Wars of the Roses Quiz

The Plantagenets (Part 1)

• William the Conqueror (1066-87) ruled England
• William Rufus (1087-1100) followed
• Henry I (1100-1135) succeeded William Rufus; had a son who died
• Matilda, Henry I's daughter, was involved in a disputed succession with Stephen de Blois (Henry's nephew)
• Anarchy occurred during Stephen de Blois' reign (1135-1154)
• Matilda and Geoffrey Plantagenet's son, Henry Plantagenet, became Henry II (reign: 1154-1189)

The Early Plantagenets (House of Anjou)

• Henry II: ruled from Anjou (central France)
• He married Eleanor of Aquitane.
• Through this marriage, he gained vast territories
• His domain included England and western France, up to the Pyrenees. England was his largest province.

Early Plantagenets: Henry II - Changes

• Knights were no longer called to feudal duty (limited to 40 days).
• "Shield money" and mercenaries were introduced instead.
• Some knights became mercenaries.
• Other knights turned to agriculture.

Early Plantagenets: Henry II - Further Changes

• Primogeniture was adopted meaning all land went to the eldest son (the younger sons were sent to Europe to seek fortunes).
• The wealth of the feudal class led to a rise in towns and a growing middle class involved in manufacture and trade.

Early Plantagenets: Henry II - Conflict with Beckett

• Constitutions of Clarendon (1164) aimed to:
  • Subject churchmen to royal courts
  • Forbid the church from excommunicating without the king's permission.
  • Forbid the clergy from appealing to Rome.
• Henry appointed Thomas Beckett Archbishop of Canterbury to control the church through him.
• Beckett refused these Constitutions and excommunicated the king's supporters.
• Beckett was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral (29 December 1170).

Early Plantagenets: Henry II - Legacy

• A quiet re-confirmation of Rome's power
• Old Anglo-Danish tradition of Common Law was recognised as a basis for the legal system, not Roman law.
• Barbarous methods of trial were abolished (compurgation, trial by ordeal). Trial by jury was introduced.
• The central court of justice and the appeal court were established.
• Precedents were introduced.
• Development of a strong monarchy
• Consolidation of Feudalism (primogeniture).

The Crusades

• Religious wars fought between Christians and Muslims (11-13th centuries) to free the Holy Land from Muslims.
• 1095, Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade, thousands joined to recover Jerusalem.

The First Crusade - 1095-1099

• Little English involvement.
• Map depicts the areas involved and the groups involved (Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox churches, Mohammedans, Crusader states).

The Second Crusade - 1147-1149

• Map depicting territory involved
• Areas of Viking influence

The Third Crusade (1189-1192)

• Richard Coeur de Lion (1157-1199) was king.
• Reigned from 1189 to 1199 and was considered a chivalrous model.

The Crusades - Richard Coeur de Lion

• He was not a successful king (negligent and absent).
• Imposed heavy taxation.
• Fought in the Holy Land (1190-92), was imprisoned near Vienna, and paid a high ransom.
• Briefly returned to England and died.

John, King of England (1199-1216)

• Richard’s brother
• Not a successful ruler.
• His reign saw the beginning of constitutional resistance from the Barons, and then later, other classes.

John Lackland

• War with Philip II of France led to the loss of Normandy.
• By 1206, only the Channel Islands remained.
• Gradually lost connections with France, needed money to defend French lands, and therefore raised taxes.

King John: Magna Carta (1215)

• Barons, bishops, and thanes forced King John to sign it.
• Considered the first document of the English Constitution
• The church was given freedom in electing bishops.
• Barons and towns were given participation in fixing tax amounts.
• No freeman could be imprisoned without trial by their peers.
• A 25-member baron council was formed to ensure the Charter was obeyed.

Henry III: Provisions of Oxford (1258)

• King John was succeeded by Henry III.
• The struggle for the Charter period was a time of civil war and constitution making.
• Barons, led by Simon de Montfort, forced Henry III to accept a new government.
• Power was placed in the hands of a 15-member council that supervised royal appointments, local administration, and royal castles.
• Parliament was formed to meet three times per year to oversee this council.

