First Advisor

Ann Weikel

Term of Graduation

Winter 1999

Date of Publication

2-9-1999

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.) in History

Department

History

Language

English

Subjects

Great Britain -- History -- Wars of the Roses (1455-1485), Margaret of Anjou, Queen Consort of Henry VI, King of England (1430-1482), Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby (1443-1509), Margaret of York, Duchess Consort of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (1446-1503)

Physical Description

1 online resource (148 pages)

Abstract

No study has yet examined the role of elite women in the Wars of the Roses. However, an explanation of their motivations and actions is crucial to understanding these conflicts.

Aristocratic women exercised considerable power under the system of "bastard feudalism." Women built and maintained affinities, acquired and defended land, used and manipulated the law, and influenced local politics. They had acknowledged roles as peacemakers and knew how to defend a castle. During the Wars of the Roses women would make use of all of these tools.

Three women played such an important role in these conflicts that they might almost be called the "Wars of the Three Margarets." Faced with her husband's incompetence, Margaret of Anjou worked, in the 1450s, to create a credible royal government in the name of her son. After Edward IV had seized the throne, she struggled on, her efforts culminating in the Readeption of 1460-61. When Richard Ill usurped the throne in 1483, Margaret Beaufort seized the opportunity to plot on behalf of her son and helped to procure his victory at Bosworth. Margaret of York, dowager duchess of Burgundy, later prolonged the fighting by supporting two rival claimants to Henry Vll's throne.

These women's willingness to step beyond the traditional boundaries of a woman's role and to advance their children's interest shaped the wars at critical times.

Other elite ladies actively participated in the conflicts, aiding one side or the other, defending castles, and helping fugitives. Evidence hints that the king feared a few women enough to place them under close watch. These wars also produced many attainders, so ladies had to use all the resources at their command and all their own courage and ingenuity to preserve their children's inheritances. Study of these late-fifteenth-century women broadens our understanding of the strategies they used to exercise power. Exploring their motives, especially the protection and promotion of their children, also better allows us to understand the actions of all those, both men and women, involved in the Wars of the Roses.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44739

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