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A Sentinel book

The Wars
of the Roses
For thirty years and more, at the end of
the Middle Ages, England was torn by
civil strife. Lancastrian kings sat on the
English throne, but they were bitterly
challenged by the House of York. And
the crown of England passed back and
forth between these two great families,
following the fickle fortunes of war.

The author tells the exciting story of this

titanic struggle. He reconstructs the
major battles, ending with the Battle of
Bosworth, when Henry Tudor wrested
the crown from Richard III, slain on the
battlefield, and brought peace to the
realm.

The book paints a vivid picture of

fifteenth century England, the sights and
smells of London, the apprentices, the
knights in armour. It tells how great
changes were taking place in English
society—the rise of the towns and
merchants, the decline of serfdom, the
growing power of Parliament, the birth
of printing—changes which marked the
start of a new age, and of a new England.

only)

£3.50
W ay 1 and/Priory
 Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2018 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation

https://archive.org/details/warsofroses0000alle
The Wars of the Roses

For thirty years and more, at the end of the Middle

Ages, England was torn by civil strife. Lancastrian
kings sat on the English throne, but they were bitterly
challenged by the House of York. And the crown of
England passed back and forth between these two
great families, following the fickle fortunes of war.
The author tells the exciting story of this titanic
struggle. He reconstructs the major battles, ending
with the Battle of Bosworth, when Henry Tudor
wrested the crown from Richard III, slain on the
battlefield, and brought peace to the realm.
The book paints a vivid picture of fifteenth century
England, the sights and smells of London, the
apprentices, the knights in armour. It tells how
great changes were taking place in English society -
the rise of the towns and merchants, the decline of
serfdom, the growing power of Parliament, the birth
of printing — changes which marked the start of a
new age, and of a new England.
A WAYLAND SENTINEL BOOK

The Wars
of the Roses
Kenneth Allen

“We will unite the White Rose and the Red.

Smile heaven upon this fair conjunction,
That long have frowned upon their enmity.”
William Shakespeare, King Richard the Third.

WAYLAND PUBLISHERS
Sentinel Books

The Battle of the Atlantic Kenneth Allen

The Story of Gunpowder Kenneth Allen
The Wars of the Roses Kenneth Allen
Cavaliers and Roundheads Michael Gibson
Genghis Khan and the Mongols Michael Gibson
The Samurai of Japan Michael Gibson
China: From Opium Wars to Revolution
Michael Gibson
D-Day Tudor Edwards
Nelson’s Navy Roger Hart
The Battle of Britain Anthony Hobbs
The Story of the Navy Anthony Hobbs
The Crusades Matthew Holden
Napoleon in Russia Matthew Holden
The Desert Rats Matthew Holden
The Legions of Rome Matthew Holden
War in the Trenches Matthew Holden
A Medieval Siege Steven Jeffreys
Tourney and Joust Steven Jeffreys
Spies and Spying David Sweetman

Frontispiece: The Earl of Shrewsbury presents a book to

King Henry VI and his Queen, Margaret of Anjou.

SBN 85340 21 g 1
Copyright © 1973 by Wayland Publishers Limited
49 Lansdowne Place, Hove, East Sussex BN3 iHF
First published in 1973 by Wayland Publishers Limited
Second impression 1978
Set in ‘Monophoto’ Baskerville and printed offset litho in Great Britain
by Page Bros (Norwich) Ltd, Norwich

J
§8i§
9P 30
Contents

List of Illustrations 6
I. Lancaster and York 8
2. The fall of the House of
Lancaster 22
3- Warwick the Kingmaker 38
4- A short-lived peace 66
5- The roses are united 80
Tables of Dates 90
Glossary 92
Further Reading 94
Index 95
Picture Credits 96
List of Illustrations

Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou frontispiece

Henry Bolingbroke takes the crown 8-9
The Houses of York and Lancaster 8-9
Richard Duke of York IO

Map of St. Albans IO-I I

Map of Blore Heath 12-13

Medieval battle scene 13
Suit of armour M-15
Knight and archer l5
Henry VI taken prisoner 16-17
Lambeth Palace 16-17
Diagram of a cannon :9
Making gunpowder 19
Investiture of the Black Prince 21
Margaret of Anjou 22
Harlech Castle 23
Foot soldiers in battle 24
Sandal Castle 25
Mortimer’s Cross 26
St. Albans and vicinity 28
London in the fifteenth century 28-29
Battle of Towton 30-31
Margaret at Tynemouth 32
Map of Northumbria 33
A medieval castle 34
Ludlow Castle 34-35
Margaret and the Hexham robber 37
Warwick’s heraldic device 38
Edward IV at a banquet 38-39
Knights on horseback 40
Diagram of a shield 42
Badges of noble families 42-43
Edward IV 44

6
Prisoner in the Tower 45
The Tower of London 46-47
Medieval ship 48
Fifteenth-century ship 50
Welcoming a ship’s captain 5i
Warwick and Henry VI 53
Landing at Ravenspur 55
Londoner at home 56
Fifteenth-century market 56-57
Battle of Barnet 58
Death of the Earl of Warwick 59
Before the Battle of Tewkesbury 60
Army camping by a river 61
Death of Prince Edward 62-63
Battle of Tewkesbury 63
Ploughing the fields 64
Dancing on a feast-day 64-65
A covered market 66
Merchant ships in port 67
The brothers of King Edward 69
Edward IV and William Caxton 7i
Fifteenth-century transport 72-73
Elizabeth Woodville and her son 74
Murder of the princes 75
A royal banquet 76-77
The princes in the Tower 79
Ship delayed by storms 80
Henry VII 81
Outside a town 83
Death of Richard III 84-85
Battle of Bosworth 85
Marriage of Henry VII 86
The fall of Constantinople 88-89
Routes to the New World 89
Cortez landing in Mexico 89
The main areas of conflict 90-91

7
1. Lancaster and York

One lovely May afternoon, two great nobles and

their retainers were strolling in the Temple Gardens,
near the Thames, in London. One noble was Richard
Duke of York, the other John Beaufort, Earl of
Somerset, a supporter of the House of Lancaster.
After a while they began to argue and Somerset,
plucking a red rose from a nearby bush said, “Let
all of my party wear this flower!” At this, York
picked a white rose as a sign that his supporters would
adopt that colour rose as their emblem.
A charming legend, but one that is quite untrue.
Although the White Rose was one of the badges of
Yorkist Edward IV, the Red Rose of Lancaster was
not seen until the last battle between the houses of
York and Lancaster.
The struggle known as the Wars of the Roses arose
from something that had happened much earlier, in
1399. In that year, Richard II was forced to give up GENEALOGY Th
Above Richard II gives up the
his crown to Henry Bolingbroke. Richard was the
crown and mace, the symbols
son of the “Black Prince,” Edward Ill’s eldest son, of sovereignty, to Henry
and so heir to the throne. Bolingbroke was only the Bolingbroke. Notice the ermine
son of John of Gaunt, Edward Ill’s fourth son, who cape that the new king is EDWARD
(BLACK PRINCE)

founded the House of Lancaster. wearing. I

RICHARD II
(murdered)

Bolingbroke became Henry IV, and was peace¬

fully succeeded by his son, Henry V, the famous
victor of Agincourt. But Henry V died suddenly,
leaving the throne to his nine-month old son, who
became Henry VI. Henry VI grew up into a mild
Right Genealogical table
man hating bloodshed and war, and quite incapable showing how the descendants
of controlling the rowdy nobles who surrounded him. of Edward III split up into the
He also suffered from fits of madness. During these Houses of Lancaster and York.

8
=S OF LANCASTER • AND YORKo

fits, his young but determined Queen, Margaret of

EDWARD Ml Anjou, ruled England.
I
3rd 4th 5th 6th
Henry’s most powerful subject was Richard Duke
cy)
LIONEL
DUKE OF CLARENCE
• JOHN OF GAUNT
DUKE OF LANCASTER
O EDMUND
DUKEOFYORK
THOMAS
DUKE OF
of York, who, through his mother, was descended
I GLOUCESTER

(Gt.-Granddaughter) from the Duke of Clarence, Edward Ill’s third son.

ANNE «- MARRIED —* RICHARDo
(executed 1415)

• HENRY IV
Because of this, Richard of York believed he had a
o RICHARD

)R «-* KATH. OF FRANCE «-► HENRY V •

(killed at Battle of Wakefield) better right to the throne than Henry VI - the King
MARRIED I
1. HENRY V
2. OWEN TUDOR • HENRY VI
(murdered)
was only descended from Edward Ill’s fourth son.
I Nevertheless he was prepared to remain loyal to his
•EDWARD
(killed at Battle
of Tewkesbury)
King, and would have done so, had not Queen
o EDWARD IV o RICHARD III
(killed at Battle
of Bosworth)
Margaret deliberately set the Lancastrians, the party
MARRIED -► ELIZABETH o
she favoured, above his supporters, the Yorkists, at
' EDWARD V o RICHARD
OF YORK (murdered) DUKEOFYORK

(TUDORS) *o
(murdered) every opportunity.

9
 Left Richard of York, whose
army clashed with Lancastrian
forces in the streets of St.
Albans (May, 1455). This
portrait can be seen in
Penrith Church, Cumberland.

The Yorkists triumphant

It was an hour after dawn on a beautiful May morn¬

ing in 1455. Two armies faced each other, and
messengers hurried to and fro between them. In one,
King Henry VI, glittering in heavy plate armour,
sat miserably on his warhorse in St. Peter’s Street,
St. Albans. He didn’t enjoy fighting. Outside the
city, drawn up in three divisions, was the Yorkist

10
army. Its commander, Richard of York, had told
King Henry that if he delivered up the Duke of
Somerset, he would withdraw from the held. But
the usually meek Henry, goaded by his nobles, had
replied : “I will live and die this day in the quarrel.”
At last, tired of argument, York dropped his visor and
a shrill trumpet sounded for battle.
York led one of the divisions, Salisbury another.
The reserves were led by young Richard Earl of
Warwick, Salisbury’s son. York and Salisbury led
their men forward, but were soon pinned down in
the narrow streets. When Royalist reinforcements
arrived, they had to give ground.
At this critical moment, young Warwick, tired of
being a spectator, threw the reserves into the fight.
They raced for the barricades guarding the town,
with archers covering them as they ran. Then they
were through, trampling across gardens to attack
the Royalist position in the rear. Their opponents
were staggered by this unexpected attack. As York
and Salisbury pushed forward again, the fighting
was virtually over. Warwick had told his archers to
aim at those about the King, and the hissing shafts
emptied many noble saddles.
Henry VI remained meekly by the Standard until
an arrow struck him in the neck. As his attendants
led him away, he muttered: “Forsooth, ye do foully
to smite a King anointed so.”
Little more than a hundred bodies lay sprawled in
St. Albans’s streets. Yet many great lords were
among them, including York’s enemy, Somerset.
Somerset had been fighting desperately with a hand¬
ful of men when he found himself beneath an inn
sign depicting a castle. He had been warned by a
fortune-teller to beware of castles. Faltering in
sudden dismay, he was beaten down and killed.
Yorkist setback
Four years after the Battle of St. Albans, England Below The movements of
Lancastrian and Yorkist forces
was again on the brink of war. Queen Margaret and
before the Battle of Blore
her party, with the help of King Henry, had slowly
Heath.
regained control of England. Once again, York and
Salisbury began to muster their private armies.
When she heard that Salisbury was planning to
join forces with York at Ludlow, Queen Margaret
sent an army under Lords Audley and Dudley to
stop them. But Salisbury was far more experienced
in battle than his opponents, and chose a strong
position at Blore Heath, near Market Drayton. He
placed his forces on a small hill, above a brook,
which the Lancastrians would have to cross before
attacking.
Since their army was much bigger, the Lancas¬
trians became over-confident. Those in the van (front)
walked their horses across the brook and then,
without waiting for the others, began to struggle up
the slope. Before they were halfway, however,
Salisbury gave the order to charge.
For a while there was great confusion. The air was
loud with the clang of sword on armour, and the
shouts and groans of the wounded and dying. Then
the Lancastrians broke and fled, hotly pursued by
the Yorkists. Audley was killed, Dudley was taken
prisoner, while more than 2,000 of their army were
slain. Salisbury then called in his scattered troops and
marched on to link up with York. Warwick arrived
soon afterwards. His force of professionals, toughened
by their fighting in France, was led by two veterans,
Sir Andrew Trollope and Sir John Blount.
King Henry’s main army was advancing from
Worcester. Once again, anxious to avoid bloodshed,
he sent a herald to offer a pardon to all who would
join his Standard within six days. That night,
Trollope, who had served under the King’s famous

12
Below right Battles during the father Henry V, secretly left the camp and deserted
Wars of the Roses were very
to the King with his men. This was disastrous for
confused, and it was often
York. He had lost the best part of his army. And
difficult to distinguish friend
from foe.
Trollope knew both his plans and his strength.
Realizing the position was hopeless, York fled into
Wales and thence to Ireland. Warwick went into
hiding until a loyal servant managed to find a boat
to take him back to Calais. With its three leaders
dispersed, it seemed as if the Yorkist cause was
utterly lost.

