The war of the roses
The War of the Roses.
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The Prehistory
It was in this year [1411], that Richard Plantagenet was born to
Richard, fifth Earl of Cambridge and Anne Mortimer. His father was the son
of Edmund, the first Duke of York, who was in turn the fourth son of Edward
III. If Henry VI had died before 1453, the year of the birth of Edward,
Prince of Wales, then Richard would have undoubtedly been crowned King of
England, since there was no other noble (since the death of Henry VI's
uncle and heir Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, who had died in 1447) with
such a strong claim to the throne at that time, other than Richard himself.
Being so highly placed in the royal household, Richard was destined to
play a significant role in the Government and politics of England
throughout his lifetime and in England's affairs in France during the later
stages of the Hundred Years War. He was appointed Lieutenant of France in
1436. Throughout his service in Europe, he had to pay for the services of
his men and finance the army in France from his own personal funds.
Although York was a wealthy man in his own right, (York was the sole
benefactor of the childless Edmund Mortimer, who had died of plague in
Ireland in 1425). It was his marriage to Cicely Neville in 1438 (who was
known as 'The Rose of Raby'), daughter to Ralph Neville, Earl of
Westmoreland and sister of Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, which had
brought him great wealth. Thus, he was able, albiet unhappily in doing so,
to fund the English army overseas. By the time he left France, York had
forwarded some Ј38,000 of his own money to maintain English interests in
France. To add insult to injury, in 1445 he was replaced as Lieutenant of
France by Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. It is not to be doubted that
it was on Somerset's advice (who was Henry VI cousin, and someone Henry
trusted more than the Duke of York) that Henry VI created York Lieutenant
of Ireland, which was in reality, exile by office. Somerset was no doubt
fearful of York, a fear enhanced by the fact that Somerset, a man whom York
equally detested, and a favourite of Henry VI was forwarded funds to the
sum of Ј25,000 to sustain the king's army in France.
Not only did York detest Somerset because of his favouritism with the
king, but he also detested the fact that he had been given the office he
had previously held in France and the funds to support it, despite his
inability as a soldier. York's fears over the management of the campaign in
France was soon realised, as the war began to go badly for the English. The
Duke of Somerset was personally responsible for the surrender of the
strategic town of Rouen which subsequently led to the fall of Normandy to
Charles VII of France. Because of this, Somerset became distinctly
unpopular at home. However, because he retained the king's favour, he
maintained his prestigious position at court. In June 1451, Bordeaux in
France, and Gascony, were lost to the French. This was disastrous news for
the English and the King, Henry VI, took the loss very badly. York in turn,
was quick to blame Somerset for the disaster and, with support for the king
and his adherents at such a low point (due mainly to English failings in
France), York, decided to risk all and attempt to wrest control from the
king by force of arms and arrest the Duke of Somerset, thus removing him
from his position as the king's most senior advisor.
Doubtless this move was not only inspired by York's fear for the conduct
of the war in France, but also because he was equally fearful that Somerset
might take over the very position that York felt was his own, that of the
most likely heir to Henry in the absence of the king having any children of
his own. Thus York, believing that he had more popular support than he
actually had, sailed from Ireland and landed in North Wales, gathered his
forces and travelled straight for London and the encounter at Blackheath.
The Wars of the Roses Begin
After York's release from custody, there then followed several years of
relative peace. However, by the year 1453, the political storm clouds were
once again gathering over the country. By this year, England's possessions
in France had been almost lost as the disastrous Hundred Years War had all
but come to an end . It was this - it is said - that brought about the
first bout of madness in Henry VI. What form this illness took is not
recorded, but it seems that it manifested itself in a form of paralysis.
York, with the king incapacitated, was made protector of England and took
the opportunity to seek revenge on his earlier enemies, namely the Duke of
Somerset, who was sent to the Tower on a revised charge of treason (for his
poor management of the war in France) in September 1453. The Earl of
Salisbury, Richard Neville and his eldest son Richard, Earl of Warwick,
also took the opportunity afforded by the king's illness and, under the
cover of their kinsman's protectorate began to seek their revenge against
the Percy family, the Earls of Northumberland, with whom, they had held a
long running feud, over the issue of ownership of property in
Northumberland and Yorkshire .
