The Wars of the Roses Quotes

“The Burgundian chronicler Philippe de Commines thought the English a choleric, earthy, and volatile people, who nevertheless made good, brave soldiers. In fact he regarded their warlike inclinations as one of the chief causes of the Wars of the Roses. If they could not fight the French, he believed, they fought each other.”
― Alison Weir, The Wars of the Roses

“As their forces broke, the Yorkist cavalrymen raced to the horse park behind their own lines and mounted their steeds to give chase. As they thundered past, the King and Warwick, flushed with victory, yelled, ‘Spare the commons! Kill the lords!’ Their words went unheeded.”
― Alison Weir, The Wars of the Roses

“This led to a lessening of confidence in the judicial system. Justice, it seemed, was available only to those who could pay enough to secure a ‘right verdict”
― Alison Weir, The Wars of the Roses

“A king was the Lord’s anointed, hallowed at his coronation with holy oil.”
― Alison Weir, The Wars of the Roses

“Each man was born to his degree, and a happy man was one who did not question his place in life.”
― Alison Weir, The Wars of the Roses

“Thanks to the Wars of the Roses, by the end of the period covered by this book a king’s title to the throne had come not to matter as much as his ability to hold on to that throne and to govern effectively.”
― Alison Weir, The Wars of the Roses

“Henry IV could count himself fortunate in having the support of his Beaufort half-brothers, whose descendants would remain loyal to the House of Lancaster for the next sixty years.”
― Alison Weir, The Wars of the Roses

“Peace and order could only be achieved when all classes of society were in harmony with each other. Disorder – such as heresy, rebellion, or trying to get above one’s station in life – was regarded as the work of the Devil and therefore as mortal sin.”
― Alison Weir, The Wars of the Roses

“Self-interest usually governed political loyalties.”
― Alison Weir, The Wars of the Roses

“Tudor historians were adept at rewriting history.”
― Alison Weir, The Wars of the Roses

“Virgil had no difficulty in believing that God has visited the sins of Henry IV upon his descendant, Henry VI, yet he did not explain how this was to be reconciled with the triumphant career of Henry V.”
― Alison Weir, The Wars of the Roses

“Tudor historians were fond of reminding their readers of the horrors of the Wars of the Roses, recounting how the realm had been plunged into the vicious civil war over a disputed crown that lasted more than thirty years.”
― Alison Weir, The Wars of the Roses