The English System to 1450

Britain – The Wars of the Roses, 1450-1525

In this course, Professor Michael Hicks (University of Winchester) explores the Wars of the Roses, c. 1450 – c. 1525. In the first module, we explore the English system of government in the late Medieval period, focusing in particular on the relationship of the king to his nobles, and the breakdown of these political norms in the 1450s. After that, in the second module, we turn to the long build-up to the First War (1459-61), a period that is dominated by Richard of York and which ends with the Yorkist victory at the Battle of Towton (1461). In the third module, we trace events from the Battle of Towton (1461) to the Battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury (1471), thinking in particular about the attempts of the recently-crowned Edward IV to consolidate control, as well as the political manoeuvrings of Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick. In the fourth module, we focus on the rise of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who eventually becomes Richard III, before moving on in the fifth module to think about what happened to Edward IV's two sons – the Princes in the Tower. When were they killed? Who killed them? Finally, in the sixth module, we think about the end of the Wars of the Roses, focusing in particular on the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485), the reign of Henry VII, and the reasons why the Wars of the Roses came to an end in this period.

The English System to 1450

In this module, we introduce the English system of government in the late Medieval period, before looking at its breakdown in the years leading up to the Wars of the Roses. In particular, we focus on the war with France and the loss of Normandy, popular unrest in England (including Jack Cade's Rebellion), and the emergence of Richard of York as a prominent supporter of government reform.