Medieval war scarlet and white roses. The Scarlet and White Rose Massacre

In the middle of the 12th century, in the Holy Land, the Muslims gathered their strength and inflicted a series of painful defeats on the Christians. After the fall of Edessa in 1144, the idea of a Second Crusade arose in Europe. Despite intensive preparations, the expedition did not bring the desired result.

Preparation and organization of the Second Crusade

On December 1, 1145, Eugene III issued a bull about a new crusade, sent to the king of France. On March 1 of the following year, a second bull was issued, which became the model for all subsequent calls for crusades.
It consisted of three main parts:

story (description of the First Crusade and the current situation);
call (an ardent appeal to all Christians, urging them to defend the Eastern Church);
privilege (absolution of sins, protection by the church of the family and property of the crusaders, a ban on charging interest on crusader loans, etc.).

In the bull of the Pope of Rome in 1145, a formula arose explaining the military failures of Christians by their great sinfulness.

The famous abbot Bernard of Clairvaux became the main preacher of the Second Crusade. His fiery sermons in France and Germany attracted a huge number of fanatics to participate in the campaign.

Rice. 1. Bernard of Clairvaux in a painting by G. A. Wasshuber.

Course of the Second Crusade

The campaign was led by Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany. Together with two monarchs, participants in the Second Crusade became many famous people

from France - Robert I de Dre (brother of the king), counts Alphonse Jordan of Toulouse and Guillaume III of Nevers, bishops of Langres, Arras and Lisieux;
from Germany - Duke Friedrich of Swabia (Barbarossa), Duke of Spoleto Welf VI, etc.

Briefly about the events of the Second Crusade, we can say the following:

The start date of the campaign was May 1147, when the German crusaders set out on a campaign from Regensburg. A month later they were followed by the army of Louis VII.
Byzantine territories lay in the way of the crusaders. The German army began the robbery. The Byzantine emperor Manuel provided the crusaders with a fleet to cross the Bosporus. That was where his help was limited.
The army of Konrad III was constantly attacked by the Turkish light cavalry. Under Dorileus, a decisive battle took place, which ended in a stampede of the crusaders. The remnants of the army at the end of November 1147 returned to Nicaea and united with the French.
The united army made a second attempt to reach Edessa. In January 1148, near the city of Kadmus, the crusaders again suffered a crushing defeat from the Turks.
In the summer of 1148, the main participants in the campaign and the local feudal nobility gathered at the Crown Council in Acre. The decision was made to capture Damascus. The siege lasted five days. At this time, Muslim reinforcements began to approach the city. The crusaders retreated, having lost many people. In early August, the army was disbanded.

Rice. 2. The second crusade on the map.

During the siege of Damascus, the unprecedented strength of Conrad III manifested itself, which cut the enemy into two parts with a sword.

In the summer of 1149, a truce was concluded between Jerusalem and Damascus, which officially confirmed the end of the Second Crusade.

Results of the Second Crusade

The grandiose plan of revenge on the Muslims did not bring any results.
This happened for the following reasons:

insufficient coordination between Conrad III and Louis VII;
the mutual hostility of Byzantium and the crusaders during these years;
the difficulty of the way and the lack of supply of the army.

What have we learned?

In the middle of the 12th century, Muslims began to gradually conquer territories in the East from Christians. In response to this, the Second Crusade of 1147-1149 was organized. He was given great importance, but the goal (the capture of Edessa) was never achieved.

Topic quiz

Report Evaluation

Average rating: 4.3. Total ratings received: 96.

The War of the Scarlet and White Roses (1455 - 1485) - the struggle for the English throne between the two side branches of the royal Plantagenet dynasty - the Lancasters (the coat of arms with a scarlet rose) and the Yorks (the coat of arms with a white rose). The confrontation between the Lancasters (the ruling dynasty) and the Yorks (a wealthy aristocratic feudal family) began with separate clashes not related to the war, which took place both before and after the war. The war ended with the victory of Henry Tudor of the Lancaster dynasty, who founded a dynasty that ruled England and Wales for 117 years.

