1. THE WAR OF THE ROSES By Lydia, Rach and Charlotte

2. What was the ‘War Of The Roses’ The war of the roses was a civil war fought in England between 1455 to 1487 over the throne. It was a series of battles, rebellions and uprisings with periods of peace. It was fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York The war was caused by: The unrest of the population Both houses claimed to be descendants of King Edward III There was high availability of private armies King Henry IV mental illness along with bad leadership skills resulted in dissatisfaction with the leadership of the country.

3. Royal Timeline Taken from:http://www.warsoftheroses.com/

4. Battle Timeline

5. Why is it significant??? The war of the roses, in the play, provides a backdrop on which the movements of the play take place Civil war provides the climate for the play. War is always stressful and heightens distress among the civilians of a nation and its leaders Civil war also can promote anarchy and crimes during war are usually an exception-could this be justification for Richards evilness???

6. Similarities and Differences between the play and the real thing The Royal timeline in real life is consistent with the play Richard crippled in the play and real life Richard was killed in the battle of Bosworth Even though dates and events in the play are consistent with historical records, Shakespeare’s representation of the war and Richard can not be seen as an Accurate portrayal for several reasons:  Historical material on the war when Shakespeare was writing the would have been limited  Shakespeare would have wrote the play in favour of the House in rule at the time to ensure that he didn’t offend the royal family as this could be seen as treason