The Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses is the name popularly given to the civil conflict that dominated English politics in the late fifteenth century and which represented the claims of the rival descendants of Edward III – the Lancastrians and the Yorkists. This name is a comparatively recent descriptor. Although the House of York occasionally used the white rose as an emblem, there is no clear evidence that the House of Lancaster used a red rose before 1485. What is incontrovertible is that the eventual Lancastrian heir, Henry VII, having married Elizabeth of York (Edward IV’s eldest daughter), combined the white and red roses into the Tudor Rose emblem. From at least 1486, poetry and pageantry used the red and white roses as emblems for the two houses in descriptions of the conflict. The idea was widely popular as a result of William Shakespeare’s depiction of opposing parties plucking roses in the Temple Garden in Henry VI pt 1, II iv. In 1761 the historian David Hume referred to The Wars of the Two Roses and this name was taken up in the nineteenth century by Sir Walter Scott. The rose emblems suited the mood of a romantic Victorian age which enthusiastically adopted them in history, art and literature. There is no evidence that contemporaries called it ‘The Cousins’ War’.

The Wars were really a sporadic civil struggle that took place through the second half of the fifteenth century. The battles were not the only manifestations of unrest as uprisings, resistance and rebellions were as much a feature of the times as the military set-piece battles. Foreign policy also intruded and inevitably tensions with neighbouring countries brought England into other military conflicts with Burgundy, France and Scotland. When Edward IV took the throne in 1461, his triumph was represented as a restoration of right order following Henry IV’s usurpation of Richard II in 1399. However, most modern historians identify the causes of the Wars of the Roses in the weaknesses of Henry VI’s kingship. This means that dates given for the start of the Wars of the Roses can vary significantly.

The Battle of Bosworth did not conclude the wars and throughout his reign Henry VII faced challenges to his kingship. It was not until his son ascended the throne as Henry VIII, the heir of both York and Lancaster, that the fledgling Tudor dynasty found some security.

This conflict and strife was deeply entwined with the political and social history of the period. King Richard’s life and the aftermath of his reign were part of and overshadowed by this, therefore, to provide some context, this section of the website examines the political, military and social unrest of the late fifteenth century.