Causes

The reason for the war between the two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty - the Lancasters and the Minks (we note that the traditional name for this confrontation appeared already in the 19th century thanks to Walter Scott) - was the dissatisfaction of the nobility with the policy of the weak-willed King Henry VI from the Lancaster branch, who was defeated in France. The instigator of the conflict was Richard of York, who was eager for the crown.

Confrontation. Course of events

2 years after the Hundred Years War, an internecine war began in England, which will last 30 years. 1455 - the confrontation first moved to the battlefield. The Duke of York, gathered his vassals and moved with them to London. 1455, May 22 at the battle of St. Albans, he was able to defeat the supporters of the Scarlet Rose. Soon removed from power, he again rebelled and announced his claims to the English crown. With an army of his adherents, he won victories over the enemy at Blore Heath (September 23, 1459) and North Hampton (July 10, 1460); in the latter, he captured the king, after which he forced the upper house to recognize himself as the protector of the state and heir to the throne.

However, Queen Margaret, wife of Henry VI, with her supporters suddenly attacked him at Wakefield (December 30, 1460). Richard's troops were completely defeated, and he himself fell in battle. The victors cut off his head and displayed it on the wall of York in a paper crown. His son Edward, supported by the Earl of Warwick, defeated the supporters of the Lancastrian dynasty at Mortimers Cross (February 2, 1461) and Toughton (March 29, 1461). Henry VI was deposed; Margarita fled to Scotland, and the king was soon caught and imprisoned in the Tower. The severed heads of defeated opponents were erected on the city gates of York, in the place where the head of the defeated Richard used to flaunt. The winner became King Edward IV.

The confrontation continues

1470 - Lancastrians, thanks to the betrayal of the brother of King Edward IV, the Duke of Clarence, were able to expel Edward and return Henry VI to the throne. Soon, Edward IV, who had fled to the mainland, returned with an army, and the Duke of Clarence again went over to his brother's side. This brought victory to the Yorks in 1471 at the Battle of Tewkesbury. The son and heir of King Henry VI Edward died in it, and soon the unfortunate king himself was killed in the Tower. This marked the end of the Lancastrian branch of the Plantagenet dynasty.

1) Henry VI; 2) Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI

Richard III

There was a break in the wars, which for many seemed to be its end. Edward IV confidently ruled England until, in 1483, he died unexpectedly on the eve of his 41st birthday. His son, 12-year-old Edward V, was supposed to be the new monarch, but he suddenly found a formidable rival. This time it was not Lancaster, but York - another younger brother of Edward IV, Richard of Gloucester.

During the War of the Scarlet and White Roses, Richard remained faithful to his brother, not retreating from him even in the days of defeat. And after his death, he declared his rights to the crown, declaring the sons of the deceased brother illegitimate. Two young princes were imprisoned in the Tower, and Richard of Gloucester was proclaimed king under the name -.

What happened to his nephews, nothing is known even after five centuries. According to the most common version, the crowned uncle ordered them to be killed. Whatever it was, the princes were gone forever.

1) Edward IV; 2) Richard III

The reign of the Tudors

However, there was no peace in the state, opposition to the Yorks intensified, and in 1485 a detachment of French mercenaries arrived from the mainland, who were hired by supporters of the Lancasters, led by Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, landed in Wales, who had no rights to the throne.

1485, August 22 - at the Battle of Bosworth, Henry Tudor was able to defeat King Richard III. Richard III himself was knocked off his horse and immediately slaughtered. Thus broke off the York branch. The victorious Henry Tudor was crowned immediately after the battle in a nearby church under the name of Henry VII. Thus was founded the new royal Tudor dynasty.

The results of the war

As a result of the civil wars of the Scarlet and White Roses, the former Plantagenet dynasty left the political arena due to feuds, the state was ruined, English possessions on the continent (except Calais) were lost, and many of the aristocratic families suffered enormous losses, which made it possible for Henry VII to curb them. On the battlefield, scaffolds and prisons, not only the descendants of the Plantagenets perished, but also a significant part of the English lords and chivalry.

From the accession of the Tudors, English historians count the New Age as a period of strengthening the centralized royal power, weakening the aristocracy and the rise of the bourgeoisie to leading positions.

