Tag: Philippa of Hainault

Book Review: “Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets” by Sharon Bennett Connolly

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The typical image of a medieval princess often comes from fairy tales. They are seen as damsels in distress, waiting in a tower for their charming prince to whisk them away to create power alliances between their two countries and live happily ever after. Let’s be real, this is nothing but a fantasy. Some princesses did have happy marriages, but they weren’t wasting away in towers. They were learning how to be diplomats and rulers of their own domains, whether countries or counties. The stories of the Plantagenet princesses are especially colorful, and Sharon Bennett Connolly continues to tell their tales in the second book in her duology, “Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets.”

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books for sending me a copy of this book. I enjoyed the first book in this duology, “Princesses of the Early Middle Ages,” so I wanted to see how she would conclude the duology. I know more about the later Plantagenets, so I was interested to see what new information Connolly would provide to this field of study.

This title traces the daughters of King Henry III to the daughters of King Edward IV. As those who study the Plantagenets already know, two, technically three, kings did not have daughters during this period: King Henry V, King Henry VI, and, if we extend the timeline past the reign of Edward IV, Richard III. We begin with the daughters of Henry III and his wife Eleanor of Provence, who often do not get much attention since Henry III had to deal with Simon de Montfort, rebuilding Westminster Abbey, and the Provisions of Oxford. They had three daughters, Margaret, Beatrice, and Katherine (who died young). Margaret would marry Alexander III of Scotland, and Beatrice married John II, Duke of Brittany. After the death of Henry III, his son Edward I became king, alongside his wife and queen, Eleanor of Castile, whose death would later be immortalized through the Eleanor Crosses. The couple would only have one living male heir, the future Edward II, but they did have five daughters who survived infancy: Eleanor, Joan of Acre, Margaret, Mary of Woodstock, and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan. Mary of Woodstock was the only daughter who did not marry, as she was reluctantly destined to be a nun. Eleanor married twice, to King Alfonso III of Aragon and Count Henry III of Bar; Joan of Acre married Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, and then married secretly to Ralph de Monthermer. Margaret married John II, Duke of Brabant, a strong alliance marriage. Finally, Elizabeth of Rhuddlan married twice, to John I, Count of Holland, and to Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford.

Edward II would marry Isabella of France, and amidst the conflict with the favorites Piers Gaveston and Hugh le Despenser the Younger, the couple would have an heir, Edward III, John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall, plus their two daughters, Eleanor of Woodstock and Joan of the Tower. Joan of the Tower would marry King David II of Scotland, while Eleanor of Woodstock would marry Reynald II, Count of Guelders. Edward III and his wife Philippa of Hainault would have five daughters, but only one of them reached her forties. Isabella, the eldest and the one who took the longest to get married, finally tied the knot with Enguerrand VIII, Lord of Coucy. Joan of the Tower was betrothed to Pedro, Prince of Castile, but on her way to Spain, she died of the Black Death. Blanche died as an infant, and Margaret of Windsor would be a child bride of John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, before she died at a young age. Finally, Mary of Waltham would marry John IV, Duke of Brittany.

Connolly explores the life of Richard II before his cousin Henry Bolingbroke became Henry IV. Before he was created king, Henry IV and his first wife Mary de Bohun had two daughters, Blanche and Philippa, whose lives would change forever once their father became King of England. Blanche married Louis III, Elector Palatine, and Philippa married Eric Pomerania, King of Denmark and Sweden. Finally, Connolly explores the lives of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville’s daughters. Before their father Edward IV died suddenly in 1482, they each had a different path than the one they actually took. Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter, would marry Henry VII and help found the Tudor dynasty. Cecily of York married twice, to Ralph Scrope and John, Viscount Welles, while Anne of York married Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey and Duke of Norfolk. Catherine of York married William Courtenay, Earl of Devon, and Bridget of York would become a nun.

This just scratches the surface of the amount of information Connolly includes in this book. She also includes illegitimate daughters, which adds even more depth to the past. I loved learning about the daughters of the later Plantagenet kings, and now I want to learn even more. If you enjoyed reading the first book in this duology or if you just want to learn more about Plantagenet princesses, I highly recommend you read “ Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets” by Sharon Bennett Connolly.

