Scarlet and white roses. Dynastic wars

The wars of roses

WAR OF RED AND WHITE ROSES.

The Scarlet and White Rose (The Wars of Roses) (1455-85), bloody internecine conflicts between feudal cliques in England, which took the form of a struggle for the throne between the two lines of the royal Plantagenet dynasty: Lancaster (in the coat of arms of the scarlet rose) and York (in the coat of arms White Rose). Causes of war

Pichins:

The war was caused by the difficult economic situation of England (the crisis of large patrimony and the decline in its profitability), the defeat of England in the Hundred Years War (1453), which deprived the feudal lords of the opportunity to plunder the lands of France; the suppression of the Jack Cad rebellion in 1451 (see Cad Jack rebellion) and with it the forces opposed feudal anarchy. Lancaster relied mainly on the barons of the backward north, Wales and Ireland, York - on the feudal lords of the economically more developed southeast of England. The middle nobility, merchants and wealthy citizens interested in the free development of trade and crafts, the elimination of feudal anarchy and the establishment of firm power, supported Yorks.

The course of the war:

The rivalry of the two dynasties in England resulted in a civil war, which began in 1455. Since the last months of the Hundred Years War, two branches of the Plantagenet clan - York and Lancaster - have fought for the throne of England. The war of two roses (in the coat of arms of York was a white rose, and Lancaster's scarlet) put an end to the rule of the Plantagenets.
1450 year
England was going through difficult times. King Henry VI of Lancaster was not able to calm disagreements and feuds between large aristocratic clans. Henry VI grew limp and painful. Under him and his wife Margarita of Anjou, unlimited power was vested in the Dukes of Somerset and Suffolk.
In the spring of 1450, the loss of Normandy was a signal of collapse. Internal wars are multiplying. The state is crumbling. The condemnation, and then the murder of Suffolk does not lead to peace. Jack Cad raises a rebellion in Kent and moves to London. The royal forces defeat Qad, but anarchy continues.
Gradually, King Richard's brother, the Duke of York, at that time in exile in Ireland, was consolidating his position. Returning in September 1450, he is trying, with the help of parliament, to reform the government and eliminate Somerset. In response, Henry VI dissolved parliament. In 1453, the king, as a result of a strong fright, lost his mind. Taking advantage of this, Richard York achieved the most important position - the protector of the state. But the mind returned to Henry VI, and the duke's position shook. Not wanting to part with power, Richard York gathers armed detachments of his adherents.
Lancaster vs York
York concludes an alliance with the Earls of Salisbury and Warwick, who have a strong army in service, which in May 1455 defeats the royal troops in the town of St. Albans. But the king again takes the initiative into his own hands for a while. He confiscates the property of York and its supporters.
York leaves the army and flees to Ireland. In October 1459, his son Edward occupied Calais, from where the Lancaster unsuccessfully tried to knock them out. There he gathers a new army. In July 1460, Lancaster was defeated at Northampton. The king is in prison, and Parliament proclaims York to be the heir.
At this time, Margarita of Anjou, determined to defend her son’s rights, was gathering her loyal subjects in the north of England. Taken aback by the royal army at Wakefield, York and Salisbury die. The Lancaster army is moving south, devastating everything in its path. Edward, son of the Duke of York, and Earl of Warwick, learning about the tragedy, hurried to London, whose inhabitants gladly met their army. They defeated the Lancaster at Toughton, after which Edward was crowned under the name of Edward IV.
Continuation of the war
Hiding in Scotland and supported by France, Henry VI still has supporters in the north of England, but they are defeated in 1464 and the king again goes to prison in 1465. Everything seems to be over. However, Edward IV is faced with the same as Henry VI.
The Neville family, led by Earl Warwick, who elevated Edward to the throne, is embarking on a fight with the Queen Elizabeth clan. The king’s brother, the Duke of Clarence, envies his power. Warwick and Clarence revolt. They defeat the troops of Edward IV, and he himself is captured. But, flattered by various promises, Warwick releases the captive. The king does not fulfill his promises, and the struggle between them flares up with renewed vigor. In March 1470, Warwick and Clarence took refuge with the king of France. Louis XI, being a thin diplomat, reconciles them with Margarita of Anjou and the house of Lancaster.
He did it so well that in September 1470, Warwick, supported by Louis XI, returned to England as a Lancaster supporter. King Edward IV flees to Holland to his son-in-law Karl the Bold. At the same time, Warwick, nicknamed the "creator of kings", and Clarence restore Henry VI on the throne. However, in March 1471, Edward returned with an army funded by Karl the Bold. Under Barnet, he wins a decisive victory - thanks to Clarence, who betrayed Warwick. Warwick is killed. The southern army of Lancaster defeated at Tewkesbury. In 1471, Henry VI died (and possibly killed), Edward IV returns to London.
The union of two roses
Problems arise again after the death of the king in 1483. Edward's brother, Richard Gloucester, who hates the queen and her supporters, orders the murder of the king’s children in the Tower, in London, and takes possession of the crown under the name of Richard III. This act makes him so unpopular that the Lancaster regains hope. Their distant relative is Henry Tudor, Earl Richmond, the son of the last representative of Lancaster and Edmond Tudor, whose father was the Welsh captain, the bodyguard of Catherine Valois (widow of Henry V), whom he married. This secret marriage explains interference in the discord of the Welsh dynasty.
Richmond, along with supporters of Margarita of Anjou, weaves a web of conspiracy and landed in Wales in August 1485. The decisive battle took place on August 22 at Bosworth. Betrayed by many from his entourage, Richard III was killed. Richard ascends the throne under the name of Henry VII, then marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. Lancaster is related to York, the Scarlet and White Rose war ends, and the king builds his power on the union of two branches. He introduces a system of tight control of the aristocracy. After the accession of the Tudor dynasty, a new page is written in the history of England.

