Wars of the Roses: Revision Notes (Chronological)
Treaty of Tours 1444
- Henry's marriage to Margaret of Anjou in 1445
- Surrender of Maine
Weakness of Henry VI, 1450
- Henry had been tutored in kingship by Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick
- Naval and coastal security of the kingdom reportedly neglected
- Never visited France after 1432, never fought in Scotland or went to Ireland, and rarely set foot in Wales
- Left the kingdom's military leadership in the hands of others: his uncles the Dukes of Bedford and Gloucester, and courtiers such as Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and Richard, Duke of York
- After the death of Henry V, France resumed war, which was fought rather well by Henry's uncle the Duke of Bedford, who held the French at bay
Loss of Normandy, 1450
- This, and the loss of Gascony in 1451, lowered morale at home and meant a loss of income from taxes from residents in those areas
- Under Henry V the nobility had been well provided for despite war; this was not the case under Henry VI
- The crown owed £38,000 (£17m) to Richard, Duke of York
- The crown owed the region £370,000, and was virtually bankrupt by 1455
Causes of Cade's Rebellion, 1450
- The rebels' petition complained of the King's "false councillors" and the loss of France
- Direct criticism of the King himself did not happen — it would have cost the rebellion popular support
- Farmers, clothworkers and even churchmen joined from fear of poverty and hunger; food prices were so low that farmers made hardly any income
- The people of Kent feared they would be blamed for the death of the Duke of Suffolk
- Jack Cade went by the name "John Mortimer," claiming kinship with Richard, Duke of York
Events of Cade's Rebellion, 1450
- Government troops sent to disperse the Kentish crowds met Cade at Sevenoaks; the rebels won
- Cade's men marched to London and were welcomed by Londoners sympathetic to their aims
- The rebels stormed the Tower of London but narrowly failed to take the fortress
- The rebels killed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Henry's Treasurer, and the Sheriff of Kent, placing their heads on poles
- Royal troops regrouped and fought the rebels to a standstill
- Margaret (or the government negotiators) offered the rebels a pardon if they dispersed, and most did
- Cade refused the pardon and returned to Kent, threatening to invade again
- Somerset was in France surrendering Normandy; York had to remain in Ireland (as Lieutenant of Ireland) to guard against an Irish rebellion exploiting England's weakness
Aftermath of Cade's Rebellion, 1450
- Neither the King nor Parliament agreed to any of the rebels' demands
- Henry VI demanded Cade's arrest; Cade fled London
- The new Sheriff of Kent caught Cade in a hamlet in Sussex, now called Cade Street; Cade was mortally wounded and died on the way back to London. His body was hanged, drawn and quartered, and his head placed on a pole on London Bridge
- In early 1451 Somerset took the king on progress through Kent to execute the rebels, demonstrating that he governed in the king's name with noble support
Reasons for Richard of York's Coup, 1452
- Richard was the King's most senior male relative, with a claim to the throne through both parents — the Mortimer claim and the York claim
- In 1450 York returned unbidden from Ireland to clear his name after rumours linked him to Cade's use of the name "Mortimer"
- He landed in North Wales and met hostility from the King's household, who tried to imprison him
- Somerset had returned from France and was at the heart of government — the position York wanted — having been made the King's chief advisor
Events of Richard of York's Coup, 1452
- York marched on London with a force of around 4,000 men from his castle at Ludlow
- He forced his way into the royal presence, reaffirmed his loyalty to the king, but demanded reform of government and the removal of corrupt advisers
- Even the people of Kent did not rise when York issued propaganda about ridding Henry of his "evil advisors" while declaring loyalty to the King
- He was led into London looking like a prisoner and forced to swear fealty to Henry
Aftermath of Richard of York's Coup, 1452
- Somerset and Henry passed through York's lands, punishing those who had supported him
Henry VI's Illness, 1453
- Henry did not even react to being shown his newborn son, Edward, Prince of Wales (born October 1453)
- Government continued, but violence between nobles grew, and Somerset could not control it
- York was no longer heir apparent after Edward's birth, but a strong possibility of him becoming king remained, since infants were vulnerable to disease
- No one properly opposed York when the council met, and Norfolk (on York's behalf) demanded Somerset be tried for treason, reflecting a loss of faith in Somerset's leadership
