England in the Middle Ages 433 expelled from Normandy in 1450. Three years later, the last vestige of their possessions in southern France passed into the hands of the French king. The Hundred Years' War was over, and although England still retained Calais, the great ques- tion whether she should extend her sway upon the Continent was finally settled. The close of the Hundred Years' War was followed in Eng- land by the Wars of the Roses, between the rival houses which were struggling for the crown. The badge of the house of Lancaster was a red rose, and that of York was a white one.^ Each party was supported by a group of the wealthy and pow- erful nobles whose conspiracies, treasons, murders, and execu- tions fill the annals of England during the period which we have been discussing. The nobles no longer owed their power as they had in pre- vious centuries to vassals who were bound to follow them to war. Like the king, they relied upon hired soldiers. It was easy to find plenty of restless fellows who were willing to become the retainers of a nobleman if he would agree to clothe. them and keep open house, where they might eat and drink their fill. Their master was to help them when they got into trouble, and End of the Hundred Years' War, 1453 The Wars of the Roses be- tween the houses of Lancaster and York, 1455-1485 Retainers 1 Descent of the rival houses of Lancaster and York Edward III (1327-1377) I Edward, the Black Prince (d. 1376) John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster L^ Edmund, duke of York Richard II Henry IV (1399-1413) John Beaufort (1377-1399) I I Henry V (1413-1422) John Beaufort I Henry VI (1422-1461) Richard I Richard Edward IV Richard III (1461-1483) (1483-1485) Edmund Tudor, m. Margaret I Henry VII, m. Elizabeth of York Edward V, (1485-1509) murdered in first of the the Tower, Tudor kings 1483
