Henry VI: Insanity and War Henry VI Insanity and War In 1453, shortly before the birth of his son, Edward, the king became insane. The duke of York was made protector (1454) in spite of the protests of Margaret, but when the king recovered, York was excluded from the council. In 1455, York met the Lancastrians at St. Albans in a conflict generally regarded as the first battle of the Wars of the Roses; Somerset was killed, and the Yorkists gained control of the council. York was again protector (1455–56), but thereafter Margaret was in control until 1460 when the Yorkist party won another victory at Northampton. Henry was made a prisoner, and York was named protector and heir apparent to the throne to the exclusion of Henry's own son. York was killed at Wakefield in 1460, but his son Edward defeated the Lancastrian forces at Mortimer's Cross, entered London, and was proclaimed king as Edward IV in Feb., 1461. Henry, who had been rescued from Yorkist captivity at the second battle of St.

Albans a few days earlier, now fled to Scotland. He remained there during most of the subsequent fighting until 1465, when he was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London. When Richard Neville, earl of Warwick , allied himself with Queen Margaret and invaded England in 1470, Henry was restored to the throne, but his second reign was short-lived. The unfortunate king was captured at the battle of Barnet and returned to the Tower. He was murdered there only days after Edward IV's final victory at Tewkesbury in May, 1471. Sections in this article: Roses, Wars of the Encyclopedia > History > Modern Europe > British and Irish History Roses, Wars of the Roses, Wars of the, traditional name given to the intermittent struggle (1455–85) for the throne of England between the noble houses of York (whose badge was a white rose) and Lancaster (later associated with the red rose). About the middle of the 15th cent.

Richard, duke of York , came to the fore as leader of the opposition to the faction (William de la Pole , duke of Suffolk; Edmund Beaufort, duke of Somerset ; and the queen, Margaret of Anjou ) that controlled the weak Lancastrian king Henry VI . The Yorkists gained popular support as a result of discontent over the failure of English arms in the Hundred Years War and over the corruption of the court, discontent reflected in the rebellion of Jack Cade in 1450. Also in that year Suffolk was murdered, and the duke of York forced the king to recognize his claim as heir to the throne. In 1453 the king became insane, and the birth of a son to Margaret of Anjou displaced York as heir. The duke was appointed protector, but when the king recovered in 1454, York was excluded from the royal council. He resorted to arms. The opposing factions met (1455) at St. Albans—usually taken as the first battle of the Wars of the Roses. Somerset was killed, leaving Queen Margaret at the head of the defeated royal party, and York again served as protector for a short period (1455–56).

By 1459 both parties were once more in arms. The following year the Yorkists defeated and captured the king at the battle of Northampton. The duke of York hurried to London to assert his claims to the throne, which were, by laws of strict inheritance, perhaps better than those of the king himself. A compromise was effected by which Henry remained king and York and his heirs were declared successors. Queen Margaret, whose son was thus disinherited, raised an army and defeated (1460) the Yorkists at Wakefield. York was killed in this battle, and his claims devolved upon his son Edward, but Richard Neville, earl of Warwick , became the real leader of the Yorkist party. Margaret's army rescued the king from captivity in the second battle of St. Albans (Feb., 1461), but Edward meanwhile secured a Yorkist victory at Mortimer's Cross, marched into London unopposed, and assumed the throne as Edward IV . The Lancastrians, after their defeat at Towton (Mar., 1461), continued (with Scottish aid) to raise resistance in the north until 1464.

The deposed Henry was captured (1465) and put into the Tower of London. Although the Lancastrian cause now seemed hopeless, a quarrel broke out between Warwick and Edward IV after the latter's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville in 1464. Warwick and the king's brother George, duke of Clarence , allied against Edward, fled to France (1470), and there became reconciled with Margaret of Anjou. Supported by Louis XI of France, they crossed to England and restored Henry VI to the throne. Edward fled, but with the aid of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, returned to England in 1471, regained London, and recaptured Henry. In the ensuing battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury (1471), Warwick and Henry's son, Edward, were killed. Margaret was imprisoned. Soon thereafter Henry VI died, probably slain at the orders of Edward IV. After 12 relatively peaceful years, Edward IV was succeeded (1483) by his young son Edward V , but soon the boy's uncle Richard, duke of Gloucester, usurped the throne as Richard III .

Opposition to Richard advanced the fortunes of Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, now the Lancastrian claimant. In 1485, Henry landed from France, defeated and killed Richard at Bosworth Field, and ascended the throne as Henry VII . Henry VII's marriage to Edward IV's daughter, Elizabeth, united the houses of Lancaster and York. Except for various efforts during Henry's reign to place Yorkist pretenders on the throne, the Wars of the Roses were ended. It is generally said that with them ended the era of feudalism in England, since the nobles who participated suffered heavy loss of life and property and were too weak, as a class, to contest the strong monarchy of the Tudors. The middle and lower classes were largely indifferent to the struggle and relatively untouched by it. See E. F. Jacob, The Fifteenth Century (1961); P. M. Kendall, The Yorkist Age (1962, repr. 1965); S. B. Chrimes, Lancastrians, Yorkists, and Henry VII (1964); J. R. Lander, The Wars of the Roses (1965); C. D.

Ross, Wars of the Roses: A Concise History (1976); E. Hallam, ed., Wars of the Roses (1988) and Chronicles of the Wars of the Roses (1988); A. J. Pollard, Wars of the Roses (1995); A. Weir, Wars of the Roses (1995); S. Gristwood, Blood Sisters: The Women behind the War of the Roses (2013). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. The Wars of the Roses | Article about The Wars of the Roses by The Free Dictionary The Wars of the Roses | Article about The Wars of the Roses by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Wikipedia . Roses, Wars of the, traditional name given to the intermittent struggle (1455–85) for the throne of England between the noble houses of York York, house of, royal house of England, deriving its name from the creation of Edmund of Langley, fifth son of Edward III, as duke of York in 1385.

