THE LATE MIDDLE AGES

UNIT 8. THE CRISIS OF KINGS AND NOBLES

Carla Fernández Melendres
Historia y Civilización de las Islas Británicas
17-oct-23
UNIT 8. THE CRISIS OF KINGS AND NOBLES
INDEX

8.1. The crisis of kingship

8.2. The struggle in France
8.3. The Wars of the Roses
8.4. The War of the Roses & football (extra)
8.5. Wales in revolt
8.6. Scotland
UNIT 8. THE CRISIS OF KINGS AND NOBLES
LATE PLANTAGENETS FAMILY TREE
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8.1. THE CRISIS OF KINGSHIP

• Constant struggle between the king and his nobles in the

late Middle Ages (14th c.).
• 1st crisis:
• Edward II was deposed and cruelly murdered (1327).
• His son Edward III became king (11 yo) and punished
those responsible.
• The principle that kings were neither to be killed nor
deposed was broken.
UNIT 8. THE CRISIS OF KINGS AND NOBLES
8.1. THE CRISIS OF KINGSHIP
• 2nd crisis:
• Richard II was the 2nd king to be deposed and killed
(1399) under suspicious circumstances. Why?
• Richard quarrelled with the nobles who criticised his
advisers (1388).
• Richard imprisoned his uncle, John of Gaunt, the most
powerful and wealthy noble of his time.
• He died in prison.
• John of Gaunt’s son, Henry Duke of Lancaster, left
England.
• Returned with an army in 1399.
• To depose Richard II.
UNIT 8. THE CRISIS OF KINGS AND NOBLES
8.1. THE CRISIS OF KINGSHIP

• Richard II had no children and there were 2 possible heirs:

• Earl of March: 7 yo, grandson of Edward III’s 2nd son.
• Henry of Lancaster: son of John of Gaunt, Edward III’s
4th son.
• Henry was the strongest.
• He won the support of other powerful nobles.
• Took the crown by force (deposing Richard II).
• Henry IV spent the rest of his reign establishing his royal
authority.
• Half a century later, the nobility would be divided between:
• Lancastrians: family of the Duke of Lancaster.
• Yorkists: family of the Earl of March.
Henry IV
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LANCASTER AND YORK FAMILY TREE
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8.2. THE STRUGGLE IN FRANCE
HENRY V AND THE END OF THE 100 YEARS’ WAR (1337-1453)
• During the Hundred Years’ War, there were long periods
without actual fighting.
• When Henry IV died (1413), he passed on to his son Henry
V.
• The kingdom was peaceful and united.
• Henry V was a brave and intelligent man.
• Like Richard I, he became one of England’s favourite
kings.
• There was peace at home, so he decided to fight the
French again.
• His French war was as popular as Edward III’s had been.
Henry V
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8.2. THE STRUGGLE IN FRANCE
HENRY V AND THE END OF THE 100 YEARS’ WAR (1337-1453)
• He led successful campaigns in France and conquered many
territories.
• In the Battle of Agincourt:
• The English defeated a French army 3x its size.
• They were more skilful and had better weapons.
• Henry V married Catherine of Valois, the king of France’s
daughter.
• But Henry V never became king of France.
• He died before the French king in 1422.
• His 9 mo baby son, Henry VI, inherited the thrones of
England and France.
Henry V
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8.2. THE STRUGGLE IN FRANCE
STRUGGLE BETWEEN KINGS AND NOBLES (14TH CENTURY)

Earl of March
Edward III’s great-
Richard II grandson (2nd son)
Edward II Edward III Imprisoned his
Deposed and Started 100 uncle John of
murdered by years' war Gaunt and died Henry IV
nobles in prison Henry of Lancaster
Raised an army
Edward III’s great-
and took the
grandson (4th son)
throne by force
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8.3. THE WARS OF THE ROSES (1455-1487)
ANTECEDENTS
• Henry VI, who became king as a baby was:
• Simple-minded and book-loving.
• Hated war, an unsuitable king for a violent society.
• Founded two places of learning: Eton College and King’s
College.
• Periods of mental illness.
• After the Hundred Years’ War:
• England lost the war.
• It was ruled by a mentally ill king with bad advisers.
• The nobles began to ask themselves:
• Who should be ruling the country?
• They remembered how Henry VI’s grandfather took
Henry VI
the throne by force…
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8.3. THE WARS OF THE ROSES (1455-1487)
ANTECEDENTS
• At that time, there were no more than 60 noble families controlling England.
• Most of them were related to each other through marriage.
• Some were extremely powerful.
• Many kept their own private armies when they returned from France.
• War of the Roses division:
• Lancastrians: remained loyal to Henry VI.
• Yorkists: supported the Duke of York.
• Heir of the Earl of March.
• Lost the competition for the throne when Richard II was deposed.
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8.3. THE WARS OF THE ROSES (1455-1487)

