• Episodes
    Episode Index Key Dates Timelines By Category This day in history
    Episodes
    Saxons, Angles and Jutes Viking Invasions The Norman Invasion The Hundred Years War War of the Roses Complete list of Episodes
    Timelines
    Timeline Index 1001 .. 1100 1101 .. 1200 1201 .. 1300 1301 .. 1400 1401 .. 1500 1501 .. 1600
    Key Dates
    1001 - 1200 1201 - 1300 1301 - 1400 1401 - 1500 1501 - 1600
    More
    This day in history Timelines by Category
  • People
    Medieval People A..Z English Kings & Queens Kings of Scotland Kings of France Kings of Denmark Emperors of Byzantine Popes and Antipopes Crusader States and their Rulers Family Trees
    Rulers
    Medieval People A..Z English Kings & Queens Kings of Scotland Kings of France Kings of Denmark Emperors of Byzantine Listed by Century Births and Deaths Family Trees
    More
    Medieval Knights Popes and Antipopes Crusader State Rulers
    Heraldry
    Medieval Heraldry Heraldry Colours Heraldry Divisons Heraldry Ordinaries Heraldry Crosses Common Charges Heraldry Beasts
    Shield Designer
    Design your Shield
  • Life
    Life in Medieval Times Life in a Castle The Feudal System Country Life and Agriculture Life in a Medieval Town Life in a Religious Community
    General
    Life in Medieval Times The Feudal System The Black Death The Peasants Revolt
    Life in
    Life in a Castle Life in a Village Life in a Town
    Life as
    Life as a Medieval Knight
    The Abbey
    Life in an Abbey The Medieval Abbey The Origin of Monasteries Religious Orders
  • Castles
    Castle Index Page Castle Development Early Fortifications Motte and bailey Castles Square Keeps Castle of William the Conqueror Concentric Castles Castles of Edward I Castle Siege Tactics Parts of a Castle Locations of over 300 Castles UK Castles by County
    General
    Castle Index Page Castle Development Purpose of a Castle Life in a Castle
    Types
    Early Fortifications Motte and Bailey Square Keeps Conquest Castles Concentric Castles Castles of Edward I
    More
    Castle Siege Tactics Parts of a Castle Master Masons
    Locations
    300 Castles UK Castles by County
  • Places
    A..Z list of Medieval Buildings Maps Photographs Abbeys and Monasteries Cathedrals Medieval Architecture
    Places
    Medieval Buildings A..Z Photographs
    Maps
    Index Page
    Abbeys
    Abbeys and Monasteries Layout of a Medieval Abbey Cathedrals Medieval Architecture
     
  • 3D/VR
    Virtual Reconstructions
    Virtual Motte and Bailey Castle Virtual Norman Keep Virtual Siege Engines
    Virtual Bodiam Castle Virtual Skenfrith Castle Virtual Middleham Castle Virtual White Tower Virtual Etal Castle
    Knights Training
    3D Reconstructions
    Index Page Motte and Bailey Castle Bodiam Castle Skenfrith Castle Middleham Castle The White Tower
    3D Locations
    The Medieval Abbey The Medieval Town The Medieval Village
    2D
    The Medieval Town The Manor House
    Headset VR
    VR Experiences VR Medieval Keep VR Medieval House
  • More
    • Test your Knowledge