i3
Arrayed for battle
By the time of the Wars of the Roses, armour had Below A diagram of the kind of
reached its peak. This was the third period of armour armour worn by the lords who
fought in the Wars of the
design and was certainly the best. These three
Roses.
periods were roughly the period of mail (about 1000
to 1300), the changeover from mail to plate (about
1300 to 1400), and the period of plate (1400 to 1600).
The great lords who fought in the Wars of the Roses
were totally enclosed in plate armour. They alone
BEAVER
were rich enough to afford such magnificent protec¬
tion.
The finest plate armour was made in Italy (in
Milan or Pisa), and in Germany (Nuremberg, PAULDROINK
(ARMOUR FORMED
OF SEVERAL PLATES
Innsbruck and Augsburg). Most of it was made by TO PROTECT
SHOULDER)
families working in “factories.” Their customer
would order a suit of armour just as a well-to-do man
today orders a suit from his tailor. The wearer and COUDIERES-
(TO PROTECT
the armourer would try to meet so that detailed ELBOWS)

measurements could be taken. There was no such

thing as ready-to-wear armour!
We might think that the knight of this time, armed FALD
(OVERLAPPING PLATES
from head to toe (cap-a-pie as it was called), was a TO PROTECT
THE STOMACH)
slow-moving, ponderous mass of metal. But this was
TASSETS—
not so. Indeed, a complete harness, as a suit of (OVERLAPPING PLATES
OFARMOURTO
armour was called, often weighed less than the PROTECT THE
THIGHS)
marching kit of a soldier in World War One.
When a knight had his visor down, it was hard to
tell who he was. And so he would wear his own
personal heraldic device so that his friends could
recognize him in the heat of battle. From the middle
of the fifteenth century, these devices were displayed
on a tabard, a loose-fitting garment with short
sleeves, which the knight wore over his armour. SABBATONx
OR SOLLERET
(TO PROTECT
A knight’s heavy warhorse also wore plate THE FOOT)
armour, and displayed the same heraldic devices,
carrying them on a trapping or covering known as
the caparison.
Right A knight sets out with an
archer who has only chain
mail to protect him.
 Right Henry VI is taken
prisoner by the Earls of
Warwick and March after the
Battle of Northampton (July
1460).

Below right Lambeth Palace,

where Henry VI was kept
under close guard by the
Yorkists.

P.iUtiuiu Vrcluepifropi Catilmt'imlS.t pnv]

Edward wins his spurs

The great Yorkist lords had been driven from Eng¬
land. But Queen Margaret had gained little from
the bloodless victory. Her enemies were beyond
reach, and could invade England at any time. For
York and his friends were determined to return.
The date they chose was 26th June, 1460. On that
day York’s son, the 18-year old Edward Earl of
March, together with Salisbury and Warwick,
crossed the Channel and landed at Sandwich. Their
army moved on London and, by the time it entered

16
 the capital, its numbers had swollen to 30,000. The
crush on London Bridge was so great that thirteen
men-at-arms, stumbling over holes in the roadway,
were trampled to death.
Salisbury was left to rule the city while Edward
and Warwick set out to join battle with King Henry.
The two armies met on Thursday, 10th July. King
Henry and his forces were entrenched in a meadow
outside Northampton. While Lord Grey marshalled
the Lancastrian forces in the van, the King’s heavy
artillery was heaved into position. At noon the sky
darkened and it began to pour with rain. By two
o’clock, when the battle began, the downpour had
drenched the gunpowder, amd the royal guns were
quite useless.
The main Yorkist division was led by young Ed¬
ward. As his men struggled through the thick mud
to the enemy’s barricade, Edward was surprised to
see the forward Lancastrian commander, Grey,
making welcoming signs to him. Soon afterwards,
March’s men joined up with Grey’s, and together
they smashed into the Lancastrian flank. The battle
was over within half an hour.
Once again Henry was a prisoner in Yorkist hands.
Once again he had to accept their vows of loyalty.
He was taken to London and lodged in the Bishop’s
Palace, “For which victory London gave Almighty
God great praise and thanks.”
But Londoners were still not ready to accept a
Yorkist king in place of their “anointed” ruler.
Richard of York arrived in London, flushed with
victory. With an escort of 500 armed men, he
marched into Westminster Palace where Parliament
was sitting. He laid his hand upon the empty throne
as if to take his seat. But no one cheered him, and
sheepishly he hurried away.

*7
B
The blast of war
The ancient Chinese and Hindus had some form of Right Cannon were beginning
explosive. But it was an English friar, Roger Bacon to be improved at the time of
the Wars of the Roses.
(1214-92) who first invented gunpowder. Once
Although they were not yet
they had an explosive, men soon thought of using it
very accurate, they could still
to fire stones and other missiles through a tube.
cause a great deal of damage.
Long before the Wars of the Roses, cannon had
become an integral part of an army’s striking force.
Even so, it was still the bow and arrow, the sword
and lance, which decided the final outcome. In those
days cannon were very inaccurate. The side-pieces
called trunnions had not yet been invented, and the
weapon could not be raised or lowered to give proper
aim.
Cannons were usually made of strips of wood, held
together by iron hoops or rings, like the staves in a
barrel. One such cannon, built for Henry VI in 1440,
was made of fourteen long bars. After a cannon-ball
had been placed in the rear end of the gun, powder
was rammed in after it. A plug was pressed in the
opening, and the cannon was then fired by holding a
lighted torch at the touch-hole.
Some of these guns were huge. The “Mons Meg,”
which can still be seen at Edinburgh Castle, has a
bore of 20 inches and fired a stone weighing 330 lb.
It dates from the time of James II of Scotland
(1430-60). James was fascinated by artillery. During
the siege of Roxburgh Castle in 1460, he was
inspecting one of his bombards when “his thigh-bone
was broken in two by a piece of a mis-framed gun
that broke in the shooting, by which he was struck
to the ground and died quickly.”
The hand-cannon or “gonne” was invented in
Henry Vi’s reign. It was small enough to be carried
by one man. For the first time, a semi-skilled soldier Right Two men working to
could strike down a heavily armoured knight, or make gunpowder from
even a king. saltpetre.

18
WROUGHT-IRON BREECHBLOCK CANNON
The twilight of chivalry
The age of chivalry stretched from the eleventh to
the fifteenth century. In chivalry, knights promised
to honour God and the king, protect women and
children, and help the poor and oppressed.
A man could become a knight in two ways. One
was a simple ceremony - dubbing — generally used
on the field of battle to reward brave conduct. The
man would kneel down before his lord, who would
touch him on the shoulder with a sword. This method
is still used by the Queen today, though not on a
battlefield! The other way was more involved. At
the age of seven or so, a boy would be sent to the
castle of a nobleman to train as a page. He looked
after the lords and ladies, waited at table, and carved
the meat in the Great Hall. He learned writing,
languages, heraldry, music, and above all good
manners.
At fourteen he became a squire. He was attached
to a knight and helped him at all times. He rode
into battle holding his knight’s banner, but did not
fight unless his master needed help. It was thought
a disgrace to kill a squire in battle. His training made
him strong, and skilled with sword, lance and horse.
At twenty-one, he was invested as a knight. He
spent the night before the investiture in prayer,
kneeling on the cold stone floor of the castle chapel.
This was called the Vigil. At dawn he had a bath to
wash away all evil from his past. He was then dressed
in rich clothes and went to the Great Hall, where his
relatives and friends had come to watch the ceremony.
Other knights helped him put on his harness,
sword, and golden spurs. Then his noble master
stepped forward and gave him a friendly blow on the
head, called the “buffet.” He then touched the
young man’s shoulders with a sword saying, “I dub
thee knight. Be brave and loyal.” In the courtyard,

20

It was a solemn occasion for a
young man when he was raised
to knighthood. Here the Black
Prince is invested with the
Order of the Garter by his
father, King Edward III.
clothed in his heavy harness, the new knight then
had to take the “leap” - jumping into the saddle of
his warhorse without touching reins or stirrups.
Then he put his horse through various “caracoles”
before dismounting for the great feast of celebration.
The high ideals of chivalry slowly died out. Gun¬
powder was one cause; the slaughter of many great
lords in the Wars of the Roses was another. By about
1500, the old ideal of knightly chivalry seemed out
of place in a new and more practical world.
2. The fall of the
House of Lancaster
Henry Vi’s Queen, Margaret of Anjou, is one of the
most amazing women in history. She was known as
the “She-Wolf of France” because of her ferocity in
victory and her cunning in defeat.
She was bom on 25th March, 1430, daughter of
Rene of Anjou, the King in name only of Naples and
Jerusalem, neither of which he ever ruled. Margaret’s
marriage to Henry had been arranged by the Duke
of Suffolk. When she came to England at the age of
sixteen, the Duke and his wife were her only friends.
He was a Lancastrian and she naturally supported
him.
Suffolk was murdered in 1450. Margaret then
sided with the Duke of Somerset against Richard
Duke of York. She did not believe York when he
kept saying that he had no quarrel with King Henry,
only with his “evil advisers.” The birth of her son
Edward in 1453 made Margaret more powerful.
Then King Henry began to have fits of madness,
and she took over the reins of government.
After the Battle of Northampton (1460), King
Henry promised that the Dukes of York should
succeed him. Margaret was very angry - this meant Above Margaret of Anjou, wife
of King Henry VI. She was a
that her son Edward would not gain his rightful
dominant figure during the
throne. It was then that she earned her name of the
Wars of the Roses, and was
“Royal Tigress” - determined to fight for her cub known as the “Royal Tigress”
whatever the cost. because of her fierce defence of
For a time Margaret took refuge in Harlech Castle her son’s interests.
until she was summoned to appear before York -
now the Lord Protector — at Westminster. Mad with
rage, she took her young son to Scotland to enlist
the help of James II. Before she reached Scotland,

22
Above Harlech Castle in North
Wales, where Margaret took
refuge for a short time after
the Battle of Northampton
(1460).
James was killed by the bursting of a cannon.
Margaret made friends instead with James’s widow
and with her help began to raise an army, promising
all the soldiers plenty of plunder south of the River
Trent. When Margaret crossed south into England,
she was joined by several northern lords who cared
nothing for York nor Lancaster, only for the booty
they could take back to their strongholds. In
November, 1460, this new Lancastrian army of
18,000 men moved south.
23
Right Footsoldiers attack each
other with lances, axes and
swords. Notice their unusual
helmets.

A paper crown
Disturbing news reached Richard of York. Queen
Margaret and her northern levies were plundering
his estates. He at once gathered his retainers and,
with his son Edmund and the Earl of Salisbury,
stormed out of London to face her.
Warwick stayed behind to keep order in London,
while York’s son Edward went to raise troops in
Wales. By mid-December, 1460, York had reached
his castle, Sandal, near Wakefield. Learning that the
Lancastrian forces were greater than his own, he
decided to wait in the castle until his son arrived
with his forces from Wales.
But Margaret’s scouts had also discovered York’s
weakness. Seeing that York would not come out,
Margaret sent him a jeering message implying that
he was frightened to face an army led by a woman.
York was angry that his honour had been slighted

24
 Left Sandal Castle, the home of
Richard of York. The castle
was originally built for the
Earl of Warren during the
reign of Edward II (1307—
I327)-

by this “scolding woman.” His force of 5,000 men

clattered out over the castle’s drawbridge. Margaret’s
main force was drawn up to block the roadway.
Strong forces also lay in ambush on either side of the
road, ready to trap the Yorkists once the two main
forces met.
York led his army “like a fish in a net, or a deer
in a buckstall.” His men fought desperately, being
attacked on three sides, but they were finished when
a company of Scottish Borderers smashed into their
rear. More than half his men were killed or wounded,
and York himself was dragged from his horse and
slain, as was his younger son, Edmund.
The severed head of York, wearing a paper crown,
was stuck over the gates of the city whose name he
bore. Beside it were stuck those of Rutland and
Salisbury, who had also been captured and beheaded.
Queen Margaret jeered: “Take care to leave room
for the head of Warwick. He will soon come to keep
his friends company!”

25
""1fe|i|i|i||ij;

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of Ber n broke Ftiwa/rjf rontrrmndrd hr own in lertdrt aiwi
was vietonmis, The Sl.maldoc wv<* flma on both Sides
four Thousand Being left d> .>d onthe Fo ld and rnanv
Wotlh Bwlbn, of fh<* fo it dtltin*'Ii<»i» wi i ** *ak< n Pi I'ofiW * *
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fourth on the Tlirone wj*o was prochitiied
fti/hfE in London on lh< itnii ofKlar<4i followin'/.

