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Home / Historical Periods / Late Medieval / Wars of the Roses

War

Wars of the Roses

1455–1487 CE

The Wars of the Roses were a series of conflicts involving the houses of Lancaster and York, rival nobles, weak kingship, disputed succession, and shifting alliances. The wars began during the troubled reign of Henry VI and ended after the rise of Henry VII and the Tudor dynasty. Battles, executions, marriages, betrayals, and political propaganda all shaped the conflict.

The wars matter because they marked the violent end of Plantagenet rule and the transition toward Tudor monarchy. They reveal the fragility of late medieval kingship when legitimacy, noble power, and military followings collided. The conflict also produced some of England’s most contested royal figures, including Richard III.

Conn Iggulden’s Wars of the Roses series, Philippa Gregory’s Cousins’ War novels, Sharon Kay Penman’s The Sunne in Splendour, and Anne O’Brien’s late medieval fiction are key book connections. The setting is ideal for dynastic sagas, queen-centred narratives, battlefield politics, court intrigue, and rival versions of the same events.

Related people for Wars of the Roses

Anne Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick1426–1492 Anne Neville1456–1485 Arthur, Prince of Wales1486–1502 Catherine of Valois1401–1437 Cecily Neville, Duchess of York1415–1495 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 I1533–1603 Elizabeth Mortimer1371–1417 Elizabeth of York1466–1503 Elizabeth Paston1429–1488 Elizabeth Woodville1437–1492 George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence1449–1478 Henry Beaufort1375–1447 Henry IV of England1367–1413 Henry VI1421–1471 Henry VII1457–1509 Henry VIII1491–1547 Henry V of England1386–1422 Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester1390–1447 Jacquetta of Luxembourg1415–1472 James IV1473–1513 Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland1379–1440 Joan of Arc1412–1431 John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford1389–1435 John XXIII1370–1419 Lady Catherine Gordon1474–1537 Margaret Beaufort1443–1509 Margaret of Anjou1430–1482 Margaret of York1446–1503 Margaret Paston1422–1484 Owen Tudor1400–1461 Perkin Warbeck1474–1499 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 William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke1423–1469

Series

Series about Wars of the Roses (4 series)

Kingbreaker in Order

by David Pilling 4 books 4.4

The Kingbreaker series tells the story of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, a committed Lancastrian who survives defeat, imprisonment and exile during the Wars of the Roses. Beginning with the catastrophe at Towton and continuing through the restorations and reversals of Edward IV, Richard III and Henry…

Swords of the White Rose Series in Order

by Ethan Bale 3 books 4.3

The Swords of the White Rose trilogy follows Sir John Hawker, an ageing Yorkist knight burdened by past violence, after Richard III’s defeat at Bosworth. Charged with protecting Sir Giles Ellingham, Richard’s fictional illegitimate son, Hawker crosses England and continental Europe while Tudor agents, mercenaries and rival claimants…

Wars of the Roses in Order

by Conn Iggulden 4 books 4.4

The Wars of the Roses series follows the dynastic struggle from the weakness of Henry VI’s government through the rise of York, Edward IV’s victories and exiles, and the final contest between Richard III and Henry Tudor. The novels combine court politics with the major military turning points…

Books

30 Best Novels About the Wars of the Roses

Bestselling authors first, then star rating.

Non Fiction

8 Non-Fiction Books About the Wars of the Roses

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