Half-effects:

The war of the Scarlet and White Roses was the latest rampant feudal anarchy before the establishment of absolutism in England. It was waged with terrible bitterness and was accompanied by numerous killings and executions. In the struggle both dynasties were exhausted and perished. The war brought strife to the population of England, oppression of taxes, theft of treasury, the lawlessness of large feudal lords, the decline of trade, direct robberies and requisitions. During the wars, a significant part of the feudal aristocracy was exterminated, numerous confiscations of land holdings undermined its power. At the same time, land holdings increased and the influence of the new nobility and the merchant class increased, which became the pillar of Tudor absolutism.

After the end of the Hundred Years War, thousands of people, disappointed by its defeat, who fought in France, returned to England. The situation in England sharply worsened, any weakening of the royal power threatened an internal turmoil.

Under King Henry VI of the Lancaster dynasty, his wife, Queen Margarita of Anjou, a Frenchwoman, really ruled the country. This caused discontent of the Duke of York, the closest relative of the king.

Lancaster (scarlet rose in their coat of arms) was a side branch of the royal Plantagenet dynasty (1154-1399) and relied on the barons of the north of England, Wales and Ireland.

Yorks (in their coat of arms a white rose) relied on the feudal lords of the economically more developed southeast of England. The middle nobility, merchants and wealthy citizens also supported York.

The outbreak of war between supporters of Lancaster and York was called the war of the Scarlet and White Roses. Despite the romantic name, this war was notable for its rare cruelty. The chivalrous ideals of honor and fidelity were forgotten. Many barons, in pursuit of personal gain, violated the vow of vassal fidelity and easily switched from one warring party to another, depending on where they were promised a more generous reward. In the war, either York or Lancaster won.

Richard, Duke of York, defeated the Lancaster supporters in 1455, and captured Henry VI in captivity in 1460 and forced the Upper House to recognize himself as the protector of the state and heir to the throne.

Queen Margarita fled north and returned from there with an army. Richard was defeated and died in battle. By order of the Queen, his severed head, crowned with a crown of gilded paper, was exposed above the gates of the city of York. The chivalrous custom of sparing the vanquished was violated - the queen ordered the execution of all surrendered supporters of York.

