Ye shall hear of wars and rumours of war;
see that ye be not troubled, for all these things
must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Matthew 26:6
The Wars of the Roses were like no other in the medieval world as they were neither for for land, wealth nor religious ideals, but the right to rule the country. For the majority of the time it was relatively peaceful, with most of the ‘war’ being fought with words and political manoeuvring within the royal court. In fact, there were only sixteen major battles and half of these occurred between 1460 and 1465. The wars began with Jack Cade’s rebellion against Henry VI in 1450 and lasted thirty-seven years, but rather than one long war it was a series of interconnected campaigns in five distinct phases.
The wars may have started in 1450, but we have to go back a hundred years to the reign of Edward III to find its roots. Edward III, unlike his father Edward II, was a strong and energetic king, who succeeded in regaining royal authority and transforming England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. In 1337, and after Edward declared himself rightful heir to the French throne, conflict with the French was inevitable and the series of wars that followed, known as the Hundred Years War, ravaged France and the south coast of England until 1453. Within a few years, England controlled huge parts of France, prompting the contemporary chronicler Jean Froissart to write of Edward, ‘His like had not been seen since the days of King Arthur’.
THE WARS OF THE ROSES
Sir Walter Scott is usually credited with coining the term ‘Wars of the Roses’ in his 1829 novel Anne of Geierstein. Before then, the wars were generally known as the ‘Cousin’s Wars’. Whilst the white rose was one of the badges of the House of York, the red rose was not used as a badge of the House of Lancaster until Henry Tudor was on the throne.
To prosecute a war of this scale, Edward needed huge amounts of manpower, but soon found that the old feudal system of obligatory service was ineffective. Instead, he created a system of recruitment by contract, with the nobles acting as recruitment agents: the nobles recruited lesser nobles, who in turn would each recruit a set number of men or even lesser nobles and so on. In return for a fixed period in the army, a soldier could expect to receive pay, clothing and support from the noble, and all this would be laid out in a written contract. In effect, this created private armies for the nobles. Under a strong king and a common cause this system was very effective; however, as we shall see, in different circumstances it was also open to abuse.
Edward had five sons who were to reach maturity: Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales (the name Black Prince came long after his death); Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence; John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster; Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York; and Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester. Edward, as the eldest, was heir to the throne and appeared to be following in his father’s footsteps after the stunning victories over the French at Crécy and Poitiers. However, tragedy struck in 1376 when he died after an illness. Edward III died a year later and in accordance with the rules of succession, the Black Prince’s 10-year-old son Richard succeeded to the throne.
Richard II’s reign was a troubled one, and plots and revolts continually plagued him. He did not enjoy war as his father and grandfather had done and negotiated a twenty-eight-year truce with the French, losing much of the past won territories in the process. As the years passed, Richard became more tyrannical, possibly due to some form of mental illness. As he had not produced an heir, Richard named his cousin Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, as his successor. The earls of March (the March was the borderlands between England and Wales) were the chief Anglo-Norman lords in Ireland and the second most senior line of descent in succession to the throne through Roger’s mother Phillipa, only daughter of Lionel of Antwerp.
Next in the line of succession was Richard’s uncle, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. During Richard’s minority, Gaunt had effectively ruled the country and had become the wealthiest and most powerful man in England after the king. He also had an eye for the ladies, marrying three times. His third wife was his long-time mistress Katherine Swynford and they already had three sons by the time they were married and legitimised by Parliament in 1397. The children took the family name of Beaufort and were eventually known as the dukes of Somerset.
On Gaunt’s death in 1399, Richard II confiscated all his land and exiled his son and heir, Henry of Bolingbroke, for life. Wishing to reclaim his lands, Henry returned to England with an army, and on a tide of popular support, aided by disaffected nobles, he was soon in control of the kingdom. On 13 October 1399 he was proclaimed King Henry IV, bypassing the descendants of Edward III’s second surviving son, Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence. Meanwhile, Richard II was held captive in Pontefract Castle where he eventually died, probably from starvation, in February 1400. The House of Lancaster now ruled over England.
Henry IV’s reign, like Richard II’s before him, was plagued by rebellion, which was often instigated in part by the Mortimers, rightful heirs to the throne, and Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, with his son, Harry Hotspur. However, Henry IV survived and in 1413 his son Henry V peacefully succeeded him.
Henry V was the epitome of medieval kingship and an outstanding military commander. He renewed the war against France with vigour and his famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt has long since entered national myth. Henry conquered much of northern France, which resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, recognising Henry as the heir to the French Crown. His successes intensified English pride in the king and his dynasty, ending the uprisings that marked his early reign. He also married Catherine of Valois, the daughter of Charles VI of France, which further strengthened his claim to the French throne.
