Ch. 6: The King's Madness and the First Protectorate of York, Pt. 1

War & Military

The Wars of the Roses 1377-1471

by Robert Balmain MOWAT (1883 - 1941)

The Wars of the Roses, 1377-1471, were a series of English civil wars fought for the control of the throne of England between two rival cadet branches of the House of Plantagenet, Lancaster and York. The Scottish historian, Robert Balmain Mowat (1883-1941) writes that these wars saw "the death of the old England and the beginning of the new." But they also saw the emergence of great personalities: the noble Richard of York, Warwick the Kingmaker, King Edward IV, indolent and energetic by turns, and his relentless opponent, Margaret of Anjou, a true she-wolf of France. (Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.)

Listen next episodes of The Wars of the Roses 1377-1471:
Ch. 6: The King's Madness and the First Protectorate of York, Pt. 2 , Ch. 7: The Second Protectorate of York and the Second Reconciliation of St. Paul's, Pt. 2 , Ch. 18: The Troubled Years of King Edward, Pt. 2 , Ch. 18: The Troubled Years of King Edward, Pt. 3 , Ch. 20: English Society during the Wars of the Roses, Pt. 2 , Ch. 10: The Battle of Northampton , Ch. 11: The Bid for the Crown , Ch. 12: Wakefield , Ch. 13: Mortimer's Cross and the Second Battle of St. Albans , Ch. 14: The Accession of Edward IV , Ch. 15: The Northern War , Ch. 16: Queen Margaret Abroad , Ch. 17: The Capture of Henry VI , Ch. 18: The Troubled Years of King Edward, Pt. 1 , Ch. 19: The Last of the Lancastrians, Pt. 1 , Ch. 19: The Last of the Lancastrians, Pt. 2 , Ch. 19: The Last of the Lancastrians, Pt. 3 , Ch. 20: English Society during the Wars of the Roses, Pt. 1 , Ch. 21: The Breakdown of Government under Henry VI , Ch. 22: The Work of Edward IV , Ch. 7: The Second Protectorate of York and the Second Reconciliation of St. Paul's, Pt. 1 , Ch. 8: The Battle of Bloreheath and the Attainder of the Yorkists , Ch. 9: The Yorkists in Exile , Conclusion: The Accession of Henry VII