TheWars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries asthe Civil Wars, and alsothe Cousins' War, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought for control of theEnglish throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fought between supporters of theHouse of Lancaster (emblem a red rose) andHouse of York (white rose), two rivalcadet branches of the royalHouse of Plantagenet. The conflict resulted in the end of Lancaster'smale line in 1471, leaving theTudor family to inherit their claim to the throne through thefemale line. Conflict was largely brought to an end upon the union of the two houses through marriage, creating theTudor dynasty that would subsequently rule England.
In 1464, Edward marriedElizabeth Woodville against the advice of Warwick, and reversed Warwick's policy of seeking closer ties with France. Warwick rebelled against Edward in 1469, leading to Edward's imprisonment after Warwick's supporters defeated a Yorkist army at theBattle of Edgcote. Edward was allowed to resume his rule after Warwick failed to replace him with his brotherGeorge of Clarence. Within a year, Warwick launched an invasion of England alongside Henry VI's wifeMargaret of Anjou. Edward fled toFlanders, andHenry VI was restored as king in 1470. Edward mounted a counter-invasion with aid fromBurgundy a few months later, and killed Warwick at theBattle of Barnet. Henry was returned to prison, and his sole heir later killed by Edward at theBattle of Tewkesbury, followed by Henry's own death in theTower of London, possibly on Edward's orders. Edward ruled unopposed for the next twelve years, during which England enjoyed a period of relative peace. Upon his death in April 1483, he was succeeded by the twelve-year-oldEdward V, who reigned for 78 days until being deposed by his uncleRichard III.
Richard assumed the throne amid controversies regarding thedisappearance of Edward IV's two sons. He was met with ashort-lived but major revolt and a wave of Yorkist defections. Amid the chaos,Henry Tudor, a descendant of Edward III throughLady Margaret Beaufort and a veteran Lancastrian, returned from exile with an army and defeated and killed Richard atBosworth Field in 1485. Tudor then assumed the English throne as Henry VII and united the rival houses through marriage withElizabeth of York, Edward IV's eldest daughter and heir. The wars concluded in 1487, with Henry VII's defeat of the remaining Yorkist opposition atStoke Field. TheHouse of Tudor would rule England until 1603,a period that saw the strengthening of the monarchy and the end ofthe medieval period in England.
The people, divided in their affections, took different symbols of party: the partisans of the house of Lancaster chose the red rose as their mark of distinction; those of York were denominated from the white; and these civil wars were thus known over Europe by the name of the quarrel between the two roses.[3]
The modern termWars of the Roses came into common use in the early 19th century following the publication of the 1829 novelAnne of Geierstein bySir Walter Scott.[4] Scott based the name on a scene inWilliam Shakespeare's playHenry VI, Part 1 (Act 2, Scene 4), set in the gardens of theTemple Church, where a number of noblemen and a lawyer pick red or white roses to symbolically display their loyalty to the Lancastrian or Yorkist faction respectively. During Shakespeare's time, the conflict was simply referred to as the "civil wars".[c]
The Yorkist faction used the symbol of the white rose from early in the conflict, but the red rose of Lancaster was introduced only after the victory ofHenry Tudor at theBattle of Bosworth Field in 1485. After Henry's victory and marriage toElizabeth of York, the heir ofEdward IV, the two roses were combined to form theTudor rose, to symbolise the union of the two claims.[5] The use of the rose itself as acognizance stemmed fromEdward I's use of "a golden rose stalked proper".[6] Often, owing to nobles holding multiple titles, more than one badge was used:Edward IV, for example, used both hissun in splendour asEarl of March, but also his father's falcon andfetterlock asDuke of York. Badges were not always distinct; at theBattle of Barnet, Edward's 'sun' was very similar to theEarl of Oxford'sVere star, which caused fatal confusion in the fighting.[7]
Many participants worelivery badges associated with their immediate liege lords or patrons. The wearing of livery was confined to those in "continuous employ of a lord", thus excluding, for example, mercenary companies.[8] For example, Henry Tudor's forces at Bosworth fought under the banner of ared dragon,[9] while the Yorkist army used Richard III'spersonal device of awhite boar.[10]
Dukedoms had hitherto never been conferred by any English monarch upon a subject until the creation of theDuchy of Cornwall in 1337.[17] Their genesis spawned a powerful new class of English nobility with claims to thethrone and, theoretically, enough power to vie for it, since the new duchies provided Edward's sons and their heirs presumptive with an income independent of the sovereign or the state,[18] thereby allowing them to establish and maintain their own private military retinues.[19]
Over time, these duchies began to exacerbate the structural defects inherent in so-called "bastard feudalism", a somewhat controversial term coined in 1885 by historianCharles Plummer but largely defined by Plummer's contemporary,William Stubbs. During the reign of Edward's grandfather,Edward I, Stubbs describes a substantive shift in social dynamics in which the conscription-basedfeudal levy came to be replaced by a system of royal payment in return for military service by themagnates who served the monarch. Thus, instead ofvassals rendering military service when called, they paid a portion of their income into their lord's treasury, who would supplement the owed service with hired retainers.[20] Theseretinues were known asaffinities; essentially a collection of all the individuals whom a lord had gathered for service, and came to be one of the most fundamentally defining aspects of bastard feudalism.[21] These affinities also had the means of tying the more powerful magnates to the lower nobility, although these relationships were now largely defined by personal connections that exhibited reciprocal benefit, rather thantenurial orfeudal relationships that preceded bastard feudalism.[22] Consequently, lords could now raise retinues they could implicitly trust, since the men of the affinity owed their positions to their patron.[23] These affinities were often much larger than the number of men the lord actually knew, since the members of the affinity also knew and supported each other.[24]
Under the reign ofRichard II, this created a power struggle with the magnates, as Richard sought to increase the size of his own affinities as a counterweight to the growing retinues of his nobles.[25] The retinues of the magnates became powerful enough to defend the interests of their lord against even the authority of the monarch, as John of Gaunt, and later his son,Henry Bolingbroke, did against Richard.[19][21] During the wars, disaffected magnates such asRichard of York andWarwick the Kingmaker were able to rely upon their complex network of servants and retainers to successfully defy the authority ofHenry VI.[26]
TheHouse of Lancaster descended from John of Gaunt, the third surviving son of Edward III. The name derives from Gaunt's primary title as Duke of Lancaster, which he heldby right of his spouse,Blanche of Lancaster. The Lancastrian claim on the throne had received preference from Edward III which explicitly emphasised themale line of descent.[27] Henry IV based his right to depose Richard II and subsequent assumption of the throne upon this claim,[28] since it could be argued that the heir presumptive was in factEdmund Mortimer, the great-grandson of Edward III's second surviving son,Lionel, Duke of Clarence.[29] However, Mortimer was descended through thefemale line, inheriting the claim from his grandmother,Philippa.[27] An important branch of the House of Lancaster was theHouse of Beaufort, whose members were descended from Gaunt by his mistress,Katherine Swynford. Originally illegitimate, they were legitimised by an Act of Parliament when Gaunt and Katherine later married. However, Henry IV excluded them from the line of succession to the throne.[30]
TheHouse of York descended from Edmund of Langley, the fourth surviving son of Edward III and younger brother of John of Gaunt. The name derives from Langley's primary title as Duke of York, which he acquired in 1385 during the reign of his nephew, Richard II.[16] The Yorkist claim on the throne, unlike the Lancastrian claim, was based upon thefemale line of descent, as descendants of Lionel, the Duke of Clarence. Langley's second son,Richard of Conisburgh, had marriedAnne de Mortimer, daughter ofRoger Mortimer and sister ofEdmund Mortimer. Anne's grandmother,Philippa of Clarence, was the daughter of Lionel of Antwerp. During the fourteenth century, the Mortimers were the most powerfulmarcher family in the kingdom.[31] G.M. Trevelyan wrote that "the Wars of the Roses were to a large extent a quarrel between WelshMarcher Lords, who were also great English nobles, closely related to the English throne."[32]
The Black Prince had one surviving son,Richard, who had a claim to the throne based upon the principle that the son of the heir apparent (Edward, in this case) had priority in the line of succession over his uncles. Thus, Richard had a superior claim to the throne than his much older uncles: John, Edmund and Thomas. However, Richard was a minor; had no siblings; and his three living uncles (at the time of Edward III's death) were politically powerful and ambitious, so there was considerable uncertainty within the realm over who should inherit the throne.[34] Ultimately, Edward was succeeded by his grandson who was crowned Richard II at just 10 years old.[35]
Under the laws ofprimogeniture, if Richard died without a legitimate heir, his successors would be the descendants of Lionel of Antwerp the Duke of Clarence, Edward III's second eldest son. Clarence's only child, his daughterPhilippa, married into theMortimer family and had a son,Roger Mortimer, who technically would have the best legal claim of succession. However, a legal decree issued by Edward III in 1376 introduced complexity into the question of succession, since theletters patent he issued limited the right of succession to hismale line, which placed his third son, John of Gaunt, ahead of Clarence's descendants, since the latter were descended through thefemale line.[27]
Richard II, also known as Richard of Bordeaux, wasKing of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. During Richard's first years as king, government was in the hands of a series ofregency councils, influenced by Richard's unclesJohn of Gaunt andThomas of Woodstock.England then faced various problems, most notably theHundred Years' War. A major challenge of the reign was thePeasants' Revolt in 1381, and the young king played a central part in the successful suppression of this crisis. Less warlike than either his father or grandfather, he sought to bring an end to the Hundred Years' War. A firm believer in theroyal prerogative, Richard restrained the power of the aristocracy and relied on a privateretinue for military protection instead. In contrast to his grandfather, Richard cultivated a refined atmosphere centred on art and culture at court, in which the king was an elevated figure.
