"The Wars of the Roses"

The Wars of the Roses:

By the end of the Hundred Years' War in 1453, England had lost all its French possessions except the port of Calais. Very soon after this conflict came the so-called " Wars of the Roses".

• What was the second half of the 15(th) century characterised by?

-  The period between 1450 and 1500 was characterised by instability due (dovuta) to a civil war fought by the two rival families of York and Lancaster.

• What do the "Roses" refer to?

- The " Roses" refer to  the white rose, the House of York's emblem,and the red rose, the House of Lancaster's symbol.

• How did the Wars of the Roses develop?

- The Wars of the Roses were in fact three separate conflicts, or lightning campaigns ( guerre lampo), that were resolved quickly on the battlefield.( Campo di battaglia).The three main battles were Ludford Bridge, Towton and Bosworth.

• Were there many sieges? (assedi)

- No, there were very few sieges: London was threatened (minacciata) three times and the Tower of London taken twice. For long periods most of the kingdom was at peace.

• How did the wars start?

-  The original clash was between Henry VI and his rival for the throne, Richard, Duke of York, who died at the first battle in 1460. His allies declared Henry unfit (inadatto)to rule and in 1461 they replaced him with the Duke of York's son, Edward IV, and confined Henry to the Tower.

• How did Edward rule?

- At first Edward ruled through (attraverso)  his elder cousin and then through a series of favourites. In 1469 he was deposed and Henry returned to the throne, but Edward managed to recover (riuscito a recuperare) his crown in 1471 after destroying his enemies (nemici) at Tewkesbury; he ruled for twelve years.

• Who governed Wales and the north of England?

- Edward sent his eldest son,Edward,Prince of Wales,to Ludlow Castle to govern Wales, while his brother,Richard,Duke of Gloucester,became Lord of the North.

• When was this period of peace interrupted?

- This period of peace came to an end on Edward's death in 1483. The king's son and successor, Edward V, was deposed and consigned to the Tower by the Duke of Gloucester,who crowned himself as Richard III

but was to meet a violent death two years later.

•  What did Richard do in a symbolic act of reconciliation with the Lancastrian line?

- Richard transferred Henry VI's body to St. George's Chapel in a symbolic act of reconciliation with the Lancastrian line. However (tuttavia) that wasn't enough to stop the bloodshed. In 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth, Richard was killed and Henry VII ( nephew of Henry VI) became the first Tudor king.

• Was this the end of the Wars of the Roses?

- By marrying Elizabeth of York, the daughter of Edward IV, Henry VII sealed (sigillato) the peace between the two contending houses and founded the new Tudor dynasty.