The claims to the throne of Edmund's grandson, Richard, duke of York, in opposition to Henry VI of the house of Lancaster (see ..... Click the link for more information. (whose badge was a white rose) and Lancaster Lancaster, house of , royal family of England. The line was founded by the second son of Henry III, Edmund Crouchback, 1245–96, who was created earl of Lancaster in 1267. ..... Click the link for more information. (later associated with the red rose). About the middle of the 15th cent. Richard, duke of York York, Richard, duke of, 1411–60, English nobleman, claimant to the throne. He was descended from Edward III through his father, Richard, earl of Cambridge, grandson of that king, and also through his mother, Anne Mortimer, great-granddaughter of Lionel, duke of Clarence, ..... Click the link for more information. , came to the fore as leader of the opposition to the faction (William de la Pole Pole, English noble family. The first member of importance was William de la Pole, d.

1366, a rich merchant who became the first mayor of Hull (1332) and a baron of the exchequer (1339). ..... Click the link for more information. , duke of Suffolk; Edmund Beaufort, duke of Somerset Somerset, Edmund Beaufort, 2d duke of, d. 1455, English statesman and general. He fought in France in the Hundred Years War, receiving his first command in 1431, recapturing Harfleur in 1440, and relieving Calais in ..... Click the link for more information. ; and the queen, Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou , 1430?–1482, queen consort of King Henry VI of England, daughter of René of Anjou. Her marriage, which took place in 1445, was negotiated by William de la Pole, 4th earl (later 1st duke) of Suffolk (see under Pole, family). ..... Click the link for more information.

) that controlled the weak Lancastrian king Henry VI Henry VI, 1421–71, king of England (1422–61, 1470–71). Reign Early Years The only son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, he became king of England when he was not yet nine months old. ..... Click the link for more information. . The Yorkists gained popular support as a result of discontent over the failure of English arms in the Hundred Years War and over the corruption of the court, discontent reflected in the rebellion of Jack Cade Cade, Jack, d. 1450, English rebel. Of his life very little is known. He may have been of Irish birth; some of his followers called him John Mortimer and claimed he was a cousin of Richard, duke of York. ..... Click the link for more information. in 1450. Also in that year Suffolk was murdered, and the duke of York forced the king to recognize his claim as heir to the throne. In 1453 the king became insane, and the birth of a son to Margaret of Anjou displaced York as heir.

The duke was appointed protector, but when the king recovered in 1454, York was excluded from the royal council. He resorted to arms. The opposing factions met (1455) at St. Albans—usually taken as the first battle of the Wars of the Roses. Somerset was killed, leaving Queen Margaret at the head of the defeated royal party, and York again served as protector for a short period (1455–56). By 1459 both parties were once more in arms. The following year the Yorkists defeated and captured the king at the battle of Northampton. The duke of York hurried to London to assert his claims to the throne, which were, by laws of strict inheritance, perhaps better than those of the king himself. A compromise was effected by which Henry remained king and York and his heirs were declared successors. Queen Margaret, whose son was thus disinherited, raised an army and defeated (1460) the Yorkists at Wakefield.

York was killed in this battle, and his claims devolved upon his son Edward, but Richard Neville, earl of Warwick Warwick, Richard Neville, earl of , 1428–71, English nobleman, called the Kingmaker. Through his grandfather, Ralph Neville, 1st earl of Westmorland, he had connections with the house of Lancaster; he was also the nephew of Cecily Neville, wife of Richard, duke of York. ..... Click the link for more information. , became the real leader of the Yorkist party. Margaret's army rescued the king from captivity in the second battle of St. Albans (Feb., 1461), but Edward meanwhile secured a Yorkist victory at Mortimer's Cross, marched into London unopposed, and assumed the throne as Edward IV Edward IV, 1442–83, king of England (1461–70, 1471–83), son of Richard, duke of York. He succeeded to the leadership of the Yorkist party (see Roses, Wars of the) after the death of his father in Wakefield in 1460. ..... Click the link for more information. .

The Lancastrians, after their defeat at Towton (Mar., 1461), continued (with Scottish aid) to raise resistance in the north until 1464. The deposed Henry was captured (1465) and put into the Tower of London. Although the Lancastrian cause now seemed hopeless, a quarrel broke out between Warwick and Edward IV after the latter's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville in 1464. Warwick and the king's brother George, duke of Clarence Clarence, George, duke of, 1449–78, son of Richard, duke of York, and brother of Edward IV. In defiance of Edward, Clarence married Isabel Neville and joined her father, Richard Neville, earl of Warwick, in rebellion against the king in 1469–70. ..... Click the link for more information. , allied against Edward, fled to France (1470), and there became reconciled with Margaret of Anjou. Supported by Louis XI of France, they crossed to England and restored Henry VI to the throne.

Edward fled, but with the aid of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, returned to England in 1471, regained London, and recaptured Henry. In the ensuing battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury (1471), Warwick and Henry's son, Edward, were killed. Margaret was imprisoned. Soon thereafter Henry VI died, probably slain at the orders of Edward IV. After 12 relatively peaceful years, Edward IV was succeeded (1483) by his young son Edward V Edward V, 1470–83?, king of England (1483), elder son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. His father's death (1483) left the boy king the pawn of the conflicting ambitions of his paternal uncle, the duke of Gloucester (later Richard III) and his maternal uncle, Earl ..... Click the link for more information. , but soon the boy's uncle Richard, duke of Gloucester, usurped the throne as Richard III Richard III, 1452–85, king of England (1483–85), younger brother of Edward IV.

Created duke of Gloucester at Edward's coronation (1461), he served his brother faithfully during Edward's lifetime—fighting at Barnet and Tewkesbury and later invading Scotland. ..... Click the link for more information. . Opposition to Richard advanced the fortunes of Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, now the Lancastrian claimant. In 1485, Henry landed from France, defeated and killed Richard at Bosworth Field, and ascended the throne as Henry VII Henry VII, 1457–1509, king of England (1485–1509) and founder of the Tudor dynasty. Claim to the Throne Henry was the son of Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, who died before Henry was born, and Margaret Beaufort, a descendant of Edward III through John ..... Click the link for more information. . Henry VII's marriage to Edward IV's daughter, Elizabeth, united the houses of Lancaster and York. Except for various efforts during Henry's reign to place Yorkist pretenders on the throne, the Wars of the Roses were ended.