Richard's reign asRichard II of England was tumultuous, marked by increasing dissension between the monarch and several of the most powerful nobles.[36] Richard ruled without a regency council despite his young age in order to exclude his uncle, John of Gaunt the Duke of Lancaster, from wielding legitimate power.[37] Unpopular taxes which funded unsuccessful military expeditions in Europe triggered thePeasant's Revolt in 1381,[38] and Parliament's refusal to cooperate with the king's unpopularLord Chancellor,Michael de la Pole, created apolitical crisis that seriously threatened to dethrone Richard.[39] Richard had repeatedly switched his choice of heir throughout his reign to keep his political enemies at bay.[40]
The king's dependence on a small number of courtiers caused discontent among the influential, and in 1387 control of government was taken over by a group of aristocrats known as theLords Appellant. By 1389 Richard had regained control, and for the next eight years governed in relative harmony with his former opponents.
In France, much of the territory conquered by Edward III had been lost,[41] leading Richard to negotiate a peace treaty known asTruce of Leulinghem withCharles VI in July 1389. The peace proposal, which would effectively have made England a client kingdom of France, was derided and rejected by Parliament, which was predominately controlled by the knights fighting the war.[citation needed] Richard decided to negotiate ade facto peace directly with Charles without seeking Parliament's approval and agreed to marry his six-year-old daughter,Isabella of Valois. Richard used the interim peace to punish his political rivals. In 1397, he took his revenge on the Appellants, many of whom were executed or exiled. The next two years have been described by historians asRichard's "tyranny".
When John of Gaunt died in 1399, Richard confiscated thelands and titles of Gaunt's sonHenry Bolingbroke whom he had exiled to France in 1398.[citation needed] In May 1399, Richard left England for a military expedition in Ireland,[42] giving Bolingbroke the opportunity to return to England.[43] Henry invaded England in June 1399 with a small force that quickly grew in numbers, meeting little resistance. With the support of much of the disaffected nobility, Bolingbroke deposed Richard and was crowned as Henry IV, the first Lancastrian monarch.[44] Richard is thought to have been starved to death in captivity, although questions remain regarding his final fate.
Richard's posthumous reputation has been shaped to a large extent byWilliam Shakespeare, whose playRichard II portrayed Richard's misrule and his deposition as responsible for the Wars of the Roses. Modern historians do not accept this interpretation, while not exonerating Richard from responsibility for his own deposition. While probably not insane, as many historians of the 19th and 20th centuries believed, he may have had apersonality disorder, particularly manifesting itself towards the end of his reign. Most authorities agree that his policies were not unrealistic or even entirely unprecedented, but that the way in which he carried them out was unacceptable to the political establishment, leading to his downfall.[citation needed]
Almost immediately after assuming the throne, Henry IV faced an attempted deposition known as the "Epiphany Rising" in 1400 byJohn Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury,John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter,Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey, and theThomas Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester, to re-install the imprisoned Richard as king. The attempt failed, all four conspirators were executed, and Richard died shortly thereafter "by means unknown" inPontefract Castle.[45] Further west inWales, the Welsh had generally supported Richard's rule, and, welded to a myriad of other socio-economic problems, the accession of Henry triggered amajor rebellion in Wales led byOwain Glyndŵr, a member of the Welsh nobility.[46] Glyndŵr's rebellion would outlast Henry's reign, and would not end until 1415.[46] During the revolt, Glyndŵr received aid from members of theTudors, a prominent Anglesey family and maternal cousins of Glyndŵr himself, who would come to play a defining role in the coming Wars of the Roses.[47] Disputes over promises of land, money, and royal favour in exchange for their continued support drove theHouse of Percy, led byHenry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, andThomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, to rebel multiple times against Henry. The first challenge was defeated atShrewsbury in 1403 and Worcester was executed,[48] while a second attempt failed atBramham Moor in 1408, at which Northumberland was killed.[49] Henry himself died in 1413, and was succeeded by his son,Henry of Monmouth, who was crowned Henry V.[50]
To cement his position as king both domestically and abroad, Henry revivedold dynastic claims to the French throne, and, using commercial disputes and the support France loaned to Owain Glyndŵr as acasus belli,invaded France in 1415.[51] While not plagued by constant rebellions as his father's reign was, Henry V faced a major challenge to his authority on the eve of his expedition to France in the form of theSouthampton Plot. This was led bySir Thomas Grey,Henry, Baron Scrope, andRichard of Conisburgh, the latter of whom was the second son of Edmund of Langley the 1st Duke of York. They intended to replace Henry with the youngEdmund Mortimer, Richard of Conisburgh's brother-in-law, who was a great-great-grandson of Edward III and at one time the heir presumptive to Richard II.[52] Mortimer remained loyal and informed Henry of the plot, who had all three ringleaders executed.[53]
Henrycaptured Harfleur on 22 September[54] and inflicted a decisive defeat on the French atAgincourt on 25 October which wiped out a significant part of the French nobility.[citation needed] Agincourt and Henry's subsequent campaigns firmly entrenched the legitimacy of theLancastrian monarchy and Henry's pursuit of his claims on the French throne.[55] In 1420, Henry andCharles VI of France signed theTreaty of Troyes. The treaty disinherited the French DauphinCharles from the line of succession, married Charles' daughterCatherine of Valois to Henry, and acknowledged their future sons as legitimate successors to the French throne.[56]
Richard of York, the son of Richard of Conisburgh, was four years old when his father was executed. As his paternal uncle,Edward, 2nd Duke of York, had died at Agincourt without issue,[57] Henry permitted Richard of York to inherit the title and lands of theDuchy of York. When Edmund Mortimer died childless in 1425, Richard of York also inherited the Earldom of March and Mortimer's claim to the throne through his late mother, Edmund Mortimer's sister.
Henry, who himself had three younger brothers and had recently married Catherine, did not doubt that the Lancastrian claim on the crown was secure.[31] On 6 December 1421, Catherine gave birth to a son,Henry. The following year, Henry V died ofdysentery, and his son ascended to the throne at just nine months old.[58] Henry V's younger brothers produced no surviving legitimate heirs, leaving only the Beaufort family as alternative Lancastrian successors. As Richard of York grew into maturity and Henry VI's rule deteriorated, York's claim to the throne became more attractive. The revenue from his estates also made him the wealthiest magnate in the kingdom.[11]
From early childhood,Henry VI was surrounded by quarrelsome councillors and advisors. His younger surviving paternal uncle,Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, sought to be namedLord Protector until Henry came of age, and deliberately courted the popularity of the common people for his own ends,[59] but was opposed by his half-uncle, CardinalHenry Beaufort. On several occasions, Beaufort called onJohn, Duke of Bedford, Gloucester's older brother and nominalregent to Henry, to return from his post as the king's commander in France, either to mediate or defend him against Gloucester's accusations of treason.[60] Overseas, the French had rallied aroundJoan of Arc and had inflicted major defeats on the English atOrléans,[61] andPatay,[citation needed] reversing many of the gains made by Henry V and leading to the coronation of the Dauphin asCharles VII inReims on 17 July 1429.[citation needed] Henry was formally crowned as Henry VI, aged 7, shortly thereafter on 6 November in response to the coronation of Charles.[62] Around this time, Henry's mother Catherine of Valois had remarried toOwen Tudor[63] and bore two surviving sons;Edmund Tudor andJasper Tudor, both of whom would play key roles in the concluding stages of the coming wars.[64]
Henry came of age in 1437 at age sixteen.[citation needed] However, Bedford had died two years earlier in 1435, and Beaufort largely withdrew himself from public affairs sometime thereafter, in part because of the rise to prominence of his allyWilliam de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, as the dominant personality in the royal court.[65] Like Beaufort, Suffolk favoured a diplomatic rather than a military solution to the deteriorating situation in France, a position which resonated with Henry, who was by nature averse to violence and bloodshed.[66] Suffolk was opposed by Gloucester and the risingRichard of York, both of whom favoured a continued prosecution of a military solution against France. Suffolk and the Beaufort family frequently received large grants of money, land, and important government and military positions from the king, who preferred their lesshawkish inclinations, redirecting much-needed resources away from Richard and Gloucester's campaigns in France, leading to Richard developing a bitter resentment for the Beauforts.[67]
Suffolk continued to increase his influence at court as the principal architect of theTreaty of Tours in 1444 to broker peace between England and France. Suffolk successfully negotiated the marriage to Henry ofMargaret of Anjou, only a distant relation of Charles VII through marriage rather than blood, in exchange for the strategically important lands ofMaine andAnjou.[68] Though Suffolk earned a promotion from Earl to Marquess (and would be made a Duke in 1448) for his efforts, the clauses of the treaty that required cession of lands to France were kept secret from the English public due to fears of a significant backlash, but Henry insisted on the treaty.[69] Two years later in 1447, Suffolk succeeded in having Gloucester arrested for treason. Gloucester died while awaiting trial, with some at the time suspecting that Suffolk had had him poisoned.[70] Richard of York was stripped of his prestigious command in France and sent to govern the relatively distantLordship of Ireland with a ten-year term of office, where he could not interfere with affairs at court.[citation needed]
During this time, England continued to suffer reversals in France. Suffolk, who was now the principalpower behind the throne, could not avoid taking the blame for these losses. Additionally, the blame of the unfavourable request to cede Maine and Anjou to the French was laid at Suffolk's feet, though he continued to insist he made no promises during negotiations to such a demand.[71] In 1450, Suffolk was arrested, imprisoned in theTower of London, and impeached in the Commons. Henry intervened and instead exiled Suffolk for five years, but en route to Calais, Suffolk was captured and executed on 2 May 1450.[72] Suffolk was succeeded byEdmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, nephew of Henry Beaufort, as the leader of the faction pursuing peace with France, who had been appointed as Richard's replacement as commander in France in 1448. Somerset's political position was somewhat fragile, as English military failures in 1449 following a resumption of hostilities left him vulnerable to criticism from Richard's allies at court.[73] Somerset had by this time become a close ally of Henry's wife, Margaret of Anjou.[74] Margaret herself wielded almost complete control over the pliable king Henry,[75] and her close friendship with Somerset led many to suspect the two were having an affair; indeed, upon the birth of Henry and Margaret's son,Edward of Westminster in 1453, there were widespread rumours that Somerset was the father.[76]
