CHAPTER XII.

THE WARS OF THE ROSES.--1422 TO 1461.

1. The civil wars may be said to have lasted thirty years, from the first battle at St. Alban’s, in 1455, to the battle of Bosworth, in 1485; for although there were intervals of peace, the quarrel between the house of York and Lancaster was not finally settled till the two families were united by the marriage of Henry the Seventh, who was heir of the House of Lancaster, with Elizabeth, the grand-daughter of Richard, Duke of York, and heiress of that family.

2. During that thirty years, the country was, as you may suppose, in a very unhappy condition. Every Baron wanted to collect as many men around him as he could, to defend his castle in case of siege; so the countrymen left their rural labors and went to enlist in the service of this or that nobleman, because they were sure of getting plenty to eat and drink.

3. Thus the castle halls were crowded, but the fields were left without sufficient laborers to plough and sow them, consequently the crops were generally bad, and bread was at times, so dear, that many poor families could get none at all, but were obliged to eat herbs and berries that they found in the woods, which did not nourish them, so that numbers died of want.

4. Many battles were fought in different parts of England, and the queen was present at some of them, for it was she who conducted the war, as the king was incapable of so much exertion, and Margaret could not bear to see her young son Edward deprived of his birthright.

5. Three victories had been gained by the Duke of York, when he was killed at the battle of Wakefield; but this event did not put an end to the contest, for his son Edward, who succeeded to his title, continued the war and, in the end, became king of England, while poor king Henry was kept a prisoner in the Tower, where he died in 1471.

6. Edward owed his success chiefly to the Earl of Warwick, the richest and most powerful nobleman in England, and considered as the last of the great feudal Barons, for it is said that he maintained no less than thirty thousand people at his own expense, who were ready to devote their lives to his service.

7. He had a great many castles in different parts of England, and a noble mansion in Warwick lane, London, which still bears that name, although it presents a very different appearance from what it did when this mighty Earl lived there like a sovereign prince, and the place was crowded with his armed retainers.

8. Edward had been very well received by the citizens of London, and crowned, with their consent, long before the death of king Henry.

9. Two battles were fought soon after his accession to the throne, one at Towton the other at Hexham; and it was after the latter, that a story is told how queen Margaret wandered about in a forest with her little boy, till they were both half dead with hunger and fatigue, when she met with a robber, and instead of trying to avoid him, told him who she was, and begged he would protect her child.

10. The man took them to a cave, and gave them food and shelter, until he found an opportunity of getting them on board a vessel that was going to Scotland.

11. People were now in hopes there would be peace; but the new sovereign was so unwise as to quarrel with the Earl of Warwick, who became his enemy, and resolved to deprive him of the crown he had helped him to win.

12. Then the war was begun again, and went on for several years longer, till Warwick was killed at the battle of Barnet, on Easter Sunday, 1471, just ten years after the battle of Towton.

13. On the day of this battle, queen Margaret, and her son, prince Edward, then a youth of eighteen, landed in England, for they had lived in France some years, and were sadly grieved at the news of Warwick’s defeat and death; but as they had a great many friends, the queen determined upon trying another battle, which was a great pity, for both herself and her son were made prisoners, and the young prince was killed in king Edward’s tent, for making a spirited answer to some insulting question put to him by the haughty monarch.

14. The miserable mother was sent to the Tower, where her husband had just died; but she was afterwards released, and ransomed by her father; and she returned to live with him in France, her native country.

15. And now, that we have done with the wars, we may begin to think of something more pleasant. Have you ever heard it was in the reign of Edward the Fourth that books were first printed in England?

16. The art of printing, which enables us to have so many nice books to instruct and amuse us, had lately been invented in Germany, and was brought here by an English merchant, named William Caxton, who went to Cologne, on purpose to learn how to print, and when he came back, he set up a printing-press in Westminster Abbey, which, at that time, was a monastery.

17. We ought to be very much obliged to the clever person that invented printing; for only think how very ignorant we should be, and how much pleasure we should lose, if there were no books to tell us any thing.

18. There were books, certainly, before that time; but they were all written, and it took so long to copy them, that they were very expensive, so that none but very rich people could have even a few volumes.

19. Printed books were also, for a long time, much too dear to be in general use, but people of rank soon began to be much better educated than in former times, and their habits and manners became much improved in consequence.

20. Then a great many of the old Norman castles had been destroyed in the wars, which put an end, after a time, to the customs of chivalry; and the nobles, instead of sending their sons to be brought up for warlike knights, sent them to Oxford, or Cambridge, to become scholars; or to Eton College, which had been founded by Henry the Sixth.

21. King Edward died in 1483, when his eldest son, who is called Edward the Fifth, although he never was really king, was only thirteen years old; and he, and his younger brother, the Duke of York, were under the guardianship of their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who was a very bad man.

22. Instead of protecting the fatherless children entrusted to his care, he only thought how he might take advantage of their youth to obtain the crown himself; so he sent them both to the Tower, but not as prisoners, for it was then used occasionally as a royal residence, especially in times of public disturbances; so Richard told the people the boys would be safe there; but in a little while it was reported that they were dead, and it was thought he had caused them to be murdered, which was most likely the truth, although some people think they were not put to death, but were kept there as prisoners for some years.

23. Richard the Third was not a very bad king, for he made some laws that were very useful to the merchants who traded with foreign countries, and he was the first who thought of having postmen, or couriers, to carry letters, so that, wicked as he was, we cannot say he did no good as a sovereign.

24. The post was, at first, only for government letters, and it was a long time before any arrangements were made for private persons to correspond by the same means; but this was done by degrees, and in the time of Oliver Cromwell, the General Post Office was established, when everybody had the benefit of this excellent institution, which adds so much to people’s happiness; for who could possibly be happy now, if they could not hear from their absent friends?

25. Richard the Third reigned only two years, for he was disliked by the nobility, and a conspiracy was formed against him by the friends of the House of Lancaster, who were desirous of placing on the throne the heir of that family, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond.

26. This young nobleman was living in exile, at the time, in France. But he was soon informed of what was going on, and told the French king, who lent him forty ships, and about five thousand soldiers, with which he sailed directly for England, where he found friends ready to join him with more troops.

27. The battle of Bosworth was fought on the 22nd of August, 1485, when Richard was killed, and the conqueror proclaimed king on the field; and thus ended the Wars of the Roses.

QUESTIONS.

1. What was the duration of the civil wars?

2. Describe the general state of the country.

4. Who conducted the war for the king?

5. How did the Duke of York lose his life?

6. To whom did Edward owe his success?

9. Name the battles that were fought after Edward became king.

11. Why was the contest renewed?

12. Where was the Earl of Warwick killed, and when?

13. What happened after this battle?

14. When were books first printed in England?

16. Where was the art of printing invented?

20. Who founded Eton College?

21. Who obtained the crown on the death of Edward the Fourth?

22. Relate the circumstances.

23. What was the origin and progress of the Post Office?

25. How was the reign of Richard soon terminated?

27. Name the date of the battle of Bosworth.