The Wars of the Roses was a conflict that took place between the years 1455-1487, some 30 odd years of bloody conflict solely based in England between rival households vying for the throne of England. However, this is a simple summary of the events that took place in that period in England. It was not known as the Wars of the Roses until good old Shakespeare came along and added his own poetic influence by playing much upon the coats of arms of the two households. The white rose of the house of Lancaster, and the red rose of the house of York. The roots of the causes of the Wars of the Roses run deep as well, dating back to the middle of the previous century, and involve immensely complex issues such as that of constitutional, dynastic, parliamentary, social and military.
Also, the Wars of the Roses was not one prolonged conflict, but a series of conflicts in which not only did rivals to the throne compete but also the nobility of England used it to settle long running blood feuds. Neither could it be classed as any form of civil war, civil war being nigh on impossible in English medieval society due to its very nature. The people in a particular geographic location owing no service to King or Country but only to the ruling Lord whose land they occupied, that Lord then
deciding who to support, according to ties (family or oaths) and blood feuds (which side their sworn mortal enemy happened to be on). The King at that time in English history was not necessarily the most powerful noble- power being measured in that of estates, money and of course the amount of troops a King or Lord could rely upon. A king was only as good as the nobles who supported him aside from his own personal retinue. Whereas a Lord with vast estates could call upon hundreds at any time, some Lords even thousands of men to fight for him when battle seemed imminent, or a cause for war created, and it didn't take much! At the battle of Towton in 1461 it is estimated there were around 20,000 men per side- a large army anywhere in the medieval world- huge armies in medieval England and that is a conservative estimate. It is still to this day the bloodiest battle to take place on English soil.
At one point in this conflict England was home to two crowned kings of the one thrown that England had to offer, and in medieval English society this was simply unacceptable and had never been seen before nor has it been seen since.
|