- In early 1454 Margaret lobbied to be made Regent with full power, but the idea of a French-born Queen ruling England was unpopular
Noble Feuds, 1453
- The Nevilles versus the Percys (led by the Earl of Northumberland)
- The Percys resented the Nevilles' growing power and the way the Nevilles had led a fight with Scotland in which a Percy son was captured and ransomed
- Land that had once belonged to the Percys now belonged to Lord Cromwell; a marriage between Cromwell's daughter and a Neville threatened to bring that land to the Nevilles
- In 1453 the Percys attacked the Nevilles near York as they travelled back from the wedding; the Nevilles fought their way to safety, and by October the north was split into two armed camps
Richard of York Appointed Lord Protector, 1454
- The idea was put forward by the Nevilles and Lord Cromwell
- Supported by a council of 24 men
- York swore an oath recognising Prince Edward as heir to the throne, and promised the prince would become Protector once of age
- York dealt effectively with a rebellion led by the Duke of Exeter and Lord Egremont (a younger Percy). Exeter wrongly believed he had a blood right to be Protector; he planned to assassinate York, but with Neville support York had Exeter and Egremont imprisoned
- York tried to deal with disputes in Devon, Wales and Derbyshire, but the feuding lords ignored him and did not attend
Disaster of Henry's Recovery, 1455
- Led to open conflict within six months
- Somerset was released from the Tower and supported by Exeter and the Percys
- Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, resigned as Chancellor
- Both York and Somerset were anxious about what the other would do
- Somerset called a Great Council at Leicester in May, without inviting York or the Nevilles — they suspected this was the first move toward having them accused of treason
- York and the Nevilles gathered an army and marched to intercept Henry and Somerset en route to Leicester. Somerset had too little time to gather noble support before the two sides met at St Albans on 22 May
First Battle of St Albans, 22 May 1455
- Won by the Yorkists, led by Richard, Duke of York, and the Earl of Warwick
- Deaths:Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset; Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland; Lord Clifford (his 21-year-old son inherited the title and dedicated his life to avenging his father — he later killed York's teenage son Edmund at Wakefield in 1460)
- Fought in the town itself and lasted only about two hours
- Royal army roughly 2,000 men; York's army roughly 3,000 men
- Warwick cut through gardens and the backs of houses to outflank and attack the royal army
- Many defenders fled; the Duke of Wiltshire escaped disguised as a monk
- King Henry was wounded, his neck grazed by an arrow
Consequences of the First Battle of St Albans
- York, Salisbury and Warwick led the wounded Henry to St Albans Abbey, knelt before him, begged forgiveness, and professed continued loyalty
- York lacked the noble support necessary to fully control the king
- York was reappointed to the council and became the king's principal advisor
- When Henry lapsed into insanity again, York stepped up as Protector once more
York's Second Protectorate, November 1455 – February 1456
- In July 1455 Parliament met to blame Somerset for hiding York's loyal letters to Henry before St Albans
- Reduced expenditure of the royal household; the Queen's allowance was limited to 10,000 marks annually
- Henry took no action against the illegal murder of the Bonvilles' elderly lawyer by the Courtenays in their struggle to control Exeter
- No real alternative to York existed, since the Duke of Exeter was unstable and had plotted with the King of Scotland to raise the whole north against York's first protectorate
Uneasy Peace, 1455–1459
- Margaret moved the court away from London to the Midlands
- A Great Council was summoned to meet at Coventry in June 1459; confusion arose over whether the Yorkists were invited
- The north remained largely at peace
- Fighting continued in the south-west between the Bonvilles and Courtenays
- Death of Edmund Tudor (1456), leaving Margaret Beaufort a pregnant widow (she gave birth to the future Henry VII in January 1457)
- In autumn 1456 Exeter, Shrewsbury and Somerset (the new duke) attacked Warwick, hoping to kill him
Loveday, 25 March 1458
- Organised by Margaret of Anjou at St Paul's Cathedral to show reconciliation
- Intended to heal divisions between the victims and victors of the First Battle of St Albans
- Meant to be a service of forgiveness, but was a superficial act of unity that fooled nobody