Book Review: “Sceptred Isle: A New History of the Fourteenth Century” by Helen Carr

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The Plantagenets, a dynasty that ruled England for over three hundred years. At least that is if you include the Lancastrian and Yorkist kings. Otherwise, the reign of the Plantagenets ended with Richard II being overthrown. So, how did the Plantagenets fall? How did wars, favoritism, and the plague factor into the fall? Helen Carr examines these questions and the rule of three kings over the fourteenth century in her latest book, “Sceptred Isle: A New History of the Fourteenth Century.”

I have really enjoyed Helen Carr’s insight into medieval English history in her book, The Red Prince, so when I heard she was writing a book about the Plantagenets again, with a focus on the fourteenth century, I was excited to read it. The idea in this book that caught my attention was the idea that the Plantagenet dynasty ended when Henry of Bolingbroke overthrew Richard II. As someone who believes that the Plantagenet dynasty ended with the death of Richard III, the concept that it ended almost a century earlier is intriguing.

We begin our adventure with a double reburial of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, the idea of King Edward I and his wife Eleanor of Castile. It was a kind gesture, but the prophecy that was left behind would be almost prophetic. With the death of King Edward I, the Hammer of the Scots, the throne passed to his son Edward II. While Edward I was a strong warrior, Edward II was a handsome prince who only cared about his favorites, Piers Gaveston and Hugh Despenser the Younger. It would cause those around him, including his wife, Isabella of France, and her lover, Roger Mortimer, to take action against him. Isabella and Mortimer placed Edward III on the throne, but they would soon learn that Edward III was not as passive as his father.

Edward III would return to the warrior state of mind like his grandfather Edward I. With his wife Philippa of Hainault, they would have a large family with many sons, including John of Gaunt and Edward the Black Prince. It would be Edward III who would try to take the French throne for England in a conflict known as the Hundred Years’ War (not the quickest war, and it didn’t go the way Edward III envisioned it). And to top it all off, Edward III had to deal with the emergence of the Black Death and how it affected not only his own family but England and Europe as a whole.

Before Edward III died, his heir, the Black Prince, died, which meant that the Black Prince’s son, Richard II, was destined to be the next king. However, youth and favoritism failed the king as chaos reigned ever since the start of his reign, with the Peasants’ Revolt, and ended with Henry of Bolingbroke becoming the first Lancastrian King, Henry IV.

This was another wonderful book by Helen Carr. It demonstrates Carr’s ability to balance extensive research with a narrative format to create an accessible history book that novices and experts will equally enjoy. My only qualm with this book, if you can call it an issue, is that I wanted it a bit longer so we get more analysis of how this one century affected English and European history as a whole. If you want a book that dives into the history of one of England’s most tumultuous centuries, I highly recommend you read “Sceptred Isle: A New History of the Fourteenth Century” by Helen Carr.

Book Review: “The Granddaughters of Edward III” by Kathryn Warner

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Granddaughters of Edward IIIWhen we think about the legacy of Edward III, we often think about a warrior king who became king after his father, Edward II’s disastrous fall from grace. We know about his sons that he had with his beloved wife, Philippa of Hainault: Edward the Black Prince, Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, John of Gaunt 1st Duke of Lancaster, Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, and Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester. Famously, we get the 15th-century conflict known as the Wars of the Roses through the descendants of Edward III. However, the male descendants only tell half the story of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault’s legacy in England and throughout Europe. In her latest book, “The Granddaughters of Edward III,” Kathryn Warner examines the lives of Edward III’s female descendants to better appreciate the strength of this group of branches of the Plantagenet family tree.

Thank you, Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley, for sending me a copy of this book. I am always looking for more books about the Plantagenets, and I know a bit about Edward III’s sons but not much about his granddaughters.