In 1461, Edward, the eldest son of the murdered Richard, defeated the Lancaster supporters with the support of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. Henry VI was deposed; he and Margarita fled to Scotland. The winner was crowned at Westminster as King Edward IV.

The new king also ordered all noble captives to chop heads. The head of the king’s father was removed from the city gates of York, replacing it with the heads of those executed. By a decision of the parliament, the "living and dead" Lancasterians were declared traitors.

However, the war did not end there. In 1464, Edward IV defeated Lancaster supporters in northern England. Henry VI was captured and imprisoned in the Tower.

The desire of Edward IV to strengthen his power and weaken the power of the barons led to the transition of his former supporters, led by Warwick, to the side of Henry VI. Edward was forced to flee from England, and Henry VI in 1470 was restored to the throne.

In 1471, Edward IV who returned with the army defeated the troops of Warwick and Margarita. In the battles, Warwick himself and the young son of Henry VI Edward, Prince of Wales, fell.

Henry VI was again deposed, captured and brought to London, where he died (allegedly killed) in the Tower. Queen Margarita survived, finding refuge outside the country - a few years later she was bought from captivity by the French king.

Edward IV's closest associate was his younger brother, Richard Gloucester. Not tall, with his left hand sedentary from birth, he nonetheless bravely fought in battles and commanded troops. Richard remained faithful to his brother even in the days of defeat.

After the death of Edward IV in 1485, the throne was supposed to be inherited by the eldest of his sons, twelve-year-old Edward V, but Richard removed him from power and first declared himself the protector of the young king, and later declared his nephews illegitimate and himself adopted the crown under the name of Richard III.

Both princes - Edward V and his ten-year-old brother - were imprisoned in the Tower. At first, the boys were still seen playing in the courtyard of the Tower, but when they disappeared, rumors spread that they had been killed by order of the king. Richard III did nothing to refute these rumors.

Richard III tried to pursue a sensible policy, began to rebuild a war-ravaged country. However, his attempts to strengthen his power aroused the discontent of large feudal lords.

Supporters of Lancaster and York united around a distant relative of Lancaster - Heinrich Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who lived in exile in France. In 1485, he landed with an army on the British coast.

Richard III hastily gathered troops and marched toward him. At the decisive moment of the battle of Bosworth in 1485, Richard III was changed by his close associates, and his personal courage could no longer influence anything. When a horse was brought to him to flee, Richard refused to run, claiming that he would die a king. Already surrounded by enemies, he continued to fight. When he was dealt a mortal blow with a battle ax on the head, the crown fell off his helmet, and immediately on the battlefield it was laid on the head of Heinrich Tudor.

Thus ended the war of the Scarlet and White Roses, which lasted three decades (1455-1485). In the battles, most of the old noble nobility died. England began to rule Henry VII, the founder of the new Tudor dynasty (1485-1603). Trying to reconcile Lancaster and York, Henry VII married the daughter of Edward IV Elizabeth and combined both roses in his coat of arms.

Having come to power, Henry VII did everything to discredit his former enemy, presenting him as an evil hunchback who paved the way to the throne over the corpses of his relatives. The accusation of cold-blooded murder of his young nephews fell especially hard on Richard. There is no direct evidence of his guilt, and the death of the offspring of the house of York was much more beneficial for Henry VII himself than for Richard. The mystery of the disappearance and death of young princes to this day remains unsolved.

The history of the Rose War became the source of the historical chronicles of W. Shakespeare “Henry VI” and “Richard III”, as well as the novel by R. L. Stevenson “The Black Arrow”.

Total The victory of the Lancaster and their minions.
The elimination of the Middle Ages in England. Opponents Lancaster and their minions
French mercenaries Yorkies and their minions

Scarlet and White Rose Wars - A series of armed conflicts between factions of the English nobility in -1487 in the struggle for power between supporters of two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty.

