Publisher's Synopsis
The Wars of the Roses were central to 15th-century English history. Their cause lay both deep in the constitution of the Lancastrian kingship and closer to the surface in Henry VI's personal weaknesses.;This account of the end of the Lancastrian dynasty brings these factors into sharp focus. The author constructs a lucid interpretation of the fickle support afforded to Henry VI by his great lords, and postulates that it was this breakdown in law and order - caused by Henry VI's personal weakness - which provided the perfect conditions for the outbreak of war.;The text also presents and assesses original source material on the background to the first phase of the Wars of the Roses.