It is generally said that with them ended the era of feudalism in England, since the nobles who participated suffered heavy loss of life and property and were too weak, as a class, to contest the strong monarchy of the Tudors. The middle and lower classes were largely indifferent to the struggle and relatively untouched by it. Bibliography See E. F. Jacob, The Fifteenth Century (1961); P. M. Kendall, The Yorkist Age (1962, repr. 1965); S. B. Chrimes, Lancastrians, Yorkists, and Henry VII (1964); J. R. Lander, The Wars of the Roses (1965); C. D. Ross, Wars of the Roses: A Concise History (1976); E. Hallam, ed., Wars of the Roses (1988) and Chronicles of the Wars of the Roses (1988); A. J. Pollard, Wars of the Roses (1995); A. Weir, Wars of the Roses (1995); S.

Gristwood, Blood Sisters: The Women behind the War of the Roses (2013); D. Jones, The Wars of the Roses (2014). Wars of the Roses protracted (1455–85) internecine wars of feudal cliques which took the form of the struggle for the English throne between two lines of the Royal Plan-tagenet dynasty—the Lancasters, whose coat of arms bore a red rose, and the Yorks, whose coat of arms bore a white rose. The wars began in the context of the crisis of the large feudal estates and the decline of their profitability for the great feudal lords, who were eliminated from participation in economic life; the defeat of the English in the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453), which deprived the feudal nobility of income from the plundering of France; and the suppression of Jack Cade’s rebellion (1450), as a result of which the forces opposing feudal anarchy were undermined.

The Lancasters were supported mainly by the barons of the economically backward north and Wales, while the Yorks were supported by some of the great feudal lords of the more developed southeast and also by the new nobility and the rich townspeople, who were interested in the unhindered development of trade and commerce, the cessation of feudal anarchy, and the establishment of strong royal authority. The battle at St. Albans on May 22, 1455, is generally considered the start of the war. Richard, the duke of York, had exploited the general discontent with the Lancaster clique, which ruled in the name of the feebleminded Henry VI, and had himself appointed protector. At the battle, he routed the partisans of the red rose. Eliminated from power shortly thereafter, he advanced claims to the English throne and in 1459 resumed armed struggle. After the death of Richard on Dec. 30, 1460, his son Edward became the leader of the Yorkists. Triumphant over Lancaster in the decisive battle at Towton on Mar. 29, 1461, he overthrew Henry VI and was proclaimed king under the name Edward IV.

However, Edward’s striving to control the great feudal lords led to an uprising by his previous supporters, headed by Warwick (1470). Henry VI was restored to the throne. In 1471, Edward IV routed Warwick’s army and the army of Henry VI’s wife Margaret, which had come from France. Margaret relied on the support of the French king Louis XI. Overthrown for the second time, Henry VI was killed. After the death of Edward IV in 1483, the throne passed to his underage son Edward V; but the latter’s uncle, who became King Richard III, seized power. On his orders Edward V, who was overthrown that year, and his brother were strangled in the royal prison, the Tower. The executions and confiscations which Richard III ordered led both parties to rise up against him. They united around Henry Tudor, a distant relative of the Lancasters. Richard III was defeated and killed at Bosworth on Aug. 22, 1485. This battle concluded the war. Henry VII Tudor, the founder of the Tudor dynasty, became king.

Marrying Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward IV and the York heiress, Henry merged the red and white roses in his emblem. The Wars of the Roses, which were marked by extreme cruelty, were the last outburst of feudal anarchy before the establishment of absolutism. Internecine wars, oppressive taxes, the plundering of the treasury, the arbitrariness of the great feudal lords, and the disorganization of trade greatly worsened the situation of broad strata of the population. Both dynasties perished in the struggle. A significant part of the feudal aristocracy was exterminated, and its power was undermined by widespread confiscation of its land. The new nobility, whose landholdings and social importance had grown, as well as the emerging bourgeoisie, which required a strong central authority to struggle against popular movements, supported the new dynasty and thereby facilitated the establishment of Tudor absolutism. REFERENCES Henry Vi - Question.com Henry Vi 142171, king of England (142261, 147071). Reign Early Years The only son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois , he became king of England when he was not yet nine months old.

When his grandfather, Charles VI of France, died, Henry was proclaimed king of France by the English, in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Troyes (1420). The French, however, recognized the son of Charles VI as Charles VII . During Henry's early years, England was under the protectorate of his uncles, John of Lancaster, duke of Bedford , who was regent in France, and Humphrey, duke of Gloucester . Gloucester did not wield full authority, however, for much of the actual power resided in a council dominated by Henry Beaufort . After the English defeat by Joan of Arc at Orléans in 1429 and Charles VII's coronation at Reims shortly thereafter, the council attempted to protect English interests in France by crowning Henry king of France at Paris in 1431. After the death of Bedford in 1435 and the defection of Burgundy from the Anglo-Burgundian alliance, however, the English cause in France became hopeless.

Factional Struggles From c.1435, Henry fell under the dominance of a faction headed first by Henry Beaufort and later by William de la Pole, 4th earl of Suffolk (see Pole , family), both of whom opposed continuing the war in France. Suffolk negotiated a marriage for Henry with Margaret of Anjou in 1445. This marriage was at first favorably received in England, but when Henry, now under the influence of his wife, surrendered Maine to Charles VII, Suffolk and the queen lost their popularity. Suffolk was impeached in 1450 and mysteriously murdered at sea while on his way to France. The rebellion of Jack Cade , which broke out after Suffolk's death, was but one of many riots and uprisings indicating popular dissatisfaction with the government. The faction headed by Queen Margaret and Edmund Beaufort, 2d duke of Somerset , which dominated the king after Suffolk's death, was opposed by Richard, duke of York , the most powerful noble in the kingdom and heir presumptive to the throne. The struggle between these two factions developed into the dynastic battle between the Lancasters and the Yorks known as the Wars of the Roses .

Insanity and War In 1453, shortly before the birth of his son, Edward, the king became insane. The duke of York was made protector (1454) in spite of the protests of Margaret, but when the king recovered, York was excluded from the council. In 1455, York met the Lancastrians at St. Albans in a conflict generally regarded as the first battle of the Wars of the Roses; Somerset was killed, and the Yorkists gained control of the council. York was again protector (145556), but thereafter Margaret was in control until 1460 when the Yorkist party won another victory at Northampton. Henry was made a prisoner, and York was named protector and heir apparent to the throne to the exclusion of Henry's own son. York was killed at Wakefield in 1460, but his son Edward defeated the Lancastrian forces at Mortimer's Cross, entered London, and was proclaimed king as Edward IV in Feb., 1461. Henry, who had been rescued from Yorkist captivity at the second battle of St. Albans a few days earlier, now fled to Scotland.