- York brought 400 armed men; Salisbury brought 400 followers; Exeter and Somerset brought a combined 800 men; Warwick brought 600 seasoned soldiers from his Calais garrison; Northumberland and his brothers brought 1,500 armed men
Battle of Blore Heath, 23 September 1459
- Fearing treason charges after the attempted attack on Warwick, the Yorkist nobles gathered at Ludlow Castle
- Margaret became convinced York was plotting to take the throne; she and Buckingham raised an army to destroy the Yorkists
- York, Salisbury and Warwick each raised armies in response
- To prevent the three armies joining together, the Lancastrians under Lord Audley intercepted Salisbury at Blore Heath
- Salisbury (head of the Nevilles) won.
- Death:Lord Audley was killed
Battle of Ludford Bridge, 12–13 October 1459
- The Yorkists merged their armies and waited for the Lancastrians at Ludford
- After failed negotiations, when Henry VI himself appeared, the Calais garrison defected to the Lancastrians, leaving the Yorkists helpless
- After a brief, largely bloodless collapse, the Yorkist leaders fled
- York took refuge in Ireland with his second son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, and was accepted by the Irish Parliament as the rightful Lieutenant
- Salisbury, Warwick and Edward, Earl of March, took shelter in Calais
Parliament of Devils, November 1459
- Margaret persuaded Parliament to meet at Coventry, where Warwick, Salisbury and York were branded traitors, sentenced to death in absentia, and had their lands and goods ordered seized
- In a break with long-held custom protecting the rights of innocent offspring, the Yorkist leaders' heirs were disinherited by Acts of Attainder — the worst punishment possible, as it would impoverish the Yorkist families forever
- This pushed the Yorkists into a corner, leaving them little choice but to challenge for the throne itself
Battle of Northampton, 10 July 1460
- Opportunity for revenge came in June 1460, when Warwick, Salisbury and Edward, Earl of March, landed on the south coast with an army of around 2,000 Calais veterans
- Yorkist supporters distributed propaganda across the south-east about their harsh treatment but continued loyalty to Henry
- The Yorkists took London with ease and recruited more troops
- A Yorkist army under Warwick met Henry VI's army near Northampton
- Under Buckingham, the Lancastrians were heavily defeated, partly due to the treachery of Lord Grey of Ruthin, who switched sides mid-battle to join the Yorkists
- Deaths: Duke of Buckingham; Earl of Shrewsbury; Viscount Beaumont
- Henry VI was captured; Buckingham (a different member of the family) and Lord Egremont were later executed
- Margaret and her son Edward fled first to Wales, then to Scotland
Act of Accord, October 1460
- York returned in October and, after years of proclaiming loyalty, claimed the crown outright, declaring himself the true king. He marched into Parliament, placed his hand on the throne, was met with silence, and stormed out to take the royal apartments
- The nobles, desperate to avoid outright civil war over the succession, settled on the Act of Accord rather than choosing decisively between Henry and Richard
- Henry would remain king for the rest of his life, but York (and his heirs) would succeed him. Prince Edward was disinherited and stripped of the title Prince of Wales; Margaret of Anjou was effectively cast aside
Battle of Wakefield, 30 December 1460
- Margaret refused to accept the Act of Accord and raised troops in the north to protect her seven-year-old son's claim to the throne
- Margaret's support in the Midlands had shrunk with the deaths of Buckingham and Egremont, but she gained support from Northumberland (enemy of Salisbury) and the young Duke of Somerset
- York, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, and Salisbury rode out from Sandal Castle to meet her forces near Wakefield, but the Yorkists were caught in the open by a much larger Lancastrian army
- Deaths:Richard, Duke of York, killed in the battle; Edmund, Earl of Rutland, killed while fleeing (reputedly by Lord Clifford, avenging his father from St Albans); Salisbury was captured and executed the next day at Pontefract
- York's severed head, crowned with a paper crown, was placed on the walls of the city of York
- Edward, Earl of March, aged 19, succeeded his father as head of the Yorkists and Duke of York
- Margaret headed for London, allowing her army to pillage as it went
Battle of Mortimer's Cross, 2–3 February 1461
- Fought on the Welsh border
- A Lancastrian force led by Jasper Tudor and Owen Tudor tried to block Edward, Earl of March, from marching to London
- On the morning of the battle, a parhelion (three "suns") appeared in the sky; Edward claimed it as a sign of God's support (later adopting the "sun in splendour" as a personal badge)
- Result:Edward won.
