We read all the lead to present a different history.
Friends who like to chase American dramas will not be unfamiliar with "Game of Thrones", in fact, this film and television work has a large number of plots corresponding to real history, the core content of which comes from the famous "War of the Roses". Although the name of this war sounds warm and romantic, the situation is extremely cruel - tens of thousands of soldiers fight in winter, and white snowflakes cover the wasteland stained red with blood...
▲ "War of the Roses" oil painting
The Wars of the Roses, also known as the Wars of the Roses, were a civil war between two descendants of King Edward III of England vying for the throne of England. John of Gaunt, the third son of Edward III, and his descendants were the Dukes of Lancaster with the family crest of red rose; Edward III's fourth son, Edmund of Langley, and his descendants, were the Dukes of York, with the family crest of the White Rose. Both families were royal branches of the Plantagenet dynasty, and since Edward the Black Prince died earlier than Edward III, and Edward III did not have a clear heir before his death, the fifth and sixth generations of the York family and the fourth and fifth generations of the Lancastrian family fought for the throne of England and constantly launched civil wars.
▲ Red rose, Tudor rose and white rose family crest
At first, the term "War of the Roses" was not used to define the civil war, until in the sixteenth century, Shakespeare, in his play Henry VI, used the removal of two roses as a sign of the outbreak of war to describe the civil war, and this warm name gradually became known to the world. The rivalry between the two families began in 1399 AD, when King Richard II (the eldest son of Edward III) made Edward III's second son, Leonardor's grandson Edmund Beaufort crown prince, and Richard II's cousin, Henry Bolingbrook, Duke of Lancaster, staged a coup d'état and overthrew his cousin. Afterwards, Henry Boleynbrook himself was crowned "Henry IV". Due to the unpopular rule of Richard II, the English subjects expressed support for the coup.
Portrait of King Edward III
In 1413, King Henry IV of England died of illness and was succeeded by his second son, Henry Lancaster, as Henry V. At that time, it was the "Hundred Years' War between England and France", and the brave and warlike Henry V personally marched several times, won many victories, and won the general support of the English nobility, thus strengthening the rule of the Lancastrian family. However, after the death of Henry V, the situation in England changed abruptly, and Henry VI, who succeeded to the throne, lost all the important French strongholds left by his father due to his weak character, and the ministers and nobles saw that their interests were damaged and regarded him as a faint and incompetent monarch. Coupled with Henry VI's intermittent mental illness, several attacks during the convening of the imperial council, which made the English royal family lose face, and the nobles no longer trusted Henry VI. Over time, some of the British nobility turned to support the York family's succession to the throne.
▲ Stills of King Henry V
As early as the year after the coronation of Henry V, Edmund's son the Earl of Cambridge was executed for "treason", the title was stripped away, and his brother the Duke of York was unfortunately killed and had no heirs under his knees, henry V, after consulting with the nobles, ordered Richard Plantagenet, the son of the Earl of Cambridge, to inherit the title of his uncle Duke of York. Since Richard's mother, Ninne Mortimer, was the granddaughter of Leonard, the second son of Edward III, The new Duke of York, Richard Plantagenet, was theoretically entitled to the throne of England. In 1453, henry VI became more mentally ill, and the nobles formed a regency council to elect Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, as regent of England, and the dispute between the House of York and the House of Lancaster began.
To strengthen his authority, Richard imprisoned Henry VI's cousin, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somsett, and suppressed the king's supporters. Two years after Richard, Duke of York, was regent, Henry VI recovered from his illness and Richard was expelled from the palace by Queen Margaret. Queen Margaret, from Anjou, France, frustrates Richard's ambitions to seize the throne, she built a political alliance with the majority of the nobility, replacing her husband as the de facto leader of the Lancastrian family. Furious after his expulsion from the palace, Richard decided to use force to provoke the "First Battle of St. Albans".
Remains of the ancient city walls of St. Albans
On 22 May 1455, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, led a small force of elite troops to raid London under the name of "King's Side", and as a result, on the plains of St Albans, Richard encountered Henry VI's Janissaries who had received the news, and the "First Battle of St Albans" broke out, marking the beginning of the "War of the Roses". Although the battle was small, the Lancastrians lost a large number of core members before they could form a resistance, including Edmund Beaufort. Richard and the York family regained power in the victorious war, and then forcibly declared Henry VI's illness relapsing, and Richard became regent again. When the new Council of Regents was formed, Queen Margaret had limited powers to exercise decision-making powers, and Richard specifically stipulated that even if Henry VI recovered later, he would still have a decisive voice.
▲Image of King Toru-ri VI
After stabilizing his position, Richard's ambitions grew inflated, and he began to seek the crown prince's position. Although Queen Margaret categorically refused this unreasonable request, in fact, she was powerless against the York family's means of seizing the throne at this time, and as long as the York family and its allies continued to maintain military superiority, the Lancastrian family would lose the throne sooner or later. Under the oppression of the York family, Henry VI and his wife gradually lost the hearts of the people and had to leave London on the pretext of going on tour. After his escape, Henry VI established a small court in Coventry and issued a letter announcing the dismissal of Richard as regent, who was forced to leave London and return to the Irish fiefdom. Although the House of York was out of the fray at this time, its ally Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, was increasingly popular in London, and the Lancastrian throne remained in jeopardy.
▲ Henry VI stills
In September 1459, Richard, Duke of York, returned to London, the conflict between the two families began to intensify, because the Pope openly supported the House of York, the Earl of Warwick and others soon formed an army to attack the Lancastrian family, after the rebels established military positions in Kent and London, Henry VI led an army south to meet the enemy, queen Margaret and Crown Prince Edward remained in the north. The following summer, at the Battle of Northampton, Henry VI was defeated and captured, dealing a heavy blow to the Lancastrian family. Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, who had achieved a major military victory, demanded the throne on the grounds that the Lancastrian rule lacked legitimacy. When entering London, Richard and his wife Cecily Nyvel even held an entrance ceremony in the specifications of a king and queen.
