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This week, we are continuing our count down of the top 10 kickass women in the War of the Roses by tackling numbers 1-5.
If you want to recap numbers 6-10, you can find that post by clicking this link. Click Here
If you need a refresher on “The War of the Roses: The KISS Edition”, you can find that post through this link. Click Here
5. Jacquetta of Luxembourg
Jacquetta of Luxembourg is a fascinating woman to study as her story embodies pieces of the other women on this list’s story. She married into the English royal family in her first marriage and despite Henry VI/the Regency’s decree that she could not marry again without permission, she married a knight for love (like Catherine of Valois). At one point, she was the wife to the heir apparent and then mother of the Queen Consort (Cecily Neville). She was tried for witchcraft by her son-in-law’s enemies during Warwick’s rebellion (Eleanor Cobham). So, basically, she survived a lot of shit and did what she wanted.
As the widow of Henry VI’s uncle, John of Bedford, and a favorite of Henry VI’s, she was very influential during Henry VI’s reign. Despite her close relationship to the Lancaster branch, she became an influential figure as the Queen Consort’s mother during Edward IV’s reign. She took her destiny into her own hands in her second marriage and had fourteen children. Yep, that is right. She gave birth to fourteen children in the Medieval Era. That means lots of sex (fun!) and no painkillers (yikes!). The fact that she thrived in both the Lancaster and Yorkist courts and determined her own destiny indicates how much of a badass she was.
4. Cecily Neville
In the shadow of her husband, Richard of York, and her two royal sons, Cecily Neville often gets lost in the crazy that is the Cousins’ War. Not because she was not a badass or significantly influenced the events of the Cousins’ War, but because history is basically just mansplaining on an epic level. It does not help that she was merely the mother of the king, not the Dowager Queen in her own right (because she was never Queen Consort), plus her feud with Elizabeth Woodville (her daughter-in-law) limited her power in court significantly.
While her husband was alive, she often was the mediator between him and Henry VI. While Richard was the face of the Yorkist faction, Cecily was the political mastermind. So, when Richard died, her son, Edward IV, was able to pick up where his father left off, with the help of Cecily. Once Edward IV took the throne, Cecily held significant influence as the number one woman in the King’s life. This changed after Edward IV’s controversial marriage to Elizabeth Woodville. The two did not get along and there was a constant power struggle between the two women.
Aside from the feud with her daughter-in-law, Cecily continued to play the role a mediator in the royal court. As much of the political strife was between George of Clarence (who was literally a giant pain in the ass) and Edward IV, Cecily constantly had to mediate between the two. She is one of the main reasons why Warwick’s rebellion failed, as she convinced George to turn on Warwick. Unfortunately, as George continued to scheme against his brother (essentially committing treason), he died under “suspicious circumstances” (AKA Edward IV had him killed). So, her success rate as mediator is not awesome, but the War of Roses may have been far bloodier without her.
3. Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville was pretty much the exact opposite of what Edward IV’s Queen Consort was expected to be.
- She was the first English born queen consort since the Norman Conquest.
- She was considered a commoner as her father was a knight (even though her mother was a noble from Luxembourg who had been married to Henry VI’s uncle).
- She was a widow with two sons from her previous marriage (because a women’s value was based on her virginity and her fertility, not her brains, personality, etc.).
- Her late husband had died fighting for the Lancasters and her family was very close to Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou.
Her marriage to Edward IV did wonders for the Woodvilles but Edward IV gained very little from the marriage politically and alienated some of his biggest supporters. She arranged for advantageous marriages for her siblings and placed them in powerful positions in the court, which pissed off all the other nobles who wanted those positions for themselves (greedy assholes).
Elizabeth Woodville’s power, in court, was directly tied to her husband’s. During Edward IV’s exile to Burgundy and after his death, she sought sanctuary and tried to protect her children the best she could. In fact, she gave birth to the heir to the throne, Edward V, while in sanctuary during Warwick’s revolt. After Richard III had her children declared bastards and the “disappearance” of her sons in the Tower of London (which is still a mystery to this day), she teamed up with Margaret Beaufort to overthrow Richard III and place her daughter, Elizabeth of York, on the throne as wife to Henry Tudor or Henry VII.
2. Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou is one of the ultimate badass medieval Queen Consorts, which also means that she is one of the most hated as well. As Queen Consort to Henry VI, she was the primary force behind the Lancastrian throne, especially during the War of the Roses. While Henry VI was never a powerful ruler, before he started having his catatonic episodes, Margaret played the role of the typical Queen Consort. She was powerful in her own way, but Henry VI was still the ruler of England.
That changed when Henry VI collapsed into his first catatonic state, which, unfortunately, coincided with the birth of their only child, Edward of Lancaster. As the infighting in court increased and Henry VI became more unstable, Margaret focused on securing the future of England for her son. While she did not ride into battle during the War of the Roses, the Lancastrians followed her as she essentially was regent for her husband. Despite the Yorkist victories and the loss of the throne to Edward IV, she worked tirelessly from exile to put her son (the rightful heir) on the throne. She even allied (albeit very very very very reluctantly) with her former enemy, Warwick, to place her son back in the line of succession.
Despite her efforts, her son and husband were killed by the Yorkists, and she lost everything. She is seen by many as a villain, but as a strong but tragic figure by others.
1. Margaret Beaufort
One of the primary reasons why the Tudor dynasty came to be is due to the brilliance of Margaret Beaufort, the number one badass woman in the War of the Roses.
Margaret was dealt a difficult hand. Her father died when she was young, and she was married to Edmund Tudor at the age of twelve (so fucking gross) at the beginning of the War of the Roses. She quickly got pregnant (just thinking about this makes me want to vomit) and gave birth to her only child, Henry Tudor. Margaret and Henry both almost died during the birth and Margaret was never able to have any other children.
Edmund died fighting for the Lancasters before meeting his son. In the wake of Edward IV’s ascension to the throne, Henry Tudor was stripped of his inheritance and Margaret married her second husband, Henry Stafford. As her husband had Edward IV’s favor, Margaret utilized her political influence to attempt to gain her son’s inheritance back. While she made some missteps (attempting to negotiate with George of Clarence while Edward IV was in exile being a significant one), her third marriage to Thomas Stanley helped keep her in favor and part of the court. She became an integral part of Edward IV’s court.
With Richard III taking the throne, Margaret was pretty much back at square one. She made a bold decision; she was going to overthrow the king and place her son on the throne (with his distant/not super legal claim to the throne). Then, she struck a deal with Elizabeth Woodville in which Henry Tudor would marry Elizabeth of York and take the throne. Her political maneuvering (as well as luck) was instrumental in the rise of the Tudor dynasty and changed the path of English History.
And we are at the end of the Top 10 Kickass Women of the War of the Roses. Let me know what you think, if you would make any changes, or any sort of feedback! We will be seeing a lot more of these women (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
Sources
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Alison Weir. The War of the Roses. http://www.alisonweir.org.uk/
Dan Jones. The War of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13844539.Dan_Jones
Lisa Hilton. Queens Consort: England’s Medieval Queens from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Elizabeth of York. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4333081-queens-consort
Sarah Gristwood. Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the War of the Roses. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13498116-blood-sisters
Erin Lawless. Forgotten Royal Women: The King and I. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/45182330-forgotten-royal-women
Gemma Holland. Royal Witches: Witchcraft and the Nobility in Fifteenth Century England. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46158747-royal-witches