What role did the scarlet Gallic rose play in the war of the Scarlet and White Roses, and did it really have anything to do with the tragic fate of Rosamund?

Eleanor of Aquitaine

It is said that in medieval Europe, the Gallic rose appeared thanks to the French king Louis VII (1120-1180), who brought it after the second crusade ended in failure. Probably, the Gallic rose was brought by his wife Eleanor, a woman of amazing beauty, who was known as the patroness of the arts. Shortly after the campaign, Louis VII divorced Eleanor - for 15 years of married life she bore him only two daughters, and not a single heir. Two months later, Eleanor married the handsome Duke of Anjou. As a dowry, the Duke received the vast Duchy of Aquitaine and the white rose as an emblem.

Subsequently, Henry of Anjou became Henry II, the first king of England from the Plantagenet dynasty. Henry II belongs to many great deeds - he introduced etiquette in English secular society, created the judicial system, etc. And yet we know him better as the father of King Richard the Lionheart of England.

Richard the Lionheart

Eleanor bore Henry II four sons and three daughters. Among them was the legendary Richard I, who received the nickname Richard the Lionheart for his incredible courage. The son of Henry II, a descendant of William the Conqueror who conquered England in 1066, Richard I was the true embodiment of the romantic image of a knight-errant. He was little involved in state affairs, but became famous for the life of a free wanderer and military knightly victories. The outstanding English writer Walter Scott dedicated the novel "Richard the Lionheart" to him, in which he draws a powerful image of an infinitely brave man, admirable for his contempt for dangers. Richard I constantly embarks on various adventures, often alone, despite the fact that each of them can end tragically. And one day it happened.

The story of this rogue king's death is as unusual as his life.

In 1199, Richard I, together with his supporters, undertook a siege of Chalet Castle, which belonged to a rebellious vassal. At sunset on March 25, Richard on foot, without chain mail, made a detour around the besieged fortress. From time to time arrows flew from the walls of the fortress, but he paid no attention to them. One of the defenders amused the king a lot: he stood on the wall, holding a crossbow in one hand, and tightly squeezing a frying pan with the other hand. With this frying pan, he fought off shells flying at him all day. Seeing Richard, the archer deliberately aimed an arrow at him, which Richard applauded. However, the next arrow hit the king in the left shoulder, close to the throat. Returning to his tent, Richard tried to draw the arrow, but he did not succeed. The surgeon (whom one of the king's friends called the butcher) pulled out the arrow carelessly, crumbling the entire wound. The wound festered, and the process of gangrene rapidly began.

The castle was taken on the third day. Richard ordered that this crossbowman be brought to him, and everyone else hanged. When the archer was brought in, it turned out that it was a boy. He said that the arrow that hit Richard was retribution for the death of his father and two brothers. The boy was awaiting execution, but Richard the Lionheart, standing on the threshold of eternity, showed his noble chivalrous spirit. As a last act of mercy, he forgave the boy for his crime, gave him 100 shillings and released him with the words: "Live and see the light of day, this is my gift to you."

11 days later, at the age of 42, King Richard I of England died in his mother's arms. “The ant defeated the lion. Oh grief! The world dies with his burial!” - the Latin chronicler wrote in the epitaph. Dying, Richard I put his affairs in order. Richard handed over all the lands that belonged to him to his younger brother, Prince John. Richard ordered to bury his brain in Charroud Abbey in Poitou (Charroux in Poitou), his heart in Rouen in Normandy (Rouen in Normandy), and his body “at the feet of his father”, in Fontevraud Abbey in Anjou.

The last will of the king in relation to the boy who shot the arrow was not fulfilled. The hired captain Mercadier, known for his treachery and having a bad reputation, disposed of in his own way. He ordered to seize the boy. The unfortunate man was flayed alive and then hanged.

John (Prince John) who ascended the throne also covered himself with glory, but of a completely different kind. John became famous for losing all the lands belonging to England on the European continent, for which he was nicknamed John the Landless.