In 1402 Edward III’s last surviving son, Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, died at the age of 61. Although a competent military commander during the Hundred Years War, he was retiring and unambitious, playing little part in the politics of the time. Edmund’s eldest son, Edward, inherited the dukedom but was killed at Agincourt without an heir, while his younger son, Richard, had married his cousin twice-removed, Anne Mortimer. The same year as his brother was killed in battle, Richard was executed following his involvement in the Southampton plot to depose Henry in favour of the Earl of March. The dukedom of York therefore passed to his son, another Richard, who was just 4 years old. Through his mother, Richard junior also inherited the lands of the earldom of March, as well as the Mortimer claim to the throne; the House of York was finally going to step into the limelight.
Tragedy struck in August 1422 when Henry V died, probably from dysentery, and once again the country found itself ruled by a child – the 1-year-old son of Henry V. During the king’s minority, the longest in English history, England was governed by a council that included the king’s younger uncle, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and his great-uncle, Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester. English territories in France, which by this time amounted to almost a third of the country, were governed by Henry’s eldest paternal uncle, John, Duke of Bedford. Henry VI was crowned at Westminster in 1429 and under the terms of the Treaty of Troyes was to be proclaimed King of France on the death of Charles VI. However, in 1429 the peace that had followed the treaty was shattered when, with the help of Joan of Arc, Charles VI’s son was crowned King Charles VII in Reims.
In 1437, 15-year-old Henry was declared old enough to rule England, but unfortunately he lacked the charisma and strength of his father, with Pope Pius II describing him as ‘a man more timorous than a woman, utterly devoid of wit or spirit’. Henry was an exceptionally pious man, with no interest in war, and spent his time on pursuits such as the foundation of Eton College and King’s College, Cambridge, to which he diverted funds that were urgently needed elsewhere. He had little understanding of the workings of government and much of the day-to-day running of the country was carried out by the royal council. These were advisors selected by the king to give counsel on questions of foreign and domestic policy, as well as raising finance, dispensing justice and conducting the daily administration of the country. Unsurprisingly, the great nobles considered themselves his natural advisors and the weak-willed Henry was easily persuaded by the self-interested nobles and frequently granted titles, lands, offices, pardons and monetary rewards without any thought to the merits or the consequences of their requests.
One of these nobles was Richard, Duke of York, who at the age of 18 married Cecily Neville, daughter of the Earl of Westmorland and sister of Richard Neville, the powerful Earl of Salisbury. By 1430 he was constable of England, and two years later appointed Guardian of the Coast of Normandy. In 1436 he was appointed to the most prestigious post in the royal court, the king’s lieutenant in France, although due to the poor state of the royal finances, largely due to Henry’s spending (in one year alone he spent the entire royal income on his court), York financed most of his campaigns himself.
Preferring to pursue a policy of peace between the two countries, Henry allowed England’s military position in France to deteriorate. In 1444 a truce was negotiated with France and marriage was arranged between the 23-year-old Henry and Charles’ 16-year-old niece, Margaret of Anjou. Once crowned, it would not take long for the formidable Margaret to establish herself as the power behind the throne and, like her husband, had her favourites in court. Henry, anxious to achieve a final settlement in France, soon fulfilled a rash promise to surrender Maine and Anjou in western France, but the decision to sue for peace was not popular with the English people or the Duke of York, who openly opposed it in court. This led to York being replaced in France by one of Henry’s favourites, his cousin Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, in 1446. To add insult to injury, York was made lieutenant of Ireland for the next ten years, effectively sending him into exile.
In 1449 war with France flared up again; however, the Duke of Somerset was a poor military commander and was responsible for the surrender of the strategic town of Rouen, the gateway to Normandy, and within a year Normandy itself had fallen. As a consequence, Somerset became distinctly unpopular and although he retained the king’s favour, maintaining his prestigious position at court, his continuing presence fuelled unrest at home.
FIFTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLAND
The population of England in the fifteenth century was around 2.5 million people, i.e. about the same as modern-day Greater Manchester in England, Brooklyn in the United States or Toronto in Canada. It was primarily a rural economy, with wool and cloth being the main products, and 80 per cent of the population were employed in agriculture and living in the countryside.