HENRY VI vs. EDWARD IV

• In 1460 the Duke of York (Richard) claimed the throne for himself.
• Battle of Wakefield (1460): Duke of York (Richard) dies in battle.
• His son Edward IV won the throne in 1461.
• Edward IV put Henry VI into the Tower of London.
• 9 years later (1470) a Lancastrian army rescued Henry VI.
• Chased Edward out of the country.
• Edward strikes back in 1471 and defeated the Lancastrians.
• Henry VI is back in the Tower of London.
• Almost certainly murdered.
York wins (for now)
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8.3. THE WARS OF THE ROSES (1455-1487)

RICHARD OF GLOUCESTER vs. NEPHEWS

• When Edward IV died in 1483:

• His own two sons, Edward and Richard, were put in the Tower of London.
• By their own uncle, Richard of Gloucester.
• Richard of Gloucester took the crown and became Richard III.
• A month later, the two princes were murdered.

York wins (for now)

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8.3. THE WARS OF THE ROSES (1455-1487)
RICHARD III vs. HENRY TUDOR
• Richard III was not popular.
• Lancastrians and Yorkists both disliked him.
• Henry Tudor:
• A challenger with a very distant claim to royal blood (through John of
Gault).
• Landed in England with Breton soldiers to claim the throne.
• Many discontented lords (Lancastrians and Yorkists) joined him.
• In the Battle of Bosworth (1485):
• Half of Richard III’s army changed sides.
• The battle ended quickly, and Richard died.
Tudor wins
• Henry VII was crowned king immediately, on the battlefield.
• Henry VII married Elizabeth of York (Lancaster + York = Tudor)
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8.3. THE WARS OF THE ROSES (1455-1487)
AFTERMATH
• The War of the Roses nearly destroyed the idea of kingship forever.
• Little respect for kings.
• England was not destroyed.
• Fighting took place for a total of 15 months (21 years period).
• Only the nobles and their armies were involved.
• But it was a disaster for the nobility:
• Everyone was interested in destroying the opposite nobility (no ransoms).
• Those captured in battle were usually killed.
• From 60 to 30 noble families.
• This fact made it possible for the Tudors to build a new nation state.
• In the 19th c., the novelist Walter Scott named these wars the “War of the Roses”
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8.4. THE WARS OF THE ROSES & FOOTBALL
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8.4. THE WARS OF THE ROSES & FOOTBALL
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8.4. THE WARS OF THE ROSES & FOOTBALL
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8.4. THE WARS OF THE ROSES & FOOTBALL
UNIT 8. THE CRISIS OF KINGS AND NOBLES
8.4. THE WARS OF THE ROSES & FOOTBALL
UNIT 8. THE CRISIS OF KINGS AND NOBLES
8.4. THE WARS OF THE ROSES & FOOTBALL
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8.4. THE WARS OF THE ROSES & FOOTBALL
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8.5. WALES IN REVOLT
• Edward I had conquered Wales in the 1280, and colonised
it.
• Drove the Welsh into the hills.
• Gave their land to English farmers.
• Many Welsh joined the English army because they lost
their land.
• Taught the English their skill with the longbow.
• A century later the Welsh found a man who was ready to
rebel against the English king.
• Owain Glyndwr.
• He created the idea of a Welsh nation.

Owain Glyndwr
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8.5. WALES IN REVOLT
• Owain Glyndwr’s rebellion did not start as a national revolt:
• First, he joined the revolt of Norman-Welsh borders.
• Later, it developed into a national revolt.
• In 1400 he was proclaimed Prince of Wales by his
supporters.
• However, he was not strong enough to defeat the English
army.
• He continued to fight a successful guerrilla war.
• Made the control of Wales an extremely expensive
problem for the English.
• Owain Glyndwr did for Wales what William Wallace had
done for Scotland a century earlier:
• He created a feeling of national identity. Owain Glyndwr
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8.6. SCOTLAND

• Scotland experienced many disasters the affect England at this time:

• Black Death or other plagues.
• Repeated wars.
• Long struggles with their nobles.
• Scotland paid heavily for its “Auld Alliance” with France.
• The English repeatedly invaded Scottish Lowlands.
• Where most of the Scots wealth came.
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8.6. SCOTLAND
• Scotland developed as a nation in a number of ways.
1. In 1399, first Parliament of Scotland.
• Met once a year.
• Kings gathered leading citizens to discuss matters of government.
2. Large trade in wool, leather and fish.
• Mostly to Netherlands.
3. Scotland’s alliance with France brought some benefits:
• Since much farmland was destroyed by the English, Scotsmen found work as
soldiers of the French army.
• The connection with France helped develop education in Scotland.
• St Andrews (1412), Glasgow (1451), Aberdeen (1495).
• By the end of the 15th c. it was obvious that Scotland was a separate country
from England.