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1、玫瑰战争对英国社会发展的意义The Impact of the Wars of the Roses on English Social Development Abstract: The Wars of the Roses were a series of civil wars fought in medieval England from 1455 to 1485 between House of Lancaster and House of York. There were three periods of sustained conflict: 1455-1461, 1469-1471,
2、 and 1483-1487. The name of the Wars of the Roses was based on the badges used by the two sides, the red rose for the Lancastrians and the white rose for the Yorkists. After the war the aristocracy suffered dreadfully, and Tudor dynasty was founded. Based on the historical facts, this paper is to di
3、scuss the causes of the Wars of the Roses, the impact of this war on the social development of England and also on the postwar England as a whole. Key Words: The Wars of the Roses; aristocracy; social development 玫瑰战争对英国社会发展的意义 摘 要：玫瑰战争是中世纪英格兰的一系列围绕约克和兰开斯特两大王族的内战。这场战争分为1455-1461, 1464-1471和1485-1487
4、三个阶段。这场战争得名于两大家族的族徽，既红色玫瑰的兰开斯特王族和白色玫瑰的约克家族。这场战争结束后，英格兰的贵族受到了极为严重的削弱，都铎王朝亦从此建立。本文旨在通过对相关历史史实的讨论,试图进一步探讨玫瑰战争爆发的缘由和这场战争对当时英格兰社会发展的意义以及日后对英格兰造成的影响。 关键词： 玫瑰战争;贵族统治；社会发展 中国最大的论文知识平台 CONTENTS Introduction . 1 1. Background and Origins of the Wars of the Roses.2 1.1 Background of the Wars of the Roses . 2 1
5、.1.1 The Antebellum Condition of the England.2 1.1.2 House of Lancaster . 2 1.1.3 House of York . 2 1.2 Origins of the Wars of the Roses . 2 1.2.1 The Historical Aspects . 2 1.2.2 The Political Aspects . 3 2. The Course of the Wars of the Roses . 4 2.1 The Initial Phase of the Wars: 1455-1461.4 2.2
6、The Second Phase of the Wars: 1464-14716 2.3 The Third Phase of the Wars: 1485-1487.12 3. The Impact of the Wars on English Social Development.13 3.1 The Impact of the Wars on political system.13 3.1.1 The Collapse of Aristocracy.13 3.1.2 The Rise of Class of Squire and Bourgeois.14 3.1.3 The Kingsh
7、ip of the Tudor Dynasty.14 3.2 The Impact of the Wars on Economic System.14 3.2.1 The Commercialism.14 3.2.2 The Bud of the Capitalism.14 3.3 The Impact of the Wars on the Social Ideas.15 4. Conclusion15 Bibliography.17 中国最大的论文知识平台 Introduction In recent years, many researches have been done and pub
8、lished on the Middle Ages of Western Europe, which covered almost every aspect that people could conceive of. There also have been some works on the Wars of the Roses in medieval England, together with its further impact on English society in the past studies. The Wars of the Roses (14551487) were a
9、 series of civil wars fought over the throne of England between adherents of House of Lancaster and House of York. Both houses were branches of the Plantagenet royal house, tracing their descent from King Edward III. The name Wars of the Roses was not used during the time of the wars, but had its or
10、igins in the badges associated with the two royal houses, the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York. The term itself came into common use only in the nineteenth century, after the publication of Anne of Geierstein by Sir Walter Scott. Scott based the name on a fictional scene in Shakespea
11、res play Henry VI Part 1, where the opposing sides pick different-colored roses at the Temple Church. The Wars of the Roses consisted of three periods of sustained conflict: 1459-61, 1469-71, and 1483-87. The Wars were fought largely by the landed aristocracy and armies of feudal retainers. Support
12、for each house largely depended upon dynastic marriages with the nobility, feudal titles, and tenures. It is sometimes difficult to follow the shifts of power and allegiance as nobles acquired or lost titles through marriage, confiscation or attainder. The wars caused the collapse of the Plantagenet
13、 dynasty and its replacement with the new Tudor. And with the heavy casualties among the nobility coupled with the effects of the Black Death, the wars are thought to have ushered in a period of great social upheaval in feudal England, including a weakening of the feudal power of the nobles and a co
14、rresponding strengthening of the merchant classes, and the growth of a strong, centralized monarchy under the Tudors. Nevertheless, it is believed that there are still many issues that may be worth 中国最大的论文知识平台 studying because the wars happened during a very colorful period which saw the aristocracy
15、s collapse and kingships rising,. Someone also seemed it as the symbol of the end of the medieval period in England and the movement towards the Renaissance. Background and Origin of the Wars of the Roses 1.1 The Antebellum Condition of the England Before the Wars of the Roses broke out, the armisti
