What caused the war of the roses?

What caused the War of the Roses?

The War of the Roses was a bloody and devastating conflict that plagued England from 1455 to 1485. The war was fought between the houses of Lancaster and York, two powerful aristocratic families that had divided the kingdom. But why did this conflict arise?

The Background

Prior to the war, English society was divided into noble families, gentry, and commoners. At the top of the pyramid were the royal family, the nobility, and the high-ranking clergy. Below them were the landowning gentry and the common people. England was also a feudal society, where lords held titles and lands from the Crown, and in return provided military service and loyalty to the monarch.

Lancaster and York Rivalries

The wars were sparked by a personal dispute between two powerful relatives of King Henry VI of England, who had grown weak and mentally unstable since the death of his strong and capable father, Charles VI of France. Both Lancaster and York claimed they were the rightful heirs to the throne.

Edmund Beaufort

One of the key rival factions was the House of Lancaster, led by Henry Beaufort, whose father, John of Gaunt, was a famous soldier and statesman and the son of King Edward III. Edmund Beaufort, Beaufort’s son and grandson of John of Gaunt, was a military leader and a member of the royal council. Although his family was not immediately related to the royal House of Lancaster, they used the Lancaster name and fought under its banner.

Richard Plantagenet (Duke of York)

The other key rivalry was the House of York, led by Richard Plantagenet, known as the Duke of York, who was a proud descendant of King Edward III. He was a brilliant military leader and a wise and just ruler. Edward III’s son, the Black Prince, had secured a great deal of favor for the York family after the Black Death, increasing their power and influence at court.

The Rise to Power

In 1399, Henry IV from the House of Lancaster defeated Richard II from the House of York and seized the throne. This led to a period of York-based monarchs, including Lancaster’s Henry V and King Edward IV, who also ruled from the House of Lancaster. This rotation of power between the rival houses created tension and loyalty issues among the nobles.

The Lancaster-York Conflict

With King Henry VI’s loss of mental and physical prowess, the power vacuum triggered the rivalry between the Lancaster and York lines. The York-based Richard, Duke of York, claimed the right to the throne, insisting that the Lancastrians were illegitimate. Additionally, Richard’s right to the throne was endorsed by the powerful Earl of Warwick, who had allied with the Yorks.

The war began in 1455 when Richard’s forces clashed with those loyal to King Henry VI, led by the Earl of Somerset, at the battle of St Albans (May 22, 1455). This marked the beginning of the Wars of the Roses, which went on for nearly 3 decades.

Key Military Conflicts

Some crucial battles in the war, with significant outcomes, can be summarized as follows:

The Endgame

The war ended with Henry Tudor’s ascent to the throne when he defeated and killed Edward IV at the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485). Henry Tudor became King Henry VII and married Eleanor Butler, a relation of the Lancastrians, uniting the Tudor and Beaufort lines in the process. This act ended the Wars of the Roses and marked the birth of the Tudor dynasty, which held power for the next four decades.

Conclusion

The War of the Roses was a complex and confusing conflict that arose from competing claims to the English throne and the struggle for control between the powerful noble factions of Lancaster and York. The war was waged for nearly 3 decades and left England in devastating turmoil.