: A thirty-year power struggle between two branches of the royal House of Plantagenet.
: King Henry VI (Lancaster) was a pious but ineffective ruler who suffered from mental instability, creating a power vacuum. subtitle The War of the Roses
: Powerful nobles maintained private armies (livery and maintenance), allowing local disputes to escalate into national warfare. III. The Three Phases of War : A thirty-year power struggle between two branches
: Following the end of the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), England faced an economic depression and the return of restless soldiers. : The wars were more than a simple
: Richard, Duke of York , held a strong claim to the throne through his descent from Edward III's second and fourth sons, challenging the Lancastrian line.
: The wars were more than a simple family feud; they were the result of weak royal leadership, social unrest, and the breakdown of the feudal system, eventually leading to the birth of the modern English state under the Tudors. II. Root Causes of the Conflict