Charles Ross

Charles Derek Ross (1924–1986) was a British medieval historian and one of the leading twentieth-century scholars of fifteenth-century England and the Wars of the Roses. He spent most of his academic career at the University of Bristol, eventually becoming Professor of Medieval History. Ross specialised in the political structures of late medieval England, particularly the relationship between the monarchy, nobility and regional power networks. His work helped establish a more detailed, document-based understanding of Yorkist England and influenced a generation of historians who subsequently worked on the political history of the fifteenth century.

Ross is best known for his major biographies Edward IV and Richard III, together with The Wars of the Roses: A Concise History. His Edward IV examines how a king who had seized the throne maintained authority during prolonged dynastic conflict and assesses Edward's government, finances and dealings with the nobility. Richard III remains one of the most important scholarly studies of Richard's career, covering his seizure of the throne, the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower, his government and his defeat at Bosworth in 1485. Ross's books combine close analysis of surviving medieval evidence with clear narrative history, making them influential both among specialists and readers interested in the Yorkist kings and the Wars of the Roses.