16、ce of the other war had not been carried out long ago. The Hundred Years War between England and France which lasted 116 years from 1337 to 1453, and the English, after the war, had seized nothing but withdrawing back to the islands. As a result, Henry VIs kingship suffered from the failure of the H
17、undred Years War, and pushed himself towards peoples suspicion, and aristocrats intimidation who had expanded their private army during the war. 1.1.2 House of Lancaster House of Lancaster was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, English kings. It was one of the opposing factions invo
18、lved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century. The House is named Lancaster, because its members were all descended from Edward IIIs son John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster; their symbol was a Red Rose. 1.1.3 House of York House of
19、 York was also a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three of whom became English kings in the late 15th century. The House of York was descended from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York-the fourth son of Edward III. Their symbol was a White Rose. 1.2 Origins of the Wars of the Roses O
20、n the origins of the wars, historians tend to do their studies from historical and political aspects. 1.2.1 The Historical Aspects Some historians tend to define it as a civil war. For example, Terence Wise said in her work The Wars of the Roses: In my opinion, a civil war is one in which men fight
21、中国最大的论文知识平台 and kill their countrymen, and in this respect the Wars of the Roses might properly be called a civil war. Furthermore, some of the researchers believe that it was not a simple civil war. On The Wars of the Roses 1455-1485, Michael Hicks said: the Wars of the Roses were a period of major
22、 crisis in English politics and in the lives of the English landowning classes. The antagonism between the two houses started with the overthrow of King Richard II by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, in 1399. As an issue of Edward IIIs third son John of Gaunt, Bolingbroke had a very
23、 poor claim to the throne. According to precedent, the crown should have passed to the male descendants of Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence (1338-1368). However, Bolingbroke was crowned as Henry IV. So he was seemed as a usurper. However his son, Henry V, was a great soldier and his military succ
24、ess against France in the Hundred Years War bolstered his enormous popularity, enabling him to strengthen the Lancastrian hold on the throne. In the reign of the Henry VI, England was defeated by France, and then the king could not control the kingdom ever because of the depression of people and nob
25、les. Richard, Earl of Cambridge, a son of Edmund of Langley, the fifth son of Edward III. He grew up to put forward his parents claims to the throne as head of the House of York, which believed that it had a stronger claim to the throne than the Lancastrian Henry VI. Finally the fermented complot in
26、volved the most of the aristocrats. So, the historical aspect was presented as matter of reality that displayed a dynastic struggle between the houses of York and Lancaster. 1.2.2 The Political Aspects In 1453 AD, England suffered from the failure of the Hundred Years War. However, two years later,
27、another warthe Wars of the Roses broke out. Michael Hicks said: They followed immediately after the final English defeat in the Hundred Years War. Historical records had shown that after the withdraw, the conflicts in the Channel 中国最大的论文知识平台 and raids on the south coast impeded trade and threatened
28、foreign invasion, coinciding with Great Slump roughly around 1440-1480. People in all walks of life were feeling the pinch, looked back nostalgically to better times and blamed the government. On the other hand, the failure meant English lost their land on mainland and the control of Netherlands whi
29、ch was one of the largest bases of weaving. Furthermore, more and more private armies which were under the control of the nobles had been built, and the nobles didnt restrain themselves from bidding their defiance to the kingship. So the political aspect of the Wars of the Roses was derived from a f
30、use- the Hundred Years War. From then on, kingship had to face domestic depression from the working people as well as the ambitious nobles. 2. The Course of the Wars of the Roses 2.1 The Initial Phase of the Wars: 1455-1461 During this phase, there were nine battles: First Battle of St Albans: May 2