Left This monument was
erected at Mortimer’s Cross, to
commemorate the ferocious
battle fought there in 1461
between the Lancastrians and
the Yorkists.
Young York’s revenge
In January, 1461, Edward of March, York’s
19-year old son, was taking reinforcements to his
father in Sandal Castle when a tired and dusty
horseman gasped out the terrible news: his father
had been killed. Heavy with grief at the death of his
father and young brother, Edward determined to
be revenged on the Queen and all those responsible.
Then came further news: the Earl of Pembroke had
landed in Wales with a force of French, Bretons and
Irish. Such an army in his rear would be a great
threat, so Edward decided that revenge could wait.
The invaders must be dealt with first.
He swung his entire army about and marched
swiftly westward, until he sighted the enemy at
Mortimer’s Cross near Hereford. It was 2nd Feb¬
ruary. As his force moved into battle positions, a
strange thing happened. Three mock suns were seen
in the sky. Some of the Yorkists cried out in alarm,
but Edward was quick to take advantage of the
omen. He wheeled his charger around to face his
men and shouted, “Be of good comfort and dread
not! This is a good sign, for these three suns betoken
the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. In the
name of the Almighty God do we march against our
enemies.”
The battle was marked by terrible losses. Nearly
4,000 of Pembroke’s men were slain. Seeing that the
battle was lost, Pembroke fled from the field, leaving
his men - even his father Owen Tudor - to be
slaughtered.
Edward of York now proved himself to be as
merciless as Queen Margaret. Poor old Owen who
had been dragged from his peaceful home to do
battle for the Lancastrian cause, was led into the
market-place, and beheaded. Edward was begin¬
ning to take his revenge.
27
The fatal delay
After her victory at Wakefield in December, 1460,
Margaret led her army towards London. It tramped
down the Great North Road in the January frost,
looting as it went. Warwick learned of Margaret’s
approach, and moved his army up to St. Albans,
taking King Henry with him.
As Margaret arrived in the market-place on 17th
February, her army came under heavy fire from
Warwick’s archers, and was forced back for a
while. Later Warwick’s position was reversed, and
he pulled back his main body to regroup on the
heath three miles from the town. His left wing was
now isolated.

28
Far left Map of St. Albans and
the surrounding area showing
the Lancastrian advance, and
Warwick’s strategic weakness.
Below London, as Edward of
York would have seen it when
he rode into the capital to
claim the crown of England.

At this critical stage a knight called Lovelace,

commanding a strong force of Kentish men, aban¬
doned Warwick and went over to the Lancastrians.
A gap was left, and a dashing charge of Lancastrian
knights broke through the Yorkists’ resistance. By
dusk the battle had become a series of scattered
fights in woods and fields between St. Albans and
Barnet. Warwick, with his beaten men, fled west to
the Cotswolds where Edward of York was advancing
with another army.
Poor mad King Henry was found under an oak
tree, and was united with Margaret and the seven-
year old Prince of Wales. If Margaret’s army had
then started for London “all things would have been
at their will.” But it waited, and the delay was to
prove fatal.
Warwick met up with York in the west. Nine days
after the battle they rode into London, a city always
sympathetic towards the Yorkist cause. This feeling
grew when the citizens heard that Margaret’s army
had looted the great abbey at St. Albans. A few days
later, Edward of York went to Westminster Hall,
and claimed the throne of England. The cheers of
the lords in the Hall, and of the crowds outside, sent
him triumphantly to Westminster Abbey where he
accepted the crown and sceptre, and the title of
King Edward IV.
England now had two kings!

29
 A battle in the snow

The new King Edward was the son of Richard

Plantaganet, 3rd Duke of York. When he was
“elected” to the throne, he was still only nineteen.
Satisfied that the south of England was quiet,
Edward IV decided to fight for his new kingdom in
the north, where Margaret was still undefeated.
Three days after his coronation, Edward sent
Warwick, his chief supporter, marching northwards
Below The disposition of with “a great puissance [force] of people.” Five days
Lancastrian and Yorkist troops later, on 11th March, 1461, the new King followed
during the Battle of Towton, with another army.
one of the bloodiest battles
Queen Margaret, meanwhile, was encamped
ever fought on English soil.
outside York with an army of Northerners and
Scottish Borderers. The vanguards of the two armies
met at Ferrybridge, not far from Towton in York¬
shire. The fighting began at the bridge itself on 29th
March, despite King Henry’s plea for a truce since
it was Palm Sunday. It was a hard fought battle.
When the Yorkists were being driven back Warwick
leapt from his horse and killed the animal on the
spot, swearing that he would rather fight and die with
his men than yield another inch.
The main armies met next day in the fields between
Towton and Saxton, ten miles south of York. The
Lancastrians were soon at a disadvantage. A violent
snowstorm had been raging since dawn and by
nine o’clock, when the first ranks clashed, it was
blowing straight into their archers’ faces, blinding
them and impeding the flight of their arrows.
The men fought in thick swirling snow. The
blinding storm muffled the clang of swords and axes
on helmets and breastplates. Soon the whole plain
was covered with corpses, and the deep snow stained

30

Below A heavy snowstorm
muffles the sound of clashing
swords and lances, and the
screams of agony, as
Lancastrians and Yorkists
fight to the death in the fields
between Towton and Saxton.
fi£Kg$/
gKCrSSi
with their blood. The fighting went on for ten hours.
By dusk, the Lancastrians, with many of their leaders
killed, had had enough. They fled. Many tried to
cross a snow-swollen stream called the Cock. In their
panic hundreds fell into the freezing water and
their bodies formed a ghastly bridge for those who
pressed behind.
Towton was one of England’s bloodiest battles.
Nearly 40,000 men were killed, 36,776 of them
Lancastrians. As she fled to Scotland with King
Henry and the young Prince Edward, Margaret
swore revenge.
31
 Margaret in the north
King Edward rode in triumph into York. He saw
with horror the weather-beaten heads of his kinsmen
still spiked above the gates, and had them replaced
immediately by Lancastrians whom he had ordered
to be beheaded. Already the war was removing the
great lords and barons, who had dominated the
country for so long. By the end there would be few
of them left.
After crushing several small rebellions in the north,
Edward headed south to London, where he received

32

Above Map of Northumbria.
Opposite Margaret of Anjou
and her army were repulsed by
the Yorkists when they tried to
land at Tynemouth.
c
a hero’s welcome. Without doubt, he had saved the
city from Queen Margaret’s ferocious looters.
Meanwhile the Queen was busy. She had handed
over the city of Berwick to the Scots in exchange for
money and soldiers, and then had been to France to
beg more help from King Louis XI. Louis lent her
some money, and with this she raised a small army,
led by a famous captain, Pierre de Breze. Then she
set off again to invade England.
After picking up her husband King Henry and
some troops in Scotland, she tried to land at Tyne¬
mouth in October, 1462, but was driven off. A few
days later, she landed on the beach below Bamburgh
Castle. The castle opened its gates to her, as did
Dunstanburgh and, finally, Alnwick Castle. But
Warwick and King Edward were both on their way
north to deal with the trouble. Leaving a garrison in
each of the three great strongholds, Margaret sailed
to Scotland for reinforcements. A sudden storm
struck her small fleet and she barely escaped with
her life. She was picked up by a fishing boat which
landed her at Berwick.
When Warwick set siege to the three castles,
Somerset surrendered Bamburgh on condition that
he be allowed to swear allegiance to the new King.
Dunstanburgh followed suit the next day. An attack
by a Scottish force led by Pierre de Breze was beaten
off, and Alnwick’s garrison fled in the night, leaving
the gates open to Warwick.
By late August, 1463, Margaret had come to the
end of her resources. She was almost starving-“a
herring a day had been her ration.” She was even
without a change of clothes. She finally fled to the
Continent and placed herself under the protection
of the Duke of Burgundy. It seemed as if the “She-
Wolf of France” was finished at last.
33
 MOAT

The great castles

During the Wars of the Roses, massive castles were
to be seen throughout England, from the Welsh
Marches to the Scottish borders. Many are now
majestic ruins, or just a pile of fallen stones. But then
they were great strongholds, bustling with life and
activity.
Castle building was brought to England by the
Normans when they invaded in 1066. The first
castles were built in haste, wooden towers set on a
hill, surrounded by a ditch and a wall. Later, when
the country became more settled and there was no
longer the same urgency, stone was used.
The details varied, but a typical layout is shown in
the diagram above. The castle is built on a piece of
high ground protected by a ditch, or moat. The
entrance was through the gatehouse from which a
drawbridge was lowered to allow passage over the
moat. The gatehouse was further protected by a strong
iron and wooden grating called a portcullis. This was
dropped down to stop unwelcome visitors. The
gateway was the weakest point in the castle’s defences.
So it was protected by a walled enclosure known as
the barbican, which had strong towers, and housed

34
Top left A typical layout of a
medieval castle.
Above and opposite The majestic
ruins of Ludlow Castle in
Shropshire, built in the early
twelfth century, are a reminder
of how impregnable castles
must once have been.
the portcullis and drawbridge mechanism.
The encircling moat served a double purpose. It
was difficult for attackers to cross. It also forced
them, if they were mining beneath the castle walls,
to dig much deeper and so risk having the tunnels
flooded by water.
The castle walls were strengthened, at intervals, by
stout towers from which the defenders could shoot
at those attacking. These were known as “curtain” or
“bailey” walls and were often as much as fifteen feet
thick. Inside, there were stables for horses and cattle,
storehouses for corn and hay, a smithy and a bake¬
house.
Another drawbridge led to the inner bailey, a
smaller yard, inside which was a great stone tower,
the main stronghold of the castle. This was the keep,
or donjon. It contained the great hall, dormitories,
the guardroom and chapel. On top were the battle¬
ments where look-outs kept watch over the sur¬
rounding countryside. From here the defenders fired
arrows, hurled rocks and dropped boiling oil on the
enemy. Below ground were the storerooms, and
under them the dungeons.
35
The revolt is crushed

For a time, the young King Edward IV was the best

of friends with the young Duke of Somerset, who
had surrendered to Warwick. They hunted and
feasted together while Parliament restored Somer¬
set’s “name, state, style, honour and dignity.” Then
the King learned to his sorrow that Somerset had
turned traitor again. He had gone north to Bamburgh
and to King Henry who was sheltering there, for the
castle had been handed back to the Lancastrians.
Somerset’s arrival in the north was the signal for
another great revolt - the northern shires were the
main supporters of the Lancastrian cause.
Lord Montagu, Warwick’s brother, was sent to
deal with this new outbreak. On his way to New¬
castle he nearly fell into an ambush laid for him by
Sir Ralph Percy. But he escaped, and on 25th April,
1464, met the Lancastrian army at Hedgeley Moor,
between Morpeth and Wooler. After a short but
fierce battle, Montagu scattered the rebels and
Percy was killed.
Three weeks later, Montagu found the Lancas¬
trians again near Hexham, south of the River Tyne.
They were encamped in a large meadow which was
to prove a deadly trap - there was only one way in
to it, since it was enclosed on three sides by the river
and steep woods. Montagu soon closed the entrance
and then led his men into the meadow in a furious
charge. The Lancastrians were driven pell-mell into
a wood where they were forced to surrender. King
Henry was driven once more into hiding.
King Edward arrived at Hexham a few days later
and ordered the captured Lancastrian lords to be
executed. Among them was his one-time friend, the

36
Right Queen Margaret pleads
with a robber in the woods,
whence she has fled with her
son after the Battle of Hexham.

young Duke of Somerset. Queen Margaret, who had

been near the field of battle, managed to escape. She
took her young son Prince Edward with her, and
fled into a wood which was well-known as the haunt
of outlaws. Here she was caught by a band of thugs,
who seized her jewels and threatened her life. But
then they began to fight over the jewels, and in the
confusion she and her son got away, and eventually
sailed to France.
Soon afterwards King Henry was taken prisoner.
He travelled to London, mounted on a miserable
hack, his legs tied to the stirrups and with an insulting
placard on his back. He was led through the streets
of London and then locked in the Tower.