- Death: Owen Tudor, father of Jasper Tudor and grandfather of the future Henry VII, was captured and executed after the battle
Second Battle of St Albans, 17 February 1461
- Margaret's army, marching south, met Warwick's forces near St Albans; Warwick's troops were poorly deployed, despite having modern weapons and early cannon
- Warwick's plan to bombard the Lancastrian forces failed, as they advanced too quickly for the guns to be used effectively
- Warwick and Norfolk escaped westwards after the Yorkist line collapsed
- Deaths/consequence: King Henry VI, who had been kept with the Yorkist army, was recovered by the Lancastrians; two knights guarding him were executed on the spot
- By the time Edward arrived from Mortimer's Cross, Margaret had already won and regained control of the king
- Londoners refused to let Margaret's army into the city after it had plundered the north on its march south
- Choosing not to attack London, Margaret withdrew north, leaving the city open to Edward
Build-up to the Battle of Towton, February–March 1461
- Before reaching London, Edward was joined by Warwick, who had escaped the Second Battle of St Albans
- They rode into London and were joyously received
- After a few weeks recruiting and summoning support, Edward was proclaimed king (as Edward IV) on 4 March 1461
- Yorkist propaganda argued the Lancastrians had forfeited the crown by breaking the Act of Accord when they attacked and killed York
- At Ferrybridge (28 March), a small Lancastrian force under Lord Clifford tried to stop Warwick's forces crossing the River Aire; Clifford was killed the next day at Dintingdale, the Lancastrians fled, and Warwick was wounded
Battle of Towton, 29 March 1461 (Palm Sunday)
- Fought in a snowstorm; the weather froze fingers and blinded archers
- More than twice as many nobles fought for Henry as for Edward
- Among the largest battles ever fought on English soil, with perhaps 50,000+ men involved in total
- The battle lasted most of the day and was hard-fought, with neither side gaining a clear advantage for hours
- The late arrival of Norfolk's men may have given fresh strength to the York army; eventually the Lancastrian line broke and fled, many drowning in the swollen River Cock during the rout
- Deaths:Earl of Northumberland; Lord Dacre; Lord Welles; and a very large number of Lancastrian nobles and gentry killed in the battle or the pursuit afterward
- When Margaret and Henry, waiting in York, heard of the defeat, they fled to Scotland
Edward IV Crowned, 28 June 1461
- Did not have full noble support, as there were still Lancastrians among the nobility, or others simply unwilling to abandon Henry
- Henry and Margaret were still alive, having fled with other Lancastrians to Scotland
- Yorkist support was strongest in the south, with weaker influence in the north and Wales
- Warwick's power made him appear to be the true ruler, rather than Edward — later giving him the nickname "the Kingmaker"
- Some viewed Edward as a usurper
- Margaret remained determined to fight for her son's birthright
Edward Attempts to Reconcile Lancastrians
- Allowed the families of underage heirs of men who had fought against him at Towton to keep control of their lands rather than confiscating them, e.g. the young Duke of Buckingham
- Tried to win over Henry Percy by restoring a castle Warwick had captured, but Percy handed it to Henry and Margaret in 1462; Edward forgave him again — Percy was eventually restored as Earl of Northumberland in 1470, then died fighting for the Lancastrian cause at Towton... (see also his death at Hedgeley Moor's aftermath period)
- The Duke of Somerset (Henry Beaufort) briefly changed sides and helped the Yorkists take a castle, but returned to the Lancastrian cause and was captured and executed after Hexham
Edward Deals with Margaret of Anjou, 1461–63
