The social structure of the participants of the St. Albans Battle, 22 May of 1455

The first battle of St. Albans is often proclaimed as the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in England. It was not only the first armed clash between the houses of Lancaster and York. The Battle of St. Albans made the political settlement of the conflict impossible. The battle had an important mental aspect, since the idea of the inviolability of the sacred figure of the monarch collapsed. The prosopographic analysis made it possible to assess the degree of participation of different social groups in military activity and the impact of the Wars on society. Written sources provide an opportunity to partially recover the named composition of the participants in the battle. The author identified 97 people. Most of them are Lancastrian (84 people), as Henry VI lost, and most sources contain the names of the deceased. A significant part of them (19 people) were members of the king household. In the Middle Ages, the household served not only the administrative and representative functions, but also the military ones. The presence of members of the household on the king side suggests that he was at the head of a solemn procession, but not the army. This is confirmed by another fact. Several lords, who are closely associated with the Duke of York, were also in the retinue of the king. The biggest social group (43 people) was of the gentry (knights and squires). They performed the function of middle and junior officers and were the basis of both armies. They depended on the outcome of the battle. For example, sir Robert Ogle burst into the center locations of the enemy, which ultimately enhanced the authority of his Lord - the Earl of Warwick. At the battle of St. Albans, the representatives of the same social and even family groups fought against each other. It characterizes the beginning of the War of the Roses as a civil war.