The recruitment of troops under contract instigated by Edward III had grown into a system of ‘Livery and Maintenance’, which maintained the feudalism of the previous years and is referred to as ‘bastard feudalism’ by some historians. Livery, an expression deriving from the French word livrée, meaning delivered, referred to the badge or emblem in the lord’s colours, given to a retainer (employee). Maintenance referred to the lord’s duty to maintain or support his retainers, by word or action, in any lawsuit in which they were involved. By the fifteenth century, maintenance, although banned by law, had become one of the recognised benefits of ‘good lordship’ that a retainer could expect from the magnate to whom he had sworn allegiance. During the 1440s and 1450s, as the influence and authority of the Crown declined, maintenance began to have a far more sinister meaning – the bribing, intimidating, or even kidnapping of judges, jurors, witnesses and opposing councillors. The country was, in effect, being run by the medieval version of the mafia.
In June 1450, 3,000 men of Kent and Sussex rose in revolt and marched on London, led by a mysterious figure known as Jack Cade. Unlike the Peasants’ Revolt almost seventy years earlier, their number included lords, landowners and merchants. Their demands were simple: the removal from power of those they considered traitors (such as Somerset); the restoration of justice to the counties; and the placing of men of royal blood (such as York) in key positions. As with so many other protests of this type, it began peacefully but soon turned ugly. After presenting their complaints, the rebels began to return home; however, the king’s men began to harry the rebels and attacked the county of Kent as well, threatening to turn it into a ‘deer forest’. The rebels returned to London, dragging members of Henry’s council into the street and executing them. An orgy of violence and looting followed and only ended when the citizens of London drove them out after vicious street fighting which left hundreds dead.
ENGLISH TOWNS
Of all the towns and cities in England, only thirty had an estimated population greater than 2,000: London was the biggest with around 40,000 inhabitants; York was the next largest with 12,000 people; followed by Bristol (10,600); and Coventry (8,000). Leicester and Nottingham, both important residences of Richard III during the 1485 crisis, only had populations of 3,500 and 2,500 respectively.
1. London from a fifteenth-century manuscript. (Author’s collection)
Within weeks, York returned to England without permission, and after evading an attempt by Henry to intercept him, arrived in London on 27 September. By this time, the unrest in London was such that Somerset had to be put in the Tower of London for his own safety. In April 1451 Somerset was released from the Tower and appointed captain of Calais. When one of York’s councillors, Thomas Young, the MP for Bristol, proposed that York be recognised as heir to the throne, he was sent to the Tower and Parliament was dissolved. Frustrated by his lack of political power, York retired to Ludlow. In 1452, York, declaring that his sole object was to get rid of Henry of Somerset and other evil councillors, raised a force and marched on London. Henry and a royal army met him at Dartford and York laid before him a bill of accusation against Somerset, before swearing fealty to the king. However, York still lacked any real support outside Parliament and his own retainers. Later, a bitter feud between the Neville and Percy families boiled over into armed conflict, with Somerset supporting the Percys’ cause. The Nevilles, although related to York, had up to this point been Lancastrian supporters, but with Somerset against them they sided with York.
During the summer of 1453 everything changed. Firstly, Margaret of Anjou found herself pregnant. Then, in August an attempt to regain lost territory in France ended in disaster when an English army in Gascony was ripped to shreds by French artillery at the Battle of Castillon, the defeat spelling the end of English rule in France. Soon after, Henry VI suffered a catastrophic mental breakdown, becoming completely unresponsive and having to be led from room to room. Modern analysis of his symptoms have led experts to agree that it was a form of schizophrenia, probably inherited from his grandfather, Charles VI of France, who believed he was made of glass. With no sign of Henry recovering, a Great Council was called, and despite attempts by Somerset to prevent him attending and protestations by Margaret of Anjou, York was appointed Protector of the Realm and chief councillor.
CALAIS
An English possession since 1347, the French Channel town of Calais was of immense military importance during the Wars of the Roses. It consisted of the port itself, around 32km (20 miles) of coast, extending 9km (6 miles) inland. It was ringed with castles and had a population of around 5,000, including 1,000 soldiers.
York wasted no time in committing Somerset to the Tower and appointing his brother-in-law, Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, as chancellor. When Henry recovered his reason in January 1455, York was quickly dismissed and Somerset released. York, Salisbury and Salisbury’s eldest son, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (who would be known to future generations as ‘the Kingmaker’), returned to their estates and gathered their armies; York’s dispute with Somerset would have to be settled by force. On one side was the House of York, with their powerful Neville supporters, and on the other was the House of Lancaster, supported by Somerset and the Percy family, earls of Northumberland.
Whilst the two sides were squaring up to each other, a marriage took place that would have far-reaching effects on the future of England. It was the marriage of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, to 12-year-old Margaret Beaufort, great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt. Tudor was the half-brother of Henry, the eldest son of a secret marriage between his mother, Catherine of Valois, and a Welshman named Owen Tudor, one of her household servants. Their son Henry was born the following year and would give the Lancastrians an alternative, although tentative, line of succession to the throne.
