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jazzy_daveJohn Gillingham "Wars of the Roses: Peace and Conflict in 15th Century England" (Phoenix Press)
Well it is true that the publisher and the author take some care to explain that this is an account of the Wars of the Roses from the perspective of the military campaigns, but it is definitely much more than a military history. In fact, the author's main theme is that in England, at this time, warfare was very contained, and was very much an extension of power and family politics. So, for example, the building and betrayal of alliances continued up to the point of the battle, and even during battles, and in many cases, the outcome of a battle might see the victor and the defeated make an alliance against parties within their own camps. This was not 'total war' as practiced in modern times, but even more importantly this was not the type of war between States involving the devastation of populations and regions that was rife in Europe at the time. One has to be cautious about drawing conclusions about the fate of the common soldier in such battles, and the effects of the countryside they operated in, given the tendency of history to ignore the story of the 'little people, but the evidence is put forward here that, except in some rare instances, the 'gentry' generally restricted themselves to killing each other, and the death toll in the King's courts and prisons competed strongly with those who fell in battle. That said, there is a well-documented history of almost continual 'peasant' rebellions that runs in the background of this story, and ironically one of the constraints on the interest of the nobles in launching 'total war' was their shared mistrust of the attitude of the general population if armed and given the opportunity to plunder the towns and cities. All that said, the author has given as clear (and succinct) an account as I've ever read of the political landscape of England between the death of Edward III and the final success of Henry VII. Highly recommended.
Well it is true that the publisher and the author take some care to explain that this is an account of the Wars of the Roses from the perspective of the military campaigns, but it is definitely much more than a military history. In fact, the author's main theme is that in England, at this time, warfare was very contained, and was very much an extension of power and family politics. So, for example, the building and betrayal of alliances continued up to the point of the battle, and even during battles, and in many cases, the outcome of a battle might see the victor and the defeated make an alliance against parties within their own camps. This was not 'total war' as practiced in modern times, but even more importantly this was not the type of war between States involving the devastation of populations and regions that was rife in Europe at the time. One has to be cautious about drawing conclusions about the fate of the common soldier in such battles, and the effects of the countryside they operated in, given the tendency of history to ignore the story of the 'little people, but the evidence is put forward here that, except in some rare instances, the 'gentry' generally restricted themselves to killing each other, and the death toll in the King's courts and prisons competed strongly with those who fell in battle. That said, there is a well-documented history of almost continual 'peasant' rebellions that runs in the background of this story, and ironically one of the constraints on the interest of the nobles in launching 'total war' was their shared mistrust of the attitude of the general population if armed and given the opportunity to plunder the towns and cities. All that said, the author has given as clear (and succinct) an account as I've ever read of the political landscape of England between the death of Edward III and the final success of Henry VII. Highly recommended.
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Date: 2021-11-13 08:17 pm (UTC)Damn good historian!