On 15 April 1450, the English suffered a major reversal in France atFormigny, which paved the way for the French reconquest ofNormandy.[77] That same year, there was aviolent popular uprising in Kent, which is often seen as a precursor to the Wars of the Roses.[78] The rebel manifesto,The Complaint of the Poor Commons of Kent, written under the stewardship of rebel leader Jack Cade, accused the crown of extortion, perversion of justice, and election fraud. The rebels occupied parts of London, and executedJames Fiennes, the unpopularLord High Treasurer.[79] They dispersed after they were supposedly pardoned but several ringleaders, including Cade, were later executed.[80] After the rebellion, the grievances of Cade and his followers formed the basis of Richard of York's opposition to a royal government from which he felt unduly excluded.[78] Richard of York used the opportunity to return from Ireland and went to London. Angling himself as a reformer to demand better government, he was eventually imprisoned for much of 1452 and 1453.[81] By the summer of the latter year, Richard seemed to have lost the power struggle.[citation needed]
Throughout these quarrels, Henry himself had taken little part in proceedings. He displayed several symptoms of mental illness, possibly inherited from his maternal grandfather,Charles VI of France.[82] His near-total lack of leadership in military matters had left the English forces in France scattered and weak, which left them ripe for defeat at Formigny in 1450.[83] Henry was described as more interested in matters of religion and learning, which, coupled with his timid and passive nature and, if not well-intentioned, aversion to warfare, made him an ineffectual king for the time.[84] On 17 July 1453, the English forces in southern France suffered a catastrophic defeat atCastillon, and England lost all her possessions in France except for thePale of Calais, shifting the balance of power in Europe, and ending theHundred Years' War.[citation needed] Perhaps in reaction to the news, Henry suffered a complete mental breakdown, during which he failed to recognise his newborn son, Edward.[85] On 22 March 1454, CardinalJohn Kemp, theLord Chancellor, died, and Henry could not be induced to nominate a successor, thus making government in the king's name constitutionally impossible.[86]
The lack of central authority led to a continued deterioration of the unstable political situation, which polarised around long-standing feuds between the more powerful noble families, in particular thePercy-Neville feud, and theBonville-Courtenay feud, creating a volatile political climate ripe for civil war.[87] To ensure the country could be governed, a Regency Council was established and, despite the protests of Margaret, was led by Richard of York, who was appointedLord Protector and Chief Councillor on 27 March 1454. York appointed his brother-in-law,Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, to the post of Chancellor, backing the Nevilles against their chief adversary,Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland. In backing the Nevilles, York gained a key ally, Salisbury's sonRichard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, one of the wealthiest and most powerful magnates in the kingdom. York removed Somerset from his position and imprisoned him in the Tower of London.[88]
In 1455, Henry made a surprise recovery from his mental instability, and reversed much of Richard of York's progress. Somerset was released and restored to favour, and York was forced out of court into exile.[89] However, disaffected nobles, chiefly the Earl of Warwick and his father the Earl of Salisbury, backed the claims of the rivalHouse of York to control of the government.[90] Henry, Somerset, and a select council of nobles elected to hold a Great Council atLeicester on 22 May, away from Somerset's enemies in London. Fearing that charges of treason would be brought against them, York and his allies gathered an army to intercept the royal party atSt Albans, before they could reach the Council.[91]
York's allies were soon in ascendancy thanks to the temporarily stabilised situation, particularly the youngRichard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, who, in his capacity asCaptain of Calais, had conducted anti-piracy operations in theEnglish Channel.[97] Warwick rapidly overtook his father,Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, as York's key ally, protecting York from retribution in Parliament.[98] Warwick's position as commander of the strategically important port ofCalais also gave him command of England's largeststanding army.[citation needed] Henry's consort,Margaret of Anjou, considered Warwick a serious threat to the throne and attempted to cut off his supplies,[99] however a French attack onSandwich in August 1457 ignited fears of a French invasion, forcing Margaret to concede and provide Warwick with the funding he required to protect the realm.[100] However, in February 1456, Henry recovered his mental faculties, and once again relieved York of his office as Lord Protector, reassuming personal governance over the realm.[101] Despite the tenuous peace, disorder was returning to the kingdom as sporadic fighting once more broke out between theNeville andPercy families.[102] To quell the growing discontent, Henry attempted to broker apublic display of reconciliation between the two sides atSt. Paul's Cathedral on 25 March 1458, however, no sooner had the procession dispersed than the plotting resumed.[102]
Meanwhile, as Henry attempted in vain to secure peace in England, Warwick, in disregard of royal authority, had conducted attacks against theCastilian fleet in May 1458, and against a fleet of theHanseatic League a few weeks later.[103] His position in Calais also enabled him to establish relations withCharles VII of France, andPhilip the Good ofBurgundy, international connections that would serve him in the future.[104] In response to the attacks, Warwick was summoned to London to face inquiries along with York and Salisbury. However, fearing arrest once they were isolated from their allies, they refused.[105] York instead summoned the Nevilles to rendezvous at his stronghold ofLudlow Castle in theWelsh Marches; Warwick departed Calais with a portion of the garrison there to join the main Yorkist forces.[106]
Margaret had not been idle during this time and had been actively recruiting armed support for Henry, distributing a livery emblem of a silver swan to knights and squires enlisted by her personally.[107] Before Warwick could join them, the Yorkist army of 5,000 troops under Salisbury was ambushed by a Lancastrian force twice their size underJames Tuchet, 5th Baron Audley atBlore Heath on 23 September 1459.[108] The Lancastrian army was defeated,[109] and Baron Audley himself killed in the fighting.[110] In September, Warwick crossed over into England and made his way north to Ludlow.[111] At nearbyLudford Bridge, the Yorkist forces were scattered due to the defection of Warwick's Calais troops underAndrew Trollope.[112]
Forced to flee, York, who was still Lieutenant of Ireland, left forDublin with his second son,Edmund, Earl of Rutland, while Warwick and Salisbury sailed to Calais accompanied by York's heir,Edward, Earl of March.[113] The Lancastrian faction appointed the newDuke of Somerset, Henry Beaufort to replace Warwick in Calais, however, the Yorkists managed to retain the loyalty of the garrison.[111] Fresh from their victory at Ludford Bridge, the Lancastrian faction assembled a "Parliament of Devils" atCoventry with the sole purpose ofattainting York, his sons, Salisbury, and Warwick,[114] however, the actions of this assembly caused many uncommitted lords to fear for their titles and property.[115] In March 1460, Warwick sailed to Ireland under the protection of the GasconLord of Duras[116] to concert plans with York, evading the royal fleet commanded byHenry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter,[117] before they returned to Calais.[118]
In late June 1460, Warwick, Salisbury, and Edward of March crossed the Channel and rode north to London, where they enjoyed widespread support.[119] Salisbury was left with a force tobesiege the Tower of London,[120] while Warwick and March pursued Henry northward.[121]
That September, York returned from Ireland, and, at the Parliament of October that year, he made a symbolic gesture of his intention to claim the English crown by placing his hand upon the throne,[125] an act which shocked the assembly.[126] Even York's closest allies were not prepared to support such a move.[127] Assessing York's claim, the judges felt thatcommon law principles could not determine who had priority in the succession, and declared the matter "above the law and passed their learning".[128] Finding a lack of decisive support for his claim among the nobility who at this stage had no desire to usurp Henry, a compromise was reached: theAct of Accord was passed on 25 October 1460, which stated that following Henry's death, his sonEdward would be disinherited, and the throne would pass to York.[129] However, the compromise was quickly found to be unpalatable, and hostilities resumed.[130]
Queen Margaret and her son had fled to Lancastrian-heldHarlech Castle, where they joined Henry's half-brotherJasper Tudor andHenry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter, who were recruiting troops in Wales and theWest Country. Margaret headed north toScotland, where she successfully negotiated the use of Scottish troops and other aid for the Lancastrian cause from Queen RegentMary of Guelders, in return for the surrender ofBerwick, which a year prior,James II of Scotland, using the turmoil of the war as an opportunity tried to retake as well asRoxburgh. The latter, though successful, cost him his life. A similar successful negotiation was made for the use ofFrench troops and aid for the Lancastrians cause that same year, this time in return for the surrender ofJersey,[131] thus having theAuld Alliance backing the Lancastrian side to prevent the Yorkist ruled England from joining theBurgundian State in its war with France, a scenario that neither ally had the stomach for. The Lancastrians rallied in theNorth of England, where the Percy family were gathering support. They were joined by Somerset and theThomas Courtenay, 6th/14th Earl of Devon.[132] York, his son the Earl of Rutland, and Salisbury left London to contain the Lancastrian threat in the north.[133]
On 16 December 1460, York's vanguard clashed with Somerset's forces from the West Country at theBattle of Worksop, and was defeated.[citation needed] On 21 December, York reached his fortress ofSandal Castle near the town ofWakefield, with the Lancastrians encamped just 9 mi (14 km). For reasons unclear, York sortied from the castle on 30 December,[134] and in the ensuingBattle of Wakefield, York, Rutland, and Warwick's younger brotherThomas Neville were all killed.[135][131] Salisbury was captured the following night and executed.
