Editing History of England (section)

===15th century – Henry V and the Wars of the Roses===
{{further|Lancastrian War|Wars of the Roses|Great Slump (15th century)}}
{{House of Lancaster|henry4}}
[[Henry V of England|Henry V]] succeeded to the throne in 1413. He renewed hostilities with France and began a set of military campaigns which are considered a new phase of the [[Hundred Years' War]], referred to as the [[Lancastrian War]]. He won several notable victories over the French, including the [[Battle of Agincourt]]. In the [[Treaty of Troyes]], Henry V was given the power to succeed the current ruler of France, [[Charles VI of France]]. The Treaty also provided that he would marry Charles VI's daughter, [[Catherine of Valois]]. They married in 1421. Henry died of dysentery in 1422, leaving a number of unfulfilled plans, including his plan to take over as King of France and to lead a crusade to retake Jerusalem from the Muslims.

Henry V's son, [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]], became king in 1422 as an infant. His reign was marked by constant turmoil due to his political weaknesses. While he was growing up, England was ruled by the [[Regency government, 1422–1437|Regency government]].

The Regency Council tried to install Henry VI as the King of France, as provided by the Treaty of Troyes signed by his father, and led English forces to take over areas of France. It appeared they might succeed due to the poor political position of the son of Charles VI, who had claimed to be the rightful king as [[Charles VII of France]]. However, in 1429, [[Joan of Arc]] began a military effort to prevent the English from gaining control of France. The French forces regained control of French territory.

In 1437, Henry VI came of age and began to actively rule as king. To forge peace, he married French noblewoman [[Margaret of Anjou]] in 1445, as provided in the [[Treaty of Tours]]. Hostilities with France resumed in 1449. When England lost the [[Hundred Years' War]] in August 1453, Henry fell into mental breakdown until Christmas 1454.

Henry could not control the feuding nobles, and a series of civil wars known as the [[Wars of the Roses]] began, lasting from 1455 to 1485. Although the fighting was very sporadic and small, there was a general breakdown in the power of the Crown. The royal court and Parliament moved to Coventry, in the Lancastrian heartlands, which thus became the capital of England until 1461. Henry's cousin [[Edward IV of England|Edward, Duke of York]], deposed Henry in 1461 to become Edward IV following a [[House of Lancaster|Lancastrian]] defeat at the [[Battle of Mortimer's Cross]]. Edward was later briefly expelled from the throne in 1470–1471 when [[Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick]], brought Henry back to power. Six months later, Edward defeated and killed Warwick in battle and reclaimed the throne. Henry was imprisoned in the Tower of London and died there.

Edward died in 1483, only 40 years old, his reign having gone a little way to restoring the power of the Crown. His eldest son and heir [[Edward V]], aged 12, could not succeed him because the king's brother, [[Richard III of England|Richard III, Duke of Gloucester]], declared Edward IV's marriage bigamous, making all his children illegitimate. Richard III was then declared king, and Edward V and his 10-year-old brother Richard were [[Princes in the Tower|imprisoned]] in the Tower of London. The two were never seen again. It was widely believed that Richard III had them murdered and he was reviled as a treacherous fiend, which limited his ability to govern during his brief reign. In summer 1485, [[Henry VII of England|Henry Tudor]], the last Lancastrian male, returned from exile in France and landed in Wales. Henry then defeated and killed Richard III at [[Bosworth Field]] on 22 August, and was crowned Henry VII.

{{See also|English historians in the Middle Ages|List of English chronicles|Bayeux Tapestry}}