He remained there during most of the subsequent fighting until 1465, when he was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London. When Richard Neville, earl of Warwick , allied himself with Queen Margaret and invaded England in 1470, Henry was restored to the throne, but his second reign was short-lived. The unfortunate king was captured at the battle of Barnet and returned to the Tower. He was murdered there only days after Edward IV's final victory at Tewkesbury in May, 1471. Character Henry was a mild, honest, and pious man, a patron of literature and the arts and the founder of Eton College (1440). He was, however, unstable, weak-willed, and politically naive. It was his complete inability to cope with the pressures and responsibilities of kingship that probably drove him to insanity. Bibliography See biography by K. H. Vickers, England in the Later Middle Ages (7th ed. 1950); E. F. Jacob, The Fifteenth Century (1961).

Sign In Hendrik VI | Article about Hendrik VI by The Free Dictionary Hendrik VI | Article about Hendrik VI by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Wikipedia . Henry VI, 1165–97, Holy Roman emperor (1191–97) and German king (1190–97), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (Frederick Barbarossa). He was crowned German king at Aachen in 1169 and king of Italy at Milan in 1186 after his marriage to Constance Constance, 1154–98, Holy Roman empress, wife of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI; daughter of King Roger II of Sicily. She was named heiress of Sicily by her nephew King William II. ..... Click the link for more information. , heiress presumptive to the throne of Sicily. Henry remained in Italy as his father's representative, ravaging central Italy and forcing it to submit to imperial domination. He became regent at his father's departure (1189) for the Third Crusade and succeeded Frederick, who died in 1190.

In 1191, Henry entered Italy on an expedition to secure Constance's Sicilian inheritance from Tancred Tancred (Tancred of Lecce) , b. 1130 or 1134, d. 1194, king of Sicily (1190–94), illegitimate son of Roger of Apulia and grandson of Roger II of Sicily. On the death of his cousin, William II of Sicily, Tancred was crowned (1190) king. ..... Click the link for more information. of Lecce, who had illegally assumed the crown. Stopping at Rome he was crowned Holy Roman emperor by Pope Celestine III. He continued southward, but failed in the initial attempt to take Sicily. He returned to Germany, where he faced a rebellion fomented by the Guelphs Guelphs , European dynasty tracing its descent from the Swabian count Guelph or Welf (9th cent.), whose daughter Judith married the Frankish emperor Louis I. Guelph III (d. 1055) was made (1047) duke of Carinthia and margrave of Verona. .....

Click the link for more information. and the nobles of the Lower Rhine, who opposed his attempt to absorb Thuringia into the royal demesne. Henry secured a powerful bargaining weapon when he obtained custody (1193) of King Richard I Richard I, Richard Cœur de Lion , or Richard Lion-Heart, 1157–99, king of England (1189–99); third son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. ..... Click the link for more information. of England, brother-in-law and ally of the Guelph leader, Henry the Lion Henry the Lion, 1129–95, duke of Saxony (1142–80) and of Bavaria (1156–80); son of Henry the Proud. His father died (1139) while engaged in a war to regain his duchies, and it was not until 1142 that Henry the Lion became duke of Saxony. ..... Click the link for more information. . Soon after Richard had paid a ransom, sworn fealty to Henry, and been released (Feb., 1194), peace was made.

In Sicily, the death of Tancred favored the success of Henry's second expedition (May, 1194). Palermo fell in November, and on Christmas Day Henry was crowned king of Sicily. Insatiable, Henry dreamed of further expansion in the Mediterranean. He began to promote (1195) a new crusade and intimidated the Byzantine emperor, Alexius III Alexius III (Alexius Angelus) , d. after 1210, Byzantine emperor (1195–1203). He acceded to power by deposing and blinding his brother Isaac II. This act served as pretext for the leaders of the Fourth Crusade (see Crusades) to attack Constantinople (1203). ..... Click the link for more information. , into paying him tribute. At the Diet of Würzburg (1196) Henry proposed that the empire be made hereditary in his family, the Hohenstaufen, and in return offered unrestricted rights of inheritance to those who held fiefs from him.

The proposal was defeated, though it found many supporters, and Henry contented himself with securing the election of his infant son (later Emperor Frederick II Frederick II, 1194–1250, Holy Roman emperor (1220–50) and German king (1212–20), king of Sicily (1197–1250), and king of Jerusalem (1229–50), son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and of Constance, heiress of Sicily. ..... Click the link for more information. ) as king. Henry died of a fever at Messina just as he was preparing to invade the Holy Land. He was succeeded in Sicily by Frederick II and in the rest of the empire by Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia , 1176?–1208, German king (1198–1208), son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. After the death (1197) of his brother, German King and Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, he unsuccessfully attempted to secure the succession in Germany of his infant nephew, ..... Click the link for more information. .

Henry VI, 1421–71, king of England (1422–61, 1470–71). Reign The only son of Henry V Henry V, 1387–1422, king of England (1413–22), son and successor of Henry IV. Early Life Henry was probably brought up under the care of his uncle, Henry Beaufort. ..... Click the link for more information. and Catherine of Valois Catherine of Valois , 1401–37, queen consort of Henry V of England, daughter of Charles VI of France. Married in 1420, she bore Henry the son who was to become Henry VI. ..... Click the link for more information. , he became king of England when he was not yet nine months old. When his grandfather, Charles VI Charles VI (Charles the Mad or Charles the Well Beloved), 1368–1422, king of France (1380–1422), son and successor of King Charles V.

During his minority he was under the tutelage of his uncles (particularly Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy), whose policies drained ..... Click the link for more information. of France, died, Henry was proclaimed king of France by the English, in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Troyes Troyes, Treaty of, 1420, agreement between Henry V of England, Charles VI of France, and Philip the Good of Burgundy. Its purpose, ultimately unsuccessful, was to settle the issues of the Hundred Years War. ..... Click the link for more information. (1420). The French, however, recognized the son of Charles VI as Charles VII Charles VII (Charles the Well Served), 1403–61, king of France (1422–61), son and successor of Charles VI. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years War. Although excluded from the throne by the Treaty of Troyes, Charles took the royal title after his father's death ..... Click the link for more information. .

During Henry's early years, England was under the protectorate of his uncles, John of Lancaster, duke of Bedford Bedford, John of Lancaster, duke of, 1389–1435, English nobleman; third son of Henry IV of England and brother of Henry V. At the death (1422) of his brother and succession of his 9-month-old nephew, Henry VI, Bedford was designated as regent of France and protector of ..... Click the link for more information. , who was regent in France, and Humphrey, duke of Gloucester Gloucester, Humphrey, duke of, 1391–1447, English nobleman; youngest son of Henry IV and Mary de Bohun. He was well educated and had a great interest in humanist scholarship. ..... Click the link for more information. . Gloucester did not wield full authority, however, for much of the actual power resided in a council dominated by Henry Beaufort Beaufort, Henry , 1377?–1447, English prelate and statesman.

The son of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, and his mistress (later wife) Catherine Swynford, he was half-brother to Henry IV. ..... Click the link for more information. . After the English defeat by Joan of Arc at Orléans in 1429 and Charles VII's coronation at Reims shortly thereafter, the council attempted to protect English interests in France by crowning Henry king of France at Paris in 1431. After the death of Bedford in 1435 and the defection of Burgundy from the Anglo-Burgundian alliance, however, the English cause in France became hopeless. Factional Struggles From c.1435, Henry fell under the dominance of a faction headed first by Henry Beaufort and later by William de la Pole, 4th earl of Suffolk (see Pole Pole, English noble family. The first member of importance was William de la Pole, d. 1366, a rich merchant who became the first mayor of Hull (1332) and a baron of the exchequer (1339). ..... Click the link for more information.

, family), both of whom opposed continuing the war in France. Suffolk negotiated a marriage for Henry with Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou , 1430?–1482, queen consort of King Henry VI of England, daughter of René of Anjou. Her marriage, which took place in 1445, was negotiated by William de la Pole, 4th earl (later 1st duke) of Suffolk (see under Pole, family). ..... Click the link for more information. in 1445. This marriage was at first favorably received in England, but when Henry, now under the influence of his wife, surrendered Maine to Charles VII, Suffolk and the queen lost their popularity. Suffolk was impeached in 1450 and mysteriously murdered at sea while on his way to France. The rebellion of Jack Cade Cade, Jack, d. 1450, English rebel. Of his life very little is known. He may have been of Irish birth; some of his followers called him John Mortimer and claimed he was a cousin of Richard, duke of York. ..... Click the link for more information.

, which broke out after Suffolk's death, was but one of many riots and uprisings indicating popular dissatisfaction with the government. The faction headed by Queen Margaret and Edmund Beaufort, 2d duke of Somerset Somerset, Edmund Beaufort, 2d duke of, d. 1455, English statesman and general. He fought in France in the Hundred Years War, receiving his first command in 1431, recapturing Harfleur in 1440, and relieving Calais in ..... Click the link for more information. , which dominated the king after Suffolk's death, was opposed by Richard, duke of York York, Richard, duke of, 1411–60, English nobleman, claimant to the throne. He was descended from Edward III through his father, Richard, earl of Cambridge, grandson of that king, and also through his mother, Anne Mortimer, great-granddaughter of Lionel, duke of Clarence, ..... Click the link for more information. , the most powerful noble in the kingdom and heir presumptive to the throne.

The struggle between these two factions developed into the dynastic battle between the Lancasters and the Yorks known as the Wars of the Roses Roses, Wars of the, traditional name given to the intermittent struggle (1455–85) for the throne of England between the noble houses of York (whose badge was a white rose) and Lancaster (later associated with the red rose). About the middle of the 15th cent. ..... Click the link for more information. . Insanity and War In 1453, shortly before the birth of his son, Edward, the king became insane. The duke of York was made protector (1454) in spite of the protests of Margaret, but when the king recovered, York was excluded from the council. In 1455, York met the Lancastrians at St. Albans in a conflict generally regarded as the first battle of the Wars of the Roses; Somerset was killed, and the Yorkists gained control of the council. York was again protector (1455–56), but thereafter Margaret was in control until 1460 when the Yorkist party won another victory at Northampton.

Henry was made a prisoner, and York was named protector and heir apparent to the throne to the exclusion of Henry's own son. York was killed at Wakefield in 1460, but his son Edward defeated the Lancastrian forces at Mortimer's Cross, entered London, and was proclaimed king as Edward IV Edward IV, 1442–83, king of England (1461–70, 1471–83), son of Richard, duke of York. He succeeded to the leadership of the Yorkist party (see Roses, Wars of the) after the death of his father in Wakefield in 1460. ..... Click the link for more information. in Feb., 1461. Henry, who had been rescued from Yorkist captivity at the second battle of St. Albans a few days earlier, now fled to Scotland. He remained there during most of the subsequent fighting until 1465, when he was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London. When Richard Neville, earl of Warwick Warwick, Richard Neville, earl of , 1428–71, English nobleman, called the Kingmaker.

Through his grandfather, Ralph Neville, 1st earl of Westmorland, he had connections with the house of Lancaster; he was also the nephew of Cecily Neville, wife of Richard, duke of York. ..... Click the link for more information. , allied himself with Queen Margaret and invaded England in 1470, Henry was restored to the throne, but his second reign was short-lived. The unfortunate king was captured at the battle of Barnet and returned to the Tower. He was murdered there only days after Edward IV's final victory at Tewkesbury in May, 1471. Character Henry was a mild, honest, and pious man, a patron of literature and the arts and the founder of Eton College (1440). He was, however, unstable, weak-willed, and politically naive. It was his complete inability to cope with the pressures and responsibilities of kingship that probably drove him to insanity. Bibliography See biography by K. H. Vickers, England in the Later Middle Ages (7th ed. 1950); E. F. Jacob, The Fifteenth Century (1961). Henry VI See: Weakness Henry VI 1.

1165--97, king of Germany (1169--97) and Holy Roman Emperor (1190--97): added Sicily to the Empire 2. 1421--71, last Lancastrian king of England (1422--61; 1470--71); son of Henry V. His weak rule was blamed for the loss by 1453 of all his possessions in France except Calais; from 1454 he suffered periods of insanity which contributed to the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses (1455--85). He was deposed by Edward IV (1461) but was briefly restored to the throne (1470) List of books and articles about Wars of the Roses | Online Research Library: Questia Wars of the Roses Roses, Wars of the Wars of the Roses, traditional name given to the intermittent struggle (1455–85) for the throne of England between the noble houses of York (whose badge was a white rose) and Lancaster (later associated with the red rose). About the middle of the 15th cent.

