X-Nico

9 unusual facts about Wars of the Roses


A. J. Pollard

Anthony James Pollard (born 1941) is a British medieval historian, specialising in North-Eastern England during the Wars of the Roses.

Coventry Cross

It was particularly strong in Coventry which supported the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses, and which in 1456 was home to Queen Margaret, wife of Henry VI, who moved the court there as London grew increasingly Yorkist in sympathy.

Great Mongeham

William Crayford led a contingent of Kent men in the Wars of the Roses on the Yorkist side.

Hanmer

The oldest recorded reference to a church in Hanmer dates from 1110, though this building was destroyed in 1463 during the Wars of the Roses.

Kingmaker Novices' Chase

The title of the race refers to the 16th Earl of Warwick, who was known as the "Kingmaker" during the Wars of the Roses.

Lancaster Red Roses

Some sources indicate that the rival teams were named for the opposing factions in England's historic Wars of the Roses.

Lord of the Isles

The civil war in England, known famously as the Wars of the Roses, prevented the activation of this alliance and on the discovery of his treason in 1493 John Macdonald II forfeited his estates and titles to James IV of Scotland.

Sir Philip II Courtenay

He had been badly treated by his distant cousin Thomas de Courtenay, 5th Earl of Devon (1414–1458), whose seat was at Tiverton Castle, and during the turbulent and lawless era of the Wars of the Roses, he supported the challenge against the earl, for local supremacy in Devon, put up by the Lancastrian courtier, Sir William Bonville (1392–1461), of Shute.

Sukiyaki Western Django

The film contains numerous references both to the historical Genpei War and to Wars of the Roses, as well as the films Yojimbo and Django.


Andrew Dokett

The foundation-stone was laid for the Queen by Sir John Wenlock, her chamberlain, on 15 April 1448, and the quadrangle was approaching completion when the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses put a temporary stop to the undertaking.

Crisis of the Late Middle Ages

Popular revolts in late medieval Europe and civil wars between nobles within countries such as the Wars of the Roses were common, with France fighting internally nine times, and there were international conflicts between kings such as France and England in the Hundred Years' War.

Denbigh Castle

During the Wars of the Roses, Jasper Tudor, the Lancastrian Earl of Pembroke, tried twice and failed to take the castle in the 1460s.

Flag of Lancashire

The Red Rose of Lancaster is a symbol for the House of Lancaster, immortalised in the verse "In the battle for England's head/York was white, Lancaster red" (referring to the 15th century War of the Roses).

Harlech Castle

In the 15th century, Harlech was involved in the series of civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses that broke out between the rival factions of the House of Lancaster and York.

During the 15th century Wars of the Roses, Harlech was held by the Lancastrians for seven years, before Yorkist troops forced its surrender in 1468, a siege memorialised in the song Men of Harlech.

Hunsdon House

It was originally constructed of brick in 1447 by Sir William Oldhall in the shape of a tower, but as Oldhall supported the House of York during the Wars of the Roses, he was stripped of the property by the Lancastrian Henry VI.

John Dawney

All his honours were forfeited by attainder, and the earldom eventually passed, after a brief period of confusion during the Wars of the Roses (for which see Earl of Devon), by a new creation in 1485 to Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (d.1509), the grandson of Sir Hugh Courtenay of Haccombe and Bampton (1358–1425), brother of the 11th Earl.

John De la Bere

The bishop resigned on 23 July 1460, possibly due to his political affiliations during the Wars of the Roses, and was succeeded by Robert Tully.

Middleham Castle

In 1270 it came into the hands of the Neville family, the most notable member of which was Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, known to history as the "Kingmaker", a leading figure in the Wars of the Roses.

Parliament of Devils

The main business of the Parliament was to pass bills of attainder for High treason against the leading Yorkist nobles, following the start of a new stage in the Wars of the Roses and the Battle of Ludford Bridge.

Philip De Carteret, 6th of St Ouen

During the Wars of the Roses, Queen Margaret, the wife of Henry VI, made an agreement with Pierre de Brézé, Comte de Maulevrier, the seneschal of Normandy, to raise an army, in aid of the Lancastrian cause, to capture Jersey and in the process to provide a refuge if it should be needed in the event of Yorkist success.

Roses rivalry

The name of the rivalry is derived from the historic Wars of the Roses which was carried out between the House of Lancaster and the House of York.

Standard Bearer of England

During the Wars of the Roses, each side had their own standard bearer, such as William Brandon, standard bearer of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond at the Battle of Bosworth Field.

Tandridge, Surrey

Due to the Cousins' Wars she became widow of Warwick the king-maker and was finally compelled to convey her enormous estates to Henry VII.

Thomas Tuddenham

During the Wars of the Roses in the 1450s Tuddenham and his associates aligned themselves with the Lancastrian forces of Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI, and at the end of 1458 Tuddenham was appointed Treasurer of the Royal Household.

Tudur Penllyn

Tudur lived through the Wars of the Roses, in which his patrons (notably Rheinallt ap Gruffudd of Mold, also a patron of Lewys Glyn Cothi, and Dafydd Siencyn, a supporter of Jasper Tudor) mainly adhered to the Lancastrian party.


see also

Cultural depictions of Henry V of England

Michael Pennington in the BBC series The Wars of the Roses (1989), which included all of Shakespeare's history plays performed by the English Shakespeare Company

Richard Neville

Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (1428–1471), known as "Warwick the Kingmaker", English noble, fought in the Wars of the Roses (1455–1485)

Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury (1400–1460), Yorkist leader during the Wars of the Roses (1455–1485), father of the 16th Earl of Warwick