by chucky roberts

Created on: February 19, 2007   Last Updated: May 18, 2007

The war of the roses was a civil dispute in England that lasted from 1455- 1487. The war was between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. Both houses derived from the Plantagenet family royal house.

The House of Lancaster had the red rose as their symbol for red was the favoured colour for the army fatigues and The House of York had the white rose as their symbol as their attire was white along with the insignia.

The war of the roses was a turning point for the United Kingdom: A good of portion of the aristocracy had been eliminated. Some reported that some of the noble families had disappeared and as a result, the royal dynasty had fallen. The war of the roses was a feudal war between the lords that had created grievances for one another. The first official battle took place at St. Albans in 1455. Really the war was in a series of three stages:

1. The first was with York versus Lancaster which ended when King Edward the 4th of York was ruling.

2. The second was York versus the Kingmaker in which King Edward succeeded the throne.

3. The third would be Richard the third versus Henry the seventh where King Henry was victorious in bringing down the Tudor dynasty.

There are more in depth details available on books at the library or countless sites online that we encourage the reader to seek as sources as well. Here, the purpose of this article is give you an overall summary of The War of the Roses.

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