Henry III: Provisions of Oxford (continued)

• Written in French, Latin, and English.
• Henry III broke the agreement in 1261 leading to civil war.
• Simon de Montfort led the baron forces, defeated royal forces at the Battle of Lewes (1264), and became leader of Parliament.
• Parliament was expanded to include representatives from other classes (beginning the idea of the Commons).
• Simon de Montfort was killed at the Battle of Evesham (1265) soon after which Parliament was dissolved.

The House of Plantagenet

• Henry II (first Plantagenet king).
• Richard I (Crusade King).
• John Lackland (Magna Carta, 1215).
• Henry III (provisions of Oxford 1258).
• Edward I, Edward II, Edward III

Edwardian Times

• Edward I (1272-1307), Edward II, Edward III
• Four new institutions during their reign:
  • Parliament -Universities -Orders of friars (travelling monks) -Lawyers incorporated int he Inns of Court

Parliament

• Developed gradually.
• During the reign of the three Edwards, Parliament took on a present form.
• Edward I addressed frequent national gatherings as the essence of government.
• Sought to represent the lives of the governed.
• Knights of the shire and burgesses were part of Parliament to give consent to taxation.

Parliament (1295)

• Edward I adopted the "Model Parliament" representing the whole nation.
• Included barons, bishops, knights, and citizens;
• Not yet divided into two houses.
• "No taxation without representation".
• Purposes: to raise money for wars and to oversee local officials

Medieval Universities (1088 - 1150 - 1222 - 1364)

• Importance of the church in education.
• Emergence of new universities like Bologna, Paris, Padua, and Cracow.
• Spread through Europe during 12th & 13th centuries.
• English students were barred from the University of Paris (1167) and established Oxford (undated).

Medieval Universities (continued)

• Oxford was briefly disbanded after the murder of students in 1209, leading to the creation of Cambridge.
• Students were from the middle-class, not upper classes.
• Knights and barons were considered above such education.

Friars

• Arrived in England in the 13th century.
• Two main orders: Dominicans and Franciscans.
• Addressed religious issues to the poor.
• More popular than before since they provided sacraments, libraries, and churches.
• Viewed as rivals by other parish churches in the 14th century.

Attitudes towards the Jews

• Arriving in England after William the Conqueror, Jews were important money lenders owing to the practices of the church being forbidden to lend at high interest.
• Anti-Semitism led to laws against Jews by Edward I (1275), and eventually their expulsion from England in 1290.

Legal Reform

• Edward I was "the English Justinian."
• His civil legislation acted as a basis for centuries of common law.
• Established statutes via Parliament.
• Defined law courts and law as a profession.
• Common Law courts, manned secular people who were taught at universities.
• Universities developed colleges, and lawyers built their inns of court, grouping their halls, libraries, and dwelling places in one area.

Ireland

• Christianity, Monasticism, Viking invasions.
• Viking settlement, ports.
• Christian Irish culture was interrupted by Viking invasions, creating two hundred years of intermittent warfare.
• Norman invasion (1169).
• The English kings attempted to weaken the power of the Norman Lords in Ireland.

13th Century Ireland

• The natives were weak and not united, living in tribes.
• The policy of the English kings weakened the power of Norman lords in Ireland.
• The Black Death arrived around 1348.
• English and Norman populations significantly suffered more than the native Irish.
• English-controlled territory substantially shrank.

Ireland (continued)

• English presence prevented Ireland from forming a unified country.
• Anglo-Irish baron claims prevented the country's union under English kings.
• No strong national unity among the Irish existed.
• Unsuccessful 15th-century attempts to create an independent Irish government.
• England was too weak to fully conquer, but strong enough to prevent independence.

Wales

• Not fully conquered by the Anglo-Saxons.
• 'Marcher Lords': Norman-English barons who held lands on the borders of Wales and in Wales.
• These Lords acted as a barrier to English and Welsh populations.
• These Welsh lords had their own private armies.

