For thirty years between 1455 and 1485, England suffered its greatest civil war at that point.
The war was ultimately over succession to the throne and who should be king.
The period was filled with death and bloodshed, and when the dust settled, it left England a changed country and set the stage for its later ascension.
Learn more about the War of the Roses, its causes, and its resolution on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Sponsors
Subscribe to the podcast!
https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/
--------------------------------
Executive Producer: Charles Daniel
Associate Producers: Ben Long & Cameron Kieffer
Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere
Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily
Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip
Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
For 30 years between 1455 and 1485, England suffered its greatest civil war at that point. The war was ultimately over succession to the throne and who should be king. Two great houses fought for the crown, and each of those houses usurped the crown from each other. The period was filled with death and bloodshed, and when the dust settled, it left England a changed country and set the stage for its later ascension. Learn more about the War of the Roses, its cause and its resolution on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by Quince. Finding the perfect gift can be pretty overwhelming. This year I found the perfect spot for timeless gifts made from premium materials. So you gotta check out Quince. Quince lets you treat your loved ones, and yourself, to true quality at an affordable price. I got a cotton fisherman throw blanket from Quince, and I literally use it when I am writing many of the episodes for this podcast. I also have some Turkish cotton bath towels from Quince that I absolutely love. By partnering directly with top factories and cutting out the cost of the middleman, Quince passes the savings onto you. Quince is also on the nice list. They only work with factories that you safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices. And they use premium fabrics and finishes for that luxury feel in every piece. Give luxury this holiday season without the luxury price tag. Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns plus free shipping on your order. That's q-u-i-n-c-e.com/daily to get free shipping and 365-day returns. Quince.com/daily This episode is sponsored by Masterclass. If you're listening to this podcast, then you are someone who is curious about the world and loves to learn. And if you want to give the gift of learning and knowledge this Christmas, you can't do better than Masterclass. Masterclass offers online classes from some of the most successful instructors in the world and their fields. You can learn cooking from Gordon Ramsay, conservation from Dr. Jane Goodall, disruptive entrepreneurship from Sir Richard Branson, mathematical thinking from Fields Medal winner Terence Tao, and diplomacy from former secretaries of state, Madeline Albright and Condoleezza Rice. You can access over 200 classes across 11 different categories. Masterclass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to masterclass.com/everywhere for the current offer. It's up to 50% off at masterclass.com/everywhere. Once again, that's masterclass.com/everywhere. The War of the Roses was one of the most important events in English history and to produce some of its most important figures. And before I begin, I should note that things can get confusing because this story has multiple Henry's, Richard's, and Edwards. But everything starts with King Edward III. Edward was a formidable king. His father Edward II was a disaster as a king, but Edward III turned England into a military power. He reigned for over 50 years and died in 1377 at the age of 64. It was Edward III who began the period known as the Hundred Years War with France because of his claim to the French throne. His son, the heir apparent to the throne, was Edward the Black Prince, who died one year before his father in 1376 at the age of 45. When King Edward died, the crown then passed to his grandson, Richard, the son of Edward the Black Prince, who at the age of 10 became known as Richard II. Richard was not a popular king. His early reign was marked by dependence on unpopular advisors and financial crises stemming from the Hundred Years War. As an adult, Richard's efforts to consolidate power included bypassing parliament, confiscating lands from powerful nobles, and favoring a small circle of loyalists which bred resentment. His extravagant lifestyle and disregard for traditional governance norms further eroded his support. The final blow came in 1399 when his cousin, Henry Balingbroke, capitalized on widespread discontent, and Richard's absence in Ireland to raise up an army and usurp the throne. Richard's subsequent capture and forced abdication marked the end of his reign. He died in captivity under suspicious circumstances the next year in 1400. Henry Balingbroke became King Henry IV. His claim to the throne came from the fact that his father was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who was the fourth son of Edward III and the third surviving son. Richard II had no children. This does get kind of confusing, so just to explain, when Richard abdicated the throne, having no son, the line of succession would go back up the family tree. Edward the Black Prince had no other son, so then you have to go back to King Edward III. His surviving second son had no sons, and so it would then go to John of Gaunt, his third surviving son, and