Richard, duke of York , came to the fore as leader of the opposition to the faction (William de la Pole , duke of Suffolk; Edmund Beaufort, duke of Somerset ; and the queen, Margaret of Anjou ) that controlled the weak Lancastrian king Henry VI . The Yorkists gained popular support as a result of discontent over the failure of English arms in the Hundred Years War and over the corruption of the court, discontent reflected in the rebellion of Jack Cade in 1450. Also in that year Suffolk was murdered, and the duke of York forced the king to recognize his claim as heir to the throne. In 1453 the king became insane, and the birth of a son to Margaret of Anjou displaced York as heir. The duke was appointed protector, but when the king recovered in 1454, York was excluded from the royal council. He resorted to arms. The opposing factions met (1455) at St. Albans—usually taken as the first battle of the Wars of the Roses. Somerset was killed, leaving Queen Margaret at the head of the defeated royal party, and York again served as protector for a short period (1455–56).

By 1459 both parties were once more in arms. The following year the Yorkists defeated and captured the king at the battle of Northampton. The duke of York hurried to London to assert his claims to the throne, which were, by laws of strict inheritance, perhaps better than those of the king himself. A compromise was effected by which Henry remained king and York and his heirs were declared successors. Queen Margaret, whose son was thus disinherited, raised an army and defeated (1460) the Yorkists at Wakefield. York was killed in this battle, and his claims devolved upon his son Edward, but Richard Neville, earl of Warwick , became the real leader of the Yorkist party. Margaret's army rescued the king from captivity in the second battle of St. Albans (Feb., 1461), but Edward meanwhile secured a Yorkist victory at Mortimer's Cross, marched into London unopposed, and assumed the throne as Edward IV . The Lancastrians, after their defeat at Towton (Mar., 1461), continued (with Scottish aid) to raise resistance in the north until 1464.

The deposed Henry was captured (1465) and put into the Tower of London. Although the Lancastrian cause now seemed hopeless, a quarrel broke out between Warwick and Edward IV after the latter's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville in 1464. Warwick and the king's brother George, duke of Clarence , allied against Edward, fled to France (1470), and there became reconciled with Margaret of Anjou. Supported by Louis XI of France, they crossed to England and restored Henry VI to the throne. Edward fled, but with the aid of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, returned to England in 1471, regained London, and recaptured Henry. In the ensuing battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury (1471), Warwick and Henry's son, Edward, were killed. Margaret was imprisoned. Soon thereafter Henry VI died, probably slain at the orders of Edward IV. After 12 relatively peaceful years, Edward IV was succeeded (1483) by his young son Edward V , but soon the boy's uncle Richard, duke of Gloucester, usurped the throne as Richard III .

Opposition to Richard advanced the fortunes of Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, now the Lancastrian claimant. In 1485, Henry landed from France, defeated and killed Richard at Bosworth Field, and ascended the throne as Henry VII . Henry VII's marriage to Edward IV's daughter, Elizabeth, united the houses of Lancaster and York. Except for various efforts during Henry's reign to place Yorkist pretenders on the throne, the Wars of the Roses were ended. It is generally said that with them ended the era of feudalism in England, since the nobles who participated suffered heavy loss of life and property and were too weak, as a class, to contest the strong monarchy of the Tudors. The middle and lower classes were largely indifferent to the struggle and relatively untouched by it. See E. F. Jacob, The Fifteenth Century (1961); P. M. Kendall, The Yorkist Age (1962, repr. 1965); S. B. Chrimes, Lancastrians, Yorkists, and Henry VII (1964); J. R. Lander, The Wars of the Roses (1965); C. D.

Ross, Wars of the Roses: A Concise History (1976); E. Hallam, ed., Wars of the Roses (1988) and Chronicles of the Wars of the Roses (1988); A. J. Pollard, Wars of the Roses (1995); A. Weir, Wars of the Roses (1995); S. Gristwood, Blood Sisters: The Women behind the War of the Roses (2013); D. Jones, The Wars of the Roses (2014). The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright© 2016, The Columbia University Press. Wars of the Roses: Selected full-text books and articles Wars of the Roses (1455 - 1487) - Medieval Times Wars of the Roses (1455 – 1487) King Henry VI The Wars of the Roses was a civil war fought between the House of Lancaster (Red Rose of Lancaster) and the House of York (White Rose of York) for the English throne from 1455 to 1487.

Defeat in the Hundred Years’ War which resulted in loss of all English territories on the Continent and weak central authority provoked a struggle between the barons for the influence over weak Lancastrian King Henry VI. By the middle of the 15th century the fractions polarized around Richard Platagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset who was the head of the court fraction and was supported by Henry VI. Richard, Duke of York was named Protector of the Realm when Henry VI became insane in 1453 but Henry VI recovered by the end of 1454 and excluded Richard from the royal council in 1455 which resulted in the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses. Richard defeated the Lancastrians in the Battle of St Albans (regarded the first battle of the Wars of the Roses) in 1455, while Edmund, Duke of Somerset was killed. Richard was named the Protector of the Realm for the second time but he lost the support within a year and was sent to Ireland as lieutenant. The Lancastrians concentrated on strengthening of their position and very soon arose dissatisfaction with the royal government.

On the other hand, the popularity of Richard’s ally Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick was rising which encouraged Duke of York to launch an attack in 1459. He defeated the Lancastrian forces in the Battle of Northampton one year later and hurried to London to assert his claims to the English throne. However, he misjudged the majority of nobles who had no desire to overthrow Henry VI and were not willing to accept a duke on the English throne. Thus the Act of Accord passed by the Parliament in 1460 resulted in a compromise: Henry VI retained the throne, while Richard and his male heirs were designated as his successors. The Act of Accord was not acceptable for Queen Margaret of Anjou whose son was according to the Act of Accord disinherited. She summoned an army which defeated the Yorkists in the Battle at Wakefield in 1460. Richard was killed in the battle which additionally complicated the situation and resulted in further confusion over the question of succession. Richard Neville and Richard’s eighteen year old son Edward managed to defeat the Lancastrians and Edward assumed the English throne as Edward IV in 1461.

