And here I prophesy: this brawl to-day,
Grown to this faction in the Temple-garden,
Shall send between the red rose and the white
A thousand souls to death and deadly night.
As we’ve been reading through the history plays, I’ve been trying to unpack and understand the family trees in order to make more sense of the relationships and dynamics. Much can be understood simply by rolling along with Shakespeare’s language and plots, and one doesn’t have to be a history buff to enjoy these plays. However, I’ve been enjoying the discoveries and increased clarity that comes from mapping out these relationships.
Today, I’ve going to walk through the family tree of the House of York, whose family is symbolized by the white rose. This is one of the more explicitly explored families in Shakespeare’s Henry VI plays, so it may not even be necessary, but let’s walk through it for
Before I get to Richard of York, who features prominently in these plays, I want to recap our line through the Mortimers back to Edward III. I’ve already talked through most of this in previous posts, but not all in one place.
Edward III had several sons, the eldest of whom was Edward the Black Prince. His line failed after Richard II was deposed and killed. Edward III’s second son, Lionel of Clarence, had a daughter, Philippa, who married into the Mortimer family. However, Edward III’s third son, John of Gaunt, had Henry Bolingbroke, who took the throne from Richard II.
Philippa’s marriage to Edmund Mortimer produced several children who are characters we’ve seen in the previous Henriad, such as Kate Percy and Edmund Mortimer (who marries Catrin, the Welsh princess). However, the son of Philippa and Edmund that we really need to watch is Roger Mortimer, who was named Richard II’s heir (though not in Shakespeare) and whose children, Edmund (#3) and Anne, were linked to the Southampton plot against Henry V. Edmund did not participate, even though he was the presumed heir from the line of Lionel, but Anne’s husband, Richard of Cambridge, both participated and was executed.
And now, we finally get to the House of York. Through this line and claim, the son of Richard of Cambridge came to rebel against the Lancastrians (the line of John of Gaunt). Enter Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York.
Richard is featured heavily throughout the Henry VI plays as the main competitor of Henry, though he also stirs up Jack Cade to claim lineage from the Mortimers and test the people’s response to the claim.
He married Cecily Neville (see a previous post for the Neville family tree), and from this marriage, we get the four sons who play such an important role in the next few plays (and other children who aren’t featured). They are as follows:
Edward, who will go on to become Edward IV and have two sons, Edward V and Richard. They will famously die in the Tower of London. He also had a daughter, Elizabeth of York, who will offer a chance to resolve the Wars of the Roses and found the Tudor line. More on her later!
George, who will go on to become Duke of Clarence. He’ll also marry one of the daughters of Warwick when he defects from his brother, but then will change sides again at the Battle of Tewkesbury. He’s eventually imprisoned by Edward and murdered by Richard, at least in the play. He has a few children who eventually get executed in the consolidation of power. Shakespeare has Richard sweep them into obscurity.
Richard, later Richard of Gloucester, and later Richard III, one of Shakespeare’s most notorious villains. Historians have debated his character, but Shakespeare makes him evil through and through. His Machiavellian lust for power destroys most of his family and ultimately himself—at least in the world of Shakespeare.
Edmund, Earl of Rutland, died at 17 in the battle of Wakefield. Shakespeare paints him as a much younger child to add to the grief of his father and increase the brutality of the conflict, but he was definitely of military age historically.
So, this is the family of York who fought through the Wars of the Roses. But who is this young Henry of Richmond? And what does he bode for the future? We’ll see where he comes from next time.
