The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses and the Rise of the Tudors

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Jones writes, “During 245 years of turbulent rule, the Plantagenets had forged England in their own image.” Yep, and once again history proves to be more interesting that any fantasy we could muster. This is wild stuff, and it is true! The text’s Epilogue is a great summation of Mr. Jones’ premise, mainly that the Plantagenet dynasty made and shaped what we know as England. After reading this, it’s hard to argue the point. Here we see that these wars of the roses, occurred not as a direct attempt to steal the crown, but it all began to hold together a crumbling kingdom that had once seemed the most secure in all the world. The steps taken by the emerging factions of York and Lancaster grew into a self perpetuating downward spiral of increasing hostility, that created a monstrous vendetta and suddenly the entire kingdom was drawn into a titanic struggle not to save the Kingdom, but for the crown itself, which cost many countless lives. Eventually destroyed them both and made way for the Tudors.

In 2022, Jones started his own Podcast through Somethin' Else and Sony Music Entertainment called This Is History: A Dynasty to Die For, recounting much of the content of his 2012 book, The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England. He spent the rest of the day and also the whole of the following night in bitterness of soul, given over to prayer and sleeplessness, and continuing his fast for three days...With this extraordinary show of public penance Henry had won the most important propaganda battle of the war. I know the Tudors have received more attention in recent years than their predecessors, the Plantagenets, mainly due to a strange fascination with Henry VIII and his numerous wives, but I think that most people will find this overview of the Plantagenets equally fascinating and might even discover themselves believing, as I do, that the Tudors are merely a ragtag band of usurpers to the true kings and queens who built England. Wonderful overview. Highly Recommended!Jones, Daniel Gwynne. Who's Who. 2021. doi: 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U276782. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4 . Retrieved 13 July 2021. PDF / EPUB File Name: The_Hollow_Crown__The_Wars_of_the_Roses_an_-_Dan_Jones.pdf, The_Hollow_Crown__The_Wars_of_the_Roses_an_-_Dan_Jones.epub The short version: If you already thought the Plantagenets were murderous, disloyal, loyal to a fault, power hungry crazies, this will at minimum augment your feelings. It's like witnessing a centuries long pileup on the Jersey turnpike. Course, I'm at a bit of an advantage having known some of their history before heading in, so I saw the bloody writing on the castle walls here and there. I would have loved to learn more about the powerful spouses and confidants behind each reign, but this book has done well in whetting my appetite for more. Jones is also guilty of filling his text with speculation and phrases divulging what figures “thought”. Unless he has access to top-secret diaries, he does NOT know what anyone thought. Not to mention, information which does sound solid is not properly sourced with facts mentioned similar to, “A contemporary stated…” but the contemporary is never detailed. To say the least, much of “The Plantagenets” is an overview and one which doesn’t even feel credible.

The second cycle of plays aired on consecutive Saturday evenings on BBC Two commencing Saturday 7 May 2016. [5] [6] Home media [ edit ] Perhaps this is why this tumultuous series of conflicts, the biggest until the Civil Wars of the 17th century, have remained a conscious part of Britain’s history. There can be no doubt though that they were nation shaping events, as well as nation shaking times. Thanks to Shakespeare most of us think we know the broad strokes of the Wars of the Roses, yet do we really? In May 2017 he co-wrote and co-presented a three-part docu-drama, Elizabeth I, with Suzannah Lipscomb. It was broadcast on Channel 5. [17] This was good. It is about the Wars of the Roses and nothing to do with the later Tudors, which is what I wanted. I'm pretty well-versed in Henry VIII and family, but have only held a very blurry picture of the wars preceding their reign until now. Book Genre: British Literature, English History, European History, European Literature, Historical, History, Medieval, Medieval History, Nonfiction, Tudor Period, War

A king who fights to defend his right has a better claim on his inheritance. Struggle and largesse allow a king to gain glory and territory.” --Bertran de Born In 2014, Jones' book The Plantagenets was adapted for television as a four-part series on Channel 5 entitled Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty: The Plantagenets. [14]

Even though the Tudors are known for their drama-filled (albeit, somewhat short) dynasty; there was already a family making waves before them: the Plantagenets. Dan Jones explains those historical figures who paved the road for England in, “The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England”.Jones is a journalist. He is a columnist at the London Evening Standard, where he writes regularly about sport. [22] He has written for The Times, [23] [24] [25] the Sunday Times, [26] [27] [28] The Telegraph, [29] [30] [31] [32] The Spectator, [33] The Daily Beast and Newsweek, [34] The Literary Review, The New Statesman, [35] GQ, BBC History Magazine and History Today. While the author does recount the various wars the Kings fought, he also looks at how they ruled. The Good Kings while for the most part winning their wars also kept good relations with the nobility, while the bad kings did not. The story of the Magna Charta is a good example of this. From the time it was signed, John was trying to figure a way out of it. It really only became important later as his successors republished it and vowed to follow its strictures.

The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare's History Plays – About the Series". PBS. 9 July 2013 . Retrieved 12 October 2013. Jones moves smoothly through the numerous battles that took place up and down the land, and keeps the reader on top of the dizzying changes of loyalties that characterised the period as the Crown became a plaything of the man with the biggest army. It is with a sense of relief, that must echo that of the population of 1471, that we read of the triumph of Edward IV at Tewkesbury, bringing a King to the throne who had something of the skill, tenacity and strategic brilliance of Henry V: a man whom the vast majority of Lancastrians were willing to accept as King, with Edward of Lancaster dead. The murder of Henry VI was skated over by most people as a little local difficulty. The problem for John goes away when Arthur mysteriously disappears. Dan Jones offers an explanation, but I will let you read the book and see what you think. John is half the man that his brother Richard is, illustrated best by his contemporaries who refer to him as John Softsword.I also liked how the women are drawn to counteract old ideas, so it was good to see Eleanor of Aquitaine and Isabella of France being portrayed as strong women rather than villains for not staying within the expectations of their gender.