The perfidy of Eleanor of Aquitaine

However, let's return to the royal couple of Henry II and Eleanor and the role played by the rose in history. The couple did not feel much love for each other and were not distinguished by fidelity. However, adultery did not particularly bother them. However, things took a completely different turn when in England the king had a new mistress - Jane Clifford, the daughter of an English lord and knight. Jane was extraordinarily beautiful, for which she was called "Rosa Mundi" (Graceful Rose) and "The Fair Rosamund" (Charming Rosamund). The relationship between Henry II and Rosamund is surrounded by many legends. One of these romantic stories tells that they met in a secret tower, hidden from prying eyes by an arbor of roses. The path to the gazebo ran through a labyrinth, the way in which could only be found with the help of a silver guiding thread.

In 1175 King Henry II goes to war. Rosamund begs to take her with him, but Heinrich decides to leave her in a hidden hideout, believing that it will be safer for her. How wrong he was! The queen deftly took advantage of a good opportunity to get rid of an unwanted rival. Eleanor was afraid of Henry II's connection with the daughter of the lord - this could lead to the emergence of a new contender for the royal throne. There is even an assumption that the illegitimate son of Henry II William Longsword (William Longsword or Longsword), 1st Earl of Solsbury (Salisbury), was the son of Rosamund (one of the descendants of the earl later played a significant role in the fate of the famous English gardener John Tradescant the Elder). Be that as it may, according to legend, the queen managed to find her way to the secret tower and destroy Rosamund. How did she do it? Some said that it was a poison that the queen mixed with the oil of Gallic Rose and White Rose for disguise, others said that it was just a dagger.

Rosamund was buried in the Godstow Nunnery, the ruins of which can still be seen near Wolvercote in Port Meadow - these are free areas in Oxford with the right to graze cattle. Rosamund's body was placed in a magnificent tomb inside the chapel, but after the death of Henry II, the tomb was moved outside the abbey, and an inscription appeared on the tombstone, which is believed to have had a hand in the Queen:

Here rose disgraced, not rose the chaste reposes.
The scent that rises is not the scent of roses.

Not so clean and calm
This graceful rose
It doesn't smell like roses at all.

The legend says that Rosamund died in the town of Woodstock (Woodstock), and there, on the ground of Blenheim Palace (Blenheim Palace), a healing spring clogged, and a new scarlet rose grew, called R. gallica "Vercicolor" (R. Gallic "Rainbow") , or simply "Rosa Mundi" (Graceful rose). Subsequent historical events were no less intriguing.

One hundred years later, one of the descendants of Henry II, Edmund the Hunchback, the first Earl of Lancaster, married Blanche of Artois, the widow of the French king Henry III, and adopted her emblem - the Provencal rose (aka the Gallic scarlet rose). Since then, the center of rose production has been concentrated in Provence, and for more than 600 years this area has remained a leader, until it gave leadership in the production of roses to Holland. In 1267, Edmund returned to England and brought with him a Gallic scarlet rose.

War of the Scarlet and White Rose

In 1455 between representatives of the two lines of Plantagenet began a war for the throne. From the tragedy "Henry VI" by the great English playwright William Shakespeare, we learn that it all began in Temple Park. Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, plucking a white rose from a bush, offered to do the same to everyone who wants to see him king. “I will not rest until my white rose is stained with the warm blood of the Lancasters and turns red,” proclaimed Richard. This did not intimidate the Lancastrian supporters, and they defiantly attached red roses to their hats. After that, white and scarlet roses moved to the coats of arms of castles, shields and banners. Thus began the War of the Scarlet and White Roses.

The war, which lasted 30 years, was terribly bloody and led to the death of all representatives of the Plantagenets in the male line. Henry Tudor (Henry VII, who had very remote rights to the throne) stopped the slaughter by defeating Richard III, the last representative of the House of York, in the Battle of the Bosphorus in 1485. For the final reconciliation, in 1486 Henry VII married Elizabeth of York and created a new royal emblem that combined white and scarlet roses (a white rose is inside a scarlet rose). Heinrich named the rose "Mary Rose" in honor of his beloved sister.