King Edward IV Edward additionally strengthened his position by destroying the Lancastrian forces of Margaret of Anjou in the Battle of Towton in 1461. Margaret was forced to flee to Scotland from where he managed to escape to France. However, Margaret of Anjou did not give up the fight for the English throne. She appealed to Louis XI of France to provide military assistance against the Yorkists in return for Calais. To prevent an eventual Lancastrian-French alliance Yorkists had two possibilities. The first foresaw an agreement with Louis’ greatest enemy Duke of Burgundy, while the second possibility was to create a discord between the Lancastrians and the French. Richard Neville favored the second option which would could have been achieved through marriage of Edward IV and Bona of Savoy, sister-in-law of Louis XI. Neville’s plan was not well accepted neither by the English population nor by Edward IV who rejected Neville’s advice and married Elizabeth Woodville. Edward’s marriage with Elizabeth Woodville destroyed all possibilities of an eventual alliance with France as well as Neville’s efforts to gain greater influence over important political questions. Despite that Earl of Warwick continued to strive after reaching an agreement with France.

Louis XI of France satisfied with tensed relations between the Earl of Warwick and the English King encouraged Neville with aim to break the alliance between England, Brittany and Burgundy. Richard Neville accepted Louis’ offer which granted him Burgundian Netherlands (the Low Countries) in return for Edward’s deposition in 1469. He formed an alliance with Edward’s brother George, Duke of Clarence, defeated the royal forces and captured Edward IV in the Battle of Edgecote Moor in 1469. However, the coup provoked an unrest which prevented the convocation of the Parliament and Neville’s plans to implement his provisions. Meanwhile Edward managed to escape from captivity and raised an army forcing Neville to flee to France. Louis XI of France managed to reconcile Robert Neville and Margaret of Anjou and their alliance was confirmed by marriage of Neville’s daughter Anne Neville and Margaret’s son Edward of Westminster. In autumn 1470, Neville and Edward of Westminster invaded England and restored Henry VI to the English throne and forced Edward IV to flee to Burgundy. Edward IV returned to England in 1471 and captured London within three weeks. In the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury which took place within few days Edward IV finally defeated his rivals.

Earl of Warwick was killed at Barnet, Edward of Westminster at Tewkesbury, while Margaret of Anjou was taken captive. Meanwhile Edward’s brother, Richard of Gloucester (later Richard III) repulsed the last attempts of Margaret’s supporters to recapture London. After the murder of Henry VI which was probably ordered by Edward IV latter returned to London and established himself as undisputed ruler of England. The Wars of the Roses were at standstill from the restoration of Edward IV to the English throne until his death in 1483. Edward IV was succeeded by his young son Edward V but the brother of the deceased king, Richard of Gloucester felt threatened by the Woodvilles: queen mother Elizabeth and her brother Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl of Rivers who was appointed king’s guardian. Richard ordered arrest and execution of Anthony Woodville and seized the guardianship of Edward V shortly after the death of Edward IV. Richard’s next move provoked general unrest. He declared both sons of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville illegitimate, imprisoned them in the Tower of London and assumed the English throne as Richard III. Richard’s popularity reached its lowest point when rumors occurred that he had his nephews executed.

Richard’s unpopularity played a major role in his downfall. His rival Lancastrian claimant to the English throne Henry Tudor (later Henry VII) managed to win the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 because of desertion and switching sides of Richard’s key allies. Richard III was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field which is traditionally considered the end of the Wars of the Roses resulting in the accession of Henry Tudor, the first monarch of the Tudor Dynasty to the English throne. © Copyright Medieval Times Info 2012 - Page last edited on: July 31, 2012 Site last updated on: January 6, 2015 Additional Resources Wars of the Roses facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Wars of the Roses The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright The Columbia University Press Wars of the Roses, traditional name given to the intermittent struggle (1455–85) for the throne of England between the noble houses of York (whose badge was a white rose) and Lancaster (later associated with the red rose). About the middle of the 15th cent.

Richard, duke of York , came to the fore as leader of the opposition to the faction (William de la Pole , duke of Suffolk; Edmund Beaufort, duke of Somerset ; and the queen, Margaret of Anjou ) that controlled the weak Lancastrian king Henry VI . The Yorkists gained popular support as a result of discontent over the failure of English arms in the Hundred Years War and over the corruption of the court, discontent reflected in the rebellion of Jack Cade in 1450. Also in that year Suffolk was murdered, and the duke of York forced the king to recognize his claim as heir to the throne. In 1453 the king became insane, and the birth of a son to Margaret of Anjou displaced York as heir. The duke was appointed protector, but when the king recovered in 1454, York was excluded from the royal council. He resorted to arms. The opposing factions met (1455) at St. Albans—usually taken as the first battle of the Wars of the Roses. Somerset was killed, leaving Queen Margaret at the head of the defeated royal party, and York again served as protector for a short period (1455–56).

By 1459 both parties were once more in arms. The following year the Yorkists defeated and captured the king at the battle of Northampton. The duke of York hurried to London to assert his claims to the throne, which were, by laws of strict inheritance, perhaps better than those of the king himself. A compromise was effected by which Henry remained king and York and his heirs were declared successors. Queen Margaret, whose son was thus disinherited, raised an army and defeated (1460) the Yorkists at Wakefield. York was killed in this battle, and his claims devolved upon his son Edward, but Richard Neville, earl of Warwick , became the real leader of the Yorkist party. Margaret's army rescued the king from captivity in the second battle of St. Albans (Feb., 1461), but Edward meanwhile secured a Yorkist victory at Mortimer's Cross, marched into London unopposed, and assumed the throne as Edward IV . The Lancastrians, after their defeat at Towton (Mar., 1461), continued (with Scottish aid) to raise resistance in the north until 1464.

The deposed Henry was captured (1465) and put into the Tower of London. Although the Lancastrian cause now seemed hopeless, a quarrel broke out between Warwick and Edward IV after the latter's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville in 1464. Warwick and the king's brother George, duke of Clarence , allied against Edward, fled to France (1470), and there became reconciled with Margaret of Anjou. Supported by Louis XI of France, they crossed to England and restored Henry VI to the throne. Edward fled, but with the aid of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, returned to England in 1471, regained London, and recaptured Henry. In the ensuing battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury (1471), Warwick and Henry's son, Edward, were killed. Margaret was imprisoned. Soon thereafter Henry VI died, probably slain at the orders of Edward IV. After 12 relatively peaceful years, Edward IV was succeeded (1483) by his young son Edward V , but soon the boy's uncle Richard, duke of Gloucester, usurped the throne as Richard III .