his first son, Henry, or at least that was Henry's argument. This line became known as the Lancaster's because John of Gaunt was the Duke of Lancaster. Henry IV died in 1413, putting his son Henry V on the throne. Henry V had a short reign of only nine years, but it was marked by military brilliance and the height of English power during the Hundred Years' War. Henry V died in 1422, and his son Henry VI ascended to the throne. Henry VI turned out to be a weak and ineffective king. He suffered from periodic bouts of mental illness and was unable to provide strong leadership or resolve disputes amongst his nobles. His incapacity left the government in the hands of his wife, Margaret of Anjou, and various other people, creating instability. From which of his reign he had no male heir, which made for controversy as to the line of succession. During this period, a senior nobleman with a strong claim himself to the throne, Richard the Duke of York, positioned himself as a protector of England during Henry VI in capacity. Richard of York had his own claim to the throne based on two separate lines of succession. The first line was through Edward III's second son Lionel the Duke of Clarence, via his granddaughter Anne Mortimer. Under this argument, the descendants of Lionel Duke of Clarence, the second son of Edward III, would have precedence over John of Gaunt, the father of Henry IV, the third son of Edward III. The second line was through Edward III's fourth son, Edmund of Langley Duke of York, whose descendants had a strong male line claim, but ranked Lauren seniority. Richard of York was a direct male descendant of Edward III by the shroud. Moreover, the York's viewed the landcasters as usurpers because of how Henry IV forced the abdication of Richard II. Richard of York and his descendants are known as the York's because of his position as the Duke of York. Again I know this can be confusing, so let me simplify. The Lancaster claim to the throne comes through a direct male descendant of Edward III's third son. The York claim comes via the female line of Edward III's second son and a direct male line from his fourth son. Here I should note that the landcasters in the York's were branches of the same family, which history knows as the Plantagenens. The name derives from Henry II's father, Joffrey Plantagen, and Count of Anjou, the husband of Empress Maud, whose story I covered in the episode on the anarchy of the 12th century. As the reign of Henry VI fell apart, York's claim to the throne gained support from discontented nobles who resented the dominance of the landcasterian faction, especially Margaret of Anjou's allies. Things came to a head on May 22, 1455 at the Battle of St. Albans, which was the first major battle of the War of the Roses. And the war was called the War of the Roses because the crest of House Lancaster was a red rose and that of House York was a white rose. Fought in the streets of Hartfordshire town, the Yorkist forces led by Richard Duke of York and Richard Neville Earl of Warwick decisively defeated the landcastrians commanded by Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. The battle resulted in the death of Somerset and the capture of King Henry VI, who was found disorientated but unharmed. The Orchus claimed that they acted to protect the king from poor advisors, but their victory marked the beginning of a violent struggle for control of the British throne. This small but pivotal battle shifted power temporarily to the Orchus and escalated the dynastic feud. In 1460, the Duke of York formally asserted his claim to the throne, arguing that his lineage was superior to Henry VI. The resulting compromise passed by Parliament, known as the Act of Accord, disinherited Henry VI's son and declared that Richard and his heirs would succeed Henry VI. This argument was short-lived as Margaret of Anjou continued her fight for their son's claim, reigniting the conflict. Richard Duke of York initially claimed the throne, but he was killed in the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. His son Edward of York continued the campaign and decisively defeated the landcastrians at the Battle of Touton in 1461, thus becoming Edward IV and forcing Henry VI into hiding. Edward IV reigned for nine years, for the first time. Henry VI was briefly restored to power in 1470, during a period known as the Re-adception, when Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, known as the Kingmaker, formally supporter of Edward IV switched allegiance. Warwick allied with the wife of Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou, and together they invaded England, compelling Edward IV to flee to France. Henry VI, a passive figurehead by this time, was reinstated as King, but his reign lasted less than a year. Edward IV returned to England with an army, defeating Warwick at the Battle of Barnet in 1471, and then defeating the landcastrians at the Battle of Tuxbury, where Henry VI's son, Edward of Westminster, was killed. Henry VI was captured and likely murdered in the Tower of London, ending his reign and solidifying York's control under Edward IV. Edward IV's second reign lasted from 1471 to 1783. Upon his death, the crown passed to his youngest son, Edward V. Edward V was too young to rule in his own right, and while he was declared king, he was never crowned. He and his brother, who was next in line to the throne were taken to the Tower of London, where they disappeared. Their uncle, Richard the Duke of Gloucester, seized the throne and became Richard III, the new king of the House of York. Richard's claim to the throne was that Edward V was actually a legitimate. In