Warner has chosen to take a joint biography approach to this book by focusing on nine out of eleven of Edward III’s granddaughters. These eleven granddaughters were the daughters of Lionel Antwerp, John of Gaunt, Isabella Woodstock, Edmund of Langley, and Thomas of Woodstock. The eleven granddaughters of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault were: Philippa of Clarence, Philippa of Lancaster, Elizabeth of Lancaster, Marie de Coucy, Philippa de Coucy, Catalina of Lancaster, Constance of York, Joan Beaufort, Anne of Gloucester, Joan of Gloucester, and Isabel of Gloucester.

These women were not just great ladies in England, but in the case of Philippa of Lancaster and Catalina of Lancaster, they were Queens of Portugal and Castile, respectively. Philippa of Lancaster ushered in the Illustrious Generation in the history of the royal family of Portugal. Catalina married her mother’s mortal enemy to create a stronger connection between England and Castile. Back in England, the remaining granddaughters had to deal with rebellions against King Henry IV, resulting in husbands and sons being beheaded. One had married her former brother-in-law when her husband died, and another had an affair with the king’s half-brother, resulting in the birth of an illegitimate daughter. A granddaughter had her marriage annulled when her husband decided to marry a lady-in-waiting. One began her life as an illegitimate child and would end up being the grandmother to two Kings of England.

Warner has been able to take the stories of these eleven women who shared a grandfather and show how their tales transformed England, Castile, and Portugal forever. The amount of love and attention she dedicated to this book is admirable. I appreciate how Warner could give readers who only understood the English side of these tales a better understanding of the political situations in Castile and Portugal. If you want a book with brand new medieval heroines with a connection to the Plantagenet dynasty, I highly recommend you read “The Granddaughters of Edward III” by Kathryn Warner.

Book Review: “Queens of the Age of Chivalry: England’s Medieval Queens” by Alison Weir

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cover263156-mediumWhen we think of the title “medieval queen,” a few things come to mind. They were seen as mere trophy wives who were only suitable for making alliances and giving birth to children. It may be a cruel assessment for a modern audience, but that was the reality of the medieval world. However, the late Plantagenet queens decided to step outside the socially acceptable path for their lives and forged a new one. In Alison Weir’s latest nonfiction book, “Queens of the Age of Chivalry: England’s Medieval Queens,” she explores the lives of five Plantagenet queens who had to adapt quickly to the ever-changing world of late medieval England.

Thank you, Ballantine Books and Net Galley, for sending me a copy of this book. I have read and enjoyed the previous books in England’s Medieval Queens series, and I wanted to see which queens would be included in this book.

The years covered in this book are 1299-1399, a time of turmoil, change, and the plague. During that time, five queens forever left their marks on England: Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia, and Isabella of Valois. Their royal husbands were Edward I, Edward II, Edward III, and Richard II. Since these queens were foreign brides, it was a balancing act between what their home country expected of them and what England expected their new queen to do, which was, in most cases, to give birth to heirs and to stay out of politics.

We begin with Marguerite of France, who was the second wife of Edward I and the step-mother of Edward II; her most extraordinary claim to fame was to try and prevent her son from ever seeing Piers Gaveston, which sadly did not last long. Isabella of France had to deal with Edward II’s favoritism to not only Piers Gaveston but to Hugh Despenser the Younger. This led her to join Roger Mortimer and rebel against her husband. This decision would create a black cloud around her reputation for centuries.

As part of the rebellion, Edward III married Philippa of Hainault, who was the closest of these five queens to be the ideal medieval queen. She gave Edward III many heirs that would help define future generations. Richard II’s first wife, Anne of Bohemia, was the essence of sophistication, but her death sent him reeling, forcing him to take a child bride named Isabella of Valois.

Being a queen in the late medieval period was not easy, especially with the Black Death, the Hundred Years’ War, the Peasants’ Revolt, and internal struggles were constantly in play, but the five queens mentioned in this book were able to navigate this tumultuous time to create their legacies. Weir once again weaves fun facts and compelling tales of each queen to give her readers her perspective on their true legacies. If you have enjoyed the previous books in “England’s Medieval Queens” series, I would highly recommend you read “Queens of the Age of Chivalry: England’s Medieval Queens” by Alison Weir.