37
3. Warwick the Kingmaker
Two figures stand out from all others during the
Wars of the Roses. One is Queen Margaret. The
other is Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. In later
years he became known as Warwick the Kingmaker.
A cousin of Edward IV, Warwick was linked by
birth or marriage to all the great families in England,
and he inherited huge estates.
Through his wife, Anne Beauchamp, he not only
gained further estates but also his title, Earl of
Warwick. He was the richest man in England. His
twenty or more great castles and hundreds of manors
stretched from Cornwall to the mighty Castle Bar¬
nard in Durham. He had hundreds of armed re¬
tainers, who wore his badge of a Bear with a Ragged
Staff on bright scarlet surcoats.
But Warwick did not abuse his power. He was a
brave warrior, a fine statesman and, for a long time,
the main support of King Edward IV. After the
Battle of Towton, when Edward IV became the
undisputed ruler of England, the young King “gave
himself up to mirth and jollity, and in the pursuit of
his pleasures made himself so affable and agreeable
that in spite of his free gallantries, he was very
popular.”
Edward wanted to relax and enjoy himself and let
the more energetic Warwick do the governing. This
Warwick did, and did well. He spent much of his
time fighting in the north, stamping out the last
flickers of revolt. Then, having made a favourable
treaty with the Scots, he sailed to France hoping to
arrange a marriage between King Edward and a
French princess. Just as his plans were going well, he
learned, to his fury, that Edward was already
married. The King had secretly wed a commoner
and a widow, Elizabeth Woodville. Soon the new
Queen was obtaining titles and offices for her many

38
Left Warwick’s heraldic device
of a White Bear with a Ragged
Staff, which was worn by all
his retainers.
Below Edward IV relaxes at a
banquet, while the Earl of
Warwick governs his realm.
relations, and dismissing Warwick’s ministers. Grad¬
ually the “upstart” Woodvilles began to oust the
proud Nevilles.
Finally Warwick could stand no more. He returned
to Middleham Castle and began to summon his
troops. By putting Edward IV on the throne, he felt
he had already “made” one king. It would be just
as easy for him to put another king in his place.
A divided army
King Edward knew that his Queen was humiliating
Warwick, the man to whom he most owed his throne.
But he did nothing to stop her. Indeed he went
further, and expelled the Nevilles (Warwick’s family)
from his court. The feud between the Woodvilles and
Nevilles grew. “From this moment, whatever might
be the outward seeming, the feud betwixt these rival

40

Left Medieval knights charge
down on their foe. Often just a
small group of knights were
able to change the whole
course of a battle.
families was settled, deadly, and never terminated
till it had completed the ruin of all parties.”
The Duke of Clarence, King Edward’s brother,
had also been insulted by the Woodvilles. Eventually
he allied himself with Warwick, and married his
daughter, Isabelle, in Calais.
In 1469, arising took place in the north of England.
A rebel leader, calling himself Robin of Redesdale,
gathered an army of 60,000 men in support of the
Lancastrian cause, and began to march south.
Edward sent to Warwick and Clarence, who were
still in Calais, asking them to come at once to his aid.
But they delayed, and he had to wait impatiently
for troops from the West Country led by the Earls
of Devonshire and Pembroke. Devon commanded a
strong body of archers, Pembroke the Welsh pikemen.
But the two hot-blooded Earls “quarrelled about
lodgings and a fair damsel at Banbury,” and Devon
went on without Pembroke. On 26th July, his
Welshmen sighted the northern army, and a battle
was fought at Edgecot in Northamptonshire. At
first Pembroke’s men suffered badly from the lack of
archers, but Pembroke led a violent counter-attack
which forced the northerners back. Then, when
victory seemed certain, a fresh force appeared in
their rear. Above it floated Warwick’s banner of the
Bear and Ragged Staff.
The new “army” was actually a large body of
peasants gathered together by one of Warwick’s
servants. But their appearance was enough. The
Welsh pikemen, thinking that the great Kingmaker
had arrived to attack them in person, broke ranks
and fled. Pembroke and his brother were captured
and executed two days later. Earl Rivers, head of the
Woodvilles and King Edward’s father-in-law, was
beheaded too.
41
Heraldry

Every fighting man in the Middle Ages had to know

the devices (badges) of both friends and enemies as
displayed on shield and surcoat. This was difficult
in the press of battle, and mistakes often occurred.
At the Battle of Edgecot, for example, a makeshift
banner with Warwick’s device of a bear and staff
was enough to turn defeat into victory.
The design of knightly devices was part of the art
of heraldry, dating from the mid-twelfth century.
Three things gave rise to heraldry. First, the rules
of the tournament required that competing knights
should wear a distinctive device over their armour
for instant recognition - a kind of medieval football
shirt, in fact! Second, at the end of the eleventh
century, when the Crusades began, there were so
PARTS OF A SHIELD
many kings, nobles and knights taking part that they
1. DEXTER CHIEF
had to wear different devices so that their supporters
2. MIDDLE CHIEF
could rally to them. These devices were worn on
3. SINISTER CHIEF
their surcoats - hence “coat” of arms. Third, closed
4. HONOUR POINT
helmets came into fashion. Once again, heraldic
5. FESSE POINT
devices were needed for speedy recognition.
6. NOMBRIL POINT
So many designs came to be used that, in 1483,
7. DEXTER BASE
Richard III founded a College of Arms, or Elerald’s
8. MIDDLE BASE
College, to control them. Before, the records had
9 SINISTER BASE
been kept by heralds on long strips of parchment
stitched together. These “rolls-of-arms” carried
scores of shields, painted and named, and passed on Above The heraldic terms for
from generation to generation in noble families. One the various parts of a shield.

roll, painted between 1477 and 1485, gives the entire On these shields would be
displayed the different devices
heraldic history of the Earls of Warwick. It is nearly
of the noble families, such as
25 feet long!
the Gryphon [far right), the
Heraldry has its own special language and rules. Basilisk (right), and the Lion
Even the colours have different names. They are: Rampant (top).

42
azure (blue), gules (red), vert (green), purpure (purple)
and sable (black). Gold is or and silver is argent. A
shield is called an escutcheon, from the Latin word
scutum, meaning shield. The front of it is divided into
nine points, as the illustration shows. It was painted
in divisions (pale, fess, bend, etc.) and with charges
(lions, eagles, griffins and so on).

43
Two captive kings
For the first time in its history, England had two
crowned kings, Henry VI and Edward IV; both
were now captive, Henry in the Tower of London,
and Edward at Warwick Castle. Warwick was king
in all but name. Nothing was done without his
authority, although to keep up appearances Edward
signed all documents. But this state of affairs could
not last long. Trouble broke out again in the north.
This time the Lancastrians raised King Henry’s
banner and an army quickly grew under the
command of Sir Humphrey of Brauncepeth, a
fugitive from the Battle of Hexham.
Because of the troubled state of the country,
Warwick had to escort Edward secretly, and by
night, to the stronger Middleham Castle, and then
go north himself to deal with the rising. But his call
to arms met with little response. Those that rallied Above King Edward IV, who
to Warwick refused to fight until they were assured wrested the crown from
Henry VI in 1461. Henry was
of King Edward’s health and safety. Warwick had
then kept prisoner for many
to bring the King from Middleham to York where
years in the Tower of London
the crowds could see him. After this, Warwick had no {right).
trouble in raising a large army. He stormed north
against the Lancastrians and soon crushed the revolt.
Edward returned to Pontefract and quietly
gathered his lords about him - Buckingham, Essex,
Arundel and his younger brother, Richard of
Gloucester. He then calmly told Warwick that he was
returning to London, and there was nothing the
great Earl could do to stop him.
In 1470, an uneasy peace was patched up between
King and Earl. But Warwick, left alone to brood in
Middleham Castle, saw that he had missed his chance.
He had won the power he wanted, he had crushed
the upstart Woodvilles; yet somehow everything had
gone wrong. He had not realized how much Edward
was loved by his people, nor how much he needed
Edward’s authority.

44
45

Below The layout of the Tower
of London as it must have
been at the time of Henry Vi’s
captivity.
Right The Tower of London as
it appeared in 1647 from the
far side of the River Thames.
F^VER THAMES
The Tower of London
When King Henry VI was imprisoned there, the
Tower of London was still regarded as a royal palace.
It did not gain its sinister reputation until the time
of the Tudors, when few of the people sent there ever
came out alive.
By Henry Vi’s time, the Tower had already
loomed over the City of London for four centuries.
The keep was called the White Tower because it was
built of white stone from Caen. The building was
begun about 1078 by Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester,
for William the Conqueror. It was one of four built
in William’s reign, and the only one which still
remains. Gundulf built the Keep, the first St. Peter’s
Church and the Hall (or Jewel Tower).
The Keep, known as the White Tower, with its
four turrets, is a safe fortress. No enemy has ever
seriously tried to besiege it. It consists of lofty
chambers with huge walls, in some places 18 feet
thick. The dungeons are also here, most of them
above ground level. They consist of two huge vaulted
chambers whose walls often echoed to the cries of
tortured prisoners. The rack, thumbscrew and other
ghastly instruments can still be seen. There is only
one cell, called “Little Ease.” This is a tiny room
only four feet square.
Henry III (1207-72) built the Wakefield Tower
where Henry VI was locked up. The next great
builder at the Tower was Edward III (1312-77)
who added the Water Gate, the Cradle Tower, the
Lantern and Galleyman Towers. Traitor’s Gate is
part of St. Thomas’s Tower, which takes its name
from an old legend. This Tower collapsed twice
46
while being built, and the second time the ghost of
an archbishop was seen. When asked who had caused
the damage the spectre replied: “St. Thomas the
Martyr, by birth a citizen, who resents these works,
undertaken in scorn and to the prejudice of the
citizens.” But the work went on, and the third
attempt has lasted to this day.
The general plan of the Tower is much the same as
it was when completed by Edward III. The White
Tower stands in the centre of the Inner Ward, which
is enclosed by a hexagonal wall with thirteen towers.
Among these is the Bloody Tower, just one reminder
of the citadel’s grim past.
 Left In 1470, the Earl of
Warwick was forced to flee
across the Channel to France,
and seek refuge with the
French King, Louis XI.

Reversed fortunes
There was trouble again in England in 1470, for a
rising had occurred in Lincolnshire. Sir Robert
Welles, one of Warwick’s men, had gathered an
army of 30,000 men. King Edward marched up
northwards to deal with the trouble, and found the
rebels in a field at Empingham in Rutland. The
rebels were no match for Edward’s trained troops.
One salvo from the royal artillery made them scatter,
throwing off their surcoats and other loose garments
as they ran. Because of this, it became known as the

48
 Battle of Loosecoat Field.
Sir Robert Welles was captured and confessed
everything before he was executed. Warwick’s
letters also fell into Edward’s hands. This proof was
all the King needed. Warwick and Clarence had to
flee the country for Warwick’s old stronghold of
Calais. But when they sailed into the harbour,
cannon fired on their ships. The Governor of Calais
had received orders from King Edward only twelve
hours earlier. Warwick and Clarence, the “great
rebels,” were not to land. Warwick was mad with
rage. He took his fleet along the coast to Normandy,
and at last sailed into Harfleur. Envoys were waiting
to welcome him in the name of Louis XI of France.
Louis was delighted at Edward’s troubles. He had
feared an invasion by Edward who had allied him¬
self to Louis’s arch-enemy, the Duke of Burgundy.
France lay between England and Burgundy, and
Louis knew that a combined attack would make
France a nut between nutcrackers.
Warwick told Louis his plans for putting Clarence
on the English throne. But Louis hinted that it would
be better to find someone more reliable. His own
idea was staggering. Let Warwick make an alliance
with the House of Lancaster, and with Queen
Margaret, his lifelong enemy. After some hesitation
Warwick and Margaret met. They agreed that
Warwick should put Henry VI back on the throne,
and that Edward should be deposed - perhaps even
executed. To seal this alliance, Warwick’s youngest
daughter, Anne, was married to Margaret’s only son,
Prince Edward.
Warwick then went down on his knees to acknow¬
ledge Henry VI as his rightful King. With the backing
of an army from Louis he promised to put that
unhappy man back on the throne of England.

49
D'
Ships and shipping
Despite the Wars of the Roses, trade went on as
usual. Even when two countries were at war,
merchants continued to trade as if nothing had
happened. Kings, knowing the value of trade, did
their best to encourage it.
Henry V, England’s great military king, was
worried about all the pirates who infested the
Channel. He even built a fleet to deal with them,
and soon he was master of the seas around Britain.
This command was lost in the reign of Henry VI
but won back by Edward IV, who knew what vast
profits could be made from foreign trade.
During this period, the design of ships altered
considerably. In the late' fifteenth century, the
sailing ship underwent great change. Before, most
of them were fitted with one mast, though some
had two. Then, about 1480, three-masted vessels
were suddenly launched and, with only slight

Left A late fifteenth-century

sailing ship. Notice the three
masts, and the wooden fighdng
castles at bow and stern.
Above Throughout Europe the
volume of trade increased
dramatically in the fifteenth
century. Here, the captain of a
trading ship is welcomed
ashore on his return from the
Canary Islands.
changes in design, this style lasted for another four
centuries.
A good drawing of a fifteenth-century warship still
exists in a manuscript called The Pageant of the Earl
of Warwick. It seems to be a large vessel compared
with those of Henry V’s time, being at least 600 tons.
It has wooden fighting castles at bow and stem as in
earlier ships, but they are now fixed structures,
firmly built on the ship’s hull. Between them is the
waist with two gangways running along it. Light
cannon are placed along these gangways, with
shields to protect the gunners.
Throughout the Wars of the Roses, English
harbours were filled with foreign merchantships. A
pamphlet of the time called The Prologue of English
Policy gives a long list of English imports. From Spain
and Portugal came figs, raisins, wines, oils, soap,
dates, liquorice, saffron and quicksilver. Brittany
sent wine, salt and canvas. Germany, Scandinavia
and Flanders sent iron, steel, copper, bowstaves,
pitch, hemp and canvas. Genoa sent gold, silk, oil
and black pepper. And Venice, Florence and other
Italian states sent “all kinds of spices and grocery
wares, sweet wines, sugar, dates.” England’s chief
exports were still wool and woollen goods, tin, hides
and corn.
51
Henry is King again
The Duke of Burgundy was disturbed at Warwick
being in France. He threatened King Louis with war
if he did not stop helping English traitors, and sent
a fleet to blockade the mouth of the River Seine.
But a sudden storm scattered the Burgundian
fleet, and Warwick crossed the Channel, landing his
forces at Portsmouth and Plymouth. There was no
one to stop him. Edward was away in the north of
England dealing with a revolt that Warwick had
planned to draw him away. As Warwick marched up
from the coast, London was thrown into a ferment.
From every side men flocked to Warwick’s banner.
Soon he was at the head of 60,000 men.
Warwick set out for Nottingham where King
Edward was trying, without much success, to raise
an army to meet him. One night, Edward was
asleep in his tent when an attendant ran in to tell
him that his commander, Lord Montagu, and some
other lords had told their men to shout “God bless
King Henry.” Edward struggled into his armour,
and ordered the call to arms. But not a single detach¬
ment would obey him. There was nothing he could
do but escape. With a few friends he galloped to the
small harbour of Lynn, in Norfolk. Here he boarded
a small ship for Holland, leaving his enemies masters
of England. Once more Warwick had made and
unmade a King. Edward was now a King without a
country, forced to seek refuge with the Duke of
Burgundy.
Warwick and Clarence made their triumphal
entry into London on 6th October, 1470. Then
Warwick went to the Tower to release King Henry
Opposite The Earl of Warwick
who had been locked up within its grim walls for
visits Henry VI in the Tower
five years. Henry was proclaimed “lawful king and of London, and declares his
conducted with great pomp through the streets of allegiance to him as the
London to the bishop’s palace. . .” rightful King of England.

