The Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses, Cousins War, One Hundred Years War.. So many terms, but what do they really mean?

The two roses symbolise the two separate houses that were at war with each other.

Lancaster was red, and York was white.

Lancaster and York were the two most powerful families in England and Wales. The key period of these wars takes place between 1455-1485. However, in their entirety they took place between the 13th and 16th century.

What Was the outcome of the Wars of the Roses?

G.R Elton, author of 'England under the Tudors' explains 'The wars of the Roses consisted in the growth of unstable social structure that was thriving on disorder and lawlessness, and in the rapidly increasing weakness of the crown.'   

This power struggle was the beginning of vast uncertainty, turbulence and conflict throughout England and Wales. This was an unforgiving time for the Monarchy, where nobles suffered many deaths and the Crown was weakened.

The fall of The Feudal System

 Above illustrates the 'Medieval feudal system', a system that broke down and suffered as the Wars of the Roses continued. As you can see, for the Feudal system to work successfully the King must have had the most power, giving him the ability to control those beneath him. The King was powerful as he could give out land in order to receive loyalty. However, The crown grew weak as nobles began gaining more wealth, land and power. Nobles now had the power to acquire large private armies which could be used to support or overthrow the King. An example of such an act is Richard Neville, The Earl of Warwick. He had such power he was able to place Edward IV onto the throne, overthrowing Henry VI. 

The King would have traditionally relied on his nobles for an army as he would have no army of his own.  The rising power of the nobles therefore weakened the crown as he was no longer in the most powerful position. This was known as bastard feudalism.

Referring back to G.R Elton, he describes 'Bastard feudalism was not only a corrupted and decayed version of feudalism but a social structure different and new in essentials.  Feudalism embodied the link between Lord and peasant in a system of land tenure. Bastard feudalism was evidently a more unstable system, loyalties were based on payment and were balanced by persistence of personal and family ties.'

So, it is evident that the Crown was weak as the nobles grew more powerful than ever, leading to instability for the Monarch. The Wars of the Roses challenged the primacy of the Monarch and made bastard feudalism worse as nobles were now able to take advantage of the King's weaknesses and his need for support. Some King's gave away land in wealth in order to gain supporters and encourage loyalty, but in the long term this weakened the position of the King further. 

 Take a look at the family tree- it may come in useful later on!

Stuck on some terms? look here!

Wars of the Roses:

 A series of Wars that took place between the 13th and 16th century.

Primacy of the Monarch:

 The superior position of the King

Bastard Feudalism:

 A corrupted version of feudalism that allowed nobles to have more power than the King.

Feudalism:

Where the King had the most power and could give land in return for support.