History or politics? Ideas about the Wars of the Roses in 17th–18th-century Britain

Abstract

The transformation of ideas about the Wars of the Roses in British historical memory has been studied insufficiently. It is believed that the 17th–18th centuries were an era of stagnation, when this conflict was interpreted in the way of Shakespeare’s “Historical chronicles”. The 19th century, on the contrary, was marked by a revolution in historical thought. The purpose of this article is to test the established point of view. The analysis showed that the transformation of the images of the Wars of the Roses in the historical memory of the British was smooth, not intermittent. During the 17th–18th centuries the rehabilitation of the main participants in the conflict began. For example, Richard III was no longer considered a monster and a hunchback, and Margaret of Anjou lost her reputation as an ambitious and short-sighted woman and turned into a heroic defender of the rights of the Lancaster dynasty. The chronological framework was narrowed from 1399–1485 to 1450–1485, finally, the Wars of the Roses were no longer considered the bloodiest and most unpleasant segment of English history. Changes during the 17th–18th centuries paved the way for further evolution of views on this conflict and became the foundation for the historical constructs of 19th century researchers.