English gardeners also did not stand aside from such important events and brought out a special variety of scarlet and white roses called Lancaster York, which had flowers with white and scarlet petals. In London's Temple Park, for a long time, those two historical rose bushes, from which the whole story began, were also preserved.

The history of your country, other countries of the world, is rich in many facts and events. The school curriculum cannot physically contain many of them. Ignorance of very important points, for erudite young people, will not add respect and will not free you from questions in the exam.

Let these questions not affect the overall assessment, but the opinion about your knowledge is an important component. Many pages of history, in addition to being fascinatingly interesting, are also reflected in the works of the classics. Such a theme is the War of the White and Scarlet Roses - a long and bloody confrontation between two respected families in England. What do you know about this period in the life of the British?

15th century English kingdom

War is war, but why is such a romantic name attached to these difficult and terrible events?

Each English noble family deservedly had a unique coat of arms. The York family had a white rose on its coat of arms, the Lancaster family had scarlet. The time of the heightened confrontation between the rivals fell on 1455-1485.

This historical period for England was difficult. One hundred years of exhausted war (the Hundred Years) ended in defeat. The easy prey that the plundering of French lands brought was over. The nobility of the country is mired in a showdown among themselves. King Henry VI Lancaster took on the role of peacemaker, but these efforts were in vain.

It could not be otherwise - Henry was ill, his bouts of insanity led to the fact that the kingdom was actually ruled by the Dukes of Somerset and Suffolk. The political atmosphere was tense to the limit, it seemed that the slightest spark would happen and a destructive fire would be kindled. It was Jack Cade's rebellion, which began in 1451. The rebels were stopped, but anarchist sentiments did not decrease from this, but, on the contrary, they gained momentum.

White made the first move

The Duke of York, Richard, decided on serious actions that he had been hatching for a long time. In the same year, 1451, he delivered a speech against the actions of the Duke of Somerset, the royal favourite. Members of Parliament, who took the side of Richard York, expressed their support for him. Moreover, they declared him heir to the throne. But Henry VI was so angry that he dissolved the disobedient Parliament. These actions shocked him greatly and led to another long attack and loss of reason. Richard took advantage of the situation and received the very important position of state protector.

The duke did not have long to rejoice at his victory. The king came to his senses and directed all his efforts to restore justice - depriving his brother of his position. Richard was not going to give up on what he had achieved so easily, and gathered supporters for decisive action. In parallel, he entered into an alliance with the Earl of Salisbury and Warwick. The union of two strong armies in the spring of 1455 opposed the king. This was the beginning of the War of the Roses.

The small town of St. Albans became the site of the first battle. In England, briefly, and without a shadow of regret, they announced what had happened, emphasizing only the main thing: the loyal supporters of the king and his close favorite, Somerset, died. Henry VI is captured.

But it so happened that Richard's exultation did not last long. A woman entered the game - Queen Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI. She led the supporters of Rose Red and removed York from power. Richard had no choice but to revolt. This he did. Victory over the Lancasters was obtained. The battles of Blore Heath (September 23, 1459) and Northampton (July 10, 1460) became victorious. King Henry was again captured by the enemy.

Richard relaxed with joy, but Margarita of Anjou, who remained at large, simply did not give up her position. She managed to deal Richard a surprise blow, defeating his troops at the Battle of Wakefill. This event took place on December 30, 1460. The ambitious Richard died like a hero on the battlefield. Margarita ordered, as a warning to all rebels, that the head of the rebel, wearing a paper crown, be put on public display on the wall of York.

Crimson Crest Victory

The owners of the white coat of arms lost. It would seem that everything - the point is set, but the end of the war was still so far away. Interesting facts of the distant past did not end with these events. Edward, son of Richard, aka the Earl of March, could not accept defeat and formed a new army to attack. February 3, 1461 was marked by a new battle. The decisive battle at Mortimer Cross ended in a spectacular victory. The Lancasters fled the battlefield. Their losses reached three thousand soldiers. The white rose again sparkled with a victorious radiance on the coat of arms of the Yorks, but ...