Causes of war

The reason for the war was the dissatisfaction of a significant part of English society with the failures in the Hundred Years War and the policies pursued by the wife of King Henry VI, Queen Margarita and her minions (the king himself was a weak-willed man, moreover, sometimes falling into complete unconsciousness). The opposition was led by the Duke Richard of York, who first demanded for himself a regency over an incapacitated king, and later an English crown. The basis for this claim was that Henry VI was the great-grandson of John Gaunt - the third son of King Edward III, and York - the great-grandson of Lionel - the second son of this king (on the female side, on the male line, he was the grandson of Edmund - the fourth son of Edward III), besides, the grandfather of Henry VI Henry IV seized the throne in, forcibly forcing King Richard II to abdicate - which made the legitimacy of the entire Lancaster dynasty dubious.

Origin of Scarlet and White Roses

The common assertion that the Scarlet Rose was the emblem of Lancaster and the White Rose was the emblem of the Yorks is incorrect. As the great-great-grandchildren of Edward III, the heads of both parties had very similar coats of arms. Henry VI wore the generic coat of arms of the Plantagenets (consisting of the arms of England - three leopards on a red field and France - three lilies on a blue field), and the Duke of York - the same coat of arms, only with a title overlay. Roses were not emblems, but distinctive badges (badges) of two warring parties. Who exactly used them for the first time is not exactly known. If the White Rose, symbolizing the Virgin, was used as a distinctive sign by the first Duke of York Edmund Langley in the XIV century, then nothing is known about the use of Scarlet Lancaster before the war. Perhaps it was invented in contrast with the emblem of the enemy. Shakespeare in the chronicle "Henry VI" leads a scene (probably a fictional one) in which the Dukes of York and Sommerset, quarreling in the Temple of London, suggested that their supporters pluck on a white and red rose, respectively.

The main events of the war

The confrontation entered the stage of open war in when the Yorkists celebrated victory in the First Battle of St. Albans, shortly after which the English Parliament declared Richard York the protector of the kingdom and heir to Henry VI. However, in, at the Battle of Wakefield, Richard York died. The White Rose party was led by his son Edward, crowned in London as Edward IV. In the same year, the Yorkists won victories at Mortimer Cross and at Tauton. As a result of the latter, the main forces of the Lancaster were defeated, and King Henry VI and Queen Margarita fled the country (the king was soon captured and imprisoned in the Tower).

Active hostilities resumed in when Count Warwick and Duke Clarence (younger brother of Edward IV) who sided with the Lancasterites returned to the throne of Henry VI. Edward IV and his other brother, the Duke of Gloucester, fled to Burgundy, from where they returned to. The Duke Clarence again went over to his brother's side - and the Yorkists won at Barnet and Tewkesberry. In the first of these battles, Count Warwick was killed, in the second, Prince Edward, the only son of Henry VI, was killed, which, together with the death (probably the murder) of Henry himself that followed in the Tower, was the end of the Lancaster dynasty.

Edward IV - the first king of the York dynasty - reigned peacefully until his death, which followed unexpectedly for everyone in 1483, when his son Edward V became king for a short time. However, the royal council declared him illegitimate (the late king was a great female hunter and, in addition to his official wife, was secretly engaged to another - or several - women; in addition, Thomas More and Shakespeare mention rumors in the community that Edward himself was not the son of the Duke of York, but a simple archer), and Edward IV's brother Richard Gloucester was crowned that same year as Richard III. His short and dramatic rule was filled with a struggle with overt and covert opposition. In this fight, the king was at first fortunate, but the number of opponents only increased. The forces of the Lancastrians (mainly French mercenaries) led by Heinrich Tudor (the great-grandson of John Gaunt on the female side) landed in Wales. In the battle at Bosworth, Richard III was killed and the crown passed to Henry Tudor, crowned as Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor dynasty. The Earl of Lincoln (nephew of Richard III) tried to return the crown to York, but was killed in the battle of Stoke Field. With swearing, Hugo de Lanois was also executed.

War results

The war of the Scarlet and White Roses actually drew a line under the English Middle Ages. On the battlefields, scaffolds and in prison casemates, not only all the direct descendants of the Plantagenets were killed, but also a significant part of the English lords and chivalry.