Thus, England was plunged into a series of minor wars between the land's
most powerful lords to which the Duke of York, as protector was able to use
his authority to the advantage of his family and supporters. However, this
all came to an end when the king recovered from his illness in January
1455. Somerset was released from the Tower, and immediately formed a
natural alliance with Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland (and Percy's ally
in the north Lord Clifford), against the Duke of York - who was stripped of
his powers as protector - and his supporters, namely the Earl of Salisbury
and the Earl of Warwick. With this the battle lines for the 'Wars of the
Roses' were drawn. The pact between Somerset, Northumberland and Clifford,
supported by the king would in later years go by the name of Lancastrians,
taken from the family name of the House of Lancaster to which the lineage
of Henry VI was derived. While the followers of the House of York, Warwick,
Salisbury and the Duke of York himself became known as the Yorkists.
1455-1464
First St. Albans, Northampton, Wakefield, Mortimer's Cross, Second St.
Albans, Towton and Hexham.
In May 1455 the queen and Somerset summoned a Council, to which no
prominent Yorkist was invited, and ordered a gathering of the peers at
Leicester to take steps for the king's safety. York marched south to secure
a fair hearing from the king, while the court moved towards Leicester,
escorted by a large number of nobles and their retainers. The king and
Somerset did not learn of York's actions until they were en route to
Leicester. They tried to assemble an army, but there was insufficient time;
at nightfall on 21 May, when the two sides camped only 20 miles apart, the
king's 'army' still consisted of just his escort and their retainers.
Both sides decided to advance against their adversary during the night,
and these marches became a race for the chief town of the area, St. Albans.
The king's army arrived there at 7am, and York halted at Key Fields, east
of the town, at about the same time. There followed a pause of three hours
while reconciliation was attempted, York offering to withdraw if the king
would surrender Somerset, whom York considered a traitor. The king (i.e.
Somerset!) refused, and York ordered the attack(see map).
Warwick was to lay down a barrage of arrows in support of flank attacks
by York and Salisbury. However, these attacks were repulsed and Warwick
therefore ordered his archers to concentrate on their own front. He then
attacked the center, broke through to the Chequers, and here established a
rallying point. Falling back to prevent their divided forces from being
outflanked by Warwick, the Lancastrians weakened their defense of the
Sopwell and Shropshire Lanes, and the forces of York and Salisbury almost
immediately burst into the town. The Lancastrians began to falter,
panicked, and broke, to be pursued up St. Peter's Street by the triumphant
Yorkists.
Somerset and some retainers took cover in the Castle Inn while Lord
Clifford, with Percy, Harington and some other knights and esquires, fought
on outside the inn. When those outside were slain, Somerset led his men in
one last charge. He killed four men before being felled by an axe. The
king, the Duke of Buckingham, and the Earls of Devon and Dorset were
captured; Clifford, Somerset, Stafford, Percy and Harington were amongst
those killed.
York was appointed Protector in October and Warwick became Captain of
Calais, the city which possessed the only standing army of the king. For
the next three years there was an uneasy peace. York lost the protectorship
at the beginning of 1456 and returned to Ireland. Margaret gained control
of court and government, but Warwick refused to surrender Calais to her,
and this city thus became a refuge for the Yorkists, from which an attack
might be launched at any time.
In the late summer of 1459 both sides began arming again, and in October
York's forces were defeated at Ludford – mainly due to the treachery of
Andrew Trollope, captain of a body of professional soldiers sent over from
Calais by Warwick. York was forced to flee to Ireland again and his troops
dispersed.
In June 1460 Warwick landed at Sandwich with 2,000 men of the Calais
garrison, accompanied by the Earl of Salisbury and York's son Edward, Earl
of March. The king and queen were at Coventry when they received news of
the landing. Hastily gathering an army from his chief supporters – the
Percies, Staffords, Beauforts, Talbots and Beaumonts – the king began to
march south. However, in the meantime the men of south-east England had