Following the Yorkist defeat atWakefield,Richard, 3rd Duke of York's 18-year-old son,Edward, Earl of March, was now heir to theDukedom of York, and thereby inherited Richard's claim to the throne.[136] Edward sought to prevent the Lancastrian armies gathering under theTudors in western England and Wales from joining the main Lancastrian forces opposing him in the north.
On 2 February 1461, he decisively defeated the Lancastrian armies atMortimer's Cross,[137] and the capturedOwen Tudor, husband toHenry V's widowCatherine of Valois, was executed by his troops.[138] As dawn broke across the field, a meteorological phenomenon known asparhelion occurred, giving the appearance of a trio of suns rising. Edward calmed his frightened troops by convincing them it represented theHoly Trinity, and therefore evidence of divine blessing upon their cause.[139] Edward would later take the heraldic symbol of thesunne in splendour as hispersonal device.[140][141]
In the north, having defeated and killed Richard, Margaret's troops and the victorious Lancastrians moved south,[citation needed] while Warwick, with the captive Henry in tow, moved his forces to meet them astride the ancient Roman road ofWatling Street atSt Albans. Warwick's forces were well-entrenched,[142] but were ultimately defeated in theSecond Battle of St Albans on 17 February.[143]
Henry was freed by the Lancastrians, and knighted his young sonEdward of Westminster, who in turn knighted thirty Lancastrian leaders.[144] Warwick and his troops marched to rendezvous with the Yorkist troops in the Marches under Edward, fresh from their victory at Mortimer's Cross.[145] Although the Lancastrians had the strategic advantage after St Albans, the Lancastrian cause was unpopular in London, and the citizenry refused entry to Margaret's troops. Warwick and Edward, seizing the initiative, marched rapidly to London, where Edward was proclaimedEdward IV of England by a hastily gathered assembly.[146] Edward was a more attractive prospect as a monarch for the people of England; contemporaries such asPhilippe de Commines describe him as energetic, handsome, affable,[citation needed] and struck an imposing sight in full armour and resplendent clothing, a deliberate move on the part of his supporters to contrast him with Henry, whose physical and mental frailties had fatally undermined his support.[147]
To cement his position, Edward and Warwick moved north to confront the Lancastrians. Warwick, leading the Yorkist vanguard, inconclusively clashed with the Lancastrians atFerrybridge on 28 March, at which Warwick was wounded,[148] and the Lancastrian commanders, theBaronsClifford, andNeville (a distant relative of Warwick), were killed.[149] Edward engaged the Lancastrians' main army the following day on 29 March nearTowton,Yorkshire. Thebattle that followed was the largest and bloodiest ever fought on English soil,[150] and resulted in a decisive triumph for Edward which broke the power of the Lancastrians in the north.[151] The lynchpins of Lancastrian control in the royal court were either killed or fled the country;Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, was killed,[citation needed]Andrew Trollope, one of the most astute Lancastrian field commanders,[152] was also killed,[153] whileJames Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond, was captured and executed.[citation needed] Henry, Margaret, and their son Prince Edward fled north to Scotland.[154] Edward returned to London for hiscoronation,[155] while Warwick remained in the north to pacify further Lancastrian resistance.[156] The Battle of Towton confirmed to the English people that Edward was the uncontested ruler of England, at least for the time being;[151][157] as a result, Edward used this opportunity to employ abill of attainder to forfeit the titles of 14 Lancastrian peers and 96 knights and minor members of thegentry.[158]
Edward was formally crownedKing of England on 28 June 1461 inWestminster Abbey.[159] Edward sought towin the affections of his vanquished foes; he pardoned many of the Lancastrians he attainted following his victory at Towton after they submitted to his rule,[160] and permitted them to retain their property and titles.[161]
For his part, Warwick benefited generously from Edward's patronage and became the most powerful noble in the country.[162] He had inherited the lands and titles of both his parents,[163] and was made High Admiral of England, Steward of theDuchy of Lancaster, along with several other offices of importance.[164] In the summer of 1462, Warwick successfully negotiated a truce with Scotland,[99] while atPiltown inIreland, Yorkist forces underThomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond,decisively defeated the Lancastrians underJohn Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond,[165] forcing the Ormonds into exile and ending Lancastrian designs on Ireland.[166] That October, Margaret of Anjou invaded England with troops from France, and captured the castles ofAlnwick andBamburgh,[167] although they were back in Yorkist hands within just three months.[168]
In the spring of 1463, the north of England rose in revolt in support of Henry whenSir Ralph Percy laid siege toNorham Castle.[169] Separate truces had been agreed with bothScotland andFrance by late 1463, allowing Warwick to recover much of the territory lost in the north by 1464.[170] The main Lancastrian army moved south through Northumberland, however, and was destroyed by a Yorkist force underJohn Neville atHexham on 15 May 1464.[171] All three Lancastrian commanders,Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset,[172] theBaron Ros,[173] and theBaron Hungerford,[citation needed] were captured and executed. Yorkist troops captured the deposed king Henry in the woods near theRiver Ribble,[174] and was taken to London where he was imprisoned in the Tower.[175][176] With Somerset's army defeated and Henry captured, all effective resistance to Edward's rule had been wiped out.[177]
Edward saw no profit in killing Henry while his son remained alive, instead preferring to keep the Lancastrian claim with a frail captive.[178] Margaret and Prince Edward were compelled to leave Scotland and sailed for the court of Margaret's cousin,Louis XI of France, where they maintained an impoverished court in exile for many years.[179]
With his position upon the throne secure, Edward was free to pursue his domestic and foreign ambitions. Internationally, Edward favoured astrategic alliance with theDuchy of Burgundy but Warwick persuaded him to negotiate a treaty withLouis XI of France; at the negotiations, Warwick suggested Edward would be disposed to amarriage alliance with the French crown, the intended bride either being Louis' sister-in-lawBona of Savoy, or his daughter,Anne of France.[180] To his considerable embarrassment and rage, Warwick discovered in October 1464 that four months earlier on 1 May, Edward had secretly marriedElizabeth Woodville, the widow of a Lancastrian noble.[181] Elizabeth had twelve siblings, some of whom married into prominent families, turning the Woodvilles into a powerful political establishment independent of Warwick's control.[182] The move demonstrated that Warwick was not thepower behind the throne as many had assumed and the marriage was criticised by Edward'sPrivy Councillors, who felt that marriage to a woman who was the daughter of neither a duke nor an earl was unbefitting a man of royal blood.[183][184] Warwick attempted to restore his lost influence by accusing Elizabeth and her motherJacquetta of Luxembourg of witchcraft, a ploy which failed but did not break the relationship between Warwick and Edward.[185][186]
Edward's choice of bride plagued him politically for the rest of his reign.[187] Politically, it opened Edward up to accusations that Warwick had been deceiving the French into believing the king was committed to the marriage proposal.[188] Elizabeth's family began to ascend to positions of great importance; Edward's father-in-law, theEarl Rivers, was appointed asLord High Treasurer, and supported the king's position for a Burgundian alliance.[189] Without Warwick's knowledge, Edward had already concluded a treaty in secret with Burgundy in October 1467, while leaving Warwick to continue with doomed negotiations with the French court.[190] In 1467, Edward removed Warwick's brother, theArchbishop of York, from his office ofLord Chancellor, while the king refused to entertain a marriage proposal between Warwick's eldest daughter,Isabel and Edward's brother,George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence.[191] For various reasons, Clarence greatly resented his brother's interference.[191] In 1468, Edward retookJersey from the French.
