Middle Ages War of the Scarlet and White Roses. History and ethnology

War of the Scarlet and White Roses

The rivalry between the two dynasties in England resulted in a civil war that began in 1455. Since the last months of the Hundred Years' War, two branches of the Plantagenet family - York and Lancaster - have been fighting for the throne of England. The War of the Roses (York's coat of arms had a white rose, and Lancaster's had a scarlet one) put an end to the reign of the Plantagenets.

1450

England was going through difficult times. King Henry VI of Lancaster was unable to calm down the disagreements and strife between the major aristocratic families. Henry VI grew up weak-willed and sickly. Under him and his wife Margaret of Anjou, the Dukes of Somerset and Suffolk were given unlimited power.

In the spring of 1450, the loss of Normandy signaled collapse. Internecine wars are multiplying. The state is collapsing. The conviction and subsequent murder of Suffolk does not lead to peace. Jack Cad rebels in Kent and marches on London. Royal troops defeat Cad, but the anarchy continues.

The king's brother Richard, Duke of York, who was in exile in Ireland at that time, gradually strengthened his position. Returning in September 1450, he tries, with the help of Parliament, to reform the government and eliminate Somerset. In response, Henry VI dissolved Parliament. In 1453, the king lost his mind as a result of severe fright. Taking advantage of this, Richard York achieved the most important position - protector of the state. But Henry VI regained his sanity, and the Duke's position began to shake. Not wanting to give up power, Richard York gathers armed detachments of his followers.

Lancasters vs Yorks

York enters into an alliance with the Earls of Salisbury and Warwick, who are armed with a strong army, which in May 1455 defeats the royal troops in the town of St. Albans. But the king again takes the initiative into his own hands for a while. He confiscates the property of York and his supporters.

York abandons the army and flees to Ireland. In October 1459, his son Edward occupied Calais, from where the Lancasters unsuccessfully tried to dislodge them. There he gathers a new army. In July 1460, the Lancastrians were defeated at Northampton. The king is in prison, and Parliament names York heir.

At this time, Margaret of Anjou, determined to defend the rights of her son, gathers her loyal subjects in the north of England. Taken by surprise by the royal army near Wakefield, York and Salisbury are killed. The Lancastrian army moves south, devastating everything in its path. Edward, the son of the Duke of York, and the Earl of Warwick, having learned about the tragedy, hastened to London, whose inhabitants joyfully greeted their army. They defeated the Lancastrians at Towton, after which Edward was crowned Edward IV.

Continuation of the war

Taking refuge in Scotland and supported by France, Henry VI still had supporters in the north of England, but they were defeated in 1464 and the king was imprisoned again in 1465. It seems that everything is over. However, Edward IV faces the same situation as Henry VI.

The Neville clan, led by the Earl of Warwick, who placed Edward on the throne, is starting a fight with Queen Elizabeth's clan. The king's brother, Duke of Clarence, is jealous of his power. Warwick and Clarence mutiny. They defeat the troops of Edward IV, and he himself is captured. But, flattered by various promises, Warwick releases the prisoner. The king does not keep his promises, and the struggle between them flares up with renewed vigor. In March 1470, Warwick and Clarence find refuge with the King of France. Louis XI, being a subtle diplomat, reconciles them with Margaret of Anjou and the House of Lancaster.

He did this so well that in September 1470, Warwick, supported by Louis XI, returned to England as a supporter of the Lancastrians. King Edward IV flees to Holland to join his son-in-law Charles the Bold. At the same time, Warwick, nicknamed the “kingmaker,” and Clarence restore Henry VI to the throne. However, in March 1471, Edward returned with an army financed by Charles the Bold. At Barnet, he wins a decisive victory - thanks to Clarence, who betrayed Warwick. Warwick is killed. The Lancastrian Southern Army is defeated at Tewkesbury. In 1471 Henry VI died (or possibly was assassinated), Edward IV returned to London.

Union of two roses

Problems arise again after the king's death in 1483. Edward's brother, Richard of Gloucester, who hates the queen and her supporters, orders the murder of the king's children in the Tower of London, and seizes the crown under the name of Richard III. This act makes him so unpopular that the Lancasters regain hope. Their distant relative was Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, son of the last of the Lancastrians and Edmond Tudor, whose father was a Welsh captain, bodyguard of Catherine of Valois (widow of Henry V), whom he married. This secret marriage explains the interference in the discord of the Welsh dynasty.

