Wars of the Roses, (1455–85) Series of dynastic civil wars between the houses of Lancaster and York for the English throne. The wars were named for the emblems of the two houses, the white rose of York and the red of Lancaster. Both claimed the throne through descent from Edward III. Lancastrians held the throne from 1399, but the country fell into a state of near anarchy during the reign of Henry VI, and during one of Henry’s bouts with madness in 1453 the duke of York was declared protector of the realm. Henry reestablished his authority in 1455, and the battle was joined. The Yorkists succeeded in putting Edward IV on the throne in 1461, but the wars continued, and in 1471 they murdered Henry VI in the Tower of London. In 1483 Richard III overrode the claims of his nephew Edward V to seize the throne, alienating many Yorkists. The Lancastrian Henry Tudor (Henry VII) defeated and killed Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field, ending the wars. He united the houses by marriage and defeated a Yorkist rising in 1487. See also earl of Warwick.
