Lancastrian and Yorkist England.

Since 1216 the royal succession had always gone to the king's eldest son. By this rule, Henry IV, the son of John of Gaunt, Edward III's fourth son, had no claim to the throne. The rightful heir was Edmund, earl of March (1391-1425), who was descended from Edward's third son. Because of the irregularity, Henry and his Lancastrian successors were not secure in their claim to the throne. This weakness was manifest in his concessions to Parliament and to the church as well as in his wars with powerful and rebellious families in Wales and the north. Henry V, who succeeded his father, had one ambition, to duplicate Edward III's military exploits in France. He won a brilliant victory at Agincourt in 1415 and had his success confirmed in the Treaty of Troyes (1420). He married the daughter of the mad French king, Charles VI, assumed control of the French government, although not the entire country, and could expect a son of this marriage to inherit both kingdoms.

In 1422 both Henry and Charles VI died, bringing the nine-month-old Henry VI to the throne of both countries. For a time, Henry's able uncles, John of Lancaster, duke of Bedford, and Humphrey of Gloucester (1390-1447), held things together, the former in France, the latter in England. In 1429, however, Joan of Arc appeared, inspiring the French to fight with greater resolve. Although Joan was captured and burned as a heretic in 1431, the English position in France became increasingly precarious.

Henry VI was not capable of ruling; during his reign, control of the kingdom passed from one noble faction to another. The war in France only emphasized Henry's inability at home. The loss of Normandy in 1450 and the corruption of the government incited an abortive popular rebellion, led by Jack Cade. The loss of everything in France, except Calais, in 1453, was a prelude to the dynastic conflict called the Wars of the Roses (1455-85). The wars were fought between two branches of the royal family, the Lancastrians, who in the person of Henry VI possessed the throne but lacked the ability to rule, and the Yorkists, led by Richard, duke of York (1411-60), who had a valid claim to the throne and greater ability. The issue was complicated in 1453, when the king's wife, Margaret of Anjou, gave birth to a son, destroying Richard's status as heir apparent.

The turning point in the wars came in 1460. That year Richard was killed in battle, and his cause was taken up by his son, Edward. Assisted by Richard Neville, earl of Warwick, he defeated the Lancastrians in 1461, took Henry captive, and so overawed Parliament that it acclaimed him king as Edward IV. Henry, however, escaped, and Edward's subsequent marriage (1464) to Elizabeth Woodville (1437-92) and his alliance with Burgundy alienated Warwick, who then joined forces with Margaret of Anjou to depose Edward and restore Henry to the throne (1470). Edward returned the following year, supported by his brother-in-law, Charles the Bold of Burgundy, and decisively defeated the Lancastrians. Thereafter, he was secure on the throne and restored some degree of sound government. When Edward died in 1483, the throne went to his 12-year-old son, Edward V, but it was usurped three months later by the boy's uncle, Richard, duke of Gloucester, who became king as Richard III. Two years later, Henry Tudor, asserting a weak Lancastrian claim, defeated Richard at Bosworth and became Henry VII.

The 15th century was a time of trouble and change. The country was ravaged by war and plague, and the population did not begin to increase again until near the end of the century. The weakness of the royal government allowed a break-down of law and order. Feudal barons with their retainers became powerful unto themselves, a condition often called bastard feudalism. The once great export of wool declined sharply but was gradually replaced by woolen cloth, the product of a new cottage industry. Landlords exploited the demand for wool by enclosing land and raising more sheep, disrupting the age-old economy of the countryside but laying the foundation for growth. All that England needed was a king who could restore efficiency to the royal government and bring law and order to the countryside. Henry VII in 1485 appointed himself to do just that. Seldom have a man and his mission been more happily matched.

Last modified on: Thursday, September 4, 1997.