Family politics in the Wars of the Roses
LE3 .A278 2013
2013
MacDonald, Jennifer
Acadia University
Bachelor of Arts
Honours
History
History & Classics
The Wars of the Roses (1455-1487) was a contentious period that has challenged and perplexed historians since it took place. During this tumultuous period, the Yorkist and Lancastrian descendents of Edward III fought amongst themselves for the greatest prize: the throne of England. The male and female descendents of Edward III had to rely on their families in order to protect themselves and their families’ interests. The first part of this study explores the impact of family connections on three female descendents of Edward III, as well as two newcomers to the family: Anne Neville, Elizabeth of York, Margaret Beaufort, Margaret of Anjou, and Elizabeth Woodville. The second part of this study explores the impact of family connections on the key male descendents of Edward III: Henry VI, Edward IV, Richard III, and Henry VII. While supremely important, the function and power of the immediate family affected the leading male and female figures in different ways. Family superseded some gender differences, such as marriage, lineage, inheritance, support, and symbolism. However, individual circumstances, personalities, and gender constraints accounted for variation amongst the men and women involved in the conflict. Because of fifteenth-century gender norms, men had greater agency than women and could act independently of their families in more obvious ways. That being said, this thesis will demonstrate that women were crucial to the conflict in many respects, and could exercise power to varying degrees by influencing the men in their lives. This thesis will illustrate that natal and marital family connections were the most important determinants in either success or failure during the Wars of the Roses, which was, at its heart, a family conflict.
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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:973