    • Glossary of Terms
    • Glossary of Heraldic Terms
    • Scriptorium

    • Games
    • Early Access

    • Copyright / About TimeRef.com
    • Contact the Author
  • Episodes
    Episodes
    Saxons, Angles and Jutes Viking Invasions The Norman Invasion The Hundred Years War War of the Roses Complete list of Episodes
    Timelines
    Timeline Index 1001 .. 1100 1101 .. 1200 1201 .. 1300 1301 .. 1400 1401 .. 1500 1501 .. 1600
    Key Dates
    1001 - 1200 1201 - 1300 1301 - 1400 1401 - 1500 1501 - 1600
    More
    This day in history Timelines by Category
  • People
    Rulers
    Medieval People A..Z English Kings & Queens Kings of Scotland Kings of France Kings of Denmark Emperors of Byzantine Listed by Century Births and Deaths Family Trees
    More
    Medieval Knights Popes and Antipopes Crusader State Rulers
    Heraldry
    Medieval Heraldry Heraldry Colours Heraldry Divisons Heraldry Ordinaries Heraldry Crosses Common Charges Heraldry Beasts
    Shield Designer
    Design your Shield
  • Life
    General
    Life in Medieval Times The Feudal System The Black Death The Peasants Revolt
    Life in
    Life in a Castle Life in a Village Life in a Town
    Life as
    Life as a Medieval Knight
    The Abbey
    Life in an Abbey The Medieval Abbey The Origin of Monasteries Religious Orders
  • Castles
    General
    Castle Index Page Castle Development Purpose of a Castle Life in a Castle
    Types
    Early Fortifications Motte and Bailey Square Keeps Conquest Castles Concentric Castles Castles of Edward I
    More
    Castle Siege Tactics Parts of a Castle Master Masons
    Locations
    300 Castles UK Castles by County
  • Places
    A..Z list of Medieval Buildings Maps Photographs Abbeys and Monasteries Cathedrals Medieval Architecture
    Places
    Medieval Buildings A..Z Photographs
    Maps
    Index Page
    Abbeys
    Abbeys and Monasteries Layout of a Medieval Abbey Cathedrals Medieval Architecture
     
  • 3D/VR
    3D Reconstructions
    Index Page Motte and Bailey Castle Bodiam Castle Skenfrith Castle Middleham Castle The White Tower
    3D Locations
    The Medieval Abbey The Medieval Town The Medieval Village
    2D
    The Medieval Town The Manor House
    Headset VR
    VR Experiences VR Medieval Keep VR Medieval House
  • More
    • Test your Knowledge

    • Glossary of Terms
    • Glossary of Heraldic Terms
    • Scriptorium

    • Games
    • Early Access

    • Copyright / About TimeRef.com
    • Contact the Author
  1. Home
  2. Episode Index
  3. Wars of the Roses
Episode Details
Please note that the TimeRef website is currently being redesigned.

Wars of the Roses

Introduction Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4
Tweet

The Wars of the Roses (1455 - 1487)

Red rose of Lancaster

The battles of the Wars of the Roses took place between 1455 and 1487. The war was fought between supporters of several descendants of Edward III, the King of England from 1327 to 1377. The war was not a constant fight that affected the whole country and its population, but a series of battles spread out over the years between sets of supporters known as the Lancastrians and the Yorkists. Some of the battles were fought by thousands of men. The Battle of Towton being the largest and the bloodiest.

White rose of York

Background to the War

It is not truely known why the Lancastrians and Yorkists went to War. There may have been more than one reason. Was the conflict just a struggle between two factions of supporters eager to improve their positions of power in the country?

A popular suggestion is that the two factions disagreed who was the rightful heir to the English throne. In 1399, some fifty years before the wars began, Richard II the King of England was overthrown by Henry Bolingbroke who claimed the English throne as Henry IV. Bolingbroke's claim to the English throne was through his father, John of Gaunt, the fourth son of Edward III. At the time there was a stronger claim to the throne and that was by Edmund Mortimer who was descended from Edward III's third son. Edmund was not old enough to rule the country and it was agreed that Henry Bolingbroke should become king. It would be more than half a century later that this unsafe claim to the English throne would become important.

Family tree

                                                                    
 
 
 
 EDWARD (III, King of England 1327-1377)
b.1312
d.1377
   Philippa (of Hainault)
d.1369
 
   
   
 
                                                     
 
Edward (The Black Prince)
b.1330
d.1376
   Joan (of Kent)
d.1385
 Lionel (of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence)
b.1338
d.1368
   Elizabeth (de Burgh)
d.1363
 John (of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster)
d.1399
   Blanche (of Lancaster)
d.1369
 
      
      
 
       
 
RICHARD (II, King of England 1377-1399)
b.1367
d.1400
 Philippa (daughter of Lionel Duke of Clarence)   Mortimer, Edmund (3rd Earl of March)
d.1381
 HENRY (IV, King of England 1399-1413)
b.1367
d.1413
   Bohun, Mary 
     
