Encyclopedia Of The Wars Of The Roses

This authoritative A–Z encyclopedia of the Wars of the Roses provides accurate and concise descriptions of the major battles and events and the principal historical figures and issues involved. For centuries, historians agreed about the Wars of the Roses, seeing them as four decades of medieval darkness and chaos, when the royal family and the nobility destroyed themselves fighting for control of the royal government. Even Shakespeare got into the act, dramatizing, popularizing, and darkening this viewpoint in eight plays. Today, based on new research, this has become one of the most hotly controversial periods in English history. Historians disagree on fundamental issues, such as dates and facts, as well as interpretation. Most argue that the effects of the wars were not as widespread as once thought, and some see the traditional view of the era as merely Tudor propaganda. A few even claim that England during the late 15th century was "a society organized for peace." Historian John A. Wagner brings readers up to date on the latest research and thinking about this crucial period of England's history.

This book treats 30 important civil wars and revolutions across the world, including Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East, covering a broad swath of recorded history from ancient times to the present. Human history as a whole results from social changes, technological advances, and evolutions in thinking and religion—all of which often lead to wars and conflicts. Behind each major war are myriad interrelated causes. This book examines 30 of the most significant civil wars and revolutions in recorded history, from ancient times to the modern era, identifying the origins, consequences, and subtle impacts of many of these conflicts that are still being felt today. A comprehensive overview essay as well as explanations of the causes and consequences of each conflict give readers the context needed to understand the importance of these seminal events. Additional learning tools include a detailed timeline that sets all of the key events in the conflict in the proper context, maps of several of the key battles that help readers visualize the strategies of both sides, and a lengthy bibliography that offers a wealth of options to students looking to investigate any of the conflicts further.

This is a new interpretation of English politics during the extended period beginning with the majority of Henry VI in c. 1437 up to the accession of Henry VII in 1509. The later fifteenth century in England is a somewhat baffling and apparently incoherent period which historians and history students have found consistently difficult to handle. The large-scale 'revisionism' inspired by the classic work of K. B. McFarlane led to the first real work on politics, both national and local, but has left the period in a disjointed state: much material has been unearthed, but without any real sense of direction or coherence. This book places the events of the century within a clearly delineated framework of constitutional structures, practices and expectations, in an attempt to show the meaning of the apparently frenetic and purposeless political events which occurred within that framework - and which sometimes breached it. At the same time it takes cognisance of all the work that has been done on the period, including recent and innovative work on Henry VI.

The Hutchinson Illustrated Encyclopedia of British History is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the people, events, and ideas that have shaped Britain from prehistory to the present day. The editors have also sought to convey the truth that history is more than simply a compilation of facts from the past. The editors have included as much factual information as possible in each A-Z entry, and numerous tables and statistics are included, as well as many specially-created maps and plans. The chronological relationships of past events and lives are conveyed through various detailed subject chronologies (attached to the relevant A-Z entries). A large thematic chronology, following the A-Z text, provides a visual reference to the relationship between the events of British/Irish history and events elsewhere in the world. And the cultural context of as many entries as possible has been brought to life via a wide range of illustrations, which provide a wealth of visual detail and, often, a key to past conceptions. Interspersed in the text are 21 specially commissioned, extended feature articles from noted historians that provide the analysis and the sense of the broad sweep of history that would otherwise be impossible to convey in an A-Z reference book.

A concise and entertaining explanation of how other accounts, and popular culture such as films, have misrepresented medieval warfare. We don't know how medieval soldiers fought. Did they just walk forward in their armor smashing each other with their maces and poleaxes for hours on end, as depicted on film and in programs such as Game of Thrones? They could not have done so. It is impossible to fight in such a manner for more than several minutes as exhaustion becomes a preventative factor. Indeed, we know more of how the Roman and Greek armies fought than we do of the 1300 to 1550 period. So how did medieval soldiers in the War of the Roses, and in the infantry sections of battles such as Agincourt and Towton, carry out their grim work? Medieval Military Combat shows, for the first time, the techniques of such battles. It also breaks new ground in establishing medieval battle numbers as highly exaggerated, and that we need to look again at the accounts of actions such as the famous Battle of Towton, which this work uses as a basic for its overall study.

St Albans is unique in having been the site of two pivotal battles during the Wars of the Roses, yet this is the first book-length account to have been published. It offers a gripping account of the fighting, and of the politics and intrigue that led to it, and it incorporates the results of the latest research. The authors also plot the events of over 500 years ago onto the twenty-first century landscape of St Albans so that the visitor can retrace the course of each battle on the present-day ground.