Warof the Roses

War of the Roses n.

1. Any of a series of intermittent civil wars in the 15th century between the English royal houses of York and Lancaster and their supporters. The wars began in the 1450s and ended in victory for the Lancastrians in 1485 with the death of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field and the accession of Henry VII to the throne.

2. These wars considered as a group.

  [From the symbols of the two houses.]

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