Notes

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See what the "Scarlet and White Rose War" is in other dictionaries:

This term has other meanings, see Civil War in England. Scarlet and White Rose War Submission of an unreliable sc ... Wikipedia

Scarlet and White Rose War - War a scarlet and a white rose ... Russian spelling dictionary

Scarlet and White Rose War - (in England, 1455-1485) ... Spelling dictionary of Russian language

The Scarlet and White Rose War Date 1455 1485 Place England Summary Victory of Lancaster and their minions. Elimination of the Middle Ages in England ... Wikipedia

A long (1455–85) feudal war of feudal cliques, which took the form of a struggle for the English throne between the two lines of the royal Plantagenet dynasty (See Plantagenets): Lancaster (See Lancaster) (in the coat of arms scarlet rose) and York ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Scarlet and White roses war - (1455 1485) struggle for the English. the throne between the two lateral lines of the queens, the Plantagenet dynasty by Lancaster (in the coat of arms of the scarlet rose) and York (in the coat of arms of the white rose). The confrontation of Lancaster (the ruling dynasty) and York (the richest ... ... The medieval world in terms, names and titles

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The wars of roses

WAR OF RED AND WHITE ROSES.

Causes:

The course of the war:

The rivalry of the two dynasties in England resulted in a civil war, which began in 1455. Since the last months of the Hundred Years War, two branches of the Plantagenet clan - York and Lancaster - have fought for the throne of England. The war of two roses (in the coat of arms of York was a white rose, and Lancaster's scarlet) put an end to the rule of the Plantagenets.
1450 year
England was going through difficult times. King Henry VI of Lancaster was not able to calm disagreements and feuds between large aristocratic clans. Henry VI grew limp and painful. Under him and his wife Margarita of Anjou, unlimited power was vested in the Dukes of Somerset and Suffolk.
In the spring of 1450, the loss of Normandy was a signal of collapse. Internal wars are multiplying. The state is crumbling. The condemnation, and then the murder of Suffolk does not lead to peace. Jack Cad raises a rebellion in Kent and moves to London. The royal forces defeat Qad, but anarchy continues.
Gradually, King Richard's brother, the Duke of York, at that time in exile in Ireland, was consolidating his position. Returning in September 1450, he is trying, with the help of parliament, to reform the government and eliminate Somerset. In response, Henry VI dissolved parliament. In 1453, the king, as a result of a strong fright, lost his mind. Taking advantage of this, Richard York achieved the most important position - the protector of the state. But the mind returned to Henry VI, and the duke's position shook. Not wanting to part with power, Richard York gathers armed detachments of his adherents.
Lancaster vs York
York concludes an alliance with the Earls of Salisbury and Warwick, who have a strong army in service, which in May 1455 defeats the royal troops in the town of St. Albans. But the king again takes the initiative into his own hands for a while. He confiscates the property of York and its supporters.
York leaves the army and flees to Ireland. In October 1459, his son Edward occupied Calais, from where the Lancaster unsuccessfully tried to knock them out. There he gathers a new army. In July 1460, Lancaster was defeated at Northampton. The king is in prison, and Parliament proclaims York to be the heir.
At this time, Margarita of Anjou, determined to defend her son’s rights, was gathering her loyal subjects in the north of England. Taken aback by the royal army at Wakefield, York and Salisbury die. The Lancaster army is moving south, devastating everything in its path. Edward, son of the Duke of York, and Earl of Warwick, learning about the tragedy, hurried to London, whose inhabitants gladly met their army. They defeated the Lancaster at Toughton, after which Edward was crowned under the name of Edward IV.
Continuation of the war
Hiding in Scotland and supported by France, Henry VI still has supporters in the north of England, but they are defeated in 1464 and the king again goes to prison in 1465. Everything seems to be over. However, Edward IV is faced with the same as Henry VI.
The Neville family, led by Earl Warwick, who elevated Edward to the throne, is embarking on a fight with the Queen Elizabeth clan. The king’s brother, the Duke of Clarence, envies his power. Warwick and Clarence revolt. They defeat the troops of Edward IV, and he himself is captured. But, flattered by various promises, Warwick releases the captive. The king does not fulfill his promises, and the struggle between them flares up with renewed vigor. In March 1470, Warwick and Clarence took refuge with the king of France. Louis XI, being a thin diplomat, reconciles them with Margarita of Anjou and the house of Lancaster.
He did it so well that in September 1470, Warwick, supported by Louis XI, returned to England as a Lancaster supporter. King Edward IV flees to Holland to his son-in-law Karl the Bold. At the same time, Warwick, nicknamed the "creator of kings", and Clarence restore Henry VI on the throne. However, in March 1471, Edward returned with an army funded by Karl the Bold. Under Barnet, he wins a decisive victory - thanks to Clarence, who betrayed Warwick. Warwick is killed. The southern army of Lancaster defeated at Tewkesbury. In 1471, Henry VI died (and possibly killed), Edward IV returns to London.
The union of two roses
Problems arise again after the death of the king in 1483. Edward's brother, Richard Gloucester, who hates the queen and her supporters, orders the murder of the king’s children in the Tower, in London, and takes possession of the crown under the name of Richard III. This act makes him so unpopular that the Lancaster regains hope. Their distant relative is Heinrich Tudor, Earl Richmond, the son of the last representative of Lancaster and Edmond Tudor, whose father was the Welsh captain, the bodyguard of Catherine Valois (widow of Henry V), whom he married. This secret marriage explains interference in the discord of the Welsh dynasty.
Richmond, along with supporters of Margarita of Anjou, weaves a web of conspiracy and landed in Wales in August 1485. The decisive battle took place on August 22 at Bosworth. Betrayed by many from his entourage, Richard III was killed. Richard ascends the throne under the name of Henry VII, then marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. Lancaster is related to York, the Scarlet and White Rose war ends, and the king builds his power on the union of two branches. He introduces a system of tight control of the aristocracy. After the accession of the Tudor dynasty, a new page is written in the history of England.