     
 
     
 
 Mortimer, Roger (4th Earl of March)
b.1374
d.1398
   Holland, Eleanor (Wife of Roger, Earl of March) Henry (V, King of England 1413-1422)
b.1387
d.1422
   Catherine (of France)
d.1438
 
     
     
 
               
 
 Mortimer, Edmund (5th Earl of March)
b.1391
d.1425
 Mortimer, Anne (daughter of Roger, Earl of March)   Richard (Earl of Cambridge)
d.1415
 Henry (VI, King of England 1422-1461, 1470-1471)
b.1421
d.1471
   Margaret (of Anjou)
b.1429
d.1482
 
      
      
 
     
 
 Richard (Duke of York)
b.1411
d.1460
   Neville, Cecily (Duchess of York)
d.1495
 Edward (of Lancaster, Prince of Wales)
b.1453
d.1471
 
    
    
 
             
 
 Edward (IV, Earl of March and King of England 1461-1470, 1471-1483)
b.1442
d.1483
 Richard (III, King of England 1483-1485)
b.1452
d.1485
 
   
   
 

The Red and White Roses

The red and white roses were probably not used at the time of the war. It may have been William Shakespeare who invented the symbols when he used them in a scene from Henry VI, part 1. The scene takes place in the Temple garden between Richard, Duke of York, and Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, in the presence of other important barons. Each choose a different coloured rose and ask those who support them to choose a rose of the same colour.

A War in Four Phases

The Wars of the Roses was not a constant fight but a series of events and battles that can the divided into four distinct phases.

Phase One

The build up to the first battle of the Wars of the Roses at St. Albans.

Phase Two

After a series of major battles between 1459 and 1461 Edward IV of the Yorkists deposed the Lancastrian King Henry VI.

Phase Three

Starting in 1461 and ending in 1471 the third phase centres around the first reign of Edward IV.

Phase Four

Richard III, Edward's brother becomes King of England in 1483 and killed at Bosworth in 1485.

Battles of the War of the Roses

Battles of the War of the Roses

 
 
3D/VR

Virtual Buildings

Transport yourself back up to a thousand years and explore historical buildings as they may have appeared in the past.

Medieval Episodes

Early Middle Ages

  • Saxons and Angles
  • Viking Invasions

High Middle Ages

  • Edward the Confessor and Godwine
  • Reasons for the Norman Invasion
  • The Norman Invasion
  • The Norman Conquest
  • Background to the Crusades
  • People's and First Crusade
  • Second Crusade
  • Third Crusade
  • Stephen's succession to the throne
  • Civil War (The Anarchy)
  • The Conquest of Ireland
  • Henry II and Thomas Becket
  • Excommunication of King John
  • The First Barons' War
  • The Second Barons' War
  • Edward I and Wales
  • Edward I and Scotland

Last Middle Ages

  • Edward II and Piers Gaveston
  • Robert the Bruce
  • Isabella, She-Wolf of France and death of Edward II
  • Edward III starts the Hundred Years War
  • Continues with Richard II
  • Henry V invades France
  • Henry VI and Joan of Arc
  • The Black Death
  • The Peasants Revolt
  • The Lords Appellant
  • Glendower's Revolt
  • Wars of the Roses

Early Modern Period

  • The Great Explorers
  • Henry VIII and his six wives
  • Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Day Queen

Event Participants and Locations

  • John (King of England 1199-1216)
  • Newark Castle
  • Swineshead Abbey

Medieval Heraldry

Learn about medieval shield design.

Design your own medieval Coat of Arms.

Explore the White Tower

Explore four floors of the keep at the Tower of London.

 

Adventure Game - Early Access

Early Access to the TimeRef card-based Adventure Game.

 

Medieval Town - Early Access

Explore the medieval town.

 

Medieval Village - Early Access

Explore the medieval village.

 

Medieval Abbey - Early Access

Explore the medieval abbey.

 

Medieval Theatre - Early Access

Explore the medieval theatre.

 

^ Back to top

          This popup will contain more information
          This popup will contain more information
          xyz
          xyz