June of 1483, Parliament issued the titulus Regius, which formalized these claims and affirmed Richard's right to the throne as the legitimate heir of the Yorkist line. In a previous episode, I covered this story, known as the Princes in the Tower. Richard III was not a popular king, and rumors circulated that he killed his nephew the king and usurped the throne. By this point, the Lancastrian line was almost extinguished during the Wars of the Roses. After Henry VI's son, Edward of Westminster, was defeated and died in 1471, the de facto Lancastrian heir became a man named Henry Tudor. Henry Tudor's claim to the throne was tenuous, as it was traced through an illegitimate line descending from John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster. However, he was the last man standing on the Lancaster side by this point. Following years in exile in Brittany and France, Henry Tudor capitalized on the growing discontent with Richard III's rule, including the suspicions surrounding the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower. With support from Lancastrian loyalists, disaffected Yorkists, and French assistants, Henry launched an invasion of England in 1485. This culminated in on August 22nd, 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth Field near the town of Leicestershire. Henry Tudor's forces, numbering around 5,000 men, faced Richard III's royal army, estimated at 10-12,000 men. Key to the battle's outcome was the defection of Sir William Stanley and his forces, who sided with Henry during the conflict. Despite initial success, Richard III's decision to lead a direct charge at Henry personally ended up proving fatal. He was unseated from his horse and killed in the melee, making him the last English king to die in battle. With Richard's death, Henry's forces emerged victorious. Henry Tudor's victory at Bosworth marked the end of the War of the Roses. As Henry VII, he consolidated power by marrying Elizabeth of York, the daughter of Edward IV, thus uniting the warring houses of Lancaster and York. This marriage of the two factions was symbolized by the creation of the Tudor Rose, which is a combination of the red rose of Lancaster and the white rose of York. Henry VII's reign ushered in a new era of political stability ending decades of civil strife. Through careful governance, strategic marriages, and suppression of rebellions, Henry established the Tudor dynasty, which ruled England until 1603, transforming the monarchy into a more centralized and powerful institution. The War of the Roses wasn't just a seminal event in the history of England and its development as a modern country, it also had a profound cultural impact. Shakespeare wrote more plays about this period of history and the lead-up to it, nine than he did for any other. Richard II, Henry IV, parts I and II, Henry V, Henry VI, parts I, II and III, and Richard III. And of course there was the anonymous play that's often attributed to him, Edward III. A great mini-series released by the BBC in 2012 and 2016 called The Hollow Crown is a big budget production of all of these plays except for Edward III. The cast is a massive whosoo of British actors and I highly recommend the series as it puts Shakespeare in a context that makes more sense than just seeing it on stage. I highly recommend it if you can find it. The War of the Roses was a pivotal conflict in English history, marking the end of the medieval era and laying the groundwork for the rise of the Tudor dynasty. It was significant for resolving the dynastic struggle between the houses of Lancaster and York, ultimately leading to the establishment of a more centralized monarchy under Henry VII and the House of Tudor. This unification brought political stability after decades of civil war, weakened the power of the feudal nobility, and set the stage for the Renaissance and the Reformation of England. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Benjilong and Cameron Keever. I want to give a big shout out to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon, including the show's producers. Your support helps me put out a show every single day. And also, Patreon is currently the only place where Everything Everywhere Daily Merchandise is available to the top tier of supporters. If you'd like to talk to other listeners of the show and members of the completionist club, you can join the Everything Everywhere Daily Facebook group or Discord server. Links to everything are in the show notes. [BLANK_AUDIO]
For thirty years between 1455 and 1485, England suffered its greatest civil war at that point.
The war was ultimately over succession to the throne and who should be king.
The period was filled with death and bloodshed, and when the dust settled, it left England a changed country and set the stage for its later ascension.
Learn more about the War of the Roses, its causes, and its resolution on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Sponsors
MasterClass
Get up to 50% off at MASTERCLASS.COM/EVERYWHERE.
Quince
Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order!
ButcherBox
Sign up at butcherbox.com/daily and use code daily to get ground beef FREE in every order for a year plus $20 off your first order!
Subscribe to the podcast!
https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/
--------------------------------
Executive Producer: Charles Daniel
Associate Producers: Ben Long & Cameron Kieffer
Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere
Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily
Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip
Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