52
Edward returns

When Queen Margaret learned of Henry’s triumph,

she decided to come to London. Early in 1471,
she set out to cross the Channel but violent storms
forced her back. People began to mutter that it was
the will of God.
But things were becoming difficult for Warwick,
too. He seemed to have supreme power, but his
popularity was on the wane. And, although he did
not know it, Warwick had a traitor in his midst —
Edward’s brother the Duke of Clarence. Clarence
knew that Warwick did not want the throne himself,
but was trying to ensure that, when Henry died, his
daughter Anne, wife of the Prince of Wales, would
be Queen. This would stop Clarence becoming King
himself, as Warwick had once promised.
Helped by the Duke of Burgundy, Edward’s
“invasion fleet” set sail, and landed at Ravenspur
in Yorkshire. Edward stayed briefly at York - where
he swore solemn oaths that he had no interest in the
crown. He then marched south. When he crossed
the River Trent into Yorkist territory many nobles
came with their private armies to help him. Edward
was soon strong enough to throw off the mask.
Assuming the title of King once more, he marched
south to Coventry where Warwick and Clarence
awaited him.
Once more a desertion changed the course of
history. During the night, Richard of Gloucester
paid a secret visit to his brother Clarence. Next
morning, Clarence’s army of 12,000 men deserted to
Edward. King Edward appeared under Coventry’s
walls and challenged Warwick to come out. But

54
 Warwick could not give battle and had to watch,
glumly, as the royal army turned and marched away.
In London, Henry VI was still officially King, and
the Lancastrian nobles paraded him through the
streets. Others went down to the coast where
Margaret had finally arrived. But she had come too
late.
During the night Edward’s friends seized the
Tower and the gates of the City. The next day, i ith
April, “at dinner time,” Edward rode into London
Below King Edward and his
followers, having landed in
to a great welcome. The royal see-saw had swung
England, set forth to challenge once more. After six months’ exile, Edward was
King Henry and Warwick. King again.

55
 p.’Kurfr Mice- rtiofo)
uiftmux toae> Cam/
mjimr sv nuufcn c

011 ifncf HOHBrtUOH

facucc.pu- (Uifcix
41 Vnf fine (c fccvtiti
ifoiiucrucwct 3c
t»n 1* ate ct i
ifncCa fonnimtclx a
Sc6iat.

Life in London town

Throughout the Wars of the Roses, no city was ever
besieged. Few even closed their gates against an
attacker, and life within them went on more or less
as usual. London was a bustling crowded city of
narrow streets. The projecting upper stories of the
houses almost touched, shutting out air and sunshine.
It was a noisy city, too. The shops had stalls in front
of them, with apprentices bawling out their masters’
wares, trying to drown the voices of their competitors.
The streets were used as rubbish dumps. The refuse
of the traders - butchers, carpenters, dyers and the
rest — was thrown out to rot or be eaten by scavenging
pigs, mangy dogs and chickens. A luckless passer-by

56

ttixOftefcfoti (c tanqmtjhm j*im& pouv
t>. ftotic ccfta--cfKtfcetvufi ftiutcc* 3n
cut fotiBi ft(ttncc auamc*clnofc*jtwm
nMone fat fat fm'&c cc fccottdButx
Gr.uf <Pu tnjimcibiticftiqiic fc(bi) ttn
out tontc faencc ct ftoute biatt.
'ii ir<ri mctfe ptmtce-on tjucfefttmtfc
uii.ftrtmnmrc ft fine (tnivftijiuCttmc
inc -TTOHf Ic pvettuev ritipititiXrdutr
inamouct pitnapaft deft amfutiue
might be deluged with dirty water - or worse - tipped
out from an upstairs window.
Merchants and traders who sold the same kind of
goods usually lived in the same street. There was
Butcher’s Row, Ironmonger’s Lane, Milk Street,
Honey Lane, and so on. As few people could read,
the shopkeepers hung up the sign of their trade so
that everyone knew what they had to sell.
Away from the noisy smelly streets, in homes of the
merchants, conditions were much better. Many
floors were tiled with rush mats, instead of the reeds
of earlier years. Carpets were hung on the walls as
decoration and to keep out draughts. Window glass
was still rare and only seen in the homes of the rich.
There was little furniture. The most important item
was the master’s bed. This had a thick feather mattress
and curtains, too, which were pulled tight to keep
out the draughts and give some privacy. At the foot
of the bed was the coffer, or strong box - there were
no banks in those days.
Londoners loved pageants and processions. The
most colourful was the “Marching of the Watch”
which took place in midsummer. The houses were
decorated with branches and flowers, and appren¬
tices invited passers-by to enjoy cakes, ale and wine.
The Guilds, or Civic companies, tried to outdo each
other with their decorated floats and river barges.
Far left A London merchant
warms himself by the fire.
Notice the big four-poster bed
in the corner.
Left Tradesmen at work in a
fifteenth-century market.
57
Death of the Kingmaker

For some days, Warwick stayed in the safety of

Coventry. Then, learning that Edward had been
crowned again in Westminster Abbey, he marched
south. On Easter Eve, 13th April, 1471, his force
clanked and rumbled towards Barnet.
Edward arrived a few hours later, and had to post
his army in the darkness. In doing so he made a
mistake: for while his army outflanked Warwick’s
left wing, its line did not reach as far as his right.
This proved a fortunate error - Warwick had all his
artillery posted on the right wing, and his guns
banged away all night at nothing, wasting ammuni¬
tion.
Daylight on Easter Sunday morning should have
showed this, but a thick fog shrouded the area. The Above The respective positions
of Lancastrian and Yorkist
battle began at four o’clock in the morning and went
forces at the Battle of Barnet
on until ten. Warwick’s left wing, under the Earl of
(I47W
Oxford, smashed into Edward’s right, broke it and
Right Although surrounded by
chased the routed Yorkists from the field. The Yorkist
Yorkist horsemen, Warwick
left wing, finding no enemy, moved across to
fought bravely to the very end.
strengthen its centre.
Far right The death of
The battle was won by a strange mistake. Oxford
Warwick the Kingmaker in
had left his opponents running towards London and
a field outside Barnet.
was going back to help Warwick. His device, or
badge, was a star with rays. Edward’s men, on this
occasion, were displaying a sun with rays. Oxford’s
archers, confused by the fog, mistook the stars of
Oxford for the suns of York and fired on them. There
were cries of “Treason!” and’Oxford, thinking him¬
self betrayed, galloped from the field.
Seeing the Lancastrian centre waver, King Edward
began to pour in fresh troops to end the battle. But

58
 Warwick would not yield. Dismounting, he grouped
his finest knights around him and cried, “If we
withstand this one charge the field will be ours!”
As the front ranks of the Yorkist horsemen crashed
into his own, Warwick stepped forward and laid
about him with his great sword. Men of his house¬
hold fought bravely at his side. But heavily armoured
mounted knights smashed them down and galloped
on, leaving behind a pile of dead. Near them, by a
clump of trees where his horse was tethered, lay
Warwick, his sightless eyes staring upwards. News
of the Kingmaker’s death swept through his army.
Disheartened, his men faltered, gave way and fled.

jm " f£t. /
r KB

iiSw
The “She-Wolf ” returns
The body of Warwick was placed together with that
of his brother Montagu in a single coffin and taken
to St. Paul’s. Here they lay exposed for three days,
naked but for loin cloths, for all to see, lest “feigned
seditious tales” might later claim that Warwick was
still alive.
Meanwhile Queen Margaret, Prince Edward, and
a strong Lancastrian force landed at Weymouth.
The first news she had told of the Lancastrian defeat
at Barnet and of the death of Warwick the King¬
maker. The shock was so great that she fainted. When
she recovered her first thought was to go back to

Left Map showing the routes

followed by the Lancastrian
and Yorkist armies before they
met at Tewkesbury on 4th
May, 1471.

60
Above During the Wars of the
Roses armies often chose to
camp beside a river. This not
only provided them with an
abundant supply of water, but
also afforded some protection
against an advancing enemy.
France. But the news of her arrival had spread,
and many Lancastrian nobles joined her by Cerne
Abbey in Dorset. The sight of their mailed companies
advancing with banners and pennants flying gave
her fresh heart. They claimed to be stronger than
ever, for the West Country was loyal to King Henry.
Sure enough, within a few days, recruits rode and
trudged in from Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire.
The army then moved to other towns in the West,
drawing recruits as it went.
Meantime, King Edward was busy bringing his
own army up to strength. He marched westward in
search of the Lancastrian army, and was eventually
told it had turned towards Gloucester. Edward sent
a messenger riding through the night to order the
Governor of Gloucester to hold the city until he
arrived. A few hours later Margaret’s weary army
came to the walls of Gloucester only to find the gates
shut against them. Margaret struggled on for
another ten miles to Tewkesbury, the next town on
the River Severn. And there, in “a right evil place
to approach as could well have been devised,” they
awaited the arrival of King Edward and his host.
61
Edward’s last battle

On the morning of 4th May, 1471, King Edward’s

army began to advance in three divisions. Gloucester
led the first, Edward the centre, and the Marquis of
Dorset, the third or “rear-ward.” The Lancastrian
army, poised to meet them, was also in three divisions
— Somerset leading the first, Lord Wenlock the
second, and young Prince Edward the third.
King Edward’s army struggled uphill towards the
enemy. It was hard going - with deep ditches, hedges,
narrow lanes and clumps of trees. Finally the King
halted the main advance and told Gloucester to move
forward and open the battle with cannon fire and
archery. After an hour, Gloucester ordered his men
to fall back, as if retreating. This old trick worked.
Somerset rushed his forces down the hill into the
attack, calling on Wenlock to support him. When
Gloucester saw that his ruse had worked, he wheeled
his force about and charged back at Somerset’s
division, forcing it to retreat in an attempt to regain
the safety of the slope.
Just then 200 spearmen, placed by King Edward
in ambush, raced from the shelter of some trees and
attacked Somerset’s left flank. Many Lancastrians
were cut down, others fled for their lives. With few
of his men left, Somerset fell back onto Wenlock’s
division and, furious that Wenlock had not supported
him, raised his axe and smashed it down onto the
old man’s head.
By now Gloucester’s men had got in amongst the
shaken Lancastrians. With Wenlock dead and
Somerset mad with rage, the inexperienced Prince
Edward was incapable of giving orders. King
Edward then pushed into the Lancastrian position,

62
and the battle was over. The fugitives scattered,
mercilessly cut down with swords and axes as they
ran. Prince Edward was taken before the King. When
he was asked why he had so rashly invaded England
he answered, proudly, “I came to recover my father’s
crown and heritage!” Enraged by the boy’s bold¬
ness, Edward smashed him in the mouth with a
gauntlet-enclosed fist.
Few Lancastrians escaped from that terrible battle.
One of them was Jasper Tudor. He fled from England
to France, taking with him his young nephew, Henry
Earl of Richmond. Much was to follow from this act.

Left The brutal murder of Below Gloucester’s feigned

young Prince Edward after the retreat at Tewkesbury helped
Battle of Tewkesbury (1471). to bring about a Yorkist
victory.

