Plantagenet Wars—The second half of the Plantagenet era was dominated by two long lasting conflicts. The Hundred Years War was a conflict between England and France that lasted, on and off, from 1340 until 1453. The war is often broken up into three phases: The first campaign was led by Edward III and his son, the The Black Prince and went well for the English. The second phase of the war lasted from 1369 until 1389 but was mixed up with several other wars in the region and resulted in a loss of much of the territory previously gained by the English. A long peace followed, until it was interrupted in 1415 by Henry V's highly successful campaign beginning at Agincourt. This third phase of the war, called the "Lancastrian" war, was tied up with an on going war between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians in France. It went badly for the French until they were miraculously saved by the exploits of Joan of Arc. Her victories turned the momentum in France's favor, and England was finally driven out of France by 1453.

THE MORNING OF AGINCOURT

Shortly after the tide turned against England in the Hundred Years war, a conflict between two rival fractions of the Plantagenet line evolved into a full blown civil war. The War of the Roses, fought between the Yorks and Lancasters, families with rival claims to the throne, killed off almost all the direct claimants to the throne on both sides of the royal family. Over a period of almost thirty years, the conflict wreaked havoc on the kingdom, turned long term resentments into blood-feuds, and brought the entire Plantagenet line to an calamitous end.

The Lancastrians: Henrys IV, V, VI—The The Black Prince, the presumed heir to the throne, achieved great victories during the Hundred Years war and was very popular with the people. He never became king, however, because he died before his long long-lived father, Edward III. The crown then passed to the Black Prince's son Richard II, who is best known for his role in negotiating an end to Wat Tyler's rebellion. He was not a popular monarch however and was eventually deposed in favor of his cousin Henry IV (a.k.a Henry Bolingbroke). Other cousins had a somewhat better claim to the throne, but Henry's selection was not resisted because his father, John of Gaunt had been regent during most of Richard II's reign and was the most powerful man in England. The issue was not pressed for two generations but later became the basis for the Yorkist claim to the throne.

Henry Bolingbroke's son was Henry V, famous for his victory over the French at Agincourt. Henry V reopened the Hundred Years War and came close to gaining the French crown but he died only a few years after his great victory. He left a young son, Henry VI, who was a peace-loving and studious man, but a weak leader. During his reign the French rallied under Joan of Arc and reclaimed all of the land England had won, bringing an end to the hundred year war, and the king became extremely unpopular.

Yorks and the War of the Roses— Seeing his opportunity, his cousin the Duke of York made a claim for the throne. He denied Henry Bolingbroke's claim three generations back, which led to the disastrous War of the Roses, in which the Lancaster and the York lines vied for the throne. The plots turns and reverses of this war are difficult to follow, but the main contenders were not the monarchs themselves, but rather the Earl of Warwick, cousin to the Duke of York, and Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI's wife. The war proved bitter and deadly, and many great nobles lost their lives. It also greatly enhanced the power of the king, since the king was allowed to confiscate the estates of any noble that rose in rebellion to him; as the kingship passed back and forth between the Lancasters and Yorks, almost every house was at some point in alliance with a "rebel".

The Yorks were finally victorious, but they came to a bad end. Edward IV ruled for 22 years, but when he died, his brother Richard III plotted to usurp the throne by killing his Edward's young sons. This accomplished, he found he had made many enemies, and when Henry VII, a distant relative on the Lancaster side brought an army against him, several of his generals deserted him. Richard III, the last of the Plantagenet kings was killed on the battlefield of Bosworth, bringing the noble line that had ruled England for three centuries to an inglorious end.

