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The End of the House of Lancaster
The Wars of the Roses were central to 15th-century English history. Their cause lay both deep in the constitution of the Lancastrian kingship and closer to the surface in Henry VI's personal weaknesses. This account of the end of the Lancastrian dynasty brings these factors into sharp focus. Storey constructs a lucid interpretation of the fickle support afforded to Henry VI by his great lords, and postulates that it was this breakdown in law and order - caused by Henry's personal weakness - which provided the perfect conditions for the outbreak of war.
278 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 6, 2021
This book is not your standard-issue attack on Queen Margaret (though of course she rears her head on occasion). Nor is it a discussion about the incapacity of King Henry VI (though you can’t get away from him). Rather, this is an enlightening discussion about how the feuding between the leading families made the Wars of the Roses inevitable. The blame can naturally be placed at the feet of a weak king who couldn’t control his nobles and whose rule was ineffectual. Some really short-sighted mistakes got made along the way that served to push the wronged parties over the edge, and again that can be blamed on the king who didn’t seem to know any better. As matters went from bad to worse, “by 1440 application to the central courts was entirely useless, and the local judicial machinery commanded little or no respect.” So naturally, magnates took the law into their own hands. Alliances shifted around depending on who could help who best. As the author says, “Gentry…attached themselves to lords who could give them protection against their personal enemies and in return supported their patrons in private wars with their peers.” This brings us back to the old Bastard Feudalism, which was alive and well in the fifteenth century.
King Henry became a pawn of the current court party, whoever it was. “Henry through his simplicity remained outside the party struggle…But the queen, by enlisting the enemies of York and the Nevilles, compromised her husband’s crown. She pledged it to a baronial faction, and the logical course for the opposing group was to set up its own king.” But not York, regardless of his pedigree. He was the head of his baronial faction and still a “first among equals”. By the time of his death, however, circumstances dictated that Edward IV step into his father’s shoes, with much more acceptance. No one undertook rebellion lightly, and understanding how these private feuds escalated into warfare made the whole conflict more comprehensible. It took more than a few years for hostilities to build to the breaking point, and Henry VI’s incapacities just added fuel to the proverbial fire. I found this book very helpful, though I also found it to be a difficult read, hence my 4 stars.
King Henry became a pawn of the current court party, whoever it was. “Henry through his simplicity remained outside the party struggle…But the queen, by enlisting the enemies of York and the Nevilles, compromised her husband’s crown. She pledged it to a baronial faction, and the logical course for the opposing group was to set up its own king.” But not York, regardless of his pedigree. He was the head of his baronial faction and still a “first among equals”. By the time of his death, however, circumstances dictated that Edward IV step into his father’s shoes, with much more acceptance. No one undertook rebellion lightly, and understanding how these private feuds escalated into warfare made the whole conflict more comprehensible. It took more than a few years for hostilities to build to the breaking point, and Henry VI’s incapacities just added fuel to the proverbial fire. I found this book very helpful, though I also found it to be a difficult read, hence my 4 stars.
August 6, 2025
TBH quite pedestrian and bodded down in detail at a minute level without the broad sweep that is needed to tie loose ends together.
Some useful moments, and in places agrees with Carpenter, but without the wide-angle look that Carpenter uses very well.
Some useful moments, and in places agrees with Carpenter, but without the wide-angle look that Carpenter uses very well.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews