Works Cited

Byam, Michèle, and Dave King. Arms & Armor. New York: Knopf, 1988. Print.

English, Edward D. "Wars of Roses." Facts on File Through History Online. Facts on File, 2002. Web. 12 May 2011.

Hilliam, Paul. Medieval Weapons and Warfare: Armies and Combat in Medieval times. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2004. Print.

Nardo, Don. The Middle Ages. San Diego, CA: Lucent /Thomson Gale, 2003. Print.

Singman, Jeffery L. "Introduction Historical Background." Daily Life Through History. Greenwood, 2002. Web. 12 May 2011.

What can I imporove on in my blog?

What did you find interesting about the information in this blog?

What caused the Wars of Roses?

Daily Life

In the middle ages the pope played a very important role in government as well as religion. In medieval Europe there was no official currency. There also were no hospitals so this meant that inured soldiers got little to no treatment for their wounds. Responsibilities were broken into two things; age and gender. For instance; the family responsibilities were the women's responsibilities as the men enlisted in the army and took many jobs to support their busy families.

War in the middle ages

The kings in the medieval time hired people called mercenaries to fight in there armies and navies. Mercenaries were hired soldiers. The armies then were broken into two parts; foot soldiers and archers. In the ages of castles and knights there were literally hundreds of battles in Europe alone! This meant that armies constantly had to be ready to fight. The battles were always loud with all of the shouting armour, clashing and, horses. After the battle was over the losing town was pillaged and the dead soldiers were stripped of their weapons and armour.

Arms and armour

In more than a few ways amour differed greatly than the weapons and protection of today. In the middle ages combatants wore much metal and chain mail to keep themselves safe from harm on the battlefield. The sword was the weapon of choice for most battlers. The chain mail and metal made it almost imposable to move quickly on the battlegrounds. The other layer of defense the warriors had were Shields. These were simply pieces of wood covered in leather. Helmets were not part of the Arsenal of the soldiers until the early 13th century.

Present vs. Medival

Obviously medieval warfare was much different than it is today. In the middle ages armies were much more unorganized and smaller than the armies of today. Of course the armies of the middle ages had much different armour than the present day armed forces. The armour of medieval times was made of mostly metal and weighed the warriors down, today soldiers use much lighter and more mobile material to keep themselves safe. Along with the contrasts there were also a few similarities. Just like the armies of today medieval armies collected tactics from other countries or in this case towns. Their were also very many small battles just as there are today. As you can see there are many differences and similarities between current and medieval armies.

The Cause

The nobles of York and Lancaster fought for control over the throne of Europe. The series of three wars ended with a Lancastrian named Henry Tudor defeating Richard the third. This secured Tudors place on the European throne.

The reason these two groups were able to fight for possession of the throne was because there was a great instability. The throne was such an unstable position that rich families could rule, for the right price. This conflict is what caused the war of roses. The war ended with one decisive battle. This battle was held at Bosworth on August 22nd 1485.