By Lesley Abrahams [H.4a.1b.1c.1d/ E.6.5a.1b.1c.1d] and Kathy Smart [H.4a.1b.1c.1d.1e/ E.6.5a.1b.1c.1d.1e]. Originally published in HAFS Journal Vol 16 No 2, November 2021
The Wars of the Roses covers two periods of sporadic fighting across England over three decades, between rival kings, barons, and landholders, striving to maintain royal favours and the use of land for their own prosperity.
Medieval English history was a sequence of rebellions and general upheavals. The hold of the monarchy on the life of their aristocracy was fragile throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. Into the 15th century society demanded better government, and required the monarchy to govern for the people, not just for the benefit of the rich and powerful.
Though there may have been no more than 12 or 13 weeks of actual fighting there were major battles between rival branches of the House of the Plantagenets, England was dealing with economic depression, while the monarchy, struggled to maintain or extend power in the wider European arena.
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