Effects:

Dynastic feuds

The exact date of the beginning of the War of the Roses cannot be determined: disputes have been going on for 5 centuries. The immediate cause of the conflict was the dynastic crisis - a consequence of the superfertility of King Edward III (1327−1377 gg.). The struggle for the throne between the heirs of his two sons - John Gaunt and Edmund York - resulted in almost a half-century armed struggle of the two most powerful and wealthy feudal houses of England. But by the end of the 15th century, they almost completely exterminated each other: the Lancaster male line was cut short as far back as 1471 after the death of Prince Edward, son of Henry VI and Margarita of Anjou, and the last York, Richard III, was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

Elizabeth York and Henry VII Tudor

The result of the long feuds of the court groups was the accession of a new Tudor dynasty, the founder of which was Henry VII. He was a distant relative of the Lancaster, and to legalize his rights to the throne, he took as his wife the last surviving representative of York - the daughter of Edward IV Elizabeth.

The coat of arms of two roses appeared at the wedding of Henry VII and Elizabeth York

It was at the royal wedding that the famous emblem of two connected roses first appeared - Scarlet and White. Prior to this, no one even thought about the famous metaphor, which later will find its place on the pages of the works of Shakespeare and Walter Scott.

"Wars of the nobles"

The influence of the Rose Wars on the history of England is huge: this series of conflicts led to the reign of a new dynasty and the establishment of absolutism. Still, calling it a full-blown civil war would be wrong. For this era, the term “non-peace” is more suitable (archaism, meaning non-peaceful or wartime. - Explanatory Dictionary of V. I. Dahl).

War of the Roses - a classic example of a fictional war

The struggle of the court parties for the English crown could not but affect life in the province. Small nobles were forced to enter the war, so as not to lose the location of the patron lord. The gentry themselves (the so-called "new nobility" of England of that era) did not have any preferences in the ruling dynasties. Peaceful conditions and stability were far more important for them than the observance of the succession order of succession. During the political struggle, local unrest also occurred in the local center, but it rarely happened before the murders of the nobles, usually the warring parties were limited to cattle dropping, intimidation and, in extreme cases, killing servants.