In April 1469, a rebellion broke out inYorkshire under a leader known only asRobin of Redesdale.[citation needed] A second pro-Lancastrian revolt broke out the following month, which demanded the restoration ofHenry Percy asEarl of Northumberland.[192] The revolt was quickly crushed by the earl,John Neville, though he made little attempt to quell Redesdale's actions.[192] Warwick and Clarence had spent the summer assembling troops, officially to suppress the revolt but in early July they travelled toCalais, where Clarence and Isabel were married in a ceremony overseen by Warwick. They returned to London, where they assembled their troops, ostensibly to remove 'evil councillors' from the king's company and re-establish good governance and moved north to link with the Yorkshire rebels.[193] Privately, Warwick hoped to depose Edward and install the nineteen-year-old Clarence on the throne.[194]
Redesdale defeated royal troops atEdgcote on 26 July 1469; although Redesdale was reportedly killed, the two royal commanders,William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, andHumphrey Stafford, 1st Earl of Devon, were both captured and executed.[195] Elizabeth Woodville's father,Lord Rivers, and brotherSir John Woodville were apprehended and murdered.[196] After the battle, Edward was taken captive by George Neville and held atMiddleham Castle.[197] It soon became clear to the rebels that neither Warwick nor Clarence enjoyed significant support, and unable to quell the growing disorder, Edward was released in September of that year and re-assumed his duties as king.[198] In March 1470, Warwick and Clarence exploited political instabilities to incite the1470 Lincolnshire Rebellion, hoping to lure Edward north where he could be taken by Warwick's men.[e] On 12 March 1470, Edward routed the Yorkist rebels at theBattle of Losecoat Field and captured the rebel leader, theBaron Willoughby, who named Warwick and Clarence as the "partners and chief provokers" of the rebellion.[200] Physical evidence also came to light which proved the complicity of the two men, who fled to France in May.[citation needed] Willoughby was beheaded and his lands seized.[citation needed]
Rebellion by Warwick and Readeption of Henry VI (1470–1471)
1885 lithograph portraying the rout of Warwick's forces atBarnet in the manner ofPaolo Uccello
Seeking to capitalise on Warwick's disfavour with the king,Louis XI of France arranged a reconciliation between Warwick and his bitter rival, Margaret of Anjou, with the objective to restore Henry to the throne.[201] As part of the arrangement, Warwick agreed to marry his daughter Anne to Edward of Westminster, Margaret and Henry's son and heir apparent;[citation needed] while the marriage was solemnised, it may not have been consummated, as Margaret was hoping to find a better match for her son once he became king.[202] Staging a diversionary uprising in the north, Warwick and Clarence launched a two-pronged invasion of England atDartmouth andPlymouth on 13 September 1470.[citation needed] Warwick's brother, theMarquess of Montagu joined him, bitter with the king that his support for the crown during the preceding revolts did not result in the restoration of his earldom.[203] Edward rushed south to meet the invasion, while Montagu's forces advanced from the north, and the king found himself surrounded.[204] With few options, Edward, his younger brotherRichard, Duke of Gloucester, and several hundred retainers fled toFlanders on 2 October, then part of theDuchy of Burgundy, his ally.[f]
TheReadeption of Henry VI restored him as king, a throne which Warwick was now indisputably in effective control of.[207] In November, Edward was attainted, and his brother Clarence was awarded the title ofDuke of York.[208] Burgundy was ruled byCharles the Bold, husband of Edward's sister Margaret. Charles rendered precious little assistance to his brother-in-law, something Edward would never forget.[209] However, unfortunately for Warwick and Clarence, Henry's new regime was precariously unstable;Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset, held Warwick responsible forhis father's death in 1455, and the ensuing internal disputes eventually left Warwick and Clarence politically isolated.[210] With the backing of Flemish merchants, Edward landed atRavenspurn in Yorkshire on 14 March 1471, supported by theEarl of Northumberland.[211] Edward was joined by troops underSir William Parr andSir James Harrington, a move which convinced Clarence, who was politically disadvantaged by his agreement with the Lancastrians,[212] to abandon Warwick and Henry and join his brother.[213] Edward's army made rapidly for London, where they took the by now feeble king Henry prisoner and sent him to theTower of London.[214]
Poor weather contained French troops under Margaret and Edward of Westminster on the continent, preventing Warwick from being reinforced.[215] Despite this and Clarence's defection, Warwick marched in pursuit of Edward's growing army, and the two sides met in battle atBarnet on 14 April 1471.[216] Poor visibility due to thick mist and the similarity of Edward'sheraldic sun to the Earl of Oxford'sstar[217] led to the Lancastrians attacking their own men,[218] and, coupled with Edward's determined attack, Warwick's army was destroyed. During the rout, Warwick was unhorsed and killed,[219] along with his brotherJohn Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu,[220] whileHenry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter, was apprehended and imprisoned in theTower of London.[221] In 1475, Exeter would be sent on a Yorkist expedition to France, where he was reputed to have fallen overboard while at sea, and drowned without any witnesses.[222] Warwick's defeat and death was a catastrophic blow for the Lancastrian cause,[223] and the Neville family's political influence was irrevocably broken.[224]
The return of Henry VI to the throne did not last long. Though the Nevilles had been defeated, on the same day of the clash at Barnet, Margaret had managed to land her forces atWeymouth, and augmented her army with recruits from theWelsh Marches.[225] Despite the heavy defeat they had suffered at Barnet, survivors from the battle rallied around the Lancastrian queen.[223] Edward moved to intercept the Lancastrian army, realising they were attempting to cross theRiver Severn into Wales. Acting upon correspondence sent by Henry VI,Sir Richard Beauchamp, governor ofGloucester, barred the gates to Margaret's troops, preventing the Lancastrians from crossing in time.[citation needed] On 4 May 1471, Edward intercepted and engaged Margaret's army atTewkesbury, defeating it. Henry VI and Margaret's only son,Edward of Westminster, was killed by Clarence's men,[226] while theDuke of Somerset[226] andJohn Courtenay, 15th Earl of Devon,[227] were both killed.
The royal propagandist of theHistorie of the arrivall of Edward IV suggests the royal army was, "though small, well-armed and determined" and that Edward claimed he had returned solely for his duchy of York.[228] However, Henry VI could not start raising a force of any numbers until well to the south (of England), inLord Hastings's estates in the Midlands (about 3,000 men in Nottingham, where he was joined byWilliam Parr andJames Harrington, with their personal forces of sixty men-at-arms). Whereas, in the north, came "not so many as supposed would have come", reported theArrivalist.[229]
Edward IV entered London on 21 May. Henry VI died that night, or soon afterwards, perhaps on Edward's orders. A contemporary chronicle (favourable to Edward IV) reported Henry's death as caused by "melancholy" after hearing of his son's death.[230] It is widely suspected however, that with Henry's only heir dead, Edward had ordered the formerking's murder.[231] Margaret of Anjou was imprisoned until she was ransomed by Louis XI in 1475 to France,[232] where she would live for the remainder of her life, dying on 25 August 1482.[233]
With the defeats at Barnet and Tewkesbury, armed Lancastrian resistance appeared to be at an end. However, Edward IV's regime was progressively fractured by a worsening feud between his brothers,George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, andRichard, Duke of Gloucester. On 22 December 1476, Clarence's wifeIsabel died. Clarence accused one of the late Isabel'sladies-in-waiting,Ankarette Twynyho, of having murdered her, and, in turn, Clarencemurdered her. Ankarette's grandson received a retrospective pardon for Ankarette from Edward in 1478, illustrating the quasi-monarchical attitude of Clarence which Edward was growing wary of.[234] In 1477, Clarence was proposed as a suitor forMary, who had just becomeDuchess of Burgundy, but Edward objected to the match, and Clarence left the royal court.[235]
For his part, Gloucester was married toAnne Neville; both Anne and Isabel were daughters of theCountess of Warwick, and therefore heirs to their mother's considerable fortune.[236] Many of the estates held by the two brothers had been bestowed upon them by Edward's patronage (who retained the right to revoke them). This was not the case with property acquired through marriage; this difference fuelled the disagreement.[237] Clarence continued to fall out of favour with Edward; persistently widespread claims he was involved in a revolt against Edward led to his imprisonment and execution at theTower of London on 18 February 1478.[238]
Edward's reign was relatively peaceful domestically; in 1475 he invaded France, however he signed theTreaty of Picquigny[239] with Louis XI whereby Edward withdrew after receiving an initial payment of 75,000crowns plus an annual pension of 50,000 crowns,[240] while in 1482, he attempted to usurp the Scottish throne but was ultimately compelled to withdraw back to England. Nevertheless, they were successful in retakingBerwick.[241] In 1483, Edward's health began to fail and he fell fatally ill that Easter. Prior to his death, he named his brother Richard to act as Lord Protector for his twelve-year-old son and successor,Edward. On 9 April 1483, Edward IV died.[242]
Yorkist rule under Richard III and defeat (1483–1485)
Officially illegitimate, their children were barred from inheriting the throne. On 25 June, an assembly of lords and commoners endorsed a declaration to this effect and proclaimed Richard as the rightful king. He was crowned on 6 July 1483. Edward and his younger brotherRichard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, called the "Princes in the Tower", were not seen in public after August and accusations circulated that they had been murdered on King Richard's orders, after the Tudor dynasty established their rule a few years later. There were two big rebellions against Richard during his reign. In October 1483, a revolt was led by staunch allies of Edward IV and Richard's former ally,Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. Then, in August 1485,Henry Tudor and his uncle,Jasper Tudor, landed insouthern Wales with a contingent of French troops and marched throughPembrokeshire, recruiting soldiers. Henry's forces defeated Richard's army near theLeicestershire town ofMarket Bosworth. Richard was slain, making him the last English king to die in battle. Henry Tudor ascended the throne as Henry VII.
