The War of the Roses, Richard III, and the Rise of the Tudors: Assignment

Henry V(5th): A Member of the House of Lancaster 1387-1413-1422

He spend most of his Kingship campaigning in France his most notable victory being the battle of Agincourt where he beat the French during the 100 years war.

Henry VI(6th): 1422-1461 and 1470-1471 The son of Henry the 5th who was crowned King of France and England at a young age, the 100 years war was lost during his reign and due to his mental illness the House of York had a claim at the throne. This started the War of the Roses.

Edward IV(4th): 1461-1470 and 1471-1483

Edward obtained the throne in 1461 finally placing a member of the York family on the throne, in 1470 he was forced to flee to Holland but in 1471 he returned and defeated the Lancastrian army. He had Henry the 6th executed that same year.

Edward V(5th): He was 12 years old when his father Edward the 4th died and he was next in line for the throne. However en route to his coronation he was detained by Richard the 3rd and confined to the tower of London. His coronation was cancelled and he was murdered soon after.

Richard III(3rd) 1483-1485

The brother of Edward IV, when his brother died he takes control of his heirs and supposedly imprisons them and crowns himself King, the heirs are killed soon after and Lancastrians will say that Richard had them murdered.

Henry VII(7th): 1485-1509

The first tudor King, after his father Henry the 6th was killed Henry became the head of the Lancastrian family and in 1485 he marched North and defeated Richard the 3rd at the battle of Bosworth. This is the start of the tudor dynasty. He defeated several other Yorkist attempts and married Elizabeth of York to try and unite the rival families.

Shakespeare portrayed Richard as deformed and villainous because after Henry VII took the throne people were likely encouraged to slander Richard and anyone who spoke too highly of him might have been singled out. Also Shakespeare lived under descendants of the tudors which probably meant that if he portrayed their version of events as false it would be noted.

Ricardians and Lancastrians: The Ricardians support the version of Richard's life which favors Richard and impicates the Tudors. Lancastrians as the murderers of Edward V while the Lancastrians support the theory that Richard murdered his nephews and took the crown for his own. No one knows what really happened to the young King.

Traditionalist sources use the histories of the tudors which some argue can be biased In the way of Richard 3. For example they portrayed Richard the 3rd as a hunchback and villain of few morals. Revisionist sources are sources that believe the traditional sources are not fully true and that they may be biased in a Lancastrian view point.

The source from Vergyl Polydore in the Anglica Historia is a Lancastrian source. I believe this because of the way Richard and his plot are referred too. The text wants us to believe that Richard took the young Prince Edward captive and that he even acknowledged it himself as a wicked deed. It implicates him to having thoughts of taking over the throne. "Richerd, whose mynde partly was enflamyd with desire of usurping the kyngdom."(Vergil Polydore). It also mentions him as drawing up plots, cloaking and being suspicious in general which makes me believe that the Author is Lancastrian as Richard is portrayed as a stereotypical villain.

The 2nd source from Horace Wallpoole is a Ricardian source. I believe this because Wallpoole  defends the apparent slander of Richard's appearance by Lancastrian sources. He brings up the Countess of Desmond and her opinion of Richard. "The old countess of Desmond, who had danced with Richard, declared he was the handsomest man in the room except his brother Edward"(Horace Wallpoole) Although he admits that he believes Richard had shoulder problems he blames Lancastrian historians for allowing the idea that Richard was a deformed man to take hold of popular opinion.

Richard Poem

I now lay dead, upon the field, blood all around

My loyal soldiers routed by wicked Henry and his men,

Even my crown is nowhere to be found.

My kingship and my very head lay on the ground.

This is the story of what happened to my Crown.

When my brother Edward perished his young son was to become King,

I stopped his coronation and confined him to the tower.

From here I convinced the realm that his child was illegitimate and a bastard in disguise

And I was the rightful King of England and its court.

So now the throne was mine and I held it for some time.

The power of the realm was in the palm of my hand.

But the rumors of the Lancastrians were weakening my hold.

My court was not iron loyal, the looked out for themselves.

This would come back to bite me, as you will see for yourselves.

It was at Bosworth Field where I was smote down.

I charged at Henry, noble Knights in tow

Risking it all in a glorious charge to cut off the head

Of the snake called Henry

 But I was betrayed by the House of Stanley,

Surrounded I fell in a circle of dead, my gallant fight over at last.

My crown, my body and my army lay dead

In a pool of blood.

And so ended my heritage, the Plantagenet dynasty of the throne

I had failed and now my story will be known.

Henry Poem

I am the victor I am the King

I have smote evil Richard upon my double edged blade.

The throne is finally mine after so many long years.

Here is my story and how this came to pass.

As a child I lived in Exile and fear of Yorkist power

I was the last heir to Lancastrian claims.

My relatives lay dead on distant battlefields afar.

And so my family fled.

From Wales to France I was forced to flee,

My family and its supporters with me,

14 years in Wales and 14 in France,

Learning how to rule and how to command,

Waiting until the time was right to seize my crown again

As I grew older I contemplated kingship

My desire was to become King and visit my vengeance,

Upon whose fault it is that I was exiled,

The Yorkists, their hands stained in my family’s blood.

So I waited, until the Yorkists were weak

Seizing the moment I brought my army back to the homeland.

I met Richard the 3^rd at Bosworth Field and against all odds he was slain.

Foolishly he allowed himself to be surrounded and destroyed by my gallant knights

I skillfully recruited the Lord Stanley to my side and his troops attacked Richard from behind.

Richard was killed fleeing from the battle like the coward he is and his crown was now mine.

Now I am the king and so began my dynasty, the dynasty of the tudors.