Book Review: “John of Gaunt: Son of One King, Father to Another” by Kathryn Warner

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52652190Medieval princes are often viewed as men who will one day be king of their homeland or another country. They are seen as wealthy men with prestige and honor who live lavish lifestyles and go to war to earn titles and estates. One of these noble medieval princes was a man who married three times, including to his most beloved mistress. He was the son of Edward III, the uncle of Richard II, and the father of the queen of Castile and King Henry IV, the first Lancastrian king. His children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren would rule in different European countries, even though he never had the chance to wear the crown of England or Castile for himself. His name was John of Gaunt, and his story is told in Kathryn Warner’s latest biography, “ John of Gaunt: Son of One King, Father to Another.”

I want to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. John of Gaunt is one of my favorite Plantagenet figures to study, so when I heard about this title late last year, I was intrigued to read it. I wanted to see what new information Warner would provide in the research of John of Gaunt and his family.

Warner takes her readers on a journey from the birth of the third son of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault to his death in 1399. The matter that truly defined John of Gaunt’s life was his connections not only in England but throughout Europe, which Warner explains in great detail. We go on a journey through his three marriages; first to Blanche of Lancaster to become Duke of Lancaster, then to Constanza of Castile, who allowed him to try and fight for the kingdom of Castile, and finally his mistress Katherine Swynford. Katherine Swynford was the mother of the Beauforts who would help create the Tudor dynasty. However, not only his marital connections made Gaunt so well known. As the son of King Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, his family was connected to every corner of Europe through marriage. Even though John of Gaunt never became King of England or Castile, his family would fulfill his dream of ruling a kingdom and gaining wealth and prestige.

The will of John of Gaunt, written on the same day of his death, is included in its entirety, showing how wealthy this particular Plantagenet prince was at the time of his death. Unlike other biographies about John of Gaunt, this focuses on his family connections and financial records, Warner’s specialty. However, we tend to view John of Gaunt as a gallant prince. Those who lived in England as peasants considered him the enemy during his lifetime, especially during the Great Uprising in 1381, also known as The Peasants Revolt.

Kathryn Warner has once again illuminated the life of a famous Plantagenet figure through genealogical and financial records. Although he ended up becoming one of the most hated men in England and the enemy to his nephew Richard II, he would go down as one of the fascinating men to study from the Plantagenet dynasty. If you want to learn more about the founding of the Lancastrian dynasty and the rise of the Beauforts through John of Gaunt, I would recommend you read “John of Gaunt: Son of One King, Father to Another, “ by Kathryn Warner.

Book Review: “The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors” by Dan Jones

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24611635._SY475_England throughout the centuries has known internal strife with civil wars to determine who had the right to rule the island nation. None more so than in the fifteenth century when a tug of war for the English crown broke out. Today, we call this time period “The Wars of the Roses”, but what was it all about? Who were the main figures during this time? What were the crucial battles that defined these wars? How did the Plantagenet Dynasty fall and how did the Tudors become the new dynasty to rule England? These questions and more are explored in Dan Jones’ book, “The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors”.

I will admit that this was not my first time reading this particular book. I did borrow it from my local library and read it a few years ago, but I enjoyed it so much that I decided that I wanted to add it to my personal collection.

Jones begins his book with the horrific execution of the elderly Margaret Pole, the last white rose of York. Her death had more to do with her Plantagenet blood and the fact that she was the daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, than with any crime she committed. It was the royal blood and who had the right to rule that was at the heart of the Wars of the Roses, as Jones goes on to explain.

Although the true origins of the conflict go back to the sons of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, Jones chooses to explore the reign of King Henry V, Catherine of Valois, and their son Henry VI. When Henry V tragically died of dysentery, his infant son Henry VI became king of both England and France. This wouldn’t have been a problem if Henry VI was as strong as his father, but alas, as king was very weak, which meant that he needed help to rule his kingdoms. It was the rivals between the powerful men and women behind the crown, like Richard, Duke of York and Margaret of Anjou, which led to the thirty years of civil wars.

