The length of campaigns – active campaigning over the entire period of the Wars of the
Roses, from the First Battle of St Albans to the Battle of Stoke in 1487, lasted 12-13 weeks
(JR Lander). Anthony Goodman raised this figure to 61 weeks. However, the first wars were
more extensive and different in nature compared to later conflicts.
• The people involved – the First Battle of St Albans had the smallest forces, whereas Towton
saw the largest. The fewer nobles involved in the battle, the lesser the impact of the battles
on the daily lives of the ordinary population due to fewer gentry and rank and file fighting.
The gentry would only be involved if called by their lord to fight; most who were willing to
take up arms were loyal to Warwick, or the Houses of York and Lancaster. The upper ranks
of common society were willing to be politically involved, shown by their involvement in
popular uprisings. Edward IV abandoned his policy of sparing commoners, allowing the
slaughter of ordinary soldiers at Barnet and Tewkesbury.
• The Church – a part of English society that distanced itself from the wars. Very few members
of the senior clergy became involved, aside from George Neville. The Church would make
attempts at peace-making (Loveday).
• Land and property – Margaret’s army gained a bad reputation for looting and pillaging in the
1460-61 campaign. Even during intense campaigns, normal life was conducted with ease due
to armies not being on campaign for long periods of time, and costly sieges were minimised.
• Law and order – political turmoil and frequent skirmishes justified personal vendettas and
violence, that would have otherwise been prosecuted. Even with Henry VI dead, many
people continued to act riotously and violently. English politics were massively affected and
could have led to a major breakdown of normal political life.
• The aristocracy – in the 1450s and 1460s, much of the political elite were involved in the
baronial wars. 14 Lancastrian and 5 Yorkist peers were lost in just 2 years, resulting in the
loss of a quarter of the parliamentary peerage in a short space of time. Noble houses would
be affected for the next few decades as they recovered from their losses, though only
several went extinct. The impact of the fighting between 1459 and 1461 may have caused
the aristocracy to gradually distance themselves from politics, with fewer peers fighting in
1469-71. Edward IV’s policies may have discouraged some from taking his side, such as
dismissing men of royal blood in favour of the Woodvilles. The strength of the aristocracy
would not be tested again until the 1480s, when patronage became a powerful tool to
control the aristocracy.
• Trade and the economy – the nature of conflict meant that normal life mostly continued,
with little impact on commerce. Though in 1455, England was suffering from the ‘Great
Slump’ economic crisis and was one of the grievances against Henry VI. Sometimes, the wars
imposed financial costs on the towns and cities centred around England’s international
trade. There were constant concerns over the main trading links with the Low Countries.
Shipping was threatened by Warwick’s piratical attacks in the Channel in 1459-60 and 1470-
71. There could be temporary disruption to the economy due to the calling of the militia
meaning that tradesmen and labourers were involved in the conflict.
• Overall, the impact of the baronial wars was short-term and irregular, except for its impacts
on the aristocracy. The population recovered to normality quickly.