Richmond, along with the supporters of Margaret of Anjou, weaves a web of conspiracy and lands in Wales in August 1485. The decisive battle took place on August 22 at Bosworth. Betrayed by many of his circle, Richard III was assassinated. Richard ascends the throne as Henry VII, then marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. The Lancasters become related to the Yorks, the War of the Roses ends, and the king builds his power on the union of the two branches. He introduces a system of strict control of the aristocracy. After the accession of the Tudor dynasty, a new page was written in the history of England.

The Wars Of The Roses

Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) - this definition is applied to a series of civil wars in England that broke out in the country one after another and provoked by a dynastic conflict between two branches of the royal house - York and Lancaster.

The Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) is a historical term for a series of civil wars that were sparked by dynastic conflict between the two main branches of the royal house of England, the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The coat of arms of the House of York was a white rose. However, the traditional claim that the Lancastrian emblem was a scarlet rose is erroneous. In the play by William Shakespeare "Henry VI" There is a moment when representatives of the opposing sides choose scarlet and white roses. This scene firmly rooted roses in the popular consciousness. different colors as emblems for the royal houses of Lancaster and York.

The first Lancastrian king was Henry IV, who overthrew his corrupt relative and tyrant Richard II and took the throne. Medieval concepts of succession to the throne and the king's right to the crown from God determined that Henry IV's rights to the throne, which he had essentially usurped, were not fully approved, which led to much civil unrest. His son, Henry V, devoted his noble energies to the war with France. His astonishing triumph over French forces at the Battle of Agincourt (1415) made him a national hero. One of the conditions for signing the peace treaty was his marriage to the French princess Catherine, who provided him and his descendants with the right to inherit the French crown. He died suddenly in 1422, leaving as his heir a baby he had never even seen.

During the long minority-supported minority of Henry VI, the country was torn in two by the political divisions of two rival factions. In fact, the country was under the rule of lords who had their own armies. Even after Henry came of age, he was a weak and insignificant ruler. His extreme religiosity and love of solitude were very well known, which might have made him a good monk, but as a king he was a real disaster.

His marriage to Margaret of Anjou, the fifteen-year-old daughter of the Duke of Anjou, was arranged. Strong-willed and ambitious young Margarita had no problems managing her weak-willed husband. Margaret and her favorites at court tried to do everything possible to increase their wealth and influence. During their reign, the English treasury was empty. In addition to everything, the boundless corruption of Margaret's supporters led to the fact that England lost all the conquests that were hard won by the British in the war with France.

Henry VI, who had inherited his maternal grandfather's tendencies towards madness, fell into a state of catatonia in 1453. This opened up great prospects for Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (“the kingmaker”) to make Richard, Duke of York Protector of the Realm—a title essentially a regent. Ironically, Richard of York had a better claim to the throne than Henry VI, since the York dynasty descended from the second son of King Edward III, while Henry was a descendant of John of Gaunt, Edward's third son, whose heirs received the throne after Henry IV overthrew Richard II. Richard of York was also more suited to the crown as a person.

It is worth noting that Richard York never showed his claims to the throne, unlike Henry. In addition, he would never have attempted to seize power through rebellion if Queen Margaret had not tried to limit his rights, fearing that his strength and wealth would allow him to lay claim to the English throne.

In 1455, when suddenly King Henry recovered from his catatonia, he helped Margaret's supporters return to power. At this time, York was unexpectedly taken into custody, as he did not suspect how far Margarita could go, and came to the meeting with only one lightly armed bodyguard. Ultimately, he was forced to take up arms, since Margaret's supporters were a serious threat to his safety.

The first military action of the Wars of the Roses was the Battle of St Albans (22 May 1455), which ended in a landslide victory for the Duke of York. York's innocent intentions at that moment were clearly visible, since he did not take any action to overthrow the king or even to assert his claims to the throne, but simply apologized for raising his hand against the sovereign and presented a list of his demands. A fragile truce was concluded for four years.

The civil war resumed in 1459. Both sides won and suffered defeats in battle until the Earl of Warwick inflicted a final defeat on the Lancastrians at the Battle of Northampton in 1460. Before the assembled lords, York declared his claim to the crown with a spectacular gesture: walking across the entire hall and imperiously placing his hand on the throne. He was able to find the strength to overcome the ensuing silence, raising his hand in a greeting gesture. Knowing full well that he might lose support if he tried to overthrow Henry, York was content to proclaim himself the king's heir. Of course, Margaret refused to accept such a compromise, because it would deprive her son Edward of the right to succession to the throne.

Gathering her troops, Margaret continued her fight against the Yorks. In December 1460, the Lancastrian army surprised Richard of York's army at Wakefield, where Richard died. Warwick was also defeated at the Second Battle of St. Albans.