What I appreciate about Jones’ book is that his focus is on the people who made the Wars of the Roses so fun to study. From Henry VI and his dynamic wife Margaret of Anjou to the sons of Richard duke of York; Edward IV, Richard III ( Ricardians might not agree with Jones’ assessment of Richard III) and George Duke of Clarence. Then there are figures who stand on their own who worked behind the scenes, like Warwick “The Kingmaker”, Margaret Beaufort, Owen and Jasper Tudor, the Princes in the Tower, and the ultimate victor, Henry VII.

Jones was able to weave the stories of these extraordinary people with the bloody battles and the politics that defined the era into this delightful book. It acts as a fantastic introduction to this turbulent time in English history that brought the downfall of the powerful Plantagenets and brought forth the Tudors. Another enjoyable and engaging book by Dan Jones. If you want to begin a study into this time, I highly recommend you read, “The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors”.

Book Review: “Philippa of Hainault: Mother of the English Nation” by Kathryn Warner

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43661739In medieval England, the queens were almost as famous, or infamous, as their husbands. In most cases, they came from royal backgrounds and their sons would become kings. That, however, was the case for Philippa of Hainault, the wife of King Edward III. She tends to be forgotten when it comes to discussing her famous husband, her infamous mother-in-law Isabella of France, and her sons whose children would go on to shape English history forever. That is until now. Kathryn Warner has decided to discover the truth about this rather remarkable woman in her latest biography, “Philippa of Hainault: Mother of the English Nation”.

I would like to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this informative biography. It looked rather intriguing and this was the first time that I have read a book by Kathryn Warner. This was an absolute joy to read.

Warner begins by explaining Philippa of Hainault’s immediate family. As a queen, she had a rather unusual upbringing since she was the daughter of Willem, Count of Hainault and Holland and his wife Jeanne de Valois (whose brothers and sisters would be kings and queens throughout Europe). Philippa’s husband was Edward III, whose parents were King Edward II and Isabella of France (who did not get along at all, especially over the issue of Hugh Despenser). Philippa and Edward III came from rather different backgrounds, but they were married so that Philippa’s father could help Isabella of France with her invasion of England, which resulted in the abdication of her husband and her son becoming the new King of England. An unusual reason to get married, but it actually worked rather well.

Isabella of France and her partner in crime, Roger Mortimer, were hoping that Edward III was going to be like a puppet king, but they were wrong. Edward III did things his own way, wife his beloved wife Philippa by his side. While Edward III was taking care of domestic and foreign issues, Philippa was raising their large family. Their sons and daughters included Edward of Woodstock “The Black Prince”, Isabella of Woodstock, Lionel of Antwerp, John of Gaunt, Edmund of Langley, and Thomas of Woodstock. Although they did have a large family, none of their children would become King or Queen of England; it would be Edward of Woodstock’s son, Edward and Philippa’s grandson, Richard of Bordeaux who would become King Richard II. It was the descendants of Edward and Philippa’s sons and daughters that would go and shape the conflict that would be known as the Wars of the Roses.

Another lasting legacy of Edward III was the beginning of a conflict between England and France that would be known as the Hundred Years’ War. It started when Edward III declared war on Philippa’s maternal uncle King Philip VI of France. Talk about family drama. But family drama was nothing new for Philippa since she was connected to many kings, queens, emperors, and empresses throughout Europe through marriage and there were times where her husband would get into disagreements with her extended family. That was the nature of medieval Europe, but it never affected her relationship with Edward III. Around this time, the Black Death was beginning to leave its mark on Europe, hitting many families including Edward III and Philippa of Hainault’s children.

Kathryn Warner brought Philippa of Hainault into the spotlight that she deserved with a delightful plethora of details combined with an eloquent writing style. Warner does repeat facts in her book, but as someone who is a novice in studying this time period, it was rather useful for me to have her repeat these facts. I enjoyed this book immensely and it really helped me understand her story and the legacy that her family left behind for England and for Europe. If you want a great book about Philippa of Hainault and her family, I highly recommend you read, “Philippa of Hainault: Mother of the English Nation” by Kathryn Warner.