The Queen of Anjou, having strengthened her troops with an army that joined the opposition, the heir of Henry VI, Prince Edward, made a retaliatory strike. Her actions were swift and took the enemy by surprise. The queen defeated the White Rose and freed the king.

The cruel Margarita entered London and showed all her dislike for her people. Looting, terrorism, looting is what her army brought with her, bringing Londoners to an extremely disastrous state. When March and Warwick approached the gates of the capital, the inhabitants gladly let them through. On March 4, 1461, Edward March was proclaimed King Edward IV. March 29 was a black day for the Lancasters. The king and his devoted wife fled shamefully to Scotland.

Scarlet flower wilted ...

At this time, discontent began in the White Rose camp. The count, the son of the deceased Richard, is dissatisfied with the king who has taken the throne. He, having made an alliance with Edward's brother, attacks the army of Edward IV and defeats it. The king is captured - victory smiled at Wark. But the count, believing Edward's promises, releases him from captivity. Promises were not kept - enmity flares up with renewed vigor.

Margaret of Anjou shamefully ran away and did not think to calm down. The events of London led the queen to the idea - to restore justice. Having gathered an army, the restless Margarita approaches the Welsh border. There she was to unite with the army of Jasper Tudor. Her plans were thwarted by Edward IV, who prevented the Alym from reuniting and defeated them in battle. Margarita is captured, and the only heir, Henry VI, dies in battle. Edward IV rules the country until his death. Long-awaited calm is restored in England.

White, Scarlet - reunion

But in the English kingdom, final peace was still far away. Events now and then shook the country. This continued until the accession to the throne of Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor dynasty. Having married the daughter of Edward IV, Elizabeth, heiress of the Yorks, he created a coat of arms from the coats of arms of the two warring parties. On it, the White rose and the Scarlet rose were reunited for centuries.

All the events of the Roses for England had dire consequences. They are still studied by historians. The last point has not yet been set ...

Period score

"Monstrous, crazy times ..." - William Shakespeare;

"The War of the Scarlet and White Roses" - Walter Scott

"The Wars of the Roses are one of the most colorful pages of English history" - Yegor Neverov.

In conclusion, it is worth saying that in our training courses we analyze all topics both in the history of Russia and in World history. That is why our guys pass the exam in history with 90 or more points, and this is their average result.

It is impossible to determine: disputes have been going on for 5 centuries. The immediate cause of the conflict was a dynastic crisis - a consequence of the super-fertility of King Edward III (1327-1377). The struggle for the throne between the heirs of his two sons - John of Gaunt and Edmund of York - resulted in almost half a century of armed struggle between the two most powerful and wealthy feudal houses in England. But by the end of the 15th century, they almost completely exterminated each other: the Lancaster male line was cut short in 1471 after the death of Prince Edward, son of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, and the last York, Richard III, was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

Elizabeth York and Henry VII Tudor. (wikipedia.org)

The result of long strife between court factions was the accession of a new Tudor dynasty, founded by Henry VII. He was a distant relative of the Lancasters and, in order to legalize his rights to the throne, he married the last surviving representative of York, the daughter of Edward IV, Elizabeth.

It is at the royal wedding that the famous emblem of two connected roses, Scarlet and White, first appears. Before that, no one even thought about the famous metaphor, which would later find its place on the pages of the works of Shakespeare and Walter Scott.

Lancasters and Yorkies

The influence of the Wars of the Roses on the history of England is enormous: this series of conflicts led to the accession of a new dynasty and the establishment of absolutism. Still, calling it a full-scale civil war would be wrong. For this era, the term “non-peace” is more suitable (archaic, meaning non-peaceful or wartime. - Explanatory Dictionary of V.I. Dahl).

The struggle of the court parties for the English crown could not but affect the life in the provinces. The petty nobles were forced to go to war in order not to lose the favor of the patron lord. The gentry themselves (the so-called "new nobility" of England of that era) did not have any preferences in the ruling dynasties. Peace and stability were far more important to them than respect for the order of succession to the throne. During the political struggle in the center, local unrest also occurred, but it rarely came to the murder of nobles, usually the warring parties limited themselves to cattle rustling, intimidation, and, in extreme cases, the killing of servants.

