Richard II (1377 – 1399)• When Edward III died in 1377, his heir was his 10

year-old grandson, Richard (son of Edward the Black Prince who had died a year earlier).

• During the first five years of his reign, from 1377 to 1382, a baronial council ruled England under the leadership of Richard’s uncle, John of Gaunt.

• Between 1382 and 1386 Richard began to give power, titles, and estates to his personal friends—to the dismay of his council of barons.

• Parliament demanded that Richard dismiss his royal favorites and rule only with the consent of Lords and Commons in Parliament. (The real leader of the opposition party was another of the king’s uncles, Thomas, Duke of Gloucester).

• The “Merciless Parliament” of 1388 marks the high point of parliamentary power and the low point of royal power in medieval England.

• In 1397, Richard II ordered the arrest of the leaders of the opposition party. Thomas, Duke of Gloucester (Richard II’s uncle), was murdered at Calais.

Henry IV• When John of Gaunt died in 1399,

Richard confiscated the lands of Gaunt’s heir, Henry, Lord Bolingbroke, and exiled him. Most of the barons felt this was too much. John of Gaunt had remained faithful, and if his lands were not safe, no one’s lands were.

• Henry Bolingbroke returned from exile at the head of an army. He captured Richard, summoned a Parliament, and forced Richard’s abdication.

• Henry IV was a capable king and good military leader. But his uncertain title to the crown meant many plots, and lack of money meant dependence on Parliament.The barons who had helped to put him on the throne expected that their wishes would be heard.

Henry V (1413 – 1422)• In 1415, Henry V invaded France to regain

all the territory his ancestors had lost. At the Battle of Agincourt on Oct. 25, 1415, an outnumbered English army defeated a French force five times larger. By the Treaty of Troyes, 1420, Henry V married the sister of Charles VI of France, Catherine of Valois.

• But Henry died only two years later, in 1422, leaving a 9-month-old son as his heir.

Henry VI (1422 – 1461 & 1470-71)

• 9 months old at the beginning of his reign. England ruled by a council of nobles until 1437.

• Temperamentally unfit to rule: weak & indecisive

• Married Margaret of Anjou in 1444• In 1453-54 Henry had a mental

breakdown• In response, the King’s Council appointed

Richard, Duke of York, as Protector of the Realm.

• Henry returned to health and reassumed the throne, dashing the hopes of the Yorkists who hoped the Duke of York would become the new king.

The Wars of the Roses, 1455 – 1485• Lancastrians effectively led by Margaret of

Anjou• 1455 – Battle of St Albans• 1460 – Richard, Duke of York is killed at

the Battle of Wakefield. Richard’s son, Edward, becomes the Yorkist leader.

• 1461 – Battle of Towton – Lancaster defeated. Edward IV declared king. Henry & Margaret flee to Scotland.

• 1469 – Battle of Edgecote – Disillusioned by Edward’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, the Earl of Warwick, Richard Neville, turns on Edward and defeats him. Henry VI restored.

• 1471 – Edward defeats Henry. Warwick killed. Edward IV restored.

The Red Rose of

Lancaster

The White Rose of

York

Richard III (1483 – 1485)• Edward IV dies in 1483.

• His 12 year old son Edward inherits the throne and becomes Edward V.

• Richard, the Duke of Gloucester and Edward V’s uncle, was appointed his protector.

• A bombshell is dropped – Edward is alleged to be illegitimate.

• Edward V and his younger brother (also Richard) are confined in the Tower of London and ultimately disappear.

The Battle of Bosworth, 1485• Henry Tudor launches attack backed by French mercenaries and English

nobles.

• The disappearance of the princes and the Richard’s suppression of an earlier rebellion has provoked opposition to Richard.

• Richard is betrayed in the battlefield by supposed allies and killed.

Henry Tudor (1485 – 1509) • Grandfather, Edmund Tudor, served in the

house of Henry V and then married his widow, Catherine of Valois.

• Henry's mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, third son of Edward III, and his third wife Katherine Swynford. Katherine was Gaunt's mistress for about 25 years; when they married in 1396, they already had four children, including Henry's great-grandfather John Beaufort.

• Henry Tudor’s claim to the throne was not strong.

Bronze effigies of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York

The Tudor Rose combined the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York.

Henry strengthened his hold on power by marrying Elizabeth of

York. This a) dealt with Elizabeth who in fact had a stronger claim

to throne than him and b) appeased the Yorkists by in effect

giving them a share of power.

He also ruled efficiently and effectively…

Financial Administration• Initially, King’s lived off four sources of

nonparliamentary income:• Rents from the royal estate• Revenues from import and export taxes• Fees from the administration of justice• Diplomacy and War

Henry was simply more ruthless and enforced this more strongly

Financial Administration

• Restored all property over which the crown lands had lost control since 1455 (ruthless and demanding). And confiscated all of the Yorkist estate

• Rigorous administration of justice; as law became more effective, it also become more profitable

• Added efficiency of rent collection• By the end of Henry VII’s reign, the crowns annual

income had risen by two folds• Powerful nobles lost a lot of their wealth and power

as a result

• Royal Council

• Several specialised courts

• Extended influence

Law enforcement & government