Although similar names had appeared in a 1561 Thomas Smith pamphlet, and tracts by John  Oglander and David Hume, its name was coined by Sir Walter Scott in his novel Anne of Geierstein.  
Although similar names had appeared in a 1561 Thomas Smith pamphlet, and tracts by John  Oglander and David Hume, its name was coined by Sir Walter Scott in his novel Anne of Geierstein.  Starting with a skirmish between the Percies and the Nevilles at Heworth Moor, the first main battle  occurred when the Duke of Somerset's army was defeated at St. Albans by the forces of Warwick,  Salisbury and York. Other battles of this war which lasted from 1455-85, include Northhampton,  Tewkesbury and Bosworth Field. For ten points name this war which pitted the House of Lancaster  against that of York.
Although similar names had appeared in a 1561 Thomas Smith pamphlet, and tracts by John  Oglander and David Hume, its name was coined by Sir Walter Scott in his novel Anne of Geierstein.  
Wars of the Roses