Battle of St Albans starts Wars of the Roses

Historical Context Note

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When Henry Bolingbroke, of Lancaster, seized the throne from Richard II in 1399 to become Henry IV, he claimed it as the direct male heir, and the most plausible leader. However, he was not actually next in line to the throne: this was the grandson, through the female line, of Edward III's second son, Lionel of Antwerp. The descendants of this overlooked heir, Edward Mortimer, Earl of March, sought to claim the throne back for their branch of the family. After Henry's prolonged period of insanity in 1453-4, this escalated into a military campaign. At the Battle of St Albans, royalist forces met Richard, Duke of York, along with his ally Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. After lengthy negotiations, the Yorkists made a sudden and unexpected attack. They captured Henry VI, and were able…

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1995 Battle of St Albans starts Wars of the Roses 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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