31、2, 1455 (Yorkist victory); Battle of Blore Heath: September 23, 1459 (Yorkist victory); Battle of Ludford Bridge: October 12, 1459 (Lancastrian victory); Battle of Northampton (1460): July 10, 1460 (Yorkist victory); Battle of Wakefield: December 30, 1460 (Lancastrian victory); Battle of Mortimers C
32、ross: February 2, 1461 (Yorkist victory); Second Battle of St Albans: February 22, 1461 (Lancastrian victory); Battle of Ferrybridge: March 28, 1461 (Indecisive); Battle of Towton: March 29, 1461 (Yorkist victory). In 1455 AD, Richard, Duke of York led a small force toward London and was met by Henr
33、ys forces at St Albans, north of London, on May 22 1455. The relatively small First Battle of St Albans was the first open conflict of the civil war. Richards aim was ostensibly to remove poor advisors from King Henrys side. The result was a Lancastrian defeat. Several prominent Lancastrian leaders,
34、 including Somerset and 中国最大的论文知识平台 Northumberland, were killed. York and his allies regained their position of influence, and for a while both sides seemed shocked that an actual battle had been fought and did their best to reconcile their differences. When Henry suffered another bout of mental ill
35、ness, York was again appointed Protector, and Margaret was shunted aside, charged with the kings care. After the first Battle of St Albans, the compromise of 1455 enjoyed some success, with York remaining the dominant voice on the Council even after Henrys recovery. The problems which had caused con
36、flict soon re-emerged, particularly the issue of whether the Duke of York, or Henry and Margarets infant son, Edward, would succeed to the throne. Margaret refused to accept any solution that would disinherit her son, and it became clear that she would only tolerate the situation for as long as the
37、Duke of York and his allies retained the military ascendancy. In 1456, Henry went on royal progress in the Midlands, where the King and Queen were popular. Margaret did not allow him to return to London where the merchants were angry at the decline in trade and widespread disorder. The Kings court s
38、et up at Coventry. By then, the new Duke of Somerset was emerging as a favourite of the royal court, filling his fathers shoes. Margaret also persuaded Henry to dismiss the appointments York had made as Protector, while York himself was made to return to his post as Lieutenant in Ireland. Disorder i
39、n the capital and piracy on the south coast were growing, but the King and Queen remained intent on protecting their own positions, with the Queen introducing conscription for the first time in England. Meanwhile, Yorks ally, Warwick (later dubbed The Kingmaker), was growing in popularity in London
40、as the champion of the merchants. Following Yorks unauthorized return from Ireland, hostilities resumed. On September 23, 1459, at the Battle of Blore Heath in Staffordshire, a large Lancastrian army failed to prevent a Yorkist force under the Earl of Salisbury from marching from Middleham Castle in
41、 Yorkshire to link up with York at Ludlow Castle. Shortly afterwards the combined Yorkist armies confronted the much larger Lancastrian force at the Battle of Ludford Bridge. One of Warwicks lieutenants defected to the 中国最大的论文知识平台 Lancastrians, and the Yorkist leaders fled; York himself back to Irel
42、and, and Edward, Earl of March (Yorks eldest son, later Edward IV of England), Salisbury, and Warwick to Calais. The Lancastrians were now backing in total control, and Somerset was sent off to be Governor of Calais. His attempts to evict Warwick were easily repulsed, and the Yorkists even began to
43、launch raids on the English coast from Calais in 145960, adding to the sense of chaos and disorder. In 1460, Warwick and the others launched an invasion of England, and rapidly established themselves in Kent and London, where they enjoyed wide support. Backed by a papal emissary who had taken their
44、side, they marched north. Henry led an army south to meet them while Margaret remained in the north with Prince Edward. The Battle of Northampton, on July 10 1460, proved disastrous for the Lancastrians. The Yorkist army under the Earl of Warwick, aided by treachery in the Lancastrian ranks, was abl
45、e to capture King Henry and take him prisoner to London. As a result, Margaret in Anjou was ordered out of London with Prince Edward, and the Yorkist army under the Earl of Warwick, aided by treachery in the Lancastrian ranks, was able to capture King Henry and take him prisoner to London. Then on 1461, Yorks eldest son, coroneted as the Edward IV of England. York dynasty begun. 2.2 The Second Phase of the Wars:1464-1471 This phase can be separated into