Character/Date	Short Biography
Edward III, Black Prince, and Richard II
The Black Prince 1330–1376	Excellent general and leader who ruled alongside his father, Edward III. Victor at the Battle of Poitiers.
Edward III 1312–1377	Reigned for nearly 50 years. Invaded France, and won the Battles of Crecy and Calias.
Wat Tyler d. 1381	Leader of a peasant rebellion during reign of Richard II. He was killed during talks.
John Wycliffe 1335–1384	Early proponent of reform in the Catholic Church. Favored power of state over church.
Geoffrey Chaucer 1340–1400	Wrote the first widely read epic poem in the English language, Canterbury Tales.
Richard II 1367–1400	Son of the Black Prince. Reigned after Edward III. Deposed by Henry Bolingbroke.
Henry IV, V, and VI (Lancasters)
Henry IV 1367–1413	Son of John of Gaunt. Assumed the throne after Richard II was deposed.
Owen Glendower 1359–1416	Last Welshman to be crowned Prince of Wales. He led an unsuccessful Welsh revolt.
Henry V 1387–1422	Led a victorious army of longbowmen against France at Agincourt.
Jack Cade d. 1450	Led a rebellion against Henry VI's government. Rebels looted London and many were killed.
Edward IV and Richard III (Yorks)
Duke of York 1411–1460	Aspirant to the throne in the early years of War of the Roses. Killed in action with eldest son.
Earl of Warwick 1428–1471	Primary figure in war of the Roses. Changed sides from York to Lancaster. Killed at Barnet.
Margaret of Anjou 1429–1482	Ruled in stead of her weak husband, Henry VI. Led armies against Yorks. Deposed after the York victory at Hexham.
Edward IV 1442–1483	Son of the Duke of York. Became king of England when other aspirants were dead or deposed.
Richard III 1432–1485	On death of his brother Edward IV, he killed his nephews and usurped the throne.
Margaret Beaufort 1441–1509	Mother of Henry Tudor. Benefactor of Cambridge University.

AD Year	Event
1151	Henry Plantagenet marries Eleanor of Aquitaine, heir in France.
1154	Henry Plantagenet assumes the throne on the death of Stephen.
1170	Thomas a Becket is murdered after he defies Henry II.
1172	Henry II Conquers Ireland.
1190	Richard Coeur de Leon goes on Third Crusade.
1215	John Lackland signs Magna Carta.
1265	Meeting of first Parliament arranged by Simon de Montfort .
1284	Edward I conquers Wales.
1291	Edward I Conquers Scotland.
1314	Scots, under Robert the Bruce Win their Independence at the Battle of Bannockburn.
1348-1349	Black Plague devastates all of Europe.
1337-1453	Hundred Years War: England vs. France.
1346	Edward III, victor at the Battle of Crecy.
1356	The Black Prince, victor at the Battle of Poitiers.
1415	Henry V, victor at the Battle of Agincourt.
1428	Joan of Arc, victor at the Siege of Orleans.
1362	English becomes official legal language, displacing French.
1381	The government of Richard II puts down Wat Tyler's Rebellion.
1399	Richard II deposed by Henry Bolingbroke.
1400	Death of Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales
1403	Henry IV puts down a rebellion at the Battle of Shrewsbury.
1415-1453	Henry V invades France and re-opens the Hundred Years War.
1415	Henry V, victor at the Battle of Agincourt.
1428	Joan of Arc, victor at the Siege of Orleans. Tide turns in favor of France.
1455-1485	War of the Roses
1461	Yorkists prevail at Battle of Towton; Lancastrians exiled.
1469	Lancastrians regain throne thanks to the machinations of Earl of Warwick.
1471	Yorkists again prevail at Battle of Barnet.
1483	Richard III usurps throne at death of Edward IV.
1484	Henry Tudor defeats Richard III at Battle of Bosworth Field.
1476	William Caxton bring a printing press to England. Publishes first book.

Book Title	Selected Chapters (# chapters)
Core Reading Assignments *
Guerber - The Story of the English	The Battle of Crecy to Richard's Punishment (16)
Marshall - Our Island Story	The Battle of Sluys to Two Princes in the Tower (15)
Supplemental Recommendations
Harding - The Story of England	Henry II, First Plantagenet King to The War of the Roses (10)
Church - Stories From English History, Part Second	Wat Tyler to Bosworth Field (11)
Morris - Historical Tales: English	The Siege of Calais to The White Rose of England (4)
Abbott - Margaret of Anjou	entire book
Abbott - Richard II	entire book
Abbott - Richard III	entire book
Church - The Chantry Priest of Barnet	entire book
Marshall - English Literature for Boys and Girls	About some Song Stories to The Story of Everyman (17)
Easy Reading Selections
Cambridge Press - Cambridge Historical Reader—Primary	Richard the Lion-Heart to Little Princes in the Tower (10)
Haaren - Famous Men of the Middle Ages	Henry the Second and His Sons to Warwick the Kingmaker (5)
Skae - Stories from English History	Boy Who Would be a King to The Black Prince (2)
Marshall - Stories of Guy of Warwick Told to the Children	entire book