The Wars of the Roses

by J.R. Lander

The dynastic struggles of the Wars of the Roses (1455-85) have traditionally been portrayed as belonging to one of the most dramatic periods in the history of England, an age of murder and melodrama. In this classic history of the wars, charting their origins, progress, conclusions and effects, Professor Lander sets the record straight. By putting the wars into their contemporary context, using the written records of the time (many of which are reproduced in the text) and the results of modern research and scholarship, the true picture emerges. The wars were, in fact, very limited. While not denying that contemporary English society was disorderly and violent, Lander suggests that this state of affairs was due far less to civil war than to habits of violence among all classes of society. Fluently and clearly written "The Wars of the Roses" is the perfect overview of one of the most famous of medieval conflicts. Shedding light, as it does, on fifteenth-century history as a whole, the roots of the Tudor dynasty, and the background to Shakespeare's history plays, this book deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in this most turbulent period.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Medieval, 15th Century, Tudor Period

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Jan-Maat]

Reader beware! This is not a history of the Wars of the Roses. Instead it is a selection of source material arranged in chronological order linked by introductions and short bridging pieces.

We get a description of Henry VI's character from a biography of him written by one of his clergymen He was, like a second Job, a man simple and upright, altogether fearing the Lord God, and departing from evil. He was a simple man, without any crook of craft or untruth, as is plain to all. With none did he deal craftily, nor ever would say an untrue word to any, but framed his speech always to speak truth (p25). some might say too simple for ruling over a kingdom awash with demobbed soldiers and military contractors owed money and sore from defeat in France

A picture of the disorder present in the kingdom well before any bouts of civil war began Sir Thomas Courtenay knight answered the said Nicholas Radford again, and said to him in this wise: 'Radford come ye to me, and I promise you as I am true knight and gentleman ye shall be safe both of your body and of your goods' (p62). Radford, trusting Courtenay or perhaps fearing he and his unmerry men would break in anyway opens the gate. Courtenay distracts Radford, they stood together at a cupbaord, and drank of his wine. And there the said Sir Thomas Courtenay subtly held the said Nicholas R with tales, while the said Sir T. Courtenay's men brake up the chamber doors and coffers of the said Nicholas R...of £300 and more in money...and other goods and jewels, bedding, gowns, furs, books, and ornaments of his chapel to the value of 1,000 marks and more, feloniously robbed, and the goods they trussed together and with the said Nicholas Radford's own horse carried them away.
And among other rifling then and there, they found the said Nicholas Radford's wife in her bed, sore sick as she hath been this two year and more, and rolled her out of her bed, and took away the sheets that she lay in, and trussed them with the remnant of the said goods (p63) then they took Nicholas Radford outside, killed him and dumped the body. This was taken from a petition to Henry VI seeking justice.

Finally there is a description of the entire realm of England by an Italian that finishes: the English have an antipathy to foreigners, and imagine that they never come into their island, but to make themselves masters of it, and to usurp their goods; neither have they any sincere and solid friendships amongst themselves, insomuch that they do not trust each other to discuss either public or private affairs together, in the confidential manner we do in Italy. And although their dispositions are somewhat licentious, I never have noticed any one, either at court or amongst the lower orders, to be in love. I say this of the men, for I understand that it is quite the contrary with the women, who are very violent in their passions (p253). And in between there are all the usual thrills and spills of rebellion, marriage and warfare.

The source materials are all translated, or at least presented in a fairly standardised form of English, but on the whole there is not enough information given about them or enough excerpts from most of them to get a feel for the biases and limitations of individual sources on the whole.

However the range of materials make this a good companion piece to a survey history of the wars of the period or any biographies of the many notable figures. The volume could be useful for a teacher seeking to introduce some genuine source material to their class.

[Éowyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the title of the book is rather misleading - it's not really about the Wars of the Roses per se. The blurb on the inside of the dust jacket tells me it's a book looking more at the impact of this civil strife and the political, social and military situation. It does, as it claims, include many primary sources; 'English and European writings, diplomatic correspondence, personal letters and propoganda', but it is the promised 'detailed interpretation based on modern research' that I must have missed while reading this! To me this was a series of unconnected original documents linked with short paragraphs of text by Lander. In many places the book is so bogged down with inumerable footnotes that the flow of the text is completely lost.

Nice idea, but it doesn't work here.

[Elena · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I give two stars is ONLY because I liked to read the primary sources the book is mainly made of... well, not stuff like Vergil or More, but those are hardly primary sources. The rest is a disaster: Lander considers reliable Thomas More as a source, makes some annoying mistakes (Lord Fauconberg given as Warwick's brother) and, above all, is totally anti Richard, and it was so annoying to read again about the "usurpation", the "boys murdered by their uncle" and bad Richard, and all that old stuff.

[Pinko Palest · Rating 2 out of 5]

very interesting topic, and the approach is very fair minded, but it is almost impossible to sift through, since it's mainly huge chunks of primary sources with very little filler inbetween

[Helene Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review - This book quotes a lot of primary sources from chroniclers like Croyland, Vergil and Thomas More. However, it fails to really analyse what it's quoting, it uses them more to tell the story. This means that you end up with a narrative that is disjointed, as different chroniclers have different opinions, and it sometimes feels very difficult to read and understand the narrative without the analysis of the sources quoted. Nevertheless, a very useful text for historians.

General Subject/s? - History / Plantagenets / Wars of the Roses / Henry VI / Edward IV / Edward V / Richard III / Henry VII

Recommend? – Yes

Rating - 15/20

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the strangest books I’ve read on the Wars of the Roses. It has more direct quotes from sources than it does original text by the author; it almost reads like an oral history. If you have a casual interest I would skip this one, if you’re in deep you might find aspects of it interesting.

[Daisy]

dnf

[Melinda Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this book years ago and decided I would finally read it. English history fascinates me and what I was hoping for was a detailed telling of the causes, the events, and the after math of the Wars of the Roses in England. This book does that, but it doesn't do it in the format I was hoping. Of course the author draws on a lot of sources, but I was hoping he would site the source and paraphrase a bit more. There were way to many extremely long quotations that were at times difficult to follow. Half way through I gave up and rarely read the quotations - just his few words in between. I came away having a better chronology of events in my mind and a better understanding of the people involved, but I know I missed a lot.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for a book of primary source accounts of the War of the Roses, then look no further!

If, however, you are looking for some analysis about the sources then, well, look further.

Excellent collection of current or near current accounts of late 15th century England, but severely lacking in any sort of examination about what all the pieces mean when they are put together.

[Jimmacc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Several other reviews give excellent intro to this book. Less a story than a reference source.