The Wars of the Roses: Politics and the Constitution in England, c. 1437-1509

Description

First published 1997. Reprinted 1999, 2002. This is a new interpretation of English politics during the extended period beginning with the majority of Henry VI in c. 1437 up to the accession of Henry VII in 1509. The later fifteenth century in England is a somewhat baffling and apparently incoherent period which historians and history students have found consistently difficult to handle. The large-scale 'revisionism' inspired by the classic work of K. B. McFarlane led to the first real work on politics, both national and local, but has left the period in a disjointed state: much material has been unearthed, but without any real sense of direction or coherence. This book places the events of the century within a clearly delineated framework of constitutional structures, practices and expectations, in an attempt to show the meaning of the apparently frenetic and purposeless political events which occurred within that framework - and which sometimes breached it. At the same time it takes cognisance of all the work that has been done on the period, including recent and innovative work on Henry VI. List of illustrations xi Preface xiii Introduction 1 1. Sources and historiography 4 2. The governance of England in the fifteenth century I: kings, kingship and political society 27 3. The governance of England in the fifteenth century II: nobility, gentry and local governance 47 4. The Lancastrian kings to c. 1437 67 5. Henry VI's adult rule: the first phase c. 1437-1450 87 6. The road to war: 1450—1455 116 7. The end of Lancastrian rule: 1455—1461 136 8. Edward IV's first reign: 1461-1471 156 9. The triumph of York: 1471-1483 182 10. Richard III and the end of Yorkist rule: 1483-1485 206 11. Henry VII and the end of the wars: 1485-1509 219 12. Conclusions 252 Bibliographical notes 269 Index 281