The number of fallen nobles in the battles of the court parties themselves is relatively small. The fact that the gentry fought not for their beliefs, but for the patronage of the Lord Protector, proves that there was and could not be any bloody civil war in the minds of contemporaries. For people far from the court, it was a series of protracted conflicts in the highest circles.

There were only a few appearances of the Third Estate in the wars, the most famous being the rebellion of Jack Ked in 1450. However, many contemporaries call this movement "predatory": the rebels did not pursue any noble goals, except for robbery.

Richard York. The beginning of mythologization

The creation of the scarlet and white rose war myth began as early as the rebellion of Richard York in 1452. The Duke actively used the achievements of propaganda of that era. In his calls for rebellion, he began to emphasize the illegitimacy of the acquisition of power by Henry VI - after all, the king's grandfather had received the throne by overthrowing his uncle, Richard II, back in 1399.

Richard III Plantagenet. (wikipedia.org)

This version of the myth quickly gained popularity among the English aristocrats, who were dissatisfied with the rule of Henry and the omnipotence of the Lancaster party, led by Queen Margaret, whom opponents called the "Queen of Thorns"

Richard III and Henry VII. Engraving by William Faithorn, 1640. (wikipedia.org)

The second version of the myth was created already at the end of the dynastic war, immediately after the marriage of Henry VII Tudor to the heiress of the Yorks. It was at this time that they began to demonize the image of Richard III: he became a bloodthirsty tyrant, child and fratricide. The rest of the parties to the conflict loomed in neutral colors. In this myth, the emphasis was not on criticism of the Lancasters, whose distant ancestor was Henry, but on harsh accusations against the previous ruler.

The spread of this version among the people was facilitated by the inconsistency that shrouded Richard's ascension to the throne: after the death of Edward IV, his elder brother, he became regent for the king's young children, Princes Edward and Richard. However, six months later, Richard Gloucester declared the boys bastards, and himself the rightful heir. Having received the consent of Parliament, he was crowned in July 1483. The fate of Edward's sons remained unknown: according to one version, the “princes from the Tower” were killed by their own uncle, according to another, they managed to escape to France. The first version proved much more attractive to the Tudor propaganda machine.

Soon after the consolidation of his power, Henry VII began to forget that he owed half the crown to his wife. The third revision of history began, in which it was customary to criticize the Yorks and glorify the Lancasters, and also to present the era not as a series of conflicts of court parties, but as a continuous war, from which the young Tudor acted as a deliverer.

The fourth stage in the transformation of myth was under Henry VIII. The blood of two dynasties flowed in it, so there was no need to criticize one of them. The king's ancestors, both Lancasters and Yorkes (except Richard III), were now victims of circumstance. All the blame for the outbreak of the civil war was placed on the foreigner Margaret of Anjou. And the image of the last of the York dynasty in the work of the famous humanist Thomas More "History of Richard III" acquired new features: the author attributes the famous hump and a withered left hand to the unfortunate king.

Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England. (wikipedia.org)

In the reign of Elizabeth, the myth was revised for the fifth time. The goal of Tudor propaganda was to affirm the idyll of the Elizabethan era against the backdrop of the terrible and dark times of feudal strife. Shakespeare's famous "Historical Chronicles" appear here. The famous playwright Peru owns the famous scene where in the garden of the Tower the Lancasters and Yorks pin scarlet and white roses to themselves as a sign of an irreconcilable struggle to the bitter end. It was Shakespeare who created the image of a dark and bloodthirsty era of uninterrupted fratricidal wars, which attracts with its tragedy and heroism.

The stereotypes created by Shakespeare fixed the image of a large-scale bloody war in the minds of the British for two centuries. Finally, in the 18th century, Walter Scott proposed the term "War of the Scarlet and White Roses", which seemed so successful to contemporaries that it is still used in science.

The debunking of the Tudor myth began only in the 20th century. The process of wholesale rehabilitation of the heroes of history has begun. It went to extremes: numerous societies of Richard III were created, whose members are convinced that England had no better king. The events of the Wars of the Roses are still being studied today, but many questions remain unanswered.