The House of York was a dynasty of English kings. The House was involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century. Its name derives of the fact that its claimants to the throne were all descended from Richard, Duke of York, and its symbol was a white rose.
The opponents of the House of York were the House of Lancaster. The rivalry between York and Lancaster, in the form of the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire, has continued into the present day on a more friendly basis.
The Queen (Margaret of Anjou) continued to raise support for the King (Henry VI) amongst noblemen, distributing an emblem of a silver swan to her supporters; whilst the Yorkist command under Richard, Duke of York was finding plenty of anti-royal support despite the severe punishment for raising arms against the King.
The Yorkist force based at Middleham Castle in Yorkshire (led by Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury) needed to link up with the main Yorkist army at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire.
Fearing a rout, Yorkist soldiers are reported to have kissed the ground beneath them, supposing that this would be the ground on which they would meet their deaths.
After the failure of the revolt of his cousin, the Duke of Buckingham, Henry VII became the leading Lancastrian contender for the throne of England.
Having gained the support of the in-laws of the late Yorkist King Edward IV, he landed with a force in Wales and marched into England, accompanied by his uncle, Jasper Tudor, a military mastermind.
Wales had traditionally been a Yorkist stronghold, and Henry owed the support he gathered to his ancestry, being directly descended, through his father, from the Lord Rhys.
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