The Family Feud That Lasted Thirty Years
             Most wars in history have been very noble wars fought between men of two different sides, battling for the power over the people of a country. William Lace argues that, "There was nothing noble about the Wars of the Roses [though,] because brothers fought brothers, fathers fought sons, prisoners were executed without trials, and battles were won only by last minute deception"(10-11). Throughout the events of the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Barnet is one battle that makes an impact on British politics and society.
             The events of the Wars of the Roses are nothing more than feuds within the Plantagenets family. Because three very powerful noblemen, York, Salisbury, and Warwick are not invited to a council meeting where the other nobles are trying to discuss different ways to protect the king, they feel that they are being plotted against. With an army of about five thousand men, York and company leads an attack on London where Henry I and twenty-five hundred men meet them (Lace 28). Lace describes the start of the war saying, "The Wars of the Roses, brewing for years, finally breaks out when the armies of Richard, duke of York, and Edmund Beaufort, duke of Somerset, meet in the little town of Saint Albans on May 22, 1485"(28). When the Battle of Saint Albans starts, there is much bloody hand to hand combat but at the end, York, Salisbury, and Warwick pull out victorious. To Henry's surprise, when the battle is over York bows before him and swears his loyalty to the crown and is then named Protector of London (Lace 28).
             On July 10, 1460, the next major battle takes place at North Hampton where York's army defeats Henry's army and Henry is captured once again. York then goes to London and proclaims he is the rightful king of England, but Parliament will not accept this. Parliament decides to make an agreement with York and lets Henry reclai...