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Home / Historical Periods / Wars of the Roses / Lancastrian England

Phase

Lancastrian England

1399–1461 CE

Lancastrian England began when Henry IV took the throne from Richard II in 1399. The dynasty reached military glory under Henry V but later weakened under Henry VI, whose minority, illness, and political divisions contributed to crisis. The loss of English territories in France further damaged royal authority.

This phase matters because Lancastrian legitimacy was always vulnerable to challenge. Military success temporarily strengthened the dynasty, but weak rule and noble faction brought the kingdom toward civil war. It bridges the Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of the Roses.

Conn Iggulden’s Wars of the Roses series begins in the troubled Lancastrian world, while Bernard Cornwell’s Azincourt shows the earlier heroic image of Henry V’s reign. Philippa Gregory’s novels also revisit Lancastrian women and claimants. The phase suits stories about fragile legitimacy, court factions, warrior kings, child rulers, and the collapse of inherited power.

Related people for Lancastrian England

Catherine of Valois1401–1437 Charles VI of France1368–1422 Constance of York1375–1416 Edward IV1442–1483 Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales1453–1471 Edward V1470–1483 Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester1400–1452 Elizabeth Mortimer1371–1417 Elizabeth of York1466–1503 Elizabeth Woodville1437–1492 George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence1449–1478 Henry Beaufort1375–1447 Henry IV of England1367–1413 Henry Percy (Hotspur)1364–1403 Henry VI1421–1471 Henry VII1457–1509 Henry V of England1386–1422 Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester1390–1447 Jacquetta of Luxembourg1415–1472 John of Gaunt1340–1399 John XXIII1370–1419 Margaret Beaufort1443–1509 Margaret of Anjou1430–1482 Owen Tudor1400–1461 Richard II1367–c. 1400 Richard III1452–1485 Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick1428–1471 Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York1473–1483 Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York1411–1460 Richard Whittington1354–1423 Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor1368–1437 Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester1375–1400

Series

Series about Lancastrian England (2 series)

Struggle for a Crown in Order

by Griff Hosker 10 books 4.5

Struggle for a Crown follows soldiers and retainers through the crises of late medieval England and France. The series moves from Richard II and Henry IV to Henry V, Agincourt, the later Hundred Years’ War and the struggle to hold English power in France. It is a dynastic…

Books

25 Best Novels About Lancastrian England

Bestselling authors first, then star rating.

Non Fiction

2 Non-Fiction Books About Lancastrian England

Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.