Biography: John of Gaunt

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gaunt(Born March 6, 1340- Died March 15, 1399). Son of King Edward III and Philippa of Hainault.  He had three wives, Blanche of Lancaster, Constance of Castile, and Katherine Swynford. He was the 1st Duke of Lancaster, the Duke of Aquitaine, King of Castile, and one of the wealthiest men of his time. His children would become the House of Lancaster, the Beauforts, the monarchs of Portugal and Castile, and the Hapsburgs.

 

John of Gaunt was the third surviving son of Edward III. He wasn’t supposed to be as wealthy or influential as he became but he achieved prestige by marrying well. With his first marriage to Blanche of Lancaster, John of Gaunt was able to become the first Duke of Lancaster. Blanche of Lancaster would die in 1369 and John would marry Constance of Castile in 1371. She was next in line for the throne of Castile and for years John fought for her crown against the Spanish. The problem was that they were also fighting the French as the Hundred Years’ War was just starting.   After his brother Edward The Black Prince’s death in 1376, John took John Wycliffe under his protection as he now had more of a political influence.

When Edward III died, John of Gaunt’s nephew Richard II became king and John was his right hand man. There was a lot of mistrust with the nobility and the common folk which lead to the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, which was quickly and brutally taken care of. John went  back to Castile try to take the throne, but as soon as he left, England almost fell into civil war because of how poorly Richard II ruled. John gave up his claim to the Castilian throne to help bring England back to some stability.

 

He would also help sponsor  Geoffrey Chaucer, who was his brother in law since Chaucer married the sister of John’s third wife and long time mistress, Katherine Swynford. John and Katherine met while he was married to Constance and had 4 children out of wedlock. After they were married in 1396, their children were made legitimate and given the name “Beaufort”. There was one catch, they were not allowed to inherit the throne, although their half- brother Henry IV allowed them to have some royal status. John of Gaunt died  of natural causes on March 15, 1399 with Katherine Swynford by her side. He would later be buried by his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster.

Biography: King Edward III

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mw02027(Born November 13, 1312- died June 21, 1377. Reigned from January 1327 until June 21, 1377).Son of Edward II and Isabella of France.Married to Philippa of Hainault. They had 13 children including Edward “The Black Prince”, Edmund Duke of York, and John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster.

Edward III was the king who started The Hundred Years’ War with France. His sons Edmund Duke of York and John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster would be the founders of the Houses of York and Lancaster respectfully.

To say the early part of Edward III’s reign was turbulent would be an understatement. His mother Isabella of France and her lover Roger Mortimer had his father Edward II disposed and placed Edward III on the throne at the tender age of 14. A few years later after a terrible campaign in Scotland, Edward III had Mortimer executed.

Edward III had to deal with Scotland and France throughout his entire reign. He overthrew his brother in law David II King of Scotland for Edward Balliol, but it did not last long. Unfortunately before Edward III could really start a war with Scotland, he had to declare a truce with them as France was becoming a bigger headache. While the English were dealing with the Scots, the French had raided English coastal towns because Scotland and France had an alliance. Edward had a claim to the throne of France and so he decided to fight the French for what he believed was rightfully his, starting the Hundred Years’ War. Edward was able to capture Gascony, Calais, and other colonies in France for England.

Edward III modeled his court after that of King Arthur. It was a time that chivalry was becoming popular. Edward III established the Noble Order of the Garter, which is still active today, and his son Edward The Black Prince, was among the first members. However, the prosperous times would not last long as the Black Death of 1348 consumed all of Europe, including England, killing off a third of the population. In 1356, Edward The Black Prince won an important victory against the French at the Battle of Poitiers. The French king and his son were captured and it looked like England had won, but Edward III would sign the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360, which renounced his claim to the French throne, but allowed the English to keep its French territories.

