Wars of the Roses

American  

noun

English History.

1. the civil struggle between the royal house of Lancaster, whose emblem was a red rose, and the royal house of York, whose emblem was a white rose, beginning in 1455 and ending with the accession of Henry VII in 1485 and the union of the two houses.

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Wars of the Roses British  

plural noun

1. the conflicts in England (1455–85) centred on the struggle for the throne between the house of York (symbolized by the white rose) and the house of Lancaster (of which one badge was the red rose)

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Example Sentences

Some of her most unmissable episodes revolve around the 15th century Wars of the Roses, which inspired the “Game of Thrones” author George R.R.

From New York Times • Dec. 27, 2022

The visuals are so rich that audiences will often remember the wonderful costumes, forgetting the the bloody details of the Wars of the Roses or the shady political machinations of royal court.

From Salon • May 31, 2021

But some of us are still playing catchup with her best work: the BBC’s 10-part Wars of the Roses drama, The White Queen, from 2013, in which she is fiercely affecting as Elizabeth Woodville.

From The Guardian • Jul. 19, 2018

I’m writing a war story, essentially — the Wars of the Roses.

From Time • Jul. 13, 2017

We are likely to think of the Wars of the Roses as farther away from us, but they were not yet over.

From The Century of Columbus by Walsh, James J.