York's only son Edward, already a charismatic commander by the age of 18, defeated the Lancastrians at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross (1461) and captured London before Margaret's troops could get there. In March 1461 he was proclaimed King Edward IV. His armies pursued Margaret and finally defeated her forces at the Battle of Towton, forcing Henry, Margaret and their son Edward to flee to Scotland.

In the court of Edward IV, factionalism undermined unity. Warwick and Edward's younger brother George, Duke of Clarence, were “predators” who sought war with France and the return of all English conquests in France. In addition, both sought to strengthen their positions at court, hoping to receive the rewards and honor that they deserved. In addition, they had another reason for a quarrel with King Edward. The king took as his wife Elizabeth Woodville, a commoner who was considered by most to be unworthy to be Queen of England due to her low birth. All Warwick's attempts to conclude an alliance with France by marrying the king collapsed in an instant when he received such news, which greatly embarrassed him.

Clarence and Warwick started trouble in the north. Edward's troops were defeated and the king was captured. Edward managed to escape and gather his forces, forcing Warwick and Clarence to flee to France. There they joined forces with Margaret and returned to England to send Edward into exile. They restored Henry VI to the throne, but Edward soon returned, having made peace with his brother Clarence, who was increasingly dissatisfied with Warwick's actions. Edward's troops won a decisive victory at the Battle of Tewkesbury (1471), capturing Margaret and Henry. Their son Edward died and Henry died in the Tower under dubious circumstances, with King Edward likely involved. Clarence caused his brother a lot of trouble and he eventually had to kill him.

After this, Edward ruled peacefully until his death in 1483. His 12-year-old son Edward became heir as Edward V, but his uncle, Edward IV's younger brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, usurped the throne as Richard III. Even York supporters were outraged by Richard's bold move, especially after the boy king Edward and his younger brother were imprisoned in the Tower and died there under very mysterious circumstances.

The nobles who had turned their backs on Richard III supported Henry Tudor, the Lancastrian pretender to the throne. With their help and the help of France, his troops defeated Richard's army at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. Richard was killed in this battle by a crossbow bolt in a futile attack on the rebels, and Henry Tudor took the throne as Henry VII, the first king of the Tudor dynasty. This event marked the end of the War of the Roses. After decades of bloody civil wars, the English people were grateful for the peace and prosperity they enjoyed under King Henry VII, who reigned until 1509 when he died of tuberculosis.

What started the “Wars of the Roses”? What is the history of military operations? What is the origin of the name of this historical period? And how was the myth of the Wars of the Roses formed? The candidate talks about this historical sciences Elena Brown.

War of the Scarlet and White Roses

1453–1483

The Hundred Years' War, a dynastic war for the French throne, exhausted England, and the dynastic conflicts that followed over the English throne were completely meaningless. The War of the Roses did not break out as a result of fundamental differences, such as those that divided Henry II and Thomas Becket or King John the Landless and his barons. It was a power struggle between the rival heirs of Edward III's two sons, John of Gaunt and Lionel, Duke of Clarence. The House of Lancaster, whose symbol was the Scarlet Rose, had by 1450 remained on the throne for half a century after John of Gaunt's eldest son, Henry Bolingbroke, had usurped power in 1399 and removed the Black Prince's son, Richard II. Bolingbroke became Henry IV, after whom the crown passed alternately to his son Henry V and grandson Henry VI. Although the rights of the House of Lancaster were based on the initial usurpation of power, they were still recognized by Parliament and for quite a long time no one challenged them.

The power of the House of York went back to Philippa, daughter of the Duke of Clarence, son of Edward III, who was older than John of Gaunt. Philippa married into the powerful Mortimer family of the Welsh March, who became the Earls of March and Dukes of York (White Rose). These rights were not compromised by usurpation, but they were seriously undermined by the fact that it was a question of kinship by birth. female line and these rights have not been previously claimed. In England, the Salic law, which prevented inheritance through the female line, was usually observed, but sometimes it was temporarily waived based on political expediency, as did the supporters of the Yorks this time. The truth was that none of the contenders had a good enough reason to take the throne.

Not only the opposing parties, but also all influential families in the country were drawn into the bloody conflicts that followed. The Nevilles, Earls of Warwick, whose estates were in the midlands and north of the country, became related to the Mortimers through marriage, and the Yorks united with them in a close alliance in London. The Nevilles' opponents in the northeast were the Percys, Dukes of Northumberland, whose loyalty, like that of their Scots neighbors, did not inspire much confidence. Lancashire and the north-west were dominated by the Earls of Stanley, while in East Anglia and the south the Dukes of Norfolk, who traditionally supported the king, enjoyed enormous influence.