The number of fallen nobles in the battles of the court parties themselves is relatively small. The fact that the gentry did not fight for their beliefs, but for the protection of the lord protector, proves that there was no and could not be any bloody civil war in the minds of contemporaries. For people far from the court, this was a series of protracted conflicts in higher circles.

There were only a few times when the Third Estate appeared in wars, the most famous being the uprising of Jack Ked in 1450. However, many contemporaries call this movement “predatory”: the rebels did not pursue any noble goals except robbery.

Three centuries of mythologization

The creation of the myth of the war of the Scarlet and White Roses began during the uprising of Richard York in 1452. The duke actively used the achievements of the propaganda of that era. In his calls for rebellion, he began to emphasize the illegality of the acquisition of power by Henry VI - after all, the king’s grandfather received the throne by overthrowing his uncle, Richard II, back in 1399.

Richard III Plantagenet

This version of the myth quickly gained popularity among English aristocrats who were dissatisfied with the reign of Henry and the omnipotence of the Lancaster party, led by Queen Margarita, whom the opponents nicknamed the “Queen of Thorns”

Richard III and Henry VII. Engraving by William Feitorn, 1640. Richard III is shown an old man with a symbolically broken scepter

The second version of the myth was created already at the end of the dynastic war, immediately after the marriage of Henry VII Tudor to the heiress of York. It was at this time that the image of Richard III began to be demonized: he became a bloodthirsty tyrant, a child and fratricide. The remaining participants in the conflict loomed in neutral tones. In this myth, the emphasis was not on criticizing the Lancaster, whose distant ancestor was Henry, but on tough accusations against the previous ruler.

The spread of this version among the people was promoted by the inconsistency that shrouded Richard's accession to the throne: after the death of Edward IV, his elder brother, he became regent with the young children of the king - Princes Edward and Richard. However, six months later, Richard Gloucester declared the boys bastards, and himself - the rightful heir. Having received the consent of parliament, he was crowned in July 1483. The fate of the sons of Edward remained unknown: according to one version, the “princes from the Tower” were killed by their own uncle, according to another, they managed to escape to France. The first version turned out to be much more attractive to the Tudor propaganda machine.

Richard III suffered from scoliosis but was not hunchbacked

Soon after the strengthening of his power, Henry VII began to forget that he owed his wife a half crown. The third revision of history began, in which it was customary to criticize Yorkes and glorify the Lancaster, as well as present the era not as a series of conflicts of the court parties, but as a continuous war, the deliverer of which was the young Tudor.

The fourth stage of the transformation of myth was under Henry VIII. The blood of two dynasties flowed in him, so there was no need to criticize one of them. The ancestors of the king, both Lancaster and York (except Richard III), now became victims of circumstances. All blame for the outbreak of the civil war was assigned to the foreigner Margarita of Anjou. And the image of the last of the York dynasty, in the work of the famous humanist Thomas More, “The History of Richard III,” acquired new features: the author ascribes to the unfortunate king the famous hump and dried left hand.

Margarita of Anjou, Queen of England

In the reign of Elizabeth, the myth was redesigned for the fifth time. The goal of Tudor propaganda was to establish the idyll of the Elizabethan era against the backdrop of the terrible and dark times of feudal strife. Here the famous "Historical Chronicles" of Shakespeare appear. Peru of the great playwright belongs to the famous scene where in the garden of the Tower, Lancaster and Yorkie pin themselves red and white roses as a sign of an irreconcilable struggle to the bitter end. It was Shakespeare who created the image of the dark and bloodthirsty era of continuous fratricidal wars, attracting with its tragedy and heroism.

The term "War of the Scarlet and White Roses" was proposed by Walter Scott

The stereotypes created by Shakespeare for two centuries cemented the image of a large-scale bloody war in the minds of the British. Finally, in the 18th century, Walter Scott proposed the term “The War of the Scarlet and White Roses”, which seemed so successful to contemporaries that it is still used in science.

The debunking of the Tudor myth began only in the 20th century. The process of general rehabilitation of the heroes of history has begun. It went to extremes: numerous societies of Richard III were created, whose members are convinced that England did not have a king better. The events of the Wars of the Roses are studied today, but many questions remain unanswered.