Wars of the Roses

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

After the symbols of the two sides: the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York

Proper noun

the Wars of the Roses pl (plural only)

  1. (historical) A civil war that lasted from 1455 to 1487, fought between the English houses of Lancaster and York and allies in France, Burgundy and Scotland.
    • 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 286:
      But his grandson Francis, a Yorkist friend of Richard III, backed the wrong side in the Wars of the Roses and was declared a traitor by Henry VII, who confiscated his estates.
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