Opposition to Richard advanced the fortunes of Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, now the Lancastrian claimant. In 1485, Henry landed from France, defeated and killed Richard at Bosworth Field, and ascended the throne as Henry VII . Henry VII's marriage to Edward IV's daughter, Elizabeth, united the houses of Lancaster and York. Except for various efforts during Henry's reign to place Yorkist pretenders on the throne, the Wars of the Roses were ended. It is generally said that with them ended the era of feudalism in England, since the nobles who participated suffered heavy loss of life and property and were too weak, as a class, to contest the strong monarchy of the Tudors. The middle and lower classes were largely indifferent to the struggle and relatively untouched by it. See E. F. Jacob, The Fifteenth Century (1961); P. M. Kendall, The Yorkist Age (1962, repr. 1965); S. B. Chrimes, Lancastrians, Yorkists, and Henry VII (1964); J. R. Lander, The Wars of the Roses (1965); C. D.

Ross, Wars of the Roses: A Concise History (1976); E. Hallam, ed., Wars of the Roses (1988) and Chronicles of the Wars of the Roses (1988); A. J. Pollard, Wars of the Roses (1995); A. Weir, Wars of the Roses (1995); S. Gristwood, Blood Sisters: The Women behind the War of the Roses (2013); D. Jones, The Wars of the Roses (2014). Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA The Oxford Companion to British History © The Oxford Companion to British History 2002, originally published by Oxford University Press 2002. Roses, Wars of the. Once applied to the whole of the 15th cent., the name is now given to the sequence of plots, rebellions, and battles that took place between 1455 and 1487. They are so called because of the notion that, fought between the dynasties of Lancaster and York, Lancaster was represented by a red rose, York by a white.

In fact the idea of the warring roses was invented by Henry VII after he seized the throne in 1485. He claimed to be the heir of Lancaster and represented his marriage to Elizabeth of York , the heiress of Edward IV, as the union of the red and white roses, bringing peace and prosperity after the war and ruin of the preceding decades. While the actual phrase ‘Wars of the Roses’ did not appear until the 19th cent., the idea of the warring roses was rooted in Tudor propaganda. There were three distinct phases of civil war: between 1455 and 1464; 1469 and 1471; and 1483 and 1487. In the first two fighting for the control of royal government led to outright war for possession of the crown; the third was dynastic from the start. There was also a strong element of rivalry for local dominance, especially in northern England between the Percies and the Nevilles. The scale of the fighting and the extent of disorder were much exaggerated by Tudor writers.

The most intense period was between July 1460 and March 1461, but as a whole there were barely more than two years' military activity throughout the thirty-year period. Civilian casualties and physical destruction were light; most were able to go about their normal affairs. Nevertheless, especially in 1459–61 and 1469–71, there was considerable instability as the houses of Lancaster and York competed for the throne. In 1455 the duke of York led his supporters in a successful rebellion against Henry VI. In 1459 they rebelled again, were at first defeated, but were victorious at Northampton in July 1460. Four months later York claimed the throne for himself. Although he was defeated and killed at the battle of Wakefield , his heir Edward seized the throne and won a decisive victory at Towton . In 1469 Edward in his turn faced rebellion from Warwick the Kingmaker . Warwick too endeavoured to rule the kingdom by force, but also found it impossible, and resorted to the restoration of Henry VI.

Edward IV, however, had the last word, defeating Warwick at Barnet and a Lancastrian army at Tewkesbury . The virtual destruction of the Lancastrians seemed to have brought the wars to an end. They were reopened when Edward's brother Richard III made himself king in 1483. Henry Tudor then emerged as a claimant to the throne. Leading an alliance of die-hard Lancastrians and supporters of the deposed Edward V, he swept to power at Bosworth in August 1485. He brought the wars effectively to an end when he defeated a Yorkist invasion at Stoke (by Newark, Notts.) in 1487. In the later 20th cent., historians much debated the origins and causes of the wars. Some, arguing that in 15th-cent. politics everything rested on the fitness of the king to rule, put the entire blame on the shoulders of Henry VI. But there were deeper causes in the social, economic, and political trends of the later Middle Ages , which suggest that any monarch would have faced severe problems. Nevertheless the recovery of royal authority under the Tudors was rapid.

No great political or social change resulted: the old feudal nobility did not destroy itself, nor did the Tudors represent a new middle class. The most lasting impact of the Wars of the Roses has been on the historical imagination. Lewis Carroll used his schoolboy knowledge of them as a recurring motif in Alice in Wonderland. And they have come to be a byword for anarchy: the last months of the Callaghan administration in 1979 were dubbed with telling effect ‘the Winter of Discontent’ from the opening line of Shakespeare 's Richard III. Anthony James Pollard World Encyclopedia © World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. Roses, Wars of the (1455–85) English dynastic civil wars. They are named after the badges of the rival royal Houses of York (white rose) and Lancaster (red rose). Both Houses descended from Edward III . Richard, Duke of York, challenged the Lancastrian King Henry VI , and gained brief ascendancy after the Battle of St Albans (1455).

The Lancastrians recovered control, but in 1460 Richard, supported by the powerful Earl of Warwick , forced Henry to recognize him as his heir. Richard was killed months later, but the Yorkist victory at Towton (1461) put his son on the throne as Edward IV . In 1469, Warwick changed sides and Edward was deposed, but he returned to win the decisive victory of Tewkesbury (1471). A final phase of the Wars began with the seizure of the throne by Richard III in 1483. He was defeated and killed at Bosworth , when Henry Tudor ( Henry VII ) became King with support from both Houses. Cite this article The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable © The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. Wars of the Roses the 15th-century English civil wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster, represented by white and red roses respectively, during the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV, and Richard III.

The struggle was largely ended in 1485 by the defeat and death of the Yorkist king Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth and the accession of the Lancastrian Henry Tudor ( Henry VII), who united the two houses by marrying Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV. Cite this article

Question: Which king became ‘insane’ in 1453 but apparently ‘recovered’ in 1454?
Answer: Henry VI