Hello and welcome to another history video from Oak Academy.

My name is Mrs. Knox, and today I'm on hand to guide you through all of the materials that you'll need in today's lesson.

So let's get started.

Today's lesson is part of a unit of work on the wars of the roses.

We'll be asking the question, "What can the wars of the roses tell us about 15th century England?" Now, by the end of the lesson today, you'll be able to describe how Richard, the Duke of York, came to challenge the rule of King Henry VI.

Now, in the lesson today, there will be some vocabulary that we'll come across.

Let's have a look at some of the words now.

The first word that we'll use is the word, "House" Which in this context means a family title, often used by royalty, which consists of monarchs who are related to each other.

We'll also use the word, "Normandy" Which is a region in Northern France.

And finally we'll use the word, "Gascony" Which is an area of southwestern France, which was owned by the English from 1151 to 1453.

Now the lesson will be in three parts today, and we're going to get started now on part one, which will look at the weak rule of Henry VI.

In the early 15th century, an argument broke out between members of England's royal family.

This involved two different sides of the one family called the Plantagenets.

The Plantagenets were all descendants of Edward III, who reigned from 1327 until 1377.

One branch of the family was called the House of Lancaster, and the other was called the House of York.

The argument between the Lancaster family and the York family became known as the Wars of the Roses because both families used a rose symbol on their shields and banners.

The Lancastrians used a red rose and the Yorkists used a white rose.

All right, let's have a quick check of your understanding.

I'd like you to answer this question.

Which royal family were the house of Lancaster and the House of York from? Was it A, the Normans? Was it B, the Plantagenets? Or C, the Tudors? Press pause and then when you've got your answer, press play and I'll go through the answer.

Well done if you said that the correct answer was B, the House of Lancaster and the House of York were two branches of the Plantagenet family.

Here's another quick check of understanding.

I'd like you to select the correct option below to complete the sentence underneath.

The options are red or white.

The symbol used by the House of Lancaster on their shields and banners was a what coloured rose? Press pause and when you've got your answer, press play.

That's right, you should have said that the House of Lancaster used a red rose on their shields and banners.

The argument between the Lancaster and the York family branches started when Henry VI was king of England.

He was from the Lancastrian side of the family and had become king when he was only nine months old in 1422.

Until he was old enough to rule England on his own, the country was governed by a council of powerful men.

When he was only eight, he was officially crowned as king, but he continued to be easily influenced by others throughout his reign.

Henry's father, Henry V had gained reputation for being a brave warrior due to his military victories against the French in the 100 Years War from 1337 to 1453.

However, Henry VII was a much weaker ruler than his father.

He lacked interest in military matters and he struggled to control the country due to his lack of authority.

He also suffered from periods of time where he would shut himself away from everyone and sit in silence and darkness for hours on end.

England remained at war with France during Henry VI reign, but without strong leadership, this resulted in defeat for the English.

A further blow to Henry's reputation was that between 1450 and 1453, England lost land in Normandy and in Gascony, and eventually only Calais remained in English hands.

This was devastating for Henry VI's reputation as a strong ruler, and as a result, he became unpopular with the English nobility.

He had spent a great deal of money on the war with France, and its failure eventually resulted in some nobles rebelling against him in southern England.

Time to check your understanding again.

I'd like you to answer this true or false question.

Like his father, Henry VI was a strong leader and famous warrior.

Is that true or false? Press pause and when you're ready, press play for the answer.

Welcome back.

You should have said the correct answer is false.

Why is the answer false? Is it because of A, Henry VI lacked interest in economic matters and successfully controlled the country due to his strong authority? Or B, Henry VI lacked interest in military matters and struggled to control the country due to his lack of authority? Press pause and then press play where you're ready for the answer.

You should have said that the right justification was B.

Henry was not a strong leader.

He lacked interest in military matters and he struggled to control the country due to his lack of authority.

Okay, let's put everything that you've learned in this first section into practise by trying this question.

I'd like you to think about why Henry VI was a weak king.

Then you should use the words to complete the boxes.

Here are the words that you'll need.

Military, influenced, mental, eight, authority and Normandy.

Here are the boxes that you need to complete.

So press pause now whilst you complete the task and when you're ready to go through the answers, press play.

Welcome back, let's see how you got on with the task.

We were thinking about the reasons why Henry VI was a weak king.

You should have said that he lost Gascony and Normandy, that he was crowned King at eight years old, that he had very little military interest.

He was easily influenced by others.

He was troubled by poor mental health, and finally, he lacked authority.

Well done if you've got all of them correct.

It is time now to move on to the second section of our lesson today.

In this section we'll look at Richard, Duke of York, who became protector of England.

The failure of the war against France made Henry VI's mental health much worse, and for months he was unable to rule England.

In March, 1454, parliament chose a relative from the York side of the family to be protector of England until the king was able to recover.

Richard, the Duke of York, was an ambitious man, and his opportunity to rule in place of the king gave him a chance to show that he was a better alternative to Henry.

York was a much stronger leader than Henry, and England was relatively stable under his governance.

