Game Of Thrones Essay: The Wars Of The Roses

The Wars of the Roses There is one thing that Shakespeare and HBO’s Game of Thrones have in common: they are both based on the savage dynastic conflict that ripped the whole of England, known today as the Wars of the Roses. Surrounding this war is a whole concoction of politics, alliances, bloodshed, and complication that could only be seen with wars such as this. Before getting into the war, England’s political structure in the mid-fifteenth century is vital to truly understand why the wars had started. The Black Death reaped the English populace and made a lack in the labor force. This made farming more difficult, crop failures more common and in turn, famines became more common. The social structure had changed as well, as minor lords

The Hundred Years’ War was an attempt by the English king, Edward III to claim the throne of France through his mother, Isabella of France. King Edward III had five sons and the eldest son was supposed to become king, the third son was made the Duke of Lancaster, and the fourth son was made the Duke of York. By the time King Edward III died, the English throne went to his grandson because King Edward’s eldest son had died before him. This new king died and the rule of England and their lands in France went to the Duke of Lancaster, Henry IV, whose son, also named Henry inherited the throne

Richard was not a good politician, but his claim to the throne was strong and he led opposition to Margaret of Anjou’s reign (The Wars of the Roses). York led a great league of lords, and among them was Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick (as an earl, Warwick had a similar role to Richard), who was also a powerful man and York was bonded to him through marriage with his aunt, Cicely Neville (Wars of the Roses; Haigh). This gave York a great wealth to personally fund the English army in France as the Lieutenant of France, which meant that he led the English army in France. This office was eventually revoked from him and given to the Duke of Somerset. York was instead granted the office of Lieutenant of Ireland, which was practically an exile