Richard II, the English monarch whose missteps inaugurated the decline of respect for royal authority in Britain.

2,247 words

Part 3 of 3 (Part 1 here, Part 2 here)

A “Cony Struggling in the Net”:^[1] The Plantagenets vs. the Plantagenets

 Legendary for its blizzards and blood, the fifteenth-century English conflict known as the Wars of the Roses (1455-1487) was poetic in name and savage in fighting. Medieval warfare was the most physically brutal form of battle Westerners in their long history have ever fought: huge, murderous fistfights of chaos and close combat in which few were afforded a “clean” death. (more…)