During Edward IV's reign, his brotherRichard, Duke of Gloucester, had risen to become the most powerful magnate in the north of England,[243] particularly in the city ofYork where his popularity was high.[243] Prior to his death, the king had named Richard asLord Protector to act asregent to his twelve-year-old son,Edward V.[242] Richard's allies, particularlyHenry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and the powerful and wealthy BaronWilliam Hastings, theLord Chamberlain, urged Richard to bring a strong force to London to counter any move the Woodville family might make.[244] Richard departed Yorkshire for London, where he intended to meet the young king atNorthampton and travel to London together.[245] Following Edward IV's death, theDowager QueenElizabeth instructed her brother,Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, to escort her son Edward V to London with an armed escort of 2,000 men.[246]
However, upon reaching Northampton, Richard discovered that the king had already been sent onward toStony Stratford inBuckinghamshire.[247] In response, and to forestall any Woodville family attempts on his person, on 30 April 1483, Richard had Earl Rivers, Edward's half-brotherRichard Grey, and Edward's chamberlainThomas Vaughan arrested and sent to the north.[248] Richard and Edward journeyed to London together, where the young king took up residence at theTower of London on 19 May 1483, joined the following month by his younger brother,Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York.[249]
Despite his assurances to the contrary, Richard had Earl Rivers, Grey, and Vaughan beheaded in June 1483.[250][251] Acting as Lord Protector, Richard repeatedly stalled the coronation of Edward V, despite the urging of the king's councillors, who wished to avoid another protectorate.[252] That same month, Richard accused the Lord Chamberlain, theBaron Hastings, of treason, and had himexecuted without trial on 13 June.[253] Hastings had been popular, and his death created considerable controversy, not least because his loyalty to Edward and his continued presence would have presented a major obstacle to Richard's path to securing the throne.[254][255] A clergyman, likelyRobert Stillington, theBishop of Bath and Wells,[256] informed Richard that Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was invalid because of Edward's earlier union toEleanor Butler, thereby making Edward V and his siblings illegitimate heirs to the throne.
On 22 June, the selected date for Edward's coronation,[257] a sermon was preached outsideSt. Paul's Cathedral declaring Richard the rightful king,[258] a post which the citizenry petitioned Richard to accept.[259] Richard accepted four days later, and was crowned atWestminster Abbey on 6 July 1483.[citation needed]
Edward and his brother Richard of Shrewsbury, who were still in residence in theTower of London, hadcompletely disappeared by the summer of 1483.[260] The fate of the two princes following their disappearance remains a mystery to this day, however, the most widely accepted explanation is that they were murdered on the orders of Richard III.[261]
Woodville proposed to strengthen Henry's claim by marrying him to her daughterElizabeth of York, the only living heir to Edward IV. Convinced of the need for Yorkist support, Henry promised his hand to Elizabeth well before his planned invasion of England,[265] a factor which caused many Yorkists to abandon Richard.[266] By September 1483, a conspiracy against Richard began to be formulated among members of the disaffected English gentry, many of whom had been staunch supporters of Edward IV and his heirs.[267]
Since Edward IV had regained the throne in 1471, Henry Tudor had lived in exile at the court ofFrancis II, Duke ofBrittany.[268] Henry was half-guest half-prisoner, since Francis regarded Henry, his family, and his courtiers as valuable bargaining tools to barter for the aid of England, particularly in conflicts with France, and therefore shielded the exiled Lancastrians well, repeatedly refusing to surrender them.[269] Henry, in particular, was supported by the Breton treasurerPierre Landais, who hoped that an overthrow of Richard would cement a joint Anglo-Breton alliance.[citation needed] Now in alliance with Richard's former supporter,Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, Francis provided Henry with 40,000 gold crowns, 15,000 troops, and a fleet of ships to invade England. However, Henry's forces were scattered by a storm, compelling Henry to abandon the invasion.[270] Nevertheless, Buckingham had alreadylaunched a revolt against Richard on 18 October 1483 with the aim of installing Henry as king.[271] Buckingham raised a substantial number of troops from his Welsh estates, and planned to join his brother theEarl of Devon.[272]
However, without Henry's troops, Richard easily defeated Buckingham's rebellion, and the defeated duke was captured, convicted of treason, and executed inSalisbury on 2 November 1483.[273] Following the rebellion in January 1484, Richard stripped Elizabeth Woodville of all the lands bestowed upon her during her late husband's reign.[274] For the sake of outward appearances, the two appeared to reconcile.[275]
Following Buckingham's failed revolt, some 500 Englishmen fled toRennes, the capital ofBrittany to join Henry in exile.[276] Richard opened negotiations with Francis for Henry's extradition to England, however, the Duke continued to refuse, hoping for the possibility of extracting more generous concessions from Richard in exchange.[277] By mid-1484, Francis was incapacitated from illness, leaving Landais to take the reins of government. Richard made overtures to Landais, offering military support to defend Brittany against a possible French attack; Landais agreed, however, Henry escaped to France by mere hours.[278] Henry was warmly received at the court ofCharles VIII of France, who supplied Henry with resources for his coming invasion.[279] Upon the recovery of Francis II, Charles offered the remaining Lancastrians in Brittany safe conduct to France, paying for their expenses himself. For Charles, Henry and his supporters were useful political pawns to ensure Richard did not intervene with French designs on the acquisition of Brittany.[280]
On 16 March 1485, Richard's wife,Anne Neville, died.[281] Rumours quickly spread that she had been murdered to allow Richard to marry his niece,Elizabeth of York, rumours which alienated Richard's northern supporters.[282] Richard's marriage to Elizabeth had the potential of unravelling the Tudor plans, and split the Yorkists who supported Henry from their cause.[283] Henry secured the patronage of the French regentAnne of Beaujeu, who supplied him with 2,000 troops in support.[284] Overseas, Henry relied heavily on his mother Margaret of Beaufort to raise troops and support for him in England.[285] Anxious to press his claim, with the backing of the Woodvilles, Henry set sail from France on 1 August with a force consisting of his English and Welsh exiles, along with a large contingent of French and Scottish troops,[286] landing nearDale, Pembrokeshire, inWales.[287] Henry's return to his Welsh homeland was regarded by some as the fulfilment of a Messianic prophecy,[288] as "the youth of Brittany defeating theSaxons" and restore their country to glory.[289] Henry amassed an army of approximately 5,000 troops to confront Richard.[290] Richard's lieutenant in Wales, Sir Walter Herbert, failed to move against Henry, and two of his officers deserted to the Tudor claimant with their troops.[291] Richard's lieutenant in West Wales, Rhys ap Thomas, also defected.[291] By mid-August, Henry crossed the English border, advancing onShrewsbury.[292]
Richard, who had been well-informed of Henry's movements, had ordered a mobilisation of his troops.[293] The powerfulStanleys had assembled their bannermen upon hearing of Henry's landing; while they had been communicating on friendly terms with Henry both prior to and during his landfall in England,[283][294] their forces were a wildcard, and would not support Henry until a decisive juncture in the coming battle.[295] On 22 August 1485, Henry Tudor's outnumbered forces[296] engaged Richard's army in theBattle of Bosworth Field. Stanley's forces entered the fray on behalf of Henry, decisively defeating Richard's army.[297]Polydore Vergil, Henry's official historian, records that "King Richard, alone, was killed fighting manfully in the thickest press of his enemies",[298] and became the last English king to die in battle.[299] Richard's ally theEarl of Northumberland fled, while theDuke of Norfolk was killed, andThomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, was taken captive.[295] Henry claimed the throne byright of conquest, retroactively dating his claim to the day prior to Richard's defeat.[300]
Henry was crowned asHenry VII of England on 30 October 1485 inWestminster Abbey.[301] As per his pledge, Henry marriedElizabeth of York on 18 January 1486,[302] and Elizabeth gave birth to their first child just eight months later, Prince Arthur.[303] The couple's marriage appears to have been a happy one;[304][305] Henry in particular was noted for being uncharacteristically faithful for a king of the time.[303] Henry and Elizabeth's marriage united the rivalLancastrian andYorkist claims since their children would inherit the claims of both dynasties; however, paranoia persisted that anyone with blood ties to the Plantagenets were secretly coveting the throne.[306]
Despite the union of the two dynasties, Henry's position as king was not immediately secure. That same year he faced arebellion of the Stafford brothers, aided and abetted byViscount Lovell, but the revolt collapsed without any open fighting.[307] The Stafford brothers claimedsanctuary at a church belonging to Abingdon Abbey inCulham,[308][309] however, Henry had the Staffords forcibly removed by the knightSir John Savage[310] on 14 May[308] and tried before theCourt of the King's Bench, which ruled that sanctuary was inapplicable in matters of treason.[311] Protests over Henry's actions were lodged withPope Innocent VIII, which resulted in apapal bull that agreed to some modifications over the right of sanctuary.[312] Henry also dealt with other potential threats to his reign; the heir to the male-line Yorkist claim wasEdward, Earl of Warwick, the ten-year-old son of Edward IV's brother,George, Duke of Clarence.[313] Henry had Warwick arrested and imprisoned at theTower of London.[314]
Around this time, a Yorkist-sympathising priest by the name of Richard Symonds had noticed a striking similarity between a young boy,Lambert Simnel, andRichard of Shrewsbury, one of thePrinces in the Tower, and began tutoring the boy in the manners of the royal court, perhaps hoping to put forth Simnel as an impostor Prince Richard.[315] The rumour spread that Edward IV's children were still alive, however, the false report of the death of the imprisoned Earl of Warwick, who was roughly the same age as Simnel, changed the impersonation.[228]John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln, who himself had a claim on the throne as a Plantagenet descendant and Richard III's nephew,[313] left the royal court on 19 March 1487 forBurgundy to capitalise on the rumours.[316] His aunt,Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy provided him with financial and military support. The Yorkist exiles sailed for Ireland, where the Yorkist cause was popular, to gather support.[317] Simnel was proclaimed King Edward VI inDublin despite Henry's efforts to quell the rumours, which included parading the real Earl of Warwick through the streets of London.[228] While nominally supporting the impostor king, Lincoln likely saw the whole affair as an opportunity to claim the throne for himself.[318]