On 21 April, the king and his advisors decided to hold a council at Leicester the following month. York, Salisbury and Warwick were invited of course, but they suspected it was a trap and instead decided to intercept the king and take him into their ‘protection’. The two sides collided at St Albans on 22 May, although the fighting that followed was closer to an armed brawl than a battle. However, significantly, among the dead was Somerset, Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, and Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford, plus the king was effectively York’s prisoner.
King Henry once again went into decline and York was again made protector. His protectorate lasted until February the next year when the king began to recover. With the birth of her son, Margaret of Anjou began to get more involved with the affairs of state and court politics, removing Yorkist sympathisers from positions of royal office, including Warwick, who was now captain of Calais, by starving him of funds in an attempt to force him out. However, Warwick turned to what was effectively piracy to pay his troops and continued in his position. With all attempts to stop York and his supporters ending in failure, Margaret played her last card in June 1459 by charging the Yorkists with treason. In response, York began to gather his forces at Ludlow Castle. Salisbury, en route to join up with the gathering Yorkist army, was intercepted by an army under Lord Audley at Blore Heath. In the battle that followed, the Lancastrians were beaten and Audley killed during a massed cavalry charge.
The royal army, now under the command of the queen’s new favourite, Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham and a great-grandson of Edward III through Thomas of Woodstock, marched on Ludlow. However, York was ready and formed a defensive position at Ludford Bridge, but disaster struck when Andrew Trollop and a contingent of men from Calais defected to the king’s cause. York and Edmund, his eldest son, were forced to flee to Ireland, while Warwick and Edward, York’s second son, marched to Calais. In 1460, the Yorkist lords planned a return to England.
The Calais lords, as they were known, landed at Sandwich in Kent and marched north, while the Lancastrians, who were now based at Coventry, marched south to meet them. The two sides clashed at Northampton on 10 July 1460. Mid-battle, Lord Grey came over to the Yorkist side and in the ensuing battle all the Lancastrian commanders were killed and the king taken into custody. York returned soon after and for the first time asserted his claim to the throne. After a long discussion a compromise was effected, by which Henry was to retain the Crown during his lifetime, after which it was to revert to York and his heirs.
However, Margaret, who refused to recognise this arrangement, had been collecting an army in the north. The two sides clashed again at Wakefield on 30 December 1460, but this time both York and his eldest son were killed. Richard’s claim to the throne was then passed to his son Edward, who went on to defeat the Lancastrians at Mortimer’s Cross on 2 February 1461. However, the tables were turned when Warwick was defeated by a Lancastrian army at the Second Battle of St Albans on 17 March, although, despite this setback, Edward was formally declared king in London on 4 March 1461. Edward and Warwick then went on to virtually wipe out the Lancastrian army at the Battle of Towton twenty-five days later, which is still known today as the bloodiest battle on English soil with a reported 28,000 deaths on the battlefield.
The early reign of Edward IV was marred by Lancastrian plotting and uprisings in favour of Henry VI. On 1 May 1464, Edward secretly married Elizabeth Woodville (or Wydeville), the daughter of Richard Woodville, Lord Rivers, and Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bedford, after a whirlwind romance. It was the first royal match with an Englishwoman since the thirteenth century and was immediately unpopular. Elizabeth was a strong-willed woman and brought her large, ambitious family to court and they were soon occupying key government positions, which alienated Warwick and Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
In 1469, Warwick, with his influence in court waning, instigated a rebellion. An army led by ‘Robin of Redesdale’ marching south was met by a largely Welsh army sent by Edward to suppress them at Edgecote on 26 July. The ensuing battle was a disaster for the Yorkists and the flower of Welsh nobility was either cut down or executed. Edward himself was taken prisoner soon after, and the senior Woodvilles, Earl Rivers and Sir John Woodville, were captured and executed. However, with the political tide still against him, Warwick was forced to release Edward in October. The following year Warwick tried again, this time siding with Edward’s jealous brother George, Duke of Clarence, and Margaret of Anjou, who had been in exile in France for nine years. In September 1470, Edward was once again forced to flee the country with his youngest brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The Kingmaker wasted no time in putting Henry VI back on the throne, declaring Edward illegitimate and therefore not entitled to rule.