63
Life in “Merry England”

While the princes, earls and barons, with their armies

of retainers, were busy killing each other, life in the
country as a whole went on much as usual. The
countryman leaned on his plough to watch the nobles
of the land hacking themselves to pieces on the plain
below. The war was one of noblemen, not of the
common people.
The years came and went, and with them the
festivals and feast-days that marked the passing
seasons. Christmas Day had been a time of feasting
since Saxon times. On St. Stephen’s Day, now called
Boxing Day, boxes were placed in churches to
collect gifts for the priests. The poor begged from
the rich on St. Stephen’s Day so that they might add
their share to the Christ-Mass Box. Twelfth Night

64
 was another evening of fun and merry-making.
In those days, ploughs were drawn by oxen and,
when the hard work of ploughing was over, the
peasants celebrated with the “Plough Dance.”
Dressed in their best, they joined hands and danced
round the plough then ate, drank, and played
games until nightfall. Even in London, the crowds
came out on the last evening in April to gather boughs
and branches to decorate their houses. The Maypole,
a relic of pagan times, was put up and a girl chosen
to be “Queen of the May” presided over the revels
and gave small presents to all the children.
Another time for merry-making was during the
hay harvest. The men cut the grass and the children
loaded it into wagons. Then the men and women,
helped by donkeys or goats, dragged it to where the
ricks were being built. When the last rick had been
completed, all the villagers sat down to a feast
followed by music, games and dancing.
“Crycket” was a popular game on summer
evenings. It was first played in England in the tenth
century, and the name comes from cryce, a Saxon
word for “stick.” A kind of football was popular,
too, although Henry IV tried to stop it because it
interfered with archery practice, and injured and
even killed so many people. Sometimes the goals
were as much as three miles apart, as one village
competed against another!

The Wars of the Roses were as usual — he ploughed the

fought by the noblemen of fields with his oxen far left),
England, and not by the and celebrated feast-days by
common people. For the dancing, drinking and making
ordinary man, life continued merry (left).

65
E
4. A short-lived peace Above By the end of the
fifteenth century, men were
beginning to realize the
importance of trade. In the
After Tewkesbury, Queen Margaret was half dead
covered market shown here, a
with grief. She was dragged from a nunnery where goldsmith is displaying his
she had taken shelter and thrown before King wares, while on the far left a
Edward. Her life was spared, but she was taken to man is buying a pair of shoes.

London and paraded through the streets before being

sent to the Tower of London. King Edward IV
entered London on 21st May, 1471, and the same
night Henry VI was put to death.
It was announced that Henry had died of grief,
but no one believed that. People whispered that he
had been murdered by the Duke of Gloucester who
had “sticked” him with a dagger. Henry’s body was
taken from the Tower in an open bier to St. Paul’s
Cathedral. Chroniclers of the time wrote that fresh
blood from the dead king’s wounds “welled upon
the pavement.” Margaret was kept prisoner for five
years, before being ransomed by the King of Prance
for 50,000 crowns. She went to Prance and died
there on 25th August, 1482.
The people of England now welcomed a strong

66
Above As the fifteenth century
drew to a close merchant
ships were increasingly seen in
British seaports. King Edward
himself actively encouraged
trade.
ruler who, they hoped, would keep the peace. They
had had enough of wars and battles. So, it seemed,
had King Edward IV. He ruled well, and was the
first English King who really knew the value of
trade. He even made some private ventures, on his
own, or with London merchants. Until then, the
thought of a great king stooping to trade was un¬
thinkable. Edward became a merchant prince, and
the richest king in Europe.
But he did not hoard his wealth. He spent a great
deal on public works including a new hall at Eltham,
fortifications at Nottingham and Dover, and repairs
at the Tower, “Le White Haull” and “Le Custom
Hous.” His greatest work was St. George’s Chapel,
Windsor, one of the finest examples of the Perpen¬
dicular style of architecture then in fashion.
Under his rule, peace returned to a troubled land.
The odd revolts of a few Lancastrian lords were
firmly put down, and England became a settled
country under a strong Yorkist king. Edward might
feel well satisfied with what he had achieved.
Yet fresh trouble was soon to erupt - this time
among his own family.
67
A royal kitchen maid

King Edward’s two brothers, Clarence and Glouces¬

ter, began to quarrel over the vast estates of the dead
Warwick. Clarence, married to Warwick’s eldest
daughter Isabella, thought he should have every¬
thing. But Gloucester had supported Edward
throughout the wars; he had not, like his brother,
ever joined the other side. Surely he deserved some¬
thing for his loyalty? To help his claim, Gloucester
thought of marrying Warwick’s other daughter,
Anne. Anne had been a widow since her husband
had been killed at Tewkesbury.
Clarence strongly opposed the marriage. The
brothers grew so angry with each other that civil war
seemed possible. All the time, the property really
belonged to Warwick’s widow, the Countess of
Warwick. From her sanctuary at Beaulieu, she
begged her friends to help her keep at least part of
her wealth. But as the royal brothers were already
fighting over it, nobody dared to help her.
Her daughter Anne hated Gloucester, because he
had helped to kill her young husband. When she
heard that he wanted to marry her, she escaped from
Beaulieu and vanished, no one knew where. Glou¬
cester was furious at the news of her disappearance,
and sent out spies to look for her. She was found at
last, badly disguised as a kitchen maid in a London
tavern. She was dragged away and placed under
guard. Gloucester did his best to win her favour, but
it was no good. Finally, as a threat, he took her
mother from Beaulieu and sent her north, where she
was kept captive until his death. So Anne was forced
to marry the hated Gloucester and spent eleven
years with him - some as his Queen — before dying

68

Below The two brothers of
Edward IV — George Duke of
Clarence {right) and {left) the
Duke of Gloucester, later to
become King Richard III.
in March, 1485.
Edward gave the biggest share of Warwick’s
property to Gloucester and, in 1474, Parliament
passed an Act which ignored the true claims of the
Countess, and declared that her daughters should
have the estates.
The whole arrangement between King Edward
and his two greedy brothers was little more than
barefaced robbery. But Edward was content. He had
smoothed over their jealousies, and they - at least on
the surface - seemed satisfied with their “loot.”
69
His patron the King
During the short peace after Tewkesbury, a great
event in English history took place. William Caxton
introduced printing into England.
Caxton was born in Tenterden, Kent, about 1422.
After being apprenticed to a mercer, he left England
in 1441 to work in Bruges. When he retired from
business he decided to devote himself to literature,
and translate the best foreign books into English.
The first book he translated was a French history of
Troy. When he had finished, he wanted to give
copies to his friends. But this meant months of copy¬
ing by hand. He had seen a new system of mechanical
printing invented by a German, Johan Gutenberg.
This, he thought, was the answer.
He went to Cologne to study the new craft. Then,
from his home in Bruges, he produced his History of
Troy, the first book printed in English. Two years
later, in 1476, he moved from Bruges to London,
and opened a workshop in a chapel of Westminster
Abbey. In his advertisements, he asked customers to
come “to Westminster in the almonry at the red
pale.” “Red pale” referred to the heraldic sign he
hung over his door.
Altogether Caxton produced ninety-six books,
page by page, on a simple press. Some of the famous
works he published included Le Morte <F Arthur, The
History of Reynard the Fox, The Fables of Aesop and
The Golden Legend. He also gave to the English people
the works of the first great English poet - Geoffrey
Chaucer.

70
 JfP
jLr \ ^
W§M\: A ; St j
*J''m afltlH V W’ gi?*1
_

f fT -
w % 'r-

Above William Caxton shows

M some proofs of his latest book
to King Edward IV in the
Almonry, Westminster, which
he used as a printing office.

Left The printer’s mark used

by Caxton.

One of his patrons was Lord Rivers, who presented

Caxton to King Edward and the royal family.
From then on, Edward became his patron, often
visiting his workshop in the Abbey grounds. Even
if he is remembered for nothing else, Edward’s reign
is marked by what he did for the new art of printing -
the most powerful weapon, and blessing, yet devised
by man.

71
On the King’s highway

The roads of England at this time were bad. True,

there was little wheeled traffic to make ruts, and so
they were not as bad as they were a century later.
The old Roman roads were still usuable but they
were showing signs of a thousand years of neglect.
Most repairs were done by the nobility. Since they
owned more than one manor house each — Warwick
had more than a hundred - they kept the main roads
as passable as they could. Much of this work had to
stop during the Wars of the Roses.
The roads which fanned out from London saw a
fascinating variety of travellers. Sometimes a large
royal carriage would be seen, drawn by four or five
horses. It had no springs and the occupants were
bumped and thrown around inside as it rumbled

72
 along. A better way to travel was by litter. This was
a sort of bed, slung on poles between two horses or
mules. Most horses, however, were used for riding.
Women and children rode on pillions, cushions
behind the rider and strapped to horse and saddle.
The roads were also full of merchants hurrying
from place to place on horseback. Their goods were
carried in panniers or baskets, slung on either side
of their mounts or else borne by pack mules. There
were packmen and peddlers, too, on foot. They
found a welcome at many isolated homes, for their
packs were full of homely goods. Tinkers went on
foot as well, mending old pots and pans and selling
new ones.
These men often tramped along together, because
of the robbers that lurked about. Travellers did not
like to go out at night for the same reason and were
glad of the hospitality freely given at monasteries
along the way. Sometimes they spent the night in a
flea-ridden inn where the owner was often in league
with local robbers and cut-throats.
The “common carriers” kept to regular routes.
These men travelled to most large cities from London
and, surprisingly, kept to a regular timetable. As
well as goods, they carried letters to and from London.
The first royal postal system in England was started
by Edward IV, who placed riders at intervals along
the main roads.
■ '

Left During the fifteenth

century people began
increasingly to make long
journeys by road. This picture
shows one method of
travelling from place to place.

73

Above Cardinal Bouchier urges
Elizabeth Woodville to let her
younger son, Richard, out of
sanctuary and into
Gloucester’s care.
74
The little Princes
King Edward IV was only 40 when he died; he had
reigned for 22 years. His death was sudden, but
peaceful. Five years earlier, his brother Clarence had
also died, but not as peacefully. He had fallen out
with the King, who believed that he wanted to harm
the young Prince Edward and so had him imprisoned
in the Tower. Clarence was never seen again. He
died on 18th February 1478, drowned head down in
a butt of Malmsey wine.
When Edward IV died in 1483, his two sons, the
13-year old Prince Edward and his younger brother,
were being looked after by their uncle, Lord Rivers.
At the time, Prince Edward was staying at Ludlow
Castle in Wales. Soon afterwards he set out for
London with Lord Hastings and a small escort, to
be crowned King. Richard of Gloucester met the
party, took the boy away from his escort and into his
own charge. Edward entered London, his uncle
Gloucester riding bare-headed before him, all the
way to the bishop’s palace at St. Paul’s, through
cheering crowds. As Edward was so young, a grand
council proclaimed Gloucester Lord Protector of
England.
Fearing the worst, the Queen fled to sanctuary
with her younger son, Richard, but Gloucester
tricked her into yielding him up. Gloucester said the
two princes must stay in a safe place until after
Edward’s coronation. They were put inside the
Tower, and they never left it again.
Two assassins were sent to the boys’ chamber,
“and suddenly lapping them in their clothes,
smothered and stifled them till thoroughly dead.
Then laying out their bodies on the bed, they fetched
Sir James to see them. He caused the murderers to
bury them at the stairfoot, deep in the ground, under
a heap of stones.”
Above The secret murder of
Edward V and his young
brother in the Tower of
London. Although it has never
been proved, many people
believe they were killed on the
orders of their uncle, the Duke
of Gloucester, later King
Richard III.
In 1674 a large chest was found. Inside were the
bones of two young boys. They now lie in Henry VII’s
Chapel in Westminster Abbey where a marble
tablet says: “Here lie the relics of Edward the Fifth,
King of England, and Richard Duke of York, who,
being found in the Tower and there stifled with
pillows, were privately and meanly buried by order
of their perfidious uncle, Richard the Usurper.”
75
The path to the throne

In the time of his brother Edward IV, Richard of

Gloucester had been a loyal subject. Only on
Edward’s death did he begin to plot his way to the
throne. He became the leader of a party which
included Hastings, Buckingham, and other nobles
of the House of York. They were always at odds with
the party of the Queen, especially her relatives the
Woodvilles. King Edward had kept them apart, but
when he died their quarrels grew. In April, 1483,
when the young Prince Edward was on his way to be
crowned in London, Lord Rivers, the Queen’s
brother, and many others, were arrested. All were
beheaded. Thus, at one blow, Gloucester removed
the young Edward’s strongest supporters.
Hastings, although an enemy of the Woodvilles,
was loyal to the young Prince. Gloucester saw that
he would fight, if necessary, to stop him being harmed.
Richard had to work fast, for the boy’s coronation

76
was planned for 22nd June. When a council meeting
was summoned at the Tower, Gloucester seemed to
be in good spirits. He asked to leave for a moment,
and when he came back his mood had changed. In
fury, banging his fist on the table, he shouted that
Hastings was a traitor. As if this was a signal, armed
men rushed in and grabbed the bewildered noble¬
man. As he shouted his innocence, Gloucester
screamed, “By St. Paul, I will not dine until I have
thy head off!”
Hastings was dragged from the chamber out into
the yard. He was forced to kneel and put his head
on a log. Seconds later a sword cut his head off his
shoulders.
A few days later, on Gloucester’s orders, the two
young princes were smothered. This crime Shake¬
speare describes as:

The most arched deed of piteous massacre,

That ever yet this land was guilty of.