Lincoln had no intention of remaining in Ireland, and with Simnel, 2,000 German mercenaries and an additional large host of Irish troops, landed onPiel Island inLancashire and proceeded to march on York.[319] Though the Yorkist march avoided Henry's main army, they were repeatedly harassed by Tudor cavalry under Sir Edward Woodville.[320] While Henry's army was outnumbered, they were far better equipped than the Yorkists, and Henry's two principal commanders,Jasper Tudor andJohn de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, were more experienced than any of the Yorkist leaders.[321] The two armies met in battle atStoke Field on 16 June 1487, and resulted in the destruction of the Yorkist force.[322] TheEarl of Lincoln was killed in the fighting, while theViscount Lovell disappeared, likely to Scotland.[323] Henry pardoned the young Simnel, likely recognising he was merely a puppet in the hands of adults, and put him to work in the royal kitchens as aspit-turner. Simnel later became a falconer, and died around 1534.[324] Henry persuaded the Pope to excommunicate the Irish clergy who supported the revolt, and had Symonds imprisoned, but not executed.[321] Stoke Field proved to be the last military engagement of the Wars of the Roses.[325]
In 1491,Perkin Warbeck, a young man hired in the service of a Breton merchant,[citation needed] was regarded favourably as an inheritor of the Yorkist claim to the throne by the pro-York citizens ofCork in Ireland, who allegedly decided to put Warbeck forth as an impostorRichard of Shrewsbury.[326] Warbeck first claimed the throne at the Burgundian court in 1490, claiming to indeed be Richard, and that he had been spared due to his young age.[327] He was publicly recognised as Richard byMargaret of York, sister of Edward IV, and was recognised as Richard IV of England at the funeral of the Holy Roman EmperorFrederick III, and had become recognised as theDuke of York in international diplomacy, despite Henry's protests.[328] Some nobles in England were prepared to recognise Warbeck as Richard, includingSir Simon Montfort,Sir William Stanley,Sir Thomas Thwaites, and Sir Robert Clifford. Clifford, who visited Warbeck, wrote back to his allies in England confirming Warbeck's identity as the lost prince.[329]
In January 1495, Henry crushed the conspiracy with six of the conspirators imprisoned and fined, while Montfort, Stanley, and several others were executed.[330] Warbeck courted the Scottish royal court, where he was well received byJames IV, who hoped to use Warbeck as leverage in international diplomacy.[citation needed] In September 1496, James invaded England with Warbeck, however the army was forced to withdraw when it expended its supplies, and support for Warbeck in the north failed to materialise.[331] Having now fallen out of favour with James, Perkin sailed to Waterford.[332] On 7 September 1497, Warbeck landed in Cornwall, hoping to capitalise on the Cornish people's resentment to Henry VII's unpopular taxes,[333][334] which hadinduced them into revolt just three months earlier.[335] Warbeck's presencetriggered a second revolt; he was declared as Richard IV onBodmin Moor, and his army of 6,000 Cornishmen advanced onTaunton.[335][336] However, when Warbeck received word the king's troops were in the area, he panicked and deserted his army. Warbeck was captured, imprisoned, and on 23 November 1499, he was hanged.[327]
That same year, Henry had the captiveEdward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, who had shared a cell with Warbeck and made an escape attempt together, executed. With Warwick's death, the direct male-line descent of the Plantagenet dynasty was rendered extinct.[337]
Some historians question the impact the wars had on the fabric of English society and culture; revisionists, such as the Oxford historianK. B. McFarlane, suggest that the effects of the conflict were greatly exaggerated.[338] Many parts of England were largely unaffected by the wars, particularlyEast Anglia.[339] In the densely populated regions of the country, both factions had far more to lose by the ruin of the country through protractedsieges andpillaging, and sought a quick resolution to the conflict through apitched battle. The lengthy sieges that did occur, such as atHarlech andBamburgh were in comparatively remote and sparsely populated areas.[340] Contemporaries such asPhilippe de Commines observed in 1470 that England was a unique case compared to wars that befell the continent, in that the consequences of war were only visited upon soldiers and nobles, not citizens and private property.[341]
The instability caused by the Wars of the Roses allowed nobles to take advantage and promote their own position at the expense of others. This was because the 15th century witnessed the phenomenon of 'bastard feudalism' which involved the partial degradation of medieval feudalism.[342] Rich landowners were able to possess private armies of retainers, accumulate wealth, and diminish the power of the Crown at a local level.[343]Many areas undertook little effort to improve their defences; city walls were either left in prior ruinous states or only partially rebuilt, as was the case inLondon, whereby the citizenry was able to avoid devastation by persuading the Yorkist and Lancastrian troops to stay out, after the inability to reconstruct adequate walls, thereby rendering the city indefensible.[344]"It is true that the wars were largely fought between nobles and their private armies, and they were also intermittent with fewer than 24 months of actual fighting over the entire period. Nevertheless, the local populace was sometimes dragged into the conflict, especially if nobles formed militia from their estate workers."[343]
Among the lords, few noble houses were extinguished entirely by the wars; between 1425 and 1449, before the outbreak of fighting, there were as many extinctions of noble lines from natural causes (25), as occurred between 1450 and 1474 (24), during the heaviest period of combat.[341] However, several preeminent noble families had their power crippled because of the fighting, such as theNeville family,[224] while the direct male line of thePlantagenet dynasty was rendered extinct. Nevertheless, every subsequent monarch of England and its successor states has been a direct descendant of Edward III of England through three of his sons, but through the female line. The reign of the monarchy was broken briefly only byCromwell'sCommonwealth of England andThe Protectorate.[337]
Despite the relative paucity of violence undertaken against civilians, the wars claimed the lives of 105,000 people, approximately 5.5 per cent of the population in 1450.[1] By 1490 England had experienced a 12.6 per cent increase in population compared to 1450, despite the wars.[345][346]
Henry VIII of England's anxiety over producing a male heir was driven by fears of a continuation of the Wars of the Roses
Although there would be no more serious military threat to Henry's rule or the Tudor claim to the throne that threatened a repeat of the Wars of the Roses, individuals also claiming descent from the Plantagenets continued to present challenges to the Tudor dynasty; when Henry VII ascended the throne, there were eighteen other Plantagenet descendants who may be considered to have a stronger claim to the throne, and by 1510 this number had increased by the birth of sixteen Yorkist children.[347] However, Henry VIII, as the grandson and heir of the Yorkist kingEdward IV, "had a superior Yorkist title to any conceivable rival".[348] The De La Pole family continued to attempt to claim the throne;Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk, brother of the deceasedEarl of Lincoln, was executed in 1513 byHenry VIII for this,[349] while his brotherRichard, known as theWhite Rose and who had conspired to invade England to claim the throne, waskilled in battle atPavia in 1525.[350]
The English monarchy prior to the wars exerted only weak influence, unable to prevent the growing factional rivalries that undermined the political structure of the country.[citation needed] When Henry VII ascended the throne, he inherited a government that had been significantly weakened.[351] Although the Tudor claim on the throne was weak and the new regime faced several rebellions, Henry's rule provided much-needed stability to the realm that prevented further outbreaks of war.[352] Trade, commerce, and culture flourished and war would not return to England for155 years.[353][354][355][356] Upon his death, Henry VII had left to his successors a thriving economy, in part thanks to his frugal spending.[357] Slavin (1964) considers Henry VII to be a member of the "New Monarchs", defined as a ruler who centralised power in the monarchy and unified their nation.[358] Though the monarchy saw a strengthening under the Tudors, they generally operated within the established legal and financial boundaries, which compelled the monarch to cooperate closely with the nobility, rather than against them.[359] Tudor monarchs, particularlyHenry VIII, defined the concept of the "divine right of kings" to help reinforce monarchical authority, a philosophical concept which would come to plague England under the reign ofCharles I, leading to theEnglish Civil War.[360][361]
The ascension of the Tudor dynasty saw the end of the dawn of theEnglish Renaissance, an offshoot of theItalian Renaissance, that saw a revolution in art, literature, music, and architecture.[362] TheEnglish Reformation, England's break with theRoman Catholic Church, occurred under the Tudors, which saw the establishment of theAnglican Church, and the rise ofProtestantism as England's dominant religious denomination.[363] Henry VIII's need for a male heir, impelled by the potential for a crisis of succession that dominated the Wars of the Roses, was the prime motivator influencing his decision to separate England fromRome.[364] The reign of Henry VIII's daughter,Elizabeth I, is considered by historians to be agolden age in English history, and is widely remembered today as theElizabethan era.[365][366]
HistorianJohn Guy argued that "England was economically healthier, more expansive, and more optimistic under the Tudors" than at any time since the Roman occupation.[367] Historians such asKendall,Walpole, andBuck contend that the characterisation of the Wars of the Roses as a period of bloodshed and lawlessness, contrasted with the Tudors ushering in a period of law, peace, and prosperity, served the political interests of the Tudors topresent the new regime positively.[368][369][370] Contemporaries of the Tudors, such asWilliam Shakespeare and SirThomas More, wrote fictional and non-fictional works respectively which were hostile toRichard III.[371]Horspool observes that More's work (which likely influenced Shakespeare) was a private endeavour published only after his death, as opposed to a state-sponsored commission, and M.M. Reese notes that More's work was "as much a protest against the harsh, competitive society of the early Tudors as against the supposed tyrannies of Richard III".[372][373][374]