Since the Norman Conquest these families had enjoyed a somewhat unclear independence from the crown. They owned castles and estates, sometimes located in several counties, and had corresponding incomes. They could, if they wished, raise their own army, which freed the king from the need to maintain his own army when it was necessary to go on a military campaign outside the country, but at the same time deprived him of military force, who would be personally devoted to him if he decided to fight within the country. The War of the Roses was essentially a war between these families and over their interests. During battles, archers often received orders: “Aim for the lords, spare the commoners.” Once the dispute was resolved, the victors usually, but not always, took the enemy's rank and file under their wing. When the main ones characters conflict, they died in battle, their sons took their place, seeking to avenge the death of their fathers, and the war gradually turned into a blood feud akin to the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. By the end of the war, the troops of each side were sometimes commanded by teenagers. Murders and confiscations decimated the English aristocracy on a scale not seen in England until the First World War. In Harewood Chapel in Yorkshire, heavy stone statues of 15th-century warriors lie on graves like ships at anchor. silent witnesses that brutal massacre.

The unexpected return of sanity to King Henry VI at Christmas 1454 was the reason for York's removal from court. But he wasn't going to give up without a fight. While the young queen was busy restoring the Duke of Somerset to power, York and Warwick gathered their huge armies in the Midlands and marched towards the capital. The Lancastrian troops under the command of Somerset came forward to stop the enemy. The armies clashed in May 1455 on the streets of the town of St. Albans. York and Warwick defeated the Lancastrians, and Somerset died in battle. Thus the first blood was shed in this war.

York became Lord Constable of England and returned to London as regent for the incapacitated king. Margaret fled and led the Lancastrian forces in the north of the country. It was there that she won an important victory over York's supporters at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. In that battle, an irreparable tragedy occurred in the York camp: the Duke of York, the only person who was able to curb the growing chaos in the country, died. Margaret of Anjou hung his severed head on the gates of York, wearing a paper crown on it, with the words: “Let York survey her city.”

Now Civil War flared up with renewed vigor, the sons of Somerset and York were eager to avenge their fathers. 18-year-old Edward, the new Duke of York, defeated the Lancastrians at Mortimer's Cross, more than repaying the brutality shown by the enemy at Wakefield. Margaret was victorious at the Second Battle of St. Albans, horrifying friend and foe alike when she forced her 7-year-old son to sentence the captured aristocrats to death. But when young York a huge army approached London, the queen and her husband wisely fled to Scotland, an ally of her homeland France.

In 1461 young York entered London accompanied by his powerful cousin and mentor, the Earl of Warwick. He was warmly welcomed by crowds of townspeople. Despite his young age, York could be considered a real giant at that time: his height was 193 centimeters. He proclaimed himself Edward IV (1461–1470 and 1471–1483) and the legal heir of Edward III. Having seized the throne, he went north to fight the Lancastrian army, which had regrouped and received significant reinforcements from Scotland, where Margaret of Anjou was located. The armies met at Towton, between York and Leeds. This battle was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of England and one of the few at the site of which full-scale excavations were carried out. Approximately 75,000 men took part in the battle, about 10% of the entire male population capable of holding weapons. The Lancastrians were again defeated, and York's supporters declared that no one would be spared. 28,000 people died, and the queen and her husband fled to the Scots, who were always ready to provide her with refuge. Now, instead of York supporters, the heads of Lancastrian supporters were hung on the city gates.

At this moment the senseless war could be stopped. In just ten years, a third of England's 150 noble families were destroyed or lost their lands. York became king in less than twenty years, and Henry VI, who lost his throne, lived in exile. But the indomitable Margaret of Anjou remained, “in whose veins flowed the blood of Charlemagne.” Showing herself to be a ruthless and merciless leader and a calculating and shrewd commander, she managed to resurrect the old alliance of Scotland with her native France. Henry, who was still nominally king, accompanied Margaret everywhere, and her infant son and legal heir, Prince Edward of Lancaster, remained her trump card. Supported by small French troops, she continued to fight York supporters in the north of England, and loyal forces still held the castles of Alnwick, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh in Northumberland. By 1464, Edward managed to occupy Dunstanburg, bombarding it with powerful guns, after which only picturesque ruins remained of the castle; they can still be seen on the Northumberland coast. This time Margarita fled to France.