There remained now just the Duke of Buckingham

to oppose Gloucester. Buckingham led a rash revolt,
which was a dismal failure, and he was forced to go
into hiding. One of his retainers, tempted by a
reward, betrayed him. The end was swift. Bucking¬
ham was taken to Salisbury and beheaded in the
market-place.

Left The common people of

England never forgot the
Princes in the Tower, and
never forgave Richard
of Gloucester for what they
believed he had done to them.

77
Gloucester is crowned

With the death of the little princes no one else stood

between Richard of Gloucester and the crown.
Richard was proclaimed “the undoubted son and
heir of Richard late Duke of York” - and “as in
right, King of England by way of inheritance.” His
coronation took place on 6th July, 1483, only ten
days after his proclamation. There would not have
been time for all the preparations had they not
already been started for the coronation of Prince
Edward.
The festivities began on 4th July, when King
Richard was rowed by barge from Westminster to
the Tower with Queen Anne, Warwick’s daughter.
The Kingmaker’s ambition had been to place his
daughter on the throne of England. He could never
have guessed how his wish would be granted.
The coronation banquet in Westminster Hall
began at 4 p.m. There were four main tables: the
high table on the dais, the bishops’ table, the earls’
table and the barons’ table. The Bishop of Durham
sat on Richard’s right, Queen Anne on his left. The
ladies sat apart from the men. During the second
course, Sir Robert Dymock, the King’s Champion,
rode into the hall “in white harness,” mounted on
a magnificent warhorse. He offered to fight anyone
who did not acknowledge the new King. “And when
he had all said, anon all the hall cried King Richard
all with one voice.”
The ancient rite of coronation “had invested his
person with a sanctity which it had not before, and
he had spared no pains to make it as splendid and
imposing as any such rite could be.” Now, crowned
Right Medieval banquets were
and anointed, Richard was no longer the Duke of
very elaborate, with dozens of
Gloucester but, by the Grace of God (and his own
courses, and minstrels playing
efforts) Richard III, King of England.
between the tables.

78
79
ImL '
rnk
W$Im

f J

5. The roses are united

Way back in 1470, Jasper Tudor had brought his

young nephew, Henry Earl of Richmond, to court
and presented him to King Henry VI. It is said that
Henry laid a gentle hand on the boy’s head and
prophesied that one day he would mount the throne Above The weather in the
of England. Channel is notoriously bad.
The boy had no real title to the crown. On his During the Middle Ages ships
were often delayed by storms.
father’s side he was descended from Owen Tudor, a
Henry of Richmond, for
yeoman of the royal guard; Owen had married
example, was unable to land
Katharine of France, Henry V’s widow. On his in England on the day he was
mother’s side he was descended from Edward III expected. By the time he did
through John of Gaunt, but from an illegitimate land, he was too late.

80
branch. There were princes and princesses of Spain
and Portugal, descendants of John of Gaunt, whose
titles to the English crown were far better than his.
In 1483, some knights banded together and swore
to keep the boy Edward V on the throne. When they
heard to their horror that he had been murdered in
the Tower by Richard of Gloucester, they were at a
loss what to do. But then fresh hope came, for they
learned that Buckingham was about to fight for the
Earl of Richmond and Elizabeth of York, whose
families were to be joined by their marriage.
Richmond sailed from St. Malo on the French
coast, but his ships were delayed by storms in the
Channel. When he did reach the Devon coast, he was
too late. Buckingham, at the head of a Welsh army,
had moved along the bank of the River Severn looking
for a place to cross. But so much rain had fallen that
the bridges were swept away and the fords were
impassable. Thinking it was a bad omen, his Welsh¬
men broke ranks and went home. Buckingham had
to go into hiding near Shrewsbury in a hut belonging
to an old retainer. But the servant, tempted by a
large reward, betrayed his master who was taken
before King Richard III at Salisbury. Within a few
minutes he was led into the market-place and
beheaded.
Richmond was told of this disaster, and that
another rising in Devonshire had also been put down
by Richard III, and the leaders executed. Obviously
there was no chance of a successful invasion at the
moment, so he sailed back to Britanny.

Right A portrait of the Earl of

Richmond, later to become
Henry VII, painted by an
unknown Anglo-Flemish
artist.

8l
F
A Welsh claim to England’s crown

Richard III may have been wearing the crown, but

he did not feel secure. He always knew that, just
across the Channel, Henry of Richmond was waiting
for a chance to seize the throne from him. He also
knew that Richmond had promised to marry Princess
Elizabeth of York, Edward IV’s daughter, to join
the two warring houses together.
When his Queen died, too, Richard even thought
of marrying Princess Elizabeth himself. But his
advisers said that to marry his own niece would shock
the whole nation. Richard then secretly asked the
Duke of Burgundy to hand Richmond over to him.
But Richmond found out in time, and rode swiftly
from Rennes, changed clothes with a servant, and
pretended to be a valet. He fled to Angers, where he
was received in a most friendly manner by the young
King Charles VIII.
So Richard’s plot had only succeeded in making
his enemy move away from Brittany. This was to
prove an advantage, for the Earl of Oxford and
many other Lancastrian nobles joined Richmond at
Angers, and his position began to improve.
Richmond set sail from Harfleur with a force of
2,000 men. Six days later his army landed at Milford
Haven, and they were marching inland before news
of their landing was known. They moved across
Wales, where Richmond’s claims as the heir of the
House of Cadwalader brought many loyal Welsh¬
men to his banner.
Richard III made his own headquarters at
Nottingham, where he was joined by Norfolk and
Surrey with their fighting men. He found out that
Richmond was encamped with an army only half
the size of his at Whitemoors in Leicestershire, near
the small town of Market Bosworth. On 21st August,
1485, the two armies were encamped in sight of each

82
Above Henry of Richmond was
able to collect much popular
support from townsmen and
villagers as he made his way to
meet King Richard III.
other. That night, Richard’s sleep was broken by
hideous nightmares. Both Richmond and Richard
were expecting Lord Stanley, with his 5,000 men,
to join them. But Stanley’s intentions were doubtful,
and next morning he was found midway between
both armies. It seemed as if he was waiting to join
the winning side - whichever one that might be.
The scene was set for one of the greatest battles in
England’s history.
83
My Kingdom for a horse!

Both armies were on the move early on the morning of

Sunday, 22nd August. King Richard marched out
first. His van was led by Norfolk; the second line he
led himself, the royal crown encircling his helmet.
To the right of his line was the Earl of Northumber¬
land.
Richmond’s van was led by the Earl of Oxford.
Richmond commanded the second line and his uncle,
Jasper Tudor, the rear. Both armies had the same
order of battle — archers in front, infantry behind,
with cavalry on the wings. Richmond “now unfurled
his banners, his trumpets blew the march of death,
and all moved into the plain.” Above The death of King

The front lines of archers shot hails of arrows and Richard III at the Battle of
Bosworth (22nd August, 1485).
then both vans smashed together with sword and axe.
Seeing the solid wall of iron and steel that faced him,
Norfolk extended his line, hoping to outflank
Oxford’s right. As the front ranks clashed, the
August morning was filled with the “loud war-cries
of the combatants.” Across the plain stretched “the
long lines of barbed war-horses, with their riders in
gleaming armour, or covered with the dazzling
jupon [surcoat], and bearing before them their lofty
lances and variegated shields.”
Then it was realized that Northumberland’s force
- at least one third of Richard’s strength — was taking
no part in the fighting. Like Stanley, he was awaiting
the outcome. Norfolk was slowly being pushed back,
the men of the King’s division showing little heart
for fighting. Then a courier brought King Richard
the news that his rival was posted nearby, on a low
hill, with only a small escort. He raised his sword

84
Above right Map showing how
Richmond’s army came
forward to meet Richard III
near Market Bosworth.
and cried, “Let all who are true knights follow me!”
and galloped forward.
He soon reached the small party and lay about
him with his sword, smashing down knights, forcing
his way like a madman towards Richmond. Then
Lord Stanley arrived with his forces. The King was
unhorsed but he stood defiantly, sword in hand,
grimly facing his attackers while shouting desperately
for another horse. But it was too late. He was
surrounded by a circle of knights, there came a
strident clashing of steel upon steel, then he was
down at last.
At the news of his death, his troops fled from the
field. The royal crown, which had rolled under a
hawthorn bush, was recovered and placed by Stanley
on the victor’s head - Richmond no longer but
Henry VII, King of England. Richard’s corpse was
found, stripped of its armour and covered with blood
and dirt. It was flung over a horse and taken to
Leicester.
85
 it Vi fiil'J'M

y>* fr? dyi i

*r—

Hh K

P«

The first Tudor King

Henry of Richmond reached London soon after the
battle, and was led into the city with great pomp.
He had already vowed to marry Princess Elizabeth.
But he delayed the wedding, not wishing to seem as
if he owed his throne to a woman, especially one of
the House of York. But, as Shakespeare was to say:

And then, as we have ta’en the sacrament,

We will unite the white rose and the red.

86

Left Henry VII marries
Princess Elizabeth of York,
and the Houses of York and
Lancaster are united at last.
Yet though he had married Elizabeth, Henry’s
throne was far from secure. There were too many
others with claims to it.
The young Earl of Warwick, son of Clarence, was
in the Tower, but it was rumoured he had escaped
to Dublin. Soon a young man was being hailed in
the Irish capital as the Earl of Warwick, and
“King Edward VI.” He was “crowned” in St.
Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, and in 1487 brought
an army to England. The Earl of Oxford met it at
Stoke and smashed it. “Warwick” was captured and
confessed that his real name was Lambert Simnel.
Henry VII did not bother to execute the young boy -
instead he- made him a scullion in the royal kitchen.
Five years later, another and more dangerous
claimant came forward. He claimed to be Richard
Duke of York, one of the Princes in the Tower. He
had powerful support — Margaret of Burgundy,
Richard Ill’s sister, claimed that he was her nephew.
Calling himself Richard IV, he twice invaded
England with the help of James IV of Scotland and
a Scottish army, but both attempts came to nothing.
Then, on 20th September, 1497, an army under
Henry VII himself marched rapidly to Taunton to
deal with him. The next morning the Cornishmen
discovered that “King Richard” had vanished. He
had ridden to claim sanctuary at Beaulieu in his
real name of Perkin Warbeck.
Henry had him tried and put in the Tower. He
wished to spare his life, but the imposter foolishly
tried to escape to France. He was hanged, drawn
and quartered at Tyburn on 23rd November, 1499.
Poor Warwick who had been in the Tower all this
time was executed as well. With him died the last of
the Plantaganets. Now England was all set for the
Age of the Tudors.
87
Into a new world
1485 is more than the date of the Battle of Bosworth.
People often say that it marks the end of the Middle
Ages, a period in history which began, roughly, in
a.d. 476, when the vast Empire of Rome fell before
the barbarian invaders.
A thousand years later, a similar upheaval
happened in Eastern Europe. In 1453 Constan¬
tinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, was
captured by the Turks. Its collapse drove many
learned Greeks into Italy, and they took their
language and literature with them. Soon an enthus-
siasm for everything Greek spread all over Europe.
Greek learning opened up a new world of thought
among scholars. It brought a new spirit of enquiry
into many things. Old ideas were thrown out, and
there were great changes in every aspect of life. Be¬
cause of this, the period became known as the
Renaissance — or “rebirth.” New inventions were
changing the world. Printing made books available
to all; gunpowder ended chivalry and medieval
warfare; trade created a new type of “middle
class” — the wealthy, powerful and solid merchants.
When the Turks captured Constantinople, they
took over control of the trading routes by which
Eastern goods had come into Western Europe. So
the merchants had to find new routes to the East,
away from Turkish interference. During the fifteenth
century, explorers had been venturing farther and
farther from land. They were inspired by Prince
Henry of Portugal - the “Navigator” - a great-
grandson of Edward III. His men sailed to the
Above The fall of
Canary Islands, the Azores, the Cape Verde Islands
Constantinople to the Turks in
and down the coast of Africa. After his death his
1453 marked the dawning of a
work went on. Diaz rounded the Cape of Good new age of learning in
Hope and Vasco da Gama reached India, opening a Europe.
new sea route to the East.

88
 In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed from
Spain, hoping to reach eastern Asia by going west.
Unfortunately for his plans, America got in the way.
The great continent was later rediscovered (Vikings
had landed there in a.d. 1000) by John Cabot.
The world was growing fast - both in ideas and
in territories. In this new and exciting age, thoughts
of armour-clad knights hewing at each other for the
glory of Lancaster or York seemed very old-fashioned
indeed.

Top right The main routes

taken by explorers during the
fifteenth century. The world
was growing larger year by
year as new lands were
discovered.