Wales (13th Century)

• Welsh national revival with some areas recaptured from Marcher Lords by Llewelyn princes..
• Edward I defeated the Welsh (agreement signed in 1284), establishing the Principality of Wales in 1301.
• The principality retained Welsh customs, with the rest controlled by Anglo-Norman Marcher Lords.

Wales (14-15th Century)

• Tribal feuds and wars to recover Wales by the Welsh occurred, as well as those between Marcher Lords.
• Wales became fully part of England's realm in 1536-43 under the Acts of Union, with the introduction of the English legal system and English administration, with English becoming the official language.

Scotland

• Celtic Kingdom before the 10th Century.
• Bordering Anglo-Saxon England.
• One state after the union of Picts and Scots under Kenneth MacAlpin (844).

Scotland (1018-11-13th Century)

• Lothian (northern part of Saxon Northumbria) integrated with Scotland due to the dissolution of Northumbria (1018).
• Rich agricultural land with rock-fortress Edinburgh, helped develop feudal system of Anglo-Norman monarchy of Scotland (English language was adopted).

Scotland (Malcolm III and Margaret 1058-93)

• A period of English influence, notably after the Battle of Hastings.
• Development in the monarchy
• Development of the Church and Architecture flourished.
• The old Celtic tribal organization shrank concentrating only in the northern highlands.

Scotland (13th Century)

• After the death of Alexander III, a dispute over the Scottish throne began.
• Edward I of England pronounced himself King of Scotland in 1296.
• The Stone of Destiny was removed to Westminster Abbey.
• Uprisings with William Wallace as a leader in 1297.
• Scottish aristocracy supported the English king.
• Peasant and small gentry supported William Wallace in a guerrilla war.

Scotland (continued)

• depicted in Mel Gibson's Braveheart (1995) as part of the struggle against Edward I of England.
• Robert the Bruce was king from 1306-1329; his victory at Bannockburn in 1314 gave Scotland independence.
• A poor country of feudal anarchy, private wars, a corrupt Church, and weak city institutions.

The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453)

• England was a rising power with a strong monarchy.
• France had been under the control of Plantagenets Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine who had held large territories in France.
• John Lackland lost these French territories, with the exception of the Channel Islands.
• Edward III declared war on France to regain these lost lands.

Hundred Years' War: Reasons

• Genealogical: disputing of territories under English or French rule.
• Support from Scotland to France to resist Edward III.
• Economic: Englised sought profitable markets in France greater than in poor Scotland.
• A loose alliance of French lords instead of a monolithic state.

Hundred Years' War: England's Advantage

• Better social organization.
• The French peasant serfs were often exploited and rebelled.
• England had a larger proportion of free men which allowed for a trained army.

Hundred Years' War (continued)

• Age of the longbow.
• English proficiency in longbows.
• Edward III banned other sports like handball, football, and hockey.

Hundred Years' War (French Defeats)

• English forces were led by Edward, the Black Prince (Edward III’s son).
• Crécy (1346): 12,000 English vs 30-40,000 French.
• Poitiers (1356)

The Black Death (1347-51)

• Arrived in England in 1348 impacting the population from 4 million to 2.5 million.
• Spread through Europe via maritime routes.

The Black Death (Economic Consequences)

• Rise in labor force value.
• Free laborers demanded more for work.
• Villeins requested freedom.
• No people to work on farmland.
• The Statute of Labourers (1351) set maximum wages at pre-death levels.

Richard II (reigned: 1377-99)

• Son of Edward the Black Prince, succeeded to the throne at 10 years old.
• Governance was in the hands of a series of councils.
• Richard's uncle, John of Gaunt, was influential in governance.
• Richard's cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, deposed Richard (1399) becoming Henry IV.

The Peasants' Revolt (1381)

• Result of social tension.
• First great popular rebellion in English history directly caused by the imposition of the poll tax to pay for the war in France.
• Free laborers on strike, villeins left their land.
• Leaders: John Ball (priest), and Wat Tyler.