Edward III relied on the military strength of his sons, especially Edward The Black Prince and John of Gaunt. In 1369, Philippa of Hainault died of what seems like dropsy. Edward was distraught and he decided to take a mistress Alice Perrers, who held too much power at court and was banished in 1376. Also in 1376, Edward The Black Prince passed away. Edward III would die the following year from an apparent stroke. He left the throne to his grandson Richard II.

Book Review: “The Wars of the Roses” by Alison Weir

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911GmwfEpdLThe Wars of the Roses was a series of wars from 1455 until 1487 for the throne of England. It is traditionally taught that it was between the houses of York and Lancaster, yet there were a lot more players involved than these two families. In fact the conflict started much earlier with the children of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault. The Lancasters were the descendants of John of Gaunt and his wife Blanche of Lancaster while the Yorks were descendants of Edmund of Langley Duke of York. This was a series over the question of who had the strongest claim to the throne. This question and the series of wars that would try to answer it is explored in depth in Alison Weir’s book “The Wars of the Roses”.

Alison Weir explains the struggle of studying this time period and what she is trying to accomplish in her book:

Sources for this period are meagre and often ambiguous, yet much research has been done over the last hundred years to illuminate a little for us what is often described as the twilight world of the fifteenth century. Many misconceptions have been swept away, yet even so the dynastic conflict still confuses many. My aim has been throughout to eliminate that confusion and try to present the story in chronological sequence, clarifying the problems of the royal succession in an age in which no certain rules of inheritance applied. I have also tried to bring the world of the fifteenth century to life by introducing as much contemporary detail as space permits, in order to make the subject relevant to any read, academic or otherwise. Chiefly, however, I have tried to re-tell an astonishing and often grim story of power struggles in high places that involved some of the most charismatic figures in English history. (Weir, xix).

Weir begins her book by explaining  what England in the fifteenth century was like before diving into the history of Edward III and the Plantagenets in the late 1300s. This may seem a little complex since there were many sons of Edward III, but the throne first went to Richard II, but when he was forced to abdicate, the throne went to Henry of Bolingbroke, who became Henry IV. He was the son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster. John of Gaunt and his third wife Katherine Swynford had children who would become known as the Beauforts. They would become important later on.

Henry IV’s son would become Henry V who was married to Katherine of Valois. When Henry V died, their son Henry VI became king; he was a baby. His mother would remarry a Welsh man named Owen Tudor and they would have a few children, including Edmund and Jasper Tudor. Henry VI would marry Margaret of Anjou. Richard Earl of Cambridge, the son of Edmund of Langley, would have a son with his wife Anne Mortimer named Richard Plantagenet Duke of York. He would marry the “Rose of Raby” Cecily Neville and they would be the parents of Edward IV, George Duke of Clarence and Richard Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III.

This all may seem a bit complex, but it is important to understand how all of the players in the Wars of the Roses were connected. Henry VI was a weak king who was known for his madness and so someone had to lead the government. Richard Duke of York believed that he should have been Lord Protector, however Margaret of Anjou and her party at court had other ideas. The beginning of this conflict was a battle between court factions, but eventually it escalated rather quickly into a full on rebellion by Richard Duke of York. This was now a battle between the Yorks and the Lancasters. When Richard Duke of York died at the Battle of Wakefield on December 30, 1460, his son Edward took on the Yorkist cause and would become king after the battle of Towton on March 29, 1461, the bloodiest battle on English soil. After Towton, it was a battle between Edward IV and those who supported Henry VI, until 1471 when Edward IV ultimately won, thus ending the conflict between the Yorks and the Lancasters.

Weir chooses to end her book here at 1471 even though the Wars of the Roses will pick back up with the death of Edward IV in 1483 when his brother Richard becomes Richard III. Weir truly brought this time period to life. I have been studying the Wars of the Roses for a few years now and I have to say this book really simplified this complex family struggle in a way that makes sense. I love this book and I have read it several times. If you really want a great book that explains the causes of the Wars of the Roses, I highly recommend this book, “The Wars of the Roses” by Alison Weir. It is a fantastic introduction to this tumultuous time period.