Right Cortez landing in

Mexico (1519).
Table of Dates
1422 Henry VI becomes King, aged 9 months.
1455 Wars of the Roses begin.
1st Battle of St. Albans (22nd May).
1456 Gutenberg’s Bible is the first European book
to be printed from movable type.
1459 Battle of Blore Heath (23rd September).
1460 Battle of Northampton (10th July).
Battle of Wakefield (21st December).
1461 Battle of Mortimer’s Cross (2nd February).
2nd Battle of St. Albans (17th February).
Edward, Duke of York, assumes the crown.
Battle of Towton (Palm Sunday, 29th
March).
1462 Margaret of Anjou lands in Northumberland.
1463 Margaret sails to Flanders with her son
Prince Edward.
1464 Henry VI invades Northumberland. Risings
in the north.
Action at Hedgeley Moor (25th April).
Edward IV marries Elizabeth Woodville
(1st May).
Battle of Hexham (15th May).
1465 Henry VI is put in the Tower of London.
1469 Warwick and Clarence unite against Edward
IV.
“Robin of Redesdale” rising.
Battle of Edgecot (26th July).
1470 Flight of Warwick and Clarence.
Henry VI is proclaimed King again.
Edward IV flees to Holland.

90
 BATTLE 1471 Edward IV lands near the Humber.
Battle of Barnet (14th April).
Henry VI is sent back to the Tower.
Battle of Tewkesbury (4th May).
Edward IV returns to London.
Death of Henry VI.
1474 Work on St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, is
begun.
1476 Caxton begins printing at Westminster.
1478 Edward impeaches Clarence, who is sent to
BAMBOROUGH the Tower.
ALNWICK
1483 Death of Edward IV (9th April).
HEXHAM The young Prince Edward is brought to
London by Gloucester.
Gloucester becomes Lord Protector.
YORK The two princes are murdered in the Tower.
WTON-^
Gloucester is crowned as King Richard III
RAVENSPUR (4th July).
lELD^
1485 Henry, Earl of Richmond, sails to England.
Battle of Bosworth (22nd August) - death of
★ STOKE FIELD
Richard III.
Nottingham'
Richmond crowned King Henry VII (30th
BOS WORTH
October).
★ NORTHAMPTON
KESBURY 1486 Henry VII weds Elizabeth of York (18th
CESTER^-St. ALBANS January).
3L ^BARNET Diaz rounds the Cape of Good Hope.
LONDON —, SANDWICH 1487 Lambert Simnel. Battle of Stoke (16th July).
DEAL,' 1492 Christopher Columbus discovers America.
1497 John Cabot reaches Newfoundland.

Left The main areas of conflict

during the Wars of the Roses.

91
Glossary

accolade Ceremony of conferring knighthood, usu¬

ally by a slight blow on the shoulder from a sword.
argent Heraldic term for silver.

armed cap-a-pie In full harness, covered with

armour from head to foot.
azure Heraldic term for blue.

badge The part of a coat-of-arms which is worn by

all retainers, e.g. Warwick’s White Bear and

Ragged Staff, Clarence’s Black Bull.
barbican Outer defence of a tower or castle;
double tower over gate or bridge.
bombard A medieval term for a cannon.

bore Diameter of a gun barrel.

caparison Trappings worn by a knight’s horse.

caracole A kind of medieval dance.

chivalry The knightly code of honour.

coat-of-arms The full heraldic bearings of a family.

device Heraldic badge.

donjon The central keep or tower of a castle.

escutcheon A heraldic shield.

gules Heraldic term for red.

guild A closed society composed of people practising

a particular craft or trade.

harness A complete suit of armour.

keep The inner hall or tower of a castle.

king’s champion A warrior who used to ride into a

coronation banquet to challenge any who doubted

the new King’s right to the throne.
manor house A fortified dwelling, like a small

castle, but without towers or keep. The home of

the “ford of the manor.”

92
marches The frontier between two neighbouring
countries. For example, between England and
Wales, there are the Welsh Marches.
or Heraldic term for gold.

page A young boy training at a castle to be a knight.

percheron A type of heavy war-horse.

portcullis The heavy grating which slid up and

down at the gateway to a castle to prevent un¬

welcome visitors from entering.
purpure Heraldic term for purple.

sable Heraldic term for black.

sanctuary A holy place where people in danger

would be given refuge. Usually it was the altar of

a church.
squire A page became a squire at 14 years, and
then spent seven years learning the arts of battle,
and helping a knight with his armour and horses.
standard A flag bearing a device or coat-of-arms.

tabard A loose-fitting coat with short sleeves,

which reached to mid-thigh.
trunnion Wooden side piece of a cannon, which

helped to keep it steady.

van The foremost division of an army on the
march; the front of an army in line of battle.
vigil A night spent in prayer by a squire on the eve

of his being knighted.

visor The hinged face-guard on a helmet.

93
Further Reading

Harnett, C., The Writing on the Hearth (Methuen,

1971)—an exciting story for older readers which
describes all the rivalries between the great English
families that led to the Wars of the Roses.

Hassall, W. O., How They Lived, Vol. I (Blackwell,

1965) - extracts from contemporary documents,
which give a fascinating insight into how people
thought and behaved. There is a good section on war.

Hassall, W. O., Who’s Who in English History, Vol. I

(Blackwell, 1969) — an excellent reference book for
facts about the major characters of the period.

Raine, M., The Wars of the Roses (Wheaton, 1969) - a

good, clear account of this complicated period of
English history.

Rowling, M., Everyday Life in Medieval Times

(Batsford, 1968)-a survey of the British and
European social background in the fifteenth century.

Sellman, R., Medieval English Warfare (Methuen,

1960) - a study of the English army and the fighting
methods that made it supreme in Europe from the
time of Edward I to the defeat of Richard III.

Welch, R., Sun of York (Oxford, 1970) - an exciting

adventure story set against the background of the
Wars of the Roses; fast-moving and historically
sound.

94
Index
Alnwick Castle, 33
Anjou, Margaret of, 9, 12,
16, 22, 30, 31, 37, 38, 49,
54, 55, 6°, 66
Armour, 14-15
Arundel, Lord, 44
Audley, Lord, 12
Bamburgh Castle, 33, 36
Barnard Castle, 38
Barnet, Battle of, 58-59
Bear and Ragged Staff, 38,
4i
Beauchamp, Anne, 38
Blore Heath, Battle of, 12—13
Bolingbroke, Henry, 8
Bosworth, Battle of, 84-85
Brauncepeth, Sir Humphrey
of, 44
Breze, Pierre de, 33
Buckingham, Duke of, 44,
76, 77, 81
Burgundy, Duke of, 33, 49,
52, 54, g2
Calais, 13, 44
Cannons, 18, 19
Caxton, William, 70-71
Chivalry, 20-21
Clarence, George, Duke of,
4L 49, 54, 68> 74
College of Arms, 42
Crusades, 42
Devonshire, Earl of, 41
Dorset, Marquis of, 62
Dudley, Lord, 12
Dunstanburgh Castle, 33
Dymock, Sir Robert, 78
Edgecot, Battle of, 41-42
Edward III, 47, 80
Edward IV (formerly Earl
of March and of York) 16,
17, 24, 27, 29, 30, 32-33,
36, 38> 39, 44, 48, 5°, 61,
62, 66-67, 69, 74
Edward, Prince ofWales, 22,
29, 31, 37, 60, 62, 63,
74-75, 77, 78
Essex, Earl of, 44
Grey, Lord, 17
Gundulf, Bishop of Roches¬
ter, 46
Gutenberg, Johan, 70
Harlech Castle, 23
Hastings. Lord, 74, 76-77
Hedgeley Moor, Battle of, 36
Henry III, 46
Henry V, 8, 13, 50,51,80
Henry VI, 8-12, 16, 17, 22,
29, 30-3G 36> 44, 46, 5°,
52, 53, 61, 66, 80
Heraldry, 42-43
Hexham, Battle of, 36
James II of Scotland, 18, 22
London, 17, 29, 32, 37,
56-57
London Bridge, 17
London, Tower of, 37, 45,
46-47, 52, 55, 66, 74, 81
“Loosecoat Field,” Battle of,
48-49
Louis XI, King of France,
33, 49, 52
Lovelace, 29
Ludlow Castle, 12, 34-35
“Merry England,” 64-65
Middleham Castle, 39, 44
Montagu, Lord, 36, 52, 60
Mortimer’s Cross, Battle of,
27-28
Nevilles, the, 40
Norfolk, Duke of, 84
Northampton, Battle of,
16-17
Northumberland, Duke of,
84
95
Oxford, Earl of, 58, 82, 84,
87
Pembroke, Earl of, 27, 41
Percy, Sir Ralph, 36
Richard II, 8
Richard III (Formerly
Richard, Duke of Glou¬
cester), 44, 54, 62, 66,
68-69, 74, 78, 81-82, 83,
84
Richmond, Earl of, (later
Henry VII), 63, 80—81,
83, 86-87
Rivers, Lord, 41, 71, 74, 76
Roads and travellers, 72-73
Robin of Redesdale, 41
Roxburgh Castle, 18
Rutland, Earl of, 25
Salisbury, Earl of, n, 12,
16-17, 24-25
Sandal Castle, 24, 25
Ships, 50-51, 80
Simnel, Lambert, 87
Somerset, John Beaufort,
Earl of, 8, 11, 22
Somerset, Lord (his son), 33,
36-37, 62
St. Albans, First Battle of,
10—11
St. Albans, Second Battle of,
28-29
Stanley, Lord, 83-85
Stoke, Battle of, 87
Suffolk, Duke of, 22
Tewkesbury, Battle of, 62-63
Towton, Battle of, 30—31
Trollope, 12
Tudor, Jasper, 63, 80, 84
Tudor, Owen, 27, 28
Warbeck, Perkin, 87
Warwick, Anne, 49, 54, 68-
69, 78
Warwick, Isabelle, 41, 68
Warwick, Richard Neville,
Earl of, 11—13, 16-17, 24,
29-30, 33, 38-39, 41, 49,
52-53> 58-59» 6°, 72
Welles, Sir Robert, 48—49
Wenlock, Lord, 62
Westminster Hall, 29
Westminster Palace, 17
Woodvilles, the, 39, 40
Woodville, Elizabeth, 38, 74,
76
York, Edmund of, 24-25
York, Elizabeth, Princess of,
81-82, 86
York, Richard Duke of, 8-9,
10, 11-13, 17, 22, 24-25
York, Richard Duke of (son
of Edward IV), 74-75, 77

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mentioned: the Radio Times Hulton Picture Library, jacket
(back), 8-9, 10, 13, 15, 16-17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 26, 28-29, 31, 34,
35, 38-39, 40, 42-43, 47, 48, 50, 5E 59, 62-63, 66, 67, 69, 71
ffopj, 74, 75, 76-77, 79, 80, 81, 83, 84-85, 86; the Mansell
Collection frontispiece, 25, 37, 44, 45, 53, 56-57, 71; the Trustees
of the British Museum, jacket (front and flaps), 32, 55, 61.
Other illustrations appearing in this book are the property of
the Wayland Picture Library.
The drawings were done by John Walters.

96
 668630 J
942.04
Allen

The Wars of the Roses.

SUNDAY SERVICE
September through May
From 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
in Charleston and St. Albans

Library materials may be returned to

any of the public libraries in Kanawha County.
After hour book drops are
available at all locations.

KANAWHA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

123 Capitol Street, Charleston, West Virginia 25301
(304) 343-4646

CROSS LANES BRANCH LIBRARY; 5451 Big Tyler Road

Charleston, West Virginia 25312 • (304) 776-5999
DUNBAR BRANCH LIBRARY; 301 Twelfth Street Mall
Dunbar, West Virginia 25064 • (304) 768-4353
ELK VALLEY BRANCH LIBRARY; 4636 Pennsylvania Ave.
Charleston, West Virginia 25302 • (304) 965-3636
GLASGOW BRANCH LIBRARY; 129 Fourth Avenue
Glasgow, West Virginia 25086 • (304) 595-3131
ST. ALBANS BRANCH LIBRARY; 6th Avenue and 4th Street
St. Albans, West Virginia 25177 e (304) 722-4244
 Kenneth Allen has had a long-abiding
interest in naval and military history, and
has written many books on the subject,
including Soldiers in Battle and Sailors
in Battle. He is also the author of The
Story of Gunpowder and The Battle of the
Atlantic in the Wayland Sentinel series.

KANAWHA COUNTY
PUBLIC LIBRARY
jacket pictures: front and flaps Details

withdrawn from a fifteenth-century manuscript show

a knight being murdered while nobles
CHARLESTON, W. VA. look on from the battlements (from the
Chroniques d’Angleterre).
back Knights charging during the Battle
of Bosworth, which marked the end of
the Wars of the Roses.

SBN 85340 219 1

Wayland
Sentinel series
The Story of Gunpowder Kenneth Allen

The Legions of Rome Matthew Holden

Tourney and Joust Steven Jeffreys

Nelson’s Navy Roger Hart

A Medieval Siege Steven Jeffreys

War in the Trenches Matthew Holden

Genghis Khan Michael Gibson

The Battle of Britain Anthony Hobbs

The Samurai of Japan Michael Gibson

The French Foreign Legion Nigel Thomas

The Battle of the Atlantic Kenneth Allen