- Margaret ordered Berwick to be surrendered to the Scots in April 1461 in exchange for support
- Margaret's negotiations led to a French-backed attack on the Channel Islands in summer 1461
- Margaret offered Calais to the new French king, Louis XI, in return for aid
- Margaret was forced to escape back to France after a strong Yorkist force was sent against the remaining Lancastrian strongholds in the north (1462–63)
- Edward agreed truces with Scotland and France, weakening Lancastrian hopes of foreign support
Edward IV Marries Elizabeth Woodville, 1 May 1464
- Edward secretly married Elizabeth Woodville, a Lancastrian widow of relatively low noble rank, at Grafton
- The marriage was announced publicly in September 1464, to the shock of the court, especially Warwick, who had been negotiating a prestigious French match for Edward
- The Woodville family's rapid rise to wealth, land and high marriages afterward caused deep resentment among the established nobility, especially Warwick — a major cause of the later breach between Edward and Warwick
Battle of Hedgeley Moor, 25 April 1464
- Fought in Northumberland as Yorkist forces under Lord Montagu (Warwick's brother) marched to escort Scottish commissioners for peace talks
- A Lancastrian force under the Duke of Somerset and Lord Hungerford attempted to block them
- Death: Lord Ralph Percy was killed in the battle, reportedly saying "I have saved the bird in my bosom" (meaning his loyalty to the Lancastrian cause) as he died
- The remaining Lancastrians fled; the Yorkists won a clear victory
Battle of Hexham, 15 May 1464
- Montagu's Yorkist force surprised and routed the remaining Lancastrian army under the Duke of Somerset
- Deaths: Duke of Somerset (Henry Beaufort) was captured and executed shortly after the battle; Lord Hungerford and Lord Roos were also captured and executed
- This battle effectively ended organised Lancastrian resistance in the north for several years
- Montagu was rewarded with the earldom of Northumberland (previously held by the Percys)
Edward's Choice Regarding Henry VI, 1465
- After Hexham, Henry VI remained a fugitive in the north-west for about a year until captured near Clitheroe in Lancashire in July 1465
- He was taken to London and imprisoned in the Tower
- Because Edward did not execute Henry, a lingering threat remained that Lancastrian loyalists could rally around him
- Executing Henry risked provoking Lancastrian outrage and turning neutral nobles against Edward
- If Henry died, his son Edward, Prince of Wales (raised in exile with Margaret), would become the Lancastrian claimant — younger, and arguably a more dangerous rallying figure for the cause
Marriage of Isabel Neville and George, Duke of Clarence, 11 July 1469
- George, Duke of Clarence, was Edward IV's younger brother and (until the birth of Edward IV's children survived) close to the succession
- Warwick, increasingly alienated from Edward over the Woodville marriages and foreign policy disagreements, sought to bind Clarence to his own cause
- Edward explicitly forbade the marriage, seeing it as a threat, but Warwick arranged for Isabel Neville (his elder daughter and co-heiress) to marry Clarence at Calais, with papal dispensation secured in advance
- This marriage effectively signalled Warwick and Clarence's open break from Edward IV and set the stage for rebellion
Warwick and Clarence's Rebellion, 1469
- Shortly after the wedding, Warwick and Clarence issued a manifesto criticising Edward's "evil councillors" (echoing earlier York propaganda) and incited a rebellion in the north known as "Robin of Redesdale's" rising
- Battle of Edgcote, 26 July 1469: A Yorkist royal army under the Earl of Pembroke (William Herbert) and the Earl of Devon was defeated by the rebels. Deaths: William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, and his brother Richard were captured and executed after the battle