Military strategy in themedieval period was predominated bysiege warfare; fortifications provided a powerful bastion of defence for a regional populace to shelter from large-scale pillaging that characterised groups such as theVikings orMongols,[375] andcastles evolved as a central point of control and protection for local elites to exercise their authority over a given area. Fortifications also nullified the dominant weapon of the medieval battlefield:heavy cavalry.[376]Pitched battles were generally rare compared to theClassical period due to a dramatic reduction in logistical capability,[377] and those that were fought tended to be decisive encounters that risked the deaths of the leaders and the potential destruction of the army as a fighting force, discouraging them from taking place.[378] The Wars of the Roses were anomalous in this regard; nobles had a great deal to lose by the ruin of the countryside in a protracted conflict, so they tended to deliberately seek pitched battles to resolve their grievances quickly and decisively.[340]
The code ofchivalry governed the actions of nobles in medieval warfare; in particular, nobles would often go to great lengths to take a fellow noble prisoner during combat in order toransom them for a sum of money, rather than simply killing them.[379] However, the concept of chivalry had been in decline for many years prior to the Wars of the Roses; for example, the battle atCrecy in 1346 (over a century prior) saw the cream of French nobility cut down by English archers, and the killing of many wounded French knights by common soldiers.[380] The Wars of the Roses continued this trend;Edward IV was noted by contemporaryPhilippe de Commines as ordering his troops to spare common soldiers and kill the nobles.[341] Ensuring the deaths of nobles in battle often led to one side wielding lopsided political control in the aftermath as a result, as occurred afterTowton at which 42 captured knights were executed,[381] andBarnet, which irrevocably broke the influence of the powerfulNeville family.[224] Nobles who escaped battle might beattainted, thereby being stripped of their lands and titles, and would therefore be of no value to a captor.[382]
Knights during the Wars of the Roses typically valued money, land, and sabotaging other factions, even within or allied to the same house, they perceived as not supporting them enough.[383]
Much like theircampaigns in France, the Englishgentry fought on foot.[384] Thoughheavy cavalry had been the dominant class of soldier on the medieval battlefield for centuries,[385] the relative inexpensiveness to train and outfit an infantryman compared to an expensive mountedknight incentivised leaders for expanding their use,[citation needed] and the late medieval battlefield saw an increased use of infantry and light cavalry.[386] In particular, English armies were characterised by their use of massedlongbowmen, which often proved decisive in their encounters with French cavalry,[386] however, as the English nobility fought on foot, and due to advances in flutedplate armour, neither side possessed a decisive tactical advantage from the use of these archers.[387] An exception to this was atTowton, where the Yorkist archers took advantage of the high winds to extend their maximum range, dealing disproportionate damage to their Lancastrian opponents.[388][389]
English armies of the time tended to favour a mix between infantry equipped withbills, poleaxes, flails, and other close range weaponry supported by massedlongbowmen, a combination they would continue to use well into the Tudor period.[390] Despite their frequent association with medieval warfare,swords were rare among the common soldiery and were instead favoured bymen-at-arms orknights as apersonal weapon indicating prestige and wealth.[391] Other weapons commonly used by infantry and men-at-arms includeaxes,[392]halberds,[393]crossbows,[394] anddaggers.[395]Hand cannons andarquebuses were used by both sides, however their numbers were limited.[396] Whilecannons were used as early as 1346 atCrecy, these were cruderibauldequins firing metal arrows orgrapeshot,[citation needed] and were rendered obsolete bybombards that came in the late 15th century.[397]Bamburgh Castle, previously thought impregnable, was captured thanks to bombards in 1464.[398] Cannons were used sparingly;Northampton was the first battle on English soil in which they were used.[399] Early cannon were expensive to cast as they were often made frombronze,[400] as such few commanders were willing to risk their capture on the field; atBarnet in 1471, the Yorkist artillery withheld their fire so as not to betray their location.[401]
The invention of theblast furnace in Sweden in the mid-14th century increased and improved iron production,[402] which led to advances inplate armour to protect soldiers from the powerfulcrossbows,longbows, and the advent ofgunpowder weaponry, such as thehand cannon and thearquebus, that began to emerge around the same time.[403] By the 15th century, plate armour had become cheaper thanmail, although mail continued to be used to protect joints which could not be adequately protected by plate, such as the armpit, crook of the elbow, and groin.[404] Contrary to the popular preconception of medieval armour as excessively heavy,[405] a full suit of medieval armour in the 15th century seldom weighed more than 15 kg (33 lbs),[406] substantially less than the loads that modern ground combat troops carry.[407]
Half of anindenture contract, the randomly cut (or indented) edge at the top proves a match to the counterpart document
Following the climax of theHundred Years' War, large numbers of experienced unemployed soldiers returned to England seeking work in the growing forces of the local nobility. England drifted towards misrule and violence as feuds between powerful families, such as thePercy-Neville feud, increasingly relied on their retainers to settle disputes. It became common practice for local landowners to bind theirmesnie knights to their service with annual payments.[408]Edward III had developed a contractual system whereby the monarch entered into agreements namedindentures with experienced captains who were obliged to provide an agreed-upon number of men, at established rates, for a given period. Knights, men-at-arms, and archers were often sub-contracted.[408] Skilled archers could often command wages as high as knights.[409] Thecomplex feudal structures that existed in England enabled nobles to raise largeretinues, with armies large enough that could challenge the power of the crown.[19][21]
Lancastrians are those who supported the Lancastrian claim to the throne, principally by supporting the incumbent monarch,Henry VI.
Tudors are those who supportedHenry VII's claim to the throne by right of conquest in 1485.[300]
Yorkist rebels are Yorkists who, while not aligned with the claims of the Lancastrian dynasty, nevertheless rebelled against Edward IV during his reign.
Consort to Edward IV Mother toEdward V andElizabeth of York Organised the alliance with Beaufort to promote Henry Tudor as a claimant to the throne[262]
First reign: 1 September 1422 – 4 March 1461 Second reign: 3 October 1470 – 11 April 1471 Captured and imprisoned by the Yorkists Died in unclear circumstances on 21 May 1471[231]
^Francis II shelteredHenry Tudor, supplying him with money, troops, and ships. It was only after Francis fell ill that Henry was forced to flee Brittany to France.
^AfterFrancis II became ill, his treasurer,Pierre Landais, ruling the Duchy in his stead, aided Richard III in attempting to capture Henry Tudor.
^During Shakespeare's time people used the termCivil Wars, cf. e.g., the title ofSamuel Daniel's work, theFirst Four Books of the Civil Wars
^Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York is referred to in the text as "York".
^There has been debate over Warwick's actual involvement in the plot.[199]
^The date was not 29 September, as some sources state.[205][206]
^Henry Tudor's claim to the throne was weak, owing to a declaration ofHenry IV that barred the accession to the throne of any heirs of the legitimised offspring of his fatherJohn of Gaunt by his third wife Katherine Swynford.The original act legitimising the children of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford passed by Parliament and the bull issued by the Pope in the matter legitimised them fully, making questionable the legality of Henry IV's declaration.
^Higgons, Bevil (1727).A Short View of the English History:: With Reflections Political, Historical, Civil, Physical, and Moral; on the Reigns of the Kings; Their Characters, and Manners; Their Successions to the Throne, and All Other Remarkable Incidents to the Revolution 1688. : Drawn from Authentic Memoirs and Manuscripts. T. Johnston. p. 165.
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^Mercer, Malcolm (2010).Medieval Gentry: Power, Leadership and Choice during the Wars of the Roses. London. p. 12.ISBN9781441190642.;Pollard 2007, p. 38
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^Bucholz, R. O.; Key, Newton (2020).Early modern England, 1485–1714: a narrative history (Third ed.). Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley Blackwell. p. 225.ISBN978-1-118-53221-8.
^Bucholz, R. O.; Key, Newton (2020).Early modern England, 1485–1714: a narrative history (Third ed.). Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley Blackwell. p. 99.ISBN978-1-118-53221-8.
^McKenna, John W. (1965). "Henry VI of England and the Dual Monarchy: aspects of royal political propaganda, 1422–1432".Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes.28:145–162.doi:10.2307/750667.JSTOR750667.S2CID158251523.
^Hartley, Cathy (2003).A Historical Dictionary of British Women. London: Europa Publications. p. 298.ISBN978-1-85743-228-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
^Exemplification, at the request of Roger Twynyho of Westminster, kinsman and heir of Ankarette late the wife of William Twynyho of Cayforde, co. Somerset, esquire, viz. son of John their son, of the following: a petition of the said Roger in the present Parliament. From: Cal Patent Rolls, 1476–1485, London, 1901, membranes 9 & 10, 20 February 1478
^Rhodes, D. E. (April 1962). "The Princes in the Tower and Their Doctor".The English Historical Review.77 (303). Oxford University Press:304–306.doi:10.1093/ehr/lxxvii.ccciii.304.
^Wood 1975, pp. 269–270, quoting a letter of instruction sent toJohn Blount, Lord Mountjoy two days following Richard's assumption of the throne. However, Wood goes on to observe that "the impressions conveyed by this document are in many respects demonstrably false."[better source needed]
^"Parliamentary Rolls Richard III".Rotuli Parliamentorum A.D. 1483 1 Richard III Cap XV. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved1 July 2013.
^Bosworth: The Birth of the Tudors. Phoenix Press. 2013. pp. 153–154.Polydore Vergil records that Henry travelled to the ducal capital at Rennes, where he sent for Dorset and the other exiles who arrived at Vannes.
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Reflections of the Yorkist Realm – Includes photographs and discussion of places connected with the Wars of the Roses, including Bosworth, Harlech and Towton
1 Briefly joined the Lancastrians.2 Briefly joined the Yorkists.3 Defected from the Yorkist to the Lancastrian cause.4 Initially a Yorkist who later supported the Tudor claim.5 Initially a Lancastrian who later supported the Tudor claim.
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