Henry VI's Incompetence as the Cause for the Outbreak of the Wars of the Roses

Henry VI's Incompetence as the Cause for the Outbreak of the Wars of the Roses

The outbreak of the Wars of the Roses had no single cause, but was the

result of political

activities of individuals such as Henry himself, Margaret of Anjou,

Richard, Duke of York

and other members of the nobility combined with less controllable

factors such as the 100

years war with France with Henry had inherited, an increase in bastard

feudalism amongst

nobles and Henry VI’s temperate insanity. In order to assess the

extent of which Henry VI’s

incompetence is to blame for the outbreak of the wars, the importance

and contribution of

all other factors must be evaluated .

There is little debate amongst historians that Henry VI was indeed

incompetent as a

monarch. However, when assessing his incompetence as a contribution,

it is important to

deal with his personality and mental health separately. Henry’s

personality was, in every

was, totally unsuited to the contemporary view of kingship. According

to Dr J. Warren, ‘an

effective king should have a certain charisma. There were times when

all and sundry

needed to be reminded of his authority’.[1] Unfortunately, Henry

lacked that certain charisma and

had no strength, ability or interest in his royal duties or authority.

The Italian scholar Polydore

Vergil wrote: ‘King Henry was a man of mild and plain dealing

disposition, who preferred peace

before wars, quietness before troubles’.[2] This quote displays that

Henry held the opposite traits to

those demanded of a king by his contemporaries. It is supported by the

quote of Henry’s admiring

...

... middle of paper ...

... nobles’

who sought power beyond

their duty, most prominently Richard, Duke of York. The general view

amongst historians is that

Henry was in fact responsible for the growing confidence of subjects

in his office, for example

McFarlane wrote that ‘only an undermighty ruler had anything to fear

from overmighty

subjects’.[9] It is indeed

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[1] Dr J Warren, p245,

[2] Polydore Vergil, p234

[3] John Blacman, p534

[4] A.J. Pollard, p56

[5] R L Storey, The End of the House of Lancaster, p35

[6] McFarlane, The End of the House of Lancaster, p456

[7] John Watts, Henry VI and the Politics of Kingship, p108

[8] A.J Pollard, The Wars of the Roses, p 56

[9] The Origins of the Wars of The Roses, Keith Dockray, p65