- Following the victory, Warwick had Elizabeth Woodville's father, Earl Rivers, and her brother John Woodville executed without trial, and briefly held Edward IV himself in custody
- Warwick could not govern effectively without Edward's cooperation, and released him by autumn 1469
- A further rising in early 1470 (the Lincolnshire Rebellion, including the Battle of Losecoat Field, March 1470) was crushed by Edward, and evidence implicated Warwick and Clarence directly, forcing them to flee to France
Alliance with Margaret of Anjou and the "Readeption," 1470
- In France, under pressure from Louis XI, Warwick was reconciled with his old enemy Margaret of Anjou
- Marriage of Anne Neville and Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, 13 December 1470 (Angers, France): Warwick's younger daughter Anne Neville was married to Margaret's son, Edward of Westminster, sealing the alliance between Warwick and the Lancastrians against Edward IV
- Warwick and Clarence invaded England in September 1470; Edward IV, caught unprepared and abandoned by key allies (including Montagu, who switched sides), was forced to flee to Burgundy (his brother-in-law Charles the Bold's territory)
- Henry VI was restored to the throne in the "Readeption," with Warwick ruling as the power behind him from October 1470
Edward IV's Return and the Battle of Barnet, 14 April 1471
- With Burgundian financial backing, Edward IV landed in Yorkshire in March 1471, initially claiming (as Bolingbroke had) only to reclaim his dukedom, gathering support as he marched south
- Clarence, persuaded by his sisters and realising his prospects were better with Edward than with the Lancastrians, defected back to Edward's side before the battle
- Edward reached London, recaptured Henry VI, and marched out to confront Warwick's army at Barnet
- Fought in thick fog, which caused confusion; part of the Lancastrian army mistakenly attacked its own side (Oxford's men, mistaking their badge for Edward's sun-in-splendour), leading to cries of treachery and a collapse in Lancastrian morale
- Death: Warwick "the Kingmaker" was killed while trying to flee to his horse, along with his brother Montagu
- Edward's victory removed the single most powerful nobleman in England and secured London
Battle of Tewkesbury, 4 May 1471
- On the very day of Barnet, Margaret of Anjou and her son Edward, Prince of Wales, finally landed in England from France, too late to link up with Warwick
- Margaret's Lancastrian army tried to reach Wales for reinforcements but was caught and forced to fight by Edward IV's pursuing army at Tewkesbury
- Deaths: Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (Henry VI's only son and heir, husband of Anne Neville), was killed either during the battle or shortly after in its immediate aftermath — the only Prince of Wales ever to die in battle, and the effective end of the direct Lancastrian royal line; Duke of Somerset (Edmund Beaufort) and other Lancastrian leaders who had taken sanctuary in Tewkesbury Abbey were dragged out and executed days later
- Margaret of Anjou was captured shortly afterward and imprisoned; she was eventually ransomed to France in 1475, where she died in 1482
- Anne Neville, now a widow, later married Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the future Richard III) in 1472
Death of Henry VI, 21 May 1471
- Henry VI died in the Tower of London on the night Edward IV re-entered London after Tewkesbury
- Almost certainly murdered on Edward's orders (traditionally said to have been carried out by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, though this is disputed by historians), removing the last realistic Lancastrian claimant and securing Edward IV's throne
- With Henry VI and his son both dead, the main Lancastrian line was extinguished, leaving the Wars of the Roses effectively over until the rise of the Tudor claim (Henry Tudor) more than a decade later