Esposito, Gabriele Armies of the Wars of the Roses

Organization, Weapons and Equipment

Gabriele Esposito provides a clear, concise overview of the Wars of the Roses, the complex series of civil wars that ravaged the Kingdom of England for three decades, from 1455 to 1487. Beginning with a rivalry between two cadet branches of the Plantagenet dynasty, the Houses of York and Lancaster, which dated back to at least 1377 (when Edward III died and the 10-year-old Richard II ascended the throne), open warfare began in 1455 with the first Battle of St Albans, a Yorkist victory over the forces of King Henry VI. The following decades were bloody and turbulent, marked by recurring battles that culminated in Henry Tudor's decisive victories at Bosworth in 1485 and (by then Henry VII) at Stoke Field in 1487. The author traces the convoluted course of this large-scale conflict, which involved not only England and Wales, but also several other European countries. Scotland and Ireland were directly affected, as were the Kingdom of France (which played an important role in Henry Tudor's final victory) and the Duchy of Burgundy (which supported the House of York). He describes and analyses in detail the organisation and equipment of the various military contingents that took part in these wars, from the heavily armoured soldiers to the famous longbowmen, without forgetting the various foreign mercenaries and allied contingents. As is customary for the Armies of the Past series, there are dozens of colour photographs of replicas of weapons, armour and costumes used to illustrate the various types of troops.