The Peasants' Revolt (continued)

• Peasants organized into an army and marched on London.
• King Richard II and the Mayor of London gave promises.
• Wat Tyler was killed.
• Promises were not kept, participants were persecuted

Wat Tyler's Death

• 1381 Peasants’ Revolt: London's Mayor, Walworth, killed Wat Tyler.
• King Richard watched the event, addressing peasants, as depicted in a historical painting.

Emancipation of the Villeins

• Important to the later process of emancipation of villeins who mainly bought their freedom.
• Process happened in the 15th Century and finished under the Tudors. - Villeins were transformed into small farmers (yeomen).
• The emancipation provided a foundation for the modern economy, trade, manufacturing, and colonization.

Situation in the Church

• 14th and 15th centuries witnessed a loss of moral and intellectual leadership in the Church.
• Unfair distribution of Church wealth among priests.
• Choosing favorites from foreign countries for key Church posts.
• Sale of pardons and relics.
• Persecution was an integral part of medieval Christianity; England's church could not reform itself as all officials were directly subject to Rome.

John Wycliffe (1324?-1384)

• An Oxford don (scholar) who instigated the Lollardy movement.
• Founded a basis for denying Papal authority.
• Theorized the Pope's dominion in power derived from the Caesars of Rome, not from Christ/Peter.
• Equated the Pope with Antichrist.
• Involved in state vs church politics.
• Demanded a service in English and translated the Bible in 1382.

Lollardy (1382-1500) and Wycliffe

• Wycliffe was charged with heresy, a precursor of the Protestant Reformation.
• In 1401, the first English statute was passed for the burning of heretics.
• A Lollard revival occurred in 1500, helping the spread of Protestantism in England.

Henry V → Henry VI (1413-1471)

• Henry V (1413-22), Henry IV's son, revived Edward III's claims to the French throne.
• Victory at Agincourt (1415): 5,900 English against 35,000 French.
• 1420: Henry V was acknowledged as the heir to the French throne by the Treaty of Troyes; however, the French king's son did not agree.
• Henry V died (1422); his son, Henry VI inherited throne (1422-61, 1470-71)

Hundred Years' War (continued)

• Joan of Arc (1412-1431).
• Sent by King Charles VII to the siege of Orléans (1429) which resulted in amajor French victory.
• Captured by the Burgundians/turned over to the English.
• Executed for witchcraft and schism (following God's voice directly).
• Additional French victories followed but took longer than 20 years to drive the English out of France.

Hundred Years' War: Results

• Calais for 100 years became part of British territory.
• Growing national self-consciousness (increase in the feeling of English nationality).
• Growing racial hatred for the French.
• 1362, Statute passed via Parliament to make language of English courts both English and Latin (to replace French).
• English language spread in schools among the upper classes creating an English-language literature (Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, etc).

Parliamentary Development

• Hundred Years' War (1337-1453): Parliament's support for taxation strengthened their powers.
• Medieval England parliament:
• Voted taxes;
• Made laws (statutes)
• Judiciary function "High Court of Parliament".
• Kings were subject to law; not absolute monarchs.
• Henry IV's overthrow of Richard II (1399), the start of the Lancasterian period.
• Henry IV increased Parliament's powers; Lancaster kings ruled by Parliamentary title.
• Powers and privileges of Parliament respected.

Parliamentary Development: Premature Death of Henry V (1422).

• Henry V died prematurely, passing the throne to his son, Henry VI (1422-61 1470-71) at an early age
• Regency government ruled until Henry VI aged 16.
• The Council fell into the hands of the nobles.

Henry VI (reigned: 1422-61, 1470-71)

• Incapable of ruling on his own without support.
• Married Margaret of Anjou (1445).
• Experienced two bouts of mental illness between 1450 and 1461.
• Richard, 3rd Duke of York ruled as protector.
• Henry VI founded Eton College and King's College (Cambridge) and All Souls College.

