Saint Albans, battles of

Saint Albans, battles of

▪ English history
      (May 22, 1455, and Feb. 17, 1461), battles during the English Wars of the Roses. The town of St. Albans, situated on the old Roman Watling Street and lying 20 miles (32 km) northwest of London, dominated the northern approaches to the capital.

      The battle of 1455 was the first in the wars. Richard, Duke of York (York, Richard, 3rd duke of) and King Henry VI's cousin, had a better right to the throne, by primogeniture, than the king himself. The battle occurred because York became convinced that his destruction was being planned by Henry's forceful queen, Margaret of Anjou, and Henry's Lancastrian cousin, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. The encounter ended in less than an hour, with the death of Somerset, and York's capture of the king. His victory ensured York's ascendancy for more than a year, but Queen Margaret regained her influence in 1456, and war broke out again in 1459.

      The second battle at St. Albans occurred some six years later, after the death of Richard, Duke of York, when Queen Margaret (Margaret of Anjou), with Lancastrian forces, and York's son Edward each sought to gain possession of London. Queen Margaret was met at St. Albans by the forces of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, who was at that time on the Yorkist side. In posting his troops, however, Warwick misjudged the direction from which the queen would arrive, and as a result his flank was turned at the beginning of the engagement. Kentishmen serving with him deserted to the queen's army, and he retreated from the town, leaving King Henry, who had been virtually his prisoner, to the Lancastrians. Margaret then allowed her victorious army to pillage the town and the Abbey of St. Albans; hearing of this, the City of London sent to say that she would not be admitted unless she could guarantee her troops' good behaviour. While she hesitated, Edward and Warwick entered London, where Edward was hailed as King Edward IV.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Saint Albans — ▪ England, United Kingdom       town and city (district), administrative and historic county of Hertfordshire, England, in the valley of the River Ver about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of London.       A British town was established on the west… …   Universalium

  • Seconde bataille de Saint-Albans — 51°45′18″N 0°20′9.6″O / 51.755, 0.336 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Second Battle of St Albans — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Second Battle of St Albans caption= partof=the Wars of the Roses date=February 17, 1461 place= St Albans in Hertfordshire, England result= Lancastrian indecisive victory combatant1= combatant2=… …   Wikipedia

  • List of battles (alphabetical) — Alphabetical list of historical battles (see also Military history, List of battles): NOTE: Where a year has been used to disambiguate battles it is the year when the battle started. In some cases these may still have gone on for several years.… …   Wikipedia

  • List of battles 1401–1800 — List of battles: before 601 601 1400 1401 1800 1801 1900 1901 2000 2001 current See also: List of American Revolutionary War battles Early 15th Century (1401 1450) * 1402 **Battle of Casalecchio January 26 Alberico da Barbiano for Milan defeats… …   Wikipedia

  • List of battles (geographic) — This list of battles is organized geographically, by country in its present territory. For other lists of battles, see List of battles. Angola* Battle of Mbwila 1665 * Battle of Quifangondo 1975 * Battle of Cassinga 1978 * Battle of Cuito… …   Wikipedia

  • History of St Albans — St Albans is in southern Hertfordshire, England, around 22 miles (35km) north of London, beside the site of a Catuvellauni settlement and the Roman town of Verulamium. St Albans is Hertfordshire s oldest town, a modern city shaped by over 2000… …   Wikipedia

  • List of American Civil War battles — Contents 1 Major land battles 2 Battles rated by CWSAC 3 Other USA/CSA battles …   Wikipedia

  • United Kingdom — a kingdom in NW Europe, consisting of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: formerly comprising Great Britain and Ireland 1801 1922. 58,610,182; 94,242 sq. mi. (244,100 sq. km). Cap.: London. Abbr.: U.K. Official name, United Kingdom of Great… …   Universalium

  • Warwick, Richard Neville, 1st earl of, 2nd earl of Salisbury — ▪ English noble byname  the Kingmaker   born Nov. 22, 1428 died April 14, 1471, Barnet, Hertfordshire, Eng.       English nobleman called, since the 16th century, “the Kingmaker,” in reference to his role as arbiter of royal power during the… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”