The War of the Roses: The cruelest civil war in English history, the realistic version of "Game of Thrones"

066 After the Norman conquest of in , a new chapter in British history opened.

Norman Dynasty established from William the Conqueror,via Gorgeous Dynasty→Lancaster Dynasty→York Dynasty→Tudor Dynasty→Stuart Dynasty→ The Hanoverian dynasty , all the way to the Windsor royal family where Queen Elizabeth is now.

Among them, The "War of the Roses" occurred during the transition period from the Lancaster dynasty to the York dynasty and the Tudor dynasty.

The Lancaster family with the red rose as their coat of arms , and the York family with the white rose as their coat of arms, launched a bloody battle for the throne.

Their battle lasted for thirty years and was one of the craziest wars in the history of England.

455 onwards, more than 3 kings were killed, 7 princes were killed in battle, more than 5 princes were executed or murdered, 31 nobles or their heirs fell in battle, and 20 others were executed. By the end of the war in 1485, almost all the males of both families had perished.

Many of Shakespeare's historical drama , the famous American drama "Game of Thrones", are created with this history as the background.

The book "Red and White Roses", does not simply talk about the 30-year War of the Roses, but makes a cross talk about the British history before and after the "War of the Roses".

From the death of Edward III of the Plantagenet Dynasty, the succession of Richard II, the Duke of Lancaster "John of Gaunt" became the regent, until Henry of the Tudor family VII wins the battle of Bosworth , establishing the end of the Tudor dynasty.

On the whole, it focuses on characters and narratives, and is not particularly deep. It is more suitable for a preliminary understanding of this history.

The Lancaster family entered the stage of history

Edward III of the Plantagenet Dynasty became famous for leading England to launch the " Hundred Years' War " between England and France. He has a brave eldest son, the famous "Black Prince" Edward.

It is a pity that Edward the Black Prince died of illness in 1376, before his father Edward III. After the death of Edward III in 1377, the throne passed to the son of Edward the Black Prince, Richard II. The inheritance relationship of

can be compared to China Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang , Zhu Biao , Zhu Yunwen .

Richard II, the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty, was only ten years old when he succeeded to the throne, and the most powerful of his vassals was his uncle, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.

388 Richard, an adult, exiled John's son "Henry of Derby" and confiscated Henry's lands after John's death.

This move aroused dissatisfaction among the nobles. Under the leadership of Henry, they overthrew Richard II, and Henry became king for Henry IV , From then on, the rule of the Lancaster dynasty began. .

The Lancastrian dynasty has been passed down for three generations, namely Henry IV→Henry V→Henry VI. The "Wars of the Roses" began during the reign of Henry VI.

York attacked, and the "War of the Roses" started.

Henry VI was only nine months old when he succeeded to the throne. When he grew up, he was a benevolent and kind humanist who would feel cruel to see mutilated corpses.

Today, this thought is all too normal, but to people at the time it showed Henry was weak. In the bloodthirsty Middle Ages, society could not function properly under a weak king.

So, the York family, another protagonist of the War of the Roses, made a grand debut.

The mighty Duke of York, popular among countless people who were dissatisfied and angry with the king, who were already on his side as an enemy.

The king's side, the leading figure of the Lancastrian faction, was Edward Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. He and the Duke of York formed a tit-for-tat situation, and the contradiction between them became increasingly acute.

454 年 5 22, the Duke of York under the name of "Qingjun side", launched an attack on the king's army, the two sides in the town of St Albans, launched the first real battle.

In the end, the king's side was outnumbered and quickly defeated, and the Duke of Somerset was stabbed to death by a sword in hand-to-hand combat outside a hotel.

The first Battle of St Albans, is regarded as the beginning of the "War of the Roses".

The abyss of the civil war

The sitting of the Duke of York greatly threatened the interests of two other people-Queen Margaretand her son Edward.

Henry VI had a weak temperament and suffered from intermittent mental illness, but his wife Queen Margaret, a beautiful and powerful woman, slowly came to the front and became the spokesperson and practicality of the Lancaster family. leader.

Queen Margaret tried her best to suppress the forces of the Duke of York and his in-laws, the Neville family, which also became an important thrust for the two sides to confront each other again.

In the early days of the battle between the Queen and the Yorks, the Yorks were in a dominant position.After the Battle of Northampton, Henry VI was captured, London fell into the hands of the Yorkers, and Margaret fled with her son Edward to Wales .

The victorious Duke of York, Richard, disinherited Prince Edward, and the Queen categorically refused. She rallied the nobles who remained loyal to the Lancaster family and recruited an army to continue the battle with the York family.

After that, December 1460, the Battle of Wakefield, the Lancasters were victorious, Richard, Duke of York was killed, and his head hung from the gate; Edward, Earl of March, Duke of York's son, was victorious;

On February 14, Lancaster was victorious at the Second Battle of St Alsborne; for Edward IV .

AprilBattle of Taunton Edward IV defeated the main force of Lancaster.

After the Battle of Taunton, the Lancaster family had lost the capital to fight with the York family, and it stopped. However, just when the overall situation was settled, Edward IV offended his closest partner, the Earl of Warwick, because of marital problems.

1470, the Earl of Warwick united Queen Margaret in France and the Lancaster party to plan the restoration of Henry VI and the escape of Edward IV.Burgundy. In

1471, Edward IV returned with his supporters, and in the Battle of Barnett in April , the Earl of Warwick's forces were destroyed and Warwick was killed. In the following Tewkesbury battle , the remnants of Lancaster were completely defeated.

Edward IV returns to the throne, the era of the Lancasters is over, but the War of the Roses is not really over.

The end of the War of the Roses, the beginning of the Tudor Dynasty

The York Dynasty has been passed down for 3 generations, Edward IV→Edward V→Richard III.

Richard III was the younger brother of Edward IV. When Edward IV died, his son Edward V was only 12 years old, and Richard III became regent.

There is no suspense, Richard III simply usurped the throne of his nephew.

However, the regime of Richard III was not popular, and uprisings were launched all over the place, among which a nobleman named Henry Tudor participated.

In Battle of Bosworth , Henry Tudor defeated Richard III, Richard III died in battle, it is said that someone found Richard's crown on the battlefield, took it off, and put it on Henry · Tudor's head.

Henry Tudor became the new King of England, Henry VII, starting the Tudor dynasty.

Henry VII married the daughter of Edward IV of the House of York, and the red rose representing the House of Lancaster was combined with the white rose representing the House of York to form the new rose coat of arms.

Tudor's victory is also considered to mark the end of the "War of the Roses".