Henry VI (continued)

• Henry VI's power seized by his strong wife Margaret of Anjou and the nobles who fell into two groups.
• One group supported the House of Lancaster; the other supported the House of York.
• Result: the Wars of the Roses

Wars of the Roses (1455-1487)

• A civil war in England over the throne.
• Battle between the House of Lancaster and the House of York (branches of the Plantagenet Royal House).
• Badges: Red Rose (Lancaster), White Rose (York)
• Cause was struggle for power, wealth, and the Crown.
• Changing sides and neutral nobles were common, though the fighting nobles were savage to one another.
• Significant periods of war between Lancastrian Henry VI. and the Yorkist supporters.

Wars of the Roses (continued)

• Henry VI was deposed in 1461 after the battle of Towton by Edward becoming Edward IV.
• Edward IV was crowned morning after Henry VI’s death in 1471 during the Battle of Tewkesbury.
• Henry VI was imprisoned in the Tower of London.
• Briefly restored to the throne in 1470.
• Edward IV died suddenly in 1483, with his heir also killed and imprisoned in the Tower of London. - His 12-year old heir, Edward V, faced a succession crisis.
• Richard III assumed the throne and ruled until 1485, defeated at the Battle of Bosworth Field by Henry Tudor.

Wars of the Roses (continued)

• Edward V and his brother Richard were imprisoned in the Tower of London by their uncle, Richard III.
• Parliament gave the throne to Richard III who ruled before being deposed by Henry Tudor who became King Henry VII of England.
• The princes in the Tower likely died in the tower.

The Tudors: Henry VII and Henry VIII

• Henry VII (1485-1509).
• Employed chroniclers to portray his reign positively and to place the family as a new age after the conflicts of the War of the Roses.
• Solidified his power, made the nation wealthy, and kept conflicts out of war.
• Preserved old medieval institutions
• Henry VII married Elizabeth of York to end the conflict and consolidate his claim.

The Tudors: Henry VII (continued)

• Centralized power and created a strong Royal Council (Privy Council).
• Privy Council members were middle-class clergy, new civil servants, and loyal and efficient lawyers after Henry VIII.
• Developed the Star Chamber as a judicial body responsible for controlling illegal behavior.

The Tudors: political changes

• Limited role of aristocracy (caused by the War of the Roses).
• Confiscation of aristocracy wealth under Henry VII.
• Henry VII ideas more in line with the new class of merchants and gentleman farmers rather than old ideas of kingship.
• Medieval world broke up, allowing trade, agriculture, and manufacturing to flourish.

The Tudors (continued): Intellectual Revival

• Peace & Order brought revival.
• Revival of Lollardy (pre-Protestant religious movement started by John Wycliffe).
• Anti-clerical views emphasizing Bible reading.
• English Renaissance interest in Greek & Roman literature & culture.
• Modern attitude towards learning.
• English Renaissance was more closely connected with religion than Italian or French.

The Tudors: Renaissance in England

• Roots of changes in the 14th & 15th centuries.
• Dissolving the fabric of medieval society (emancipation of villeins, growth of London, rise of educated classes, spread of cloth manufacturing, strengthening Parliament).
• English language was adopted by educated classes..
• Creation of the printing press (Johannes Gutenburg).

The Tudors: Renaissance (continued)

• Gutenberg's printing press created a shift, shattering the church's monopoly of learning.
• William Caxton introduced the first printing press in England in 1476.
• First book printed was an edition of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

The Tudors: Renaissance (continued)

• Discovery of ocean trade routes and America (Christopher Columbus).
• Beginning of sea voyages (age of exploration).
• Sailors sailed to Labrador, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia (John and Sebastian Cabot).

The Tudors: Henry VIII

• Henry VIII, effective Royal Navy, and Trinity House.

Henry VIII (1491-1547)

• Succeeded his brother, Arthur (who died in 1502), became King at 18.
• Married his brother's widow Catherine of Aragon.
• Wanted Church in England to follow him and not the Pope
• Wrote a treatise The Defence of the Seven Sacraments to defend marriage, the Pope's supremacy and accused Martin Luther of heresy in 1521.

