Martin J. Dougherty, The Wars Of The Roses: The Conflict That Inspired Game Of Thrones (Albright)

WofR_Prelims Amber jkt_thumbMartin J. Dougherty

The Wars of the Roses: The Conflict that Inspired Game of Thrones

(Amber, 2015) 226pp.  $34.95

The subtitle of this book gives away its intent, even though there is a disclaimer pointing out that this book has not been endorsed by George R.R. Martin (author of the Song of Ice and Fire series of novels) or HBO in any fashion, nor is it a tie-in to the work. Nevertheless, this is clearly written as a book designed to capitalize on the interest that many people have in historical fantasy by pointing out that such works (like Game of Thrones) are often based on real history. The final chapter of this book, in looking at the legacy of the War of the Roses, points out that these wars have been mined for centuries by authors as diverse as Martin and Shakespeare for their own purposes, and that some knowledge of these wars has endured, even if it has been colored by the filters of such fictional writers.

It is fitting that this book, given its desire to capitalize off of the visual medium of the HBO series, should itself focus a lot on the visual medium within its own pages. This is done via several means. Several times the book shows the genealogies of the House of Lancaster and House of York. Throughout the book there are battle maps, images of woodcuts and other examples of the visual media of the late Middle Ages in England, especially of the various important personages that are talked about in the book. There are pictures of executions and means of executions, photographs of glorious ruins of English and Welsh castles, and even pictures of the ships of the time. At times the author comments on the realism or the lack of realism in these images, but whether this is a matter of explicit commentary, the author’s implicit point seems to be that images have always shaped our understanding, and that contemporary television shows are only the latest comer in a long list of attempts to fix images about the past in our minds by use of visual media.

In terms of its contents, this book is organized in a mostly chronological fashion, based largely on important people in the history of the Wars of the Roses. The first chapter, in talking about the foundations of the Wars of the Roses, goes all the way back to the anarchy of 12th century England between Stephen of Blois and the Empress Maud that ended in the establishment of the House of Plantagenet in England (and later Wales), discussing the eventual demise of the main line of that house and its results on the legitimacy of the real and potential claims of various cadet branches of the Plantagenets for the throne of England. After this the book has chapters on the early reign of King Henry VI, Richard, Duke of York, the Parliament of Devils, Edward, Earl of March, the first reign of Edward IV, the second reigns of Henry and Edward, and Richard III, closing with the legacy of these wars.

A great deal of this book deals with matters of military history, but it does not do so from the point of view of an analysis of those battles in the same fashion a volume like the Battlefields of Britain does. Instead, this is a volume that focuses on biographical history and political history, on the claims of loyalty due to family and one’s liege lord, and the dependence of central authority on strong kings who were able to overcome their over-mighty subjects, many of whom were close relatives. The book helpfully discusses the context of the Hundred Years’ War within the course of the Wars of the Roses, but even this is from the point of view of discussing the insanity of the Valois rulers who passed their genes on to Henry VI instead of a focus on military affairs directly. When the battles are discussed, they are discussed in detail, with a particular attention as to which people commanded which “battles” within the forces of each side, and what was the fate of the people on either side among the high nobility.

The tone of the book as a whole is authoritative but not scholarly. Although the author does make note of various aspects of research, including the recent exhumation and autopsy of the corpse of Richard III, he characteristically comments on its somewhat salacious implications as to there being a break somewhere in the Plantagenet line that points to adultery and a resulting lack of legitimate claim for either the House of Lancaster or the House of York, or both, for the throne of England as reputed members of the House of Plantagenet. It should be noted as well that the author uses the framework of feudalism to define the Wars of the Roses, saying: “Europe in the Middle Ages was governed on a feudal basis. Feudalism was essentially a system of obligations that determined the responsibility of one social class to another. Feudalism grew up over time, out of the less formal tribal organizations that had previously existed, and was never a formal system of government as such—feudalism is a fairly modern term used to describe a range of broadly similar societies (10).”

As a history book, this volume has some appeal to a mainstream audience largely unacquainted with scholarly research about the Wars of the Roses. Those readers whose knowledge of this time come via Shakespeare or Martin are likely to find the book of interest, particularly as it deals with questions of money, class, family, romantic relationships, imprisonment, and unpleasant means of death. This book is not aimed at a scholarly audience, and aside from its copious use of historical images, is likely not to contain much of interest or appeal, given the author’s insistence that England in the 1400’s had a “bastard feudal society (11).” The book’s lack of focus on military matters directly, but rather in the political and social context of 15th century England, Wales, and France, is likely to be of interest mainly to those of a war and society perspective, and largely from the point of view of how the past is viewed by contemporary audiences rather than how that history actually occurred.

Nathan Albright
Norwich University

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