It was to be a short reign, for on 14 March the following year Edward returned with an army. He first marched to York and then to Coventry, and was heading for London when he found the way barred by Warwick’s army at Barnet on 14 April. It was to be Warwick’s last battle and the 18-year-old Richard of Gloucester’s first. The thick morning fog hampered both sides, but eventually Warwick’s troops were routed and Warwick himself was cut down trying to make his escape. Edward was once again king and Henry was made a prisoner in the Tower of London.
As Edward’s army was battling Warwick’s, a new threat appeared when Margaret of Anjou landed at Weymouth with another army. Margaret headed for the Welsh border regions so she could join with Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, who was another of Henry’s half-brothers. Edward marched to meet them and the two sides fought at Tewkesbury on 4 May. It was a decisive victory for the Yorkists, with the last of the Lancastrians, including Margaret’s son, the 17-year-old Prince Edward, killed or executed. The handful of Lancastrian supporters that remained escaped to France, including Jasper Tudor and his young nephew, Henry. By the end of the month Henry VI was also dead, with the circumstances of his death shrouded in mystery. It was the end of the struggle between the Houses of York and Lancaster, or so it was thought.
2. One of the earliest published copies of Shakespeare’s play Richard III. His version of events has clouded the history ever since. (Author’s collection)
The next twelve years passed relatively peacefully, with the only notable exception being the arrest of Edward IV’s brother George, Duke of Clarence, in June 1477. Clarence was charged with treason in the following January and executed. Tradition says he was executed by drowning in a barrel of Malmsey wine (claret), although the exact method of his execution is uncertain.
On 9 April 1483, Edward died unexpectedly, just before his forty-first birthday. The crown passed to his 12-year-old son, Prince Edward, who was recognised as Edward V and escorted to London by his Woodville relatives, including Earl Rivers. However, Richard and his close advisor Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham and a descendant of Edward III through Thomas of Woodstock, intercepted the royal party at Stony Stratford, arrested Rivers, took custody of the king and escorted him to the Bishop of London’s palace.
On 30 April, the queen and her younger son, Richard, Duke of York, sought sanctuary at Westminster Abbey along with her son from her first marriage, the Marquis of Dorset. Meanwhile, her brother, Sir Edward Woodville, set sail with a small fleet and anchored off the east coast of Kent. It is thought that before he left, he had divided the late king’s treasure up with the Marquis of Dorset. Richard offered a pardon to the fleet, which most accepted; however, Edward escaped with two ships and sailed to Brittany where he joined with Henry Tudor. Around 15 May, King Edward was moved to the Tower, but this was not as sinister as it sounds, as at this time it was another royal palace. At the same time, Henry Stafford was made chief justice and chamberlain of both north and south Wales for life, and constable and steward of all the castles and lordships of Wales. It looked as if Edward’s coronation was going according to plan.
Then everything changed. Richard must have become aware of plots against him, for on 10 June he wrote to the city of York asking for as many men as they could gather to assist against the queen, who intended to murder him. It was possibly not the first time, as it has been suggested that the Woodvilles intended to ambush Richard when they were taking the future king to London. Three days later, Lord Hastings, one of Edward IV’s closest advisors, was accused of plotting against Richard’s life during a council meeting and, without a proper trial, was dragged outside and beheaded. John Morton, Bishop of Ely, and Thomas Lord Stanley were accused of being co-conspirators and thrown in prison. Meanwhile, the late King Edward’s younger son, Richard of York, was removed from sanctuary and sent to join his brother in the Tower; they were never seen in public again.
RELIGION
Religion controlled every aspect of a person’s life in the medieval period. Everyone was terrified of Hell and the people would have been reminded of the horrors awaiting them in the weekly services they had to attend. Excommunication and the denial of entry to Heaven was therefore the ultimate punishment.
Richard then publicly declared his own claim to the throne. It began on 22 June when, according to the Great Chronicle, Dr Ralph Shaa gave a sermon from St Paul’s Cross entitled ‘Bastard slips shall not take root’ alleging that Edward’s children were illegitimate and that Richard was the only true heir to the throne. Richard must have been expecting trouble because he proclaimed that:
… no man, under pain of imprisonment, should take any lodging in the city or suburbs, except by appointment of the king’s harbingers; every one was to be in his lodging by ten o’clock at night; and the carrying of glaives, bills, long and short swords and bucklers was prohibited.
On 24 June, Buckingham addressed a number of London’s leading citizens on the suitability of Richard to be king. The following day Richard was presented with a petition by a gathering of Lords Temporal and Spiritual and commoners asking him to become king. Richard of Gloucester was crowned King Richard III on 6 July 1483 in Westminster Abbey. His wife, Anne, was crowned alongside him and it was the first double coronation since Henry II, 175 years earlier.