Beginning to Compile The Names

11. Nota Bene on the sidebar there are two sections; one labelled The Yorkists, the other, The Lancastrians. They are now partially complete.

The Wars of the Roses, without going to a complete exposition right now, were the epic struggle between the English noble houses Lancaster and York. Each well-known name supported one side or the other.

Tonight in conversation with my instructor we began collecting the names necessary to begin to track down the heraldry. So, we have the following.

For the Yorkists, the list stands currently:

• King Edward IV
• Richard III, Duke of Gloucester
• Lord Hastings
• George, Duke of Clarence
• Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers

On the Lancastrian side:

• Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick
• John de Vere, Earl of Oxford
• John Neville, Marquess of Montagu
• Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter
• A Somerset of some description, but we're a little unsure on this one
• John Paston

European royalty has always had the reputation of being, regardless of nationality or partisanship, a big extended family which is in one way or another related to each other. It so happens that George, Duke of Clarence was Edward IV's brother, and Richard Neville's son-in-law. Moreover, it's no accident that John Neville's byname is the same as Richards; John is his younger brother.

Richard III was, as a matter of fact, that Richard III, the "Sun of York", the one who the Bard did that play on ... that fellow whose winter was so discontented.

The name John Paston is of some importance outside of Barnet and the Wars of the Roses. The Paston Letters, an important British historical compilation, comprise the correspondence of the Paston family between the years 1422 and 1509, giving an important window on those times.

Amongst other locations we will be scouring for names would be Joseph Foster's Feudal Coats (known under a variety of names), which is a beautiful if rather flawed record (though correct where we need it to be) and Wikipedia's listings on important people of the year 1471.

Tags: House of Lancaster, House of York, Edward IV, Richard III, Barnet, John Paston

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