The Wars of the Roses, from the Battles of Wakefield and Towton to the Reign of Richard III: Chivalric Warfare and Fear as Military Strategy, with Dr Gordon McKelvie

The War & Diplomacy Podcast: From the Centre for War and Diplomacy at Lancaster University

The series of conflicts known as the Wars of the Roses tore through fifteenth-century England: the houses of Lancaster and York and their supporters fought over notions of good governance and the right to wear the crown, while vast swathes of the population took up arms in rebellion or on the battlefield, or lived in fear of rampaging armies. What can historians deduce about popular involvement in the Wars, including in key events such as the Battle of Towton (1461)? How can the treatment of prisoners and the battlefield dead at the battles of Wakefield (1460) and Tewkesbury (1471) reveal concepts of chivalry and military ethics? And how did those in power – from Edward IV, to Margaret of Anjou and Richard III – seek to manage popular fears? In this podcast, Dr Gordon McKelvie discusses his research on these topics with Dr Sophie Ambler, Deputy Director of the Centre for War and Diplomacy.

Dr Gordon McKelvie is Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Winchester, where he is also a convenor for the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Research. He has worked extensively on political society and warfare in England in the long fifteenth century. Following various journal articles and chapters, his first book was published with Boydell and Brewer in 2020: Bastard Feudalism, English Society and the Law: The Statutes of Livery, 1390 to 1520. This examines the effectiveness of new laws on social relations and how ‘bastard feudal’ ties facilitated many of the rebellions and acts of noble violence in the long fifteenth century. Dr McKelvie’s new research considers both the role of chivalry and martial ethics in the Wars, and the importance of managing popular emotions – principally fear and hatred – for use as weapons of military strategy.

Dr McKelvie’s book Bastard Feudalism, English Society and the Law: The Statutes of Livery, 1390 to 1520 is available from Boydell and Brewer. You can learn more about this research in his blog for the Boydell and Brewer website.

In a recent article for The Conversation, marking the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Tewkesbury, Dr McKelvie discusses: ‘Wars of the Roses: How the French meddled in this very English conflict’.

Music credit: Kai Engel, 'Flames of Rome', Calls and Echoes (Southern's City Lab, 2014).