Britain familiar to us today, having causes particular to its time and to no other. It was not a significant stage in the development of the English monarchy, constitution, society or military science. The best-known cause, the dynastic claims of rival sides, have little appeal to a modern age that prioritises merit, democracy and equal rights; and yet the Wars of the Roses are surprisingly well-known.

    One reason is the abiding influence of William Shakespeare, whose cycle of eight fifteenth-century history plays – especially the masterpieces Richard II, Henry V and Richard III – are constantly revived both in performance and in film and continue to attract the best actors. Both Warwick the Kingmaker and King Richard III remain household names. Older generations were taught all periods of English history including the Middle Ages, whereas those under 40, the beneficiaries of subsequent educational reforms, lack this background and few have studied the Wars of the Roses at school. They have been familiarised with the events and personalities through the rise of interest in military history, especially in war-gaming and by the modern fascination with Richard III.

    Concise summary

    The first war was from 1459 to 1461, when King Henry VI was replaced by the Yorkist Edward IV (1461–83). Originating in the call for reform and personal animosities, it became irreconcilable when Richard Duke of York laid claim to the throne. The Lords in London agreed that York should succeed Henry VI on his death, thereby disinheriting Henry’s son Edward (the Accord). Lancastrian supporters of Prince Edward rejected the deal, led by Queen Margaret of Anjou and Henry Duke of Somerset. Richard and Edward Dukes of York were backed by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, the Kingmaker (d.1471).

    The second war was in 1469–71, beginning with Warwick’s attempts to control Edward IV through imprisoning him (1469) and then to replace him by Clarence (March 1470). Exiled in France, the rebels allied with representatives of Henry VI – notably Queen Margaret, her son Edward, another Duke of Somerset and Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke – invaded and replaced Henry on his throne (October 1470). Next year Edward returned and exterminated his opponents.

    The third war was in 1483–87. Almost bloodlessly Edward IV’s brother Richard III (1483–85) deposed his son Edward V (1483). A full-scale rebellion of southern England in 1483 led by Henry Duke of Buckingham (d. 1483) and the family of Edward IV’s queen, the Wydevilles, was followed in 1485 by a successful invasion. Richard lost his throne to the Tudor King Henry VII (1485–1509), repeated attempts to reverse the process being defeated.

    Chronology

    Background to the wars

    Collapsing regimes

    Everything in the 1450s appeared to be going wrong. A savage slump of c. 1440–80 beset most parts of the economy and the majority of people, the Hundred Years’ War ended abruptly with English defeat, and the government was powerless to remedy these disasters. The problems were connected – war had plunged the government deep into debt and the depression had slashed its income – but the ineffectiveness of Henry VI himself, a king incapable and unwilling to reign, also contributed. People blamed the

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