War of the Roses

The English Civil War was fought between the Lancaster and York Royal Houses for 30 years from 1455 to 1485. The name comes from the fact that the Yorkists used a white rose and the Lancastrians used a red rose as their emblem, but at the time of the civil war, only the Yorkist white rose was used. The underlying cause of the civil war was the weak government of Henry VI of the House of Lancaster, and the fact that the armed vassals who had expanded with the addition of furloughed soldiers after the end of the Hundred Years' War (1453) had become increasingly unsettling and disregarding law and order among the great nobles. These great nobles were divided into those who supported Henry VI (led by the Duke of Somerset) and those who were anti-royalists led by Richard, Duke of York, and in 1453, the king became mentally unstable, so the Duke of York became regent. However, in the autumn of the same year, the queen gave birth to a boy, and the king recovered from his illness the following year, so the ambitious queen Margaret appointed the Duke of Somerset as regent. This led to the Duke of York's uprising, and the war began. In May 55, the king was captured at the Battle of St. Albans, and the Yorkists briefly seized power, but were defeated by a counterattack by the Queen the following year, and the Duke of York and his nephew, the Earl of Warwick, fled to France. In 60, the Duke of York returned to England thanks to the Earl's efforts and proclaimed himself king, but was defeated and killed by the Queen's rebellion. The following year, in 61, the Duke of York's son Edward rose again, defeated the Queen, and ascended to the throne as Edward IV (the founding of the House of York). In response to Edward IV's policies, the Earl of Warwick teamed up with Margaret, the wife of the previous king who was in exile on the continent, to rebel, but Edward IV won decisive victories at the Battle of Barnet in 1871 and then the Battle of Tewkesbury. The king's power was strengthened thereafter, but in 83, when the throne was passed to the infant king Edward V, his uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, murdered the king and proclaimed himself Richard III. Eventually, Henry (Tudor), the only Lancastrian with a claim to the throne, returned from exile and defeated Richard at the Battle of Bosworth in 85. The new king, Henry VII, established the Tudor dynasty, and the civil war between the two royal families came to an end.

[Yutaka Matsugaki]

"The Wars of the Roses, Thirty Years of Bloody Vengeance" by Takeshi Kido (included in "World War History 5: The Middle Ages and the Knights' Wars", 1985, Kodansha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1455年から85年まで30年間、ランカスターとヨーク両王家の間で戦われたイギリスの内乱。この名称は、ヨーク派が白ばら、ランカスター派が赤ばらを記章としたことにちなむが、内乱当時はヨーク派の白ばらだけが用いられた。内乱の遠因は、ランカスター朝ヘンリー6世の政府が弱体で、百年戦争の終結（1453）に伴い帰休兵が加わって膨張した武装家臣団を抱える大貴族に、法と秩序を無視する不穏な動きが強まっていたことにある。これらの大貴族は、ヘンリー6世を支持する派（指導者はサマーセット公）と、ヨーク公リチャードが率いる反国王派とに分かれ対立していたが、53年王が精神異常をきたしたため、ヨーク公が摂政になった。しかし同年秋に王妃が男児を出産し、王の病も翌年平癒したことから、野心ある王妃マーガレットはサマーセット公を摂政に任じた。これがヨーク公決起の因となり、戦端が開かれた。55年5月、セント・オルバンズの戦いで王は捕らえられ、ヨーク派が権力を奪ったのもつかのま、翌年王妃の反撃を受けて敗れ、ヨーク公と甥(おい)ウォーリック伯はフランスに亡命した。60年、同伯の活躍により帰国したヨーク公は王位を宣言したが、王妃の反抗に敗死する。翌61年、ヨーク公の子エドワードが再起し、王妃を撃破して王位に上り、エドワード4世となった（ヨーク朝の創始）。ウォーリック伯はエドワード4世の政策に対し、大陸に亡命中の先王の妃マーガレットと手を組み反乱を起こすが、71年バーネットの戦い、ついでチュークスベリーの戦いでエドワード4世は決定的勝利を収めた。以後王権は強化されたが、83年王位が幼王エドワード5世に移ると、伯父グロスター公が王を謀殺してリチャード3世を宣した。やがてランカスター派ただ1人の王位継承権者ヘンリー（チューダー家）が亡命先から帰国し、85年ボズワースの戦いでリチャードを倒した。新王ヘンリー7世はチューダー朝を開き、ここに両王家の内乱は終わった。

［松垣　裕］

『城戸毅著『バラ戦争、血讐の三十年』（『世界の戦史5　中世と騎士の戦争』所収・1985・講談社）』

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