▲View of the British Diet
When the National Convention was convened, Richard went straight to the throne, a move that caused an uproar. Strictly speaking, most of the nobles were not ready to overthrow Henry VI, and they originally only wanted to gain more benefits with the "Qing king's side". After Richard produced a detailed genealogical proof of his ancestry, Parliament finally agreed to depose Edward as Crown Prince and appoint Richard, Duke of York, as heir to the throne and regent of England, although Henry VI's throne remained. Upon learning of the mediation bill, the Lancastrians saw this as a great shame and said they could not accept it, and the Lancasters quickly organized a large army in the north four times that of the York family, hoping to maintain the throne.
▲ "Battle of Wakefield" scene painting
The two sides fought the Battle of Wakefield, in which Richard Plantagenet was killed, and his son Edmund, Earl of Rayren, and Lord Salzburg were captured and killed, and Queen Margaret ordered the heads of the three to be hung at the gates of Yorkshire to deter the rest of the York family. At this time, Edward, the eldest son of the Duke of York, inherited his father's dukedom and heir to the throne. In order to quell the civil unrest, Queen Margaret traveled north to Scotland for help, eventually receiving a large army aid on the condition of ceding the town of Berwick and marrying the Scottish royal family. However, the Lancastrian family had already spent a lot of money to recruit an army, and could not pay enough for the Scottish army, and Queen Margaret had to allow scottish soldiers to plunder at will in England, which laid the groundwork for their future failure.
▲ Stills of Edward, new Duke of York
After the Second Battle of St Albans, the Lancastrians, though successful in recovering King Henry VI with strong foreign aid, were refused entry to the city by the citizens of London, fearing that they would be looted by the "savage northerners". At the same time, edward, the new Duke of York, and the Earl of Warwick had just entered London, and they were warmly welcomed by the London people. The new Parliament was convened, Henry VI was deprived of the legal right to rule by the Parliament for conniving at the Queen's "persecution" of the heir to the throne, Richard, and Crown Prince Edward immediately held a concise enthronement ceremony at Westminster Abbey, and the citizens of London shouted "King Edward" one after another. After Edward ascended the throne, he quickly organized a large army to engage the Lancastrian army in Tautton, the largest battle during the "War of the Roses", with a total of 100,000 troops on both sides, of which more than 20,000 were killed on the battlefield. After the war, Edward led the York family army to successfully occupy Yorkshire and regain the heads of his father and brother. Enraged, Edward executed many of the captured Lancastrian family members, whose heads hung high above the city gates.
▲ Painting of the coronation scene of Edward IV
Henry VI and his wife were forced to flee to Scotland for refuge, seeking refuge from King James III and continuing to remotely command their men to resist. However, the Lancastrian family, which was cut off from funds, rapidly declined in power and was eventually annexed by the York family. In June 1461, Edward was officially crowned "Edward IV" in London, while Henry VI was arrested four years later and placed under house arrest in the Tower of London. Since then, although the Lancastrian family has still launched several rebellions, they have been quelled by the York family. Interestingly, Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville led to a break with the Earl of Warwick, and at the instigation of Edward IV's brother George, the Earl of Warwick staged a coup d'état and imprisoned Edward IV at Middleham Castle, Yorkshire, who was soon rescued by another younger brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
▲The Tower of London overlooks
Warwick and George, who staged a coup d'état, were defined by Edward IV as "traitors" and fled to France in a hurry, shortly accepting the advice of King Louis XI of France and allying with Queen Margaret. In the autumn of 1470, the Allies invaded England and Henry VI was reinstated, declaring Edward IV and his father "traitors". Unfortunately, edward IV, with the support of the Burgundy rulers, made a comeback, this time completely annihilating the Earl of Warwick and the remnants of the Lancastrian family, Henry VI and his son Edward were killed, and the York family completely occupied the throne of England. In 1471, Edward IV was officially restored to the throne at Whayman, which some historians see as the end of the Wars of the Roses.
▲ "White Queen" Elizabeth Woodville stills
But in fact, this civil unrest is not completely over. When Edward IV died, his son Edward V was only 12 years old, and chaos broke out again, and the Woodville family and the York family clashed fiercely over control of the cabinet. During the struggle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, regent of England and brother of Edward IV, sent troops to capture his nephew and imprison him in the Tower of London along with his younger brother Richard, Duke of York (aged 9). Subsequently, Richard declared Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville "illegal" and treated the two children they had as illegitimate children, which Congress agreed to, appointing Richard as the new king through the Royal Bill of Rights, known as Richard III. As a prominent general of the House of York, Richard III soon gained the support of the English nobility.
▲Image of Toru Wang VII
This situation gave a glimmer of hope to the defeated Lancastrian family, and at the time of the infighting among the York family, they introduced a new candidate, Henry Tudor, whose father was Henry VI's half-brother and whose mother was a descendant of Edward III, thus having an unquestionable right to the throne. In 1485, Henry Tudor led an army to defeat Richard III and was crowned "Henry VII". In order to settle the war once and for all, he married Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward IV, and reunited the two families, and the red and white roses merged into tudor roses, becoming the unique coat of arms of Henry VII. Historians today generally agree that Henry VII's succession was the end of the Wars of the Roses. The end of this long and bloody war marked the end of the French Plantagenet Dynasty in England, the beginning of the Tudor rule of Wales, and also represented the end of England's dark Middle Ages and a new attitude towards the Renaissance.
bibliography:
General History of Britain, A Brief History of the Wars of the Roses