In London, it turned out that King Edward IV was not yet fully mature for his role. He infuriated Warwick's closest adviser and assistant by secretly marrying the lowly noblewoman Elizabeth Woodville, although Warwick was at that time conducting cautious negotiations in France about a possible dynastic marriage for the king. Elizabeth, a beauty with “seductive dragon eyes” (as large eyes half-covered by heavy eyelids were called in those days), became the first English queen, and of humble origins at that. Warwick considered himself the king's friend and protector, so he felt deeply insulted. He was even more angry when Edward granted peerages to eight representatives of the Woodville family, who immediately flocked to court and began to threaten the influence of the House of Neville, of which Warwick was a representative.

As a result of this crisis, in 1469 Warwick decided to commit the loudest betrayal in English history. He left the king and went to France to join the camp of his recent opponents and Margaret of Anjou. This betrayal cost York's supporters dearly, both militarily and politically. Warwick married his daughter, Anne Neville, to Margaret's son, heir to the throne Prince Edward, and persuaded the king's brother, the Duke of Clarence, to also join him in France. Warwick's defection to the French side tipped the scales in favor of the Lancastrians, and when Warwick and Margaret landed in England in 1470, Edward fled into exile, this time under the protection of France's enemy, the Duke of Burgundy. Henry VI reigned again in London under the protection of Warwick, who was rightly called the “kingmaker.”

York, who took refuge in Burgundy, like Margaret in Paris, was not going to accept defeat. In April 1471 he returned with a new army and met Warwick's army at Barnet, north of London. Here, in a desperate battle, he defeated his former mentor. During the battle, the battlefield was covered in thick fog, in which Warwick lost his bodyguards and was captured by enemy soldiers. They raised the visor and cut his throat before Edward could save him. The warriors were so enraged by Warwick's betrayal that Edward had to intervene to prevent his corpse from being torn to pieces, and then transport the remains to St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Warwick's life, like his death, turned out to be inextricably linked with the War of the Roses. The man called the "kingmaker" was eventually destroyed by one of those he created. According to his biographer Paul Kendell, “he left no significant mark on the history of the English state. He was an unprincipled adventurer."

Edward needed to put an end to the Lancastrians once and for all. He gathered a new army and moved troops to the west of the country, where Margaret fled, and there, in May 1471, he defeated the queen at the Battle of Tewkesbury. Prince Edward, Margaret's son and heir to Henry VI, died in this battle. The winners spared no one. The killings continued even in the nave of Tewkesbury Abbey Church, which was so desecrated that it had to be rededicated. These bloody events were immortalized by Shakespeare in the opening lines of Richard III: “So the sun of York transformed / Into good summer the winter of our troubles.”

According to the author, these words are spoken by Edward IV's brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester. He immediately married the 15-year-old widow of the prince killed in battle, Anne Neville, thus uniting the Gloucester possessions in the Welsh March with the Neville lands in the central counties and the north of England. Overnight, Gloucester became the largest landowner and heir to the Earl of Warwick. On 22 May 1471, Edward IV arrived in London to restore the throne to the House of York. Margaret of Anjou was his prisoner. That same night, Henry VI is assassinated in the Tower. It is believed that the only person who was with the prisoner at that time could have done this was Richard Gloucester. A witness to almost half a century of chaos into which the country plunged, the old king died insane, or, as one of the chronicles said, “from melancholy and sadness.”

King Edward IV revived the chivalric traditions that distinguished the court of his predecessor Edward III. The ceremony of awarding the Order of the Garter resumed - the majestic St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle was completed especially for this purpose. The king collected a library and in 1476 invited the pioneer printer William Caxton to London, who published Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. The War of the Scarlet and White Roses helped many people get rich. Merchants had to provide for the armies, and, unlike in France, military conflict did not prevent the development of trade. Cloth merchants in the City of London soon became so influential that they could lobby for legislation to determine what cloth should be worn by members of each social class. Thus, lords could wear brocade and sable, knights were supposed to wear silk and satin, and the townspeople had the right to wear only wool that was produced in England.

But although peace brought prosperity, some wounds did not heal. In 1478, Edward's brother, the traitor Duke of Clarence, an ally of the dishonest Warwick, was killed in the Tower. It was said that he was “drowned in a barrel of malvasia,” perhaps a reference to his alcoholism. Later, in 1483, Edward died of apoplexy at the age of just forty, leaving his 12-year-old son by Elizabeth as heir, Edward V. The only candidate for regent was his uncle Gloucester. It was with his direct participation that the War of the Scarlet and White Roses entered its bloody final stage.