Henry VIII: Personal Reasons for Split with Rome

• Only one surviving child (Mary).
• Wanted a male heir to secure the throne.
• Married Anne Boleyn in an effort to produce a male heir.

Henry VIII (continued)

• Catherine of Aragon was Charles V (king of Spain), Isabella of Castile’s daughter.
• The Pope (Leo X) granted Henry the title "Fidei Defensor" but later revoked (1530) when Henry was excommunicated.

Henry VIII's Wives

• Catherine of Aragon: Mary
• Anne Boleyn: Elizabeth I
• Jane Seymour: Edward VI
• Anne of Cleves: divorce
• Catherine Howard: Beheaded
• Catherine Parr: survived.

Henry VIII (continued)

• Died in 1547 at age 55.
• First English king with a modern humanistic education who spoke and read both English, French, and Latin.
• Considerable library collection of instruments.
• Composer, credited with writing Greensleeves.

Henry VIII: Legitimate Children

• Mary I (Catherine of Aragon).
• Elizabeth I (Anne Boleyn).
• Edward VI (Jane Seymour).

The Tudors: Edward VI and Mary I (1547-1558)

• Edward VI (1547-1553): became king at age of 9.
• Uncle (Edward Seymour) appointed as Lord Protector.
• Protestant Council.
• Archbishop Cranmer prepared the Book of Common Prayer (1549/52).

Edward VI (continued)

• Archbishop Cranmer created a base for an anti-clerical reformation.
• Showed that the English King was the Head of the English Church.
• The Protector (Seymour) didn't persecute Catholics.
• Allowed free discussion of religious differences.
• Majority of English were not yet truly Protestant despite hating Catholic worldliness and riches.
• John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland replaced Seymour, creating more impetus for the Reformation and returning to some of Henry VIII's anti-Catholic strict laws.

Lady Jane Grey (1553)

• Dudley's daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey made as successor to Edward VI, but only held the crown for 9 days. Edward VI died at age 15 and his will excluded both of Henry’s daughters and gave the throne to Lady Jane Grey.

Mary I (1553-1558)

• Mary Tudor (Catherine of Aragon's daughter).
• Became queen in 1553 at age 37.
• Supported by common English people, who resented the greed of the new Protestant nobles.
• Associated with violence, robbing churches and destroying monasteries.

Mary I: Marriage and Reign

• Married her cousin Philip II of Spain.
• Sought approval of Parliament for her engagement (required that Philip was only king for her lifetime).
• The Parliament agreed under the condition that Philip would rule only during Mary’s life, but protests followed because of this.

Mary I (continued): Religious Policy

• Revived the jurisdiction of the Pope over England following her zeal for Catholicism.
• Burnt roughly 300 Protestants.
• These actions made the Catholic religion unpopular.
• To be Protestant was beginning to be seen as having British identity.

Mary I (final years): Illness, and Reign's Impact

• Died in 1558 at age 42.
• Left a weak and ill-governed England.
• without arms or leadership, unity, or spirit.
• A vassal to the Spanish Empire.
• First female to successfully claim throne of England.
• 1843 the Martyr’s Memorial was erected in Oxford to commemorate 16th-century Anglican bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley and Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

• Daughter of Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn.
• Brought up Protestant.
• Considered illegitimate by many.
• Third in line to the throne.
• Phillip of Spain, although not Catholic, protected Elizabeth against the claim of Mary Queen of Scots.

Elizabeth I (continued)

• The rivalry between Catholic France and Spain helped secure Elizabeth’s independence as a ‘heretic’ English queen over the course of her reign.
• Queen of England and Ireland from 1558-1603.
• She was called the Virgin Queen or Gloriana, the last monarch of the Tudor House.

Test your knowledge on the Wars of the Roses, a pivotal conflict in English history. This quiz covers key events, significant figures, and political dynamics of the Lancasterian period. Explore the causes, battles, and lasting impacts of this tumultuous era.