As a result, he had a number of supporters.

However, York was quite likely acting in his own interests and many nobles did not fully trust him.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

I'd like you to answer this true or false question.

Richard, the Duke of York, showed strong leadership skills.

Is that true or false? Press pause now and then press play for the answer.

Well done if you said that the correct answer is true.

Why is the answer true? Is it because of A, England was stable under his governance and he enjoyed support from many? Or B, England was unstable under his governance and many did not trust him? Press pause now and then press play for the answer.

That's right, you should have said that the Duke of York was a strong leader.

England was stable under his governance, and he enjoyed the support of many.

Here's another quick check of your understanding.

When did Richard, the Duke of York, become protector of England? Was it in A, January 1454? B, March 1454? or C, December, 1454? Press pause and then press play when you're ready for the answer.

That's right, you should have said the correct answer was B, March, 1454.

By December 1454, Henry VI had recovered sufficiently to once again take control of England.

Henry began to undo many of the decisions York had made and removed him from the government.

Henry's fear was that York would gain more support than him and be seen as a stronger leader, especially because of Henry's failure to prove himself in battle and the loss of land under his rule.

In contrast, York had shown impressive leadership skills.

He was a clear threat to Henry.

York realised that Henry would try to punish him and his supporters, and so he started gathering troops to confront the king and try to regain his power.

Finally, in this section, I'd like you to put your knowledge now into practise.

I'd like you to complete the timeline in chronological order.

So in other words, starting with the earliest event first through to the latest.

The first event has been done for you, England lost land in France.

I'd like you to complete the remaining four boxes, so press pause whilst you complete the task and then press play.

Welcome back, here are the answers that you should have put.

You should have said that England lost land in France and then Henry VI collapsed.

Then York became protector.

Then Henry regained control, and finally York wanted power back, so gathered an army.

Well done if you got everything correct.

It's time to move on to the final section of today's lesson.

In the section we'll look at the Battle of St.

Albans.

In May, 1455, the armies of Henry VI and Richard, Duke of York met at St.

Albans.

This was the first battle of the Wars of the Roses.

The battle only lasted half an hour and there were relatively few casualties as it was a decisive victory for York and his men.

The defeat of Henry meant that York was once again protector of England, and Henry was forced into hiding.

The battle of St.

Albans was the start of a struggle between the House of York and the house of Lancaster, which would last for 30 years.

During this time, England was very unstable as many more battles were fought between the warring sides of the family.

Both were determined that it was their side which should have full control over England.

Okay, let's check your understanding of this section.

How long did the Battle of St.

Albans last? Was it A, 30 minutes? B, 45 minutes? Or C, one hour? Press pause and then press play when you're ready for the answer.

You should have said that the correct answer was A, the Battle of St.

Albans only lasted for 30 minutes.

Here's another quick check of your understanding.

Which of these men won the Battle of St.

Albans? Was it A, King Edward III? B, King Henry VI? Or C, Richard, Duke of York? Press pause and then press play when you've got your answer.

Well done if you said the answer was C, Richard, Duke of York won the Battle of St.

Albans.

One final check of understanding now.

How long did the subsequent struggle between the House of York and the House of Lancaster last? Was it A, one year? B, 15 years? Or C, 30 years? Press pause now and then press play for the answer.

That's right, it lasted another 30 years.

Finally today, let's put everything that you've learned into practise.

I'd like you to write a description of how Richard, the Duke of York, came to challenge Henry VI at the Battle of St.

Albans in May, 1455.

You could include some of the following points in your answer.

For example, Henry VI's weak leadership skills, the loss of land in Normandy and Gascony, Henry VI's poor mental health, the ambition of Richard, Duke of York, and the War of the Roses.

Press pause whilst you complete the task and then press play to see what you might have written.

Welcome back.

Your answer may include the following.

Between 1450 and 1453, England lost land in Normandy and in Gascony.

This was devastating for Henry VI's reputation as he seemed like a weak leader.

Henry's poor mental health became much worse in 1454, and so Parliament chose Richard of York, a relative from the house of York, to be protector of England until the king recovered.

By December, Henry was able to regain his role as king.

However, York was an ambitious man and strong leader who did not want to give up the throne.

He gathered an army to challenge Henry VI and the two sides met at the Battle of St.

Albans in May, 1455.

This was the beginning of a 30 year long argument between the Plantagenets known as the War of the Roses.

Well done, we've reached the end of our lesson today, but let's have a quick summary.

Henry VI was from the House of Lancaster.

He was a weaker king than his father, Henry V.

Under his leadership, England lost land in France, including Normandy and Gascony.

Henry VI suffered from poor mental health and Parliament appointed his relative, Richard from the House of York as protector of England in 1454.

When Henry VI was well again, York wanted to maintain power, and so he gathered an army to challenge Henry for the throne.

Richard defeated Henry VI at the Battle of St.

Albans, marking the start of the War of the Roses between the Plantagenets.

Well done for all your hard work in our lesson together today.

I hope that you feel that you've met your learning objective, and I look forward to you joining me in a future lesson.