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War Of The Roses And The War Of The Roses

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The War of the Roses and mainly the Battle of Towton (1461), were savagely, horrendous, and insanely bloody battles filled with thousands of deaths, deadly weaponry and overkill, that Britain had ever seen before. Fought by the Houses of Lancaster and York for control over the English throne for many years with the use of strategic planning, impressive leadership, and advanced weaponry all explain the cruel savagery of medieval warfare. Advancement in weaponry and armor was shown profusely throughout the Battle of Towton with the use of the suit of armor, poleaxe, Mary-rose longbow and the earliest handguns. The English Men-At-Arms were equipped with the best armor, which composed of a suit or steal that could weigh up to sixty pounds. These soldiers would fight on foot to protect their archers and because the horses couldn’t not to armored properly. The armor was very resistant to hand to hand combat, the heavy metal made for good protection, but the downfall is that it was a heavy suit to have to fight in. The poleaxe was the main used weapon at this time, consisted of an axe on one end and a sword on the other. Nevertheless, this weapon was especially gruesome for smashing and taking down their opponent in battle. Once the Yorkists had won the battle of Towton they savagely went after the fleeing Lancastrians showing no mercy, cutting any survivors down causing a bloodbath. Using the poleaxe and other swords they bloodily slashed, smashed and murdered the surviving Lancastrians, causing a deadly defeat of the Lancastrian army and a cruel but a well-earned victory for the Yorkists. The Mary-Rose long bow became the national weapon of England during this time. It was a long, heavy bow that weighed up to one hundred and eighty pounds, had a range of three hundred yards and if the bowman was well trained, it could shoot up to 20 arrows a minute. This weapon could penetrate most armor, but required great strength and practice to use effectively. The handguns were the newest weapon at the time so they were used at close range as they could not be shot very far, but were very deadly to the opponent that is getting shot at. The weaponry of medieval warfare shows that this time period was bloody, gruesome

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