Wars of the R oses

1. Wars of the Roses 1455–1487 Lukáš Ďurďa

2. Contens • What were The wars of the Roses? • The situation before war • The first battles • Edward IV's victory • 2 Lancastrian revolts • The period 1467-70 • Richard, Duke of Gloucester • Yorkist victories in 1471 • Princess in the tower • The last battles and Henry Tudor • Battles – time line • Battles - map • The Royals • Books

3. What were The wars of the Roses? • the Wars of the Roses were a series of civil wars - between adherents of the House of Lancaster and the House of York • both houses were branches of the Plantagenet royal house • the name "Wars of the Roses" - badges associated with the two royal houses, the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White rose of York

4. What were The wars of the Roses? Badges • the white rose of York • the red rose of Lancaster

5. The situation before war • the antagonism started with the overthrow of King Richard II in 1399. • Henry Bolingbroke was crowned as Henry IV. He was tolerated as king since Richard II's government had been highly unpopular. • Henry IV - died in 1413 • after Henry IV‘s death - 8 month son - instructions how to command till he will be full aged Richard II Henry IV

6. The situation before war • Henry V - great soldier - military success • main power - Lancaster‘s branch Beaufort • reasons of the war : - badcondition of economy - bad ending of the 100 year‘s war Henry V

7. The first battles • St.Albans - on 22nd May 1455 - Richard Duke of York - small force toward London - the first open conflict • The Battle of Blore - on September 23, 1459 - a large Lancastrian army failed - the Earl of Salisbury (York) • The Battle of Ludford Bridge - shortly after the Battle of Blore - combined Yorkist armies X much larger Lancastrian force - Yorkist leaders fled - York himself fled back to Ireland - Edward, Earl of March(York's eldest son, later Edward VI), Salisbury, and Warwick fled to Calais - The Lancastrians - total control

8. The first battles • The Battle of Northampton - on 10 July 1460 - proved disastrous for the Lancastrians - the Yorkist army under the Earl of Warwick - with the King Henry the Yorkists returned to London. • The Battle of Wakefield - 1460 - The Duke of York with the Earl of Salisbury X Margaret of Anjou - Margaret's army outnumbered Richard's by more than two to one - Richard was slain • The Second Battle of St Albans – 1461 - the Queen won the Lancastrians' most decisive victory yet “Yorkist forces fled they left behind King Henry, who was found unharmed, sitting quietly beneath a tree“ - Henry knighted 30 Lancastrian soldiers

9. Edward IV's victory • The Battle of Towton - 1461 - the biggest battle - 20,000 men being killed during the battle - the greatest recorded single day's loss of life on English soil - Edward and his army won - Henry and Margaret - were waiting in York with their son Edward → fled north when they heard of the outcome • In June 1461 - Edward IV's official coronation - rapturous welcome from his supporters - Edward was able to rule in relative peace for ten years Edward IV

10. 2 Lancastrian revolts • In 1464 - Lancastrian revolts in the North • The Battle of Hedgeley Moor - on April 25 • Battle of Hexham - on May 15 → both revolts were put down by Warwick's brother, John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu

11. The period 1467-70 • The period 1467-70 - deterioration in the relationship between King Edward and Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick - "the Kingmaker". This had several causes: • Edward married Elizabeth Woodville in secret in 1464. • Edward's preference for an alliance with Burgundy (over France), • Edward's reluctance to allow his brothers George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to marry Warwick's daughters, Isabel Neville and Anne Neville.

12. Richard, Duke of Gloucester • In 1469 - Warwick had formed an alliance with Edward's brother George → • the Battle of Edgecote Moor - Warwick defeated and held Edward at Middleham Castle in Yorkshire → Edward had to summon a parliament at York 1) Edward would be declared illegitimate 2) the crown would thus pass to George, Duke of Clarence • country was in turmoil and Edward was able to call on the loyalty of his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and the majority of the nobles • Richard arrived at the head of a large force and liberated King Edward • Warwick and Clarence were declared traitors and forced to flee to France • In France - a marriage was arranged : Warwick's daughter Anne Neville + Margaret's son, the former Prince of Wales, Edward of Westminster → Warwick invaded England in the autumn of 1470

13. Yorkist victories in 1471 • The Battle of Barnet - in 1471 - was fought in thick fog - some of Warwick's men attacked each other by mistake - Warwick's army fled - he himself was cut down trying to reach his horse. • The Battle of Tewkesbury – Margaret‘s army, commanded by Duke of Somerset, was destroyed - prince Edward of Westminster, the Lancastrian was killed - Henry VI -no heirs -was murdered shortly afterwards Tewkesbury

14. Princess in the tower • the restoration of Edward IV in 1471 is sometimes seen as marking the end of the Wars of the Roses • when he died suddenly in 1483, political and dynastic turmoil erupted again • at the time of Edward's premature death, his heir, Edward V, was only 12 years old • Edward's brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester → captured the young king Edward V and kept him in the Tower of London he was later joined by his younger brother • Richard alleged Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville as illegal -alleged the two boys illegitimate • Richard named as King Richard III princess Richard III

15. The last battles and Henry Tudor Henry VII • The Battle of Bosworth Field - in the summer of 1485 Henry Tudor (claim to the throne was through his mother, Margaret Beaufort, a descendant of Edward III ) defeated Richard -Henry became King Henry VII of England and Richard was slain during the battle - Henry then strengthened his position by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV -symbols of the red and white roses into the new emblem of the red and white Tudor Rose • many historians consider the accession of Henry VII to mark the end of the Wars of the Roses • The Battle of Stoke in 1487, Lambert Simnel - close physical resemblance to the young Earl of Warwick -Henry defeated forces led by John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln

16. Battles – time line

17. Battles - map

18. The Royals

19. Books