READERS THEATER — THE WARS OF THE ROSES The Battle Towton

 READERS THEATER — THE WARS OF THE ROSES 

SCRIPT ONE: THE WHITE ROSE COUNCIL

House of York — Eve of the Battle of Towton, 28 March 1461

 EDUCATOR NOTES

Grade Level: High School (Grades 9–12) and College Introductory History Courses

Subject: English/British History, Medieval Warfare, Political Science, Literature

Running Time: Approximately 35–45 minutes for reading; 15–20 minutes for discussion

Companion Script: This script should be paired with Script Two: The Red Rose Council (House of Lancaster) for a complete lesson. 

CAST OF CHARACTERS (8 roles, can double up to 5):

NARRATOR — Historical guide; sets scenes and provides context

KING EDWARD IV — 19-year-old newly proclaimed Yorkist king; bold, energetic, determined

RICHARD NEVILLE, Earl of Warwick — "The Kingmaker"; seasoned military strategist

JOHN MOWBRAY, Duke of Norfolk — Yorkist commander; controls the right flank

LORD FAUCONBERG (William Neville) — Master archer; Edward's great-uncle; decisive tactician

SIR ROBERT HORNE — Knight; voice of the common soldiers' morale

HERALD (Thomas) — Young page; delivers field reports and messages

CHAPLAIN BENEDICT — Priest accompanying the army; moral and spiritual conscience

 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND — FOR THE NARRATOR

The following background should be read or summarized by the Narrator before the drama begins. It may also be distributed as a reading handout. 

THE WARS OF THE ROSES (1455–1487)

The Wars of the Roses were a series of intermittent civil wars fought for the throne of England between the House of York, whose symbol was the white rose, and the House of Lancaster, whose symbol was the red rose. Both houses were branches of the royal House of Plantagenet, meaning both sides had legitimate claims to the crown. The name "Wars of the Roses" was actually coined centuries later — the combatants themselves did not use it — but it has become the standard historical label.

 The conflict grew from deep instability during the reign of the mentally ill Lancastrian King Henry VI. Henry was a pious but weak ruler, easily manipulated by court factions. His queen, Margaret of Anjou, was the real political and military force behind the Lancastrian cause and is widely considered one of the most formidable leaders of the era. 

THE ROAD TO TOWTON

By early 1461, the conflict had reached a crisis point. In February, Queen Margaret's Lancastrian forces won the Second Battle of St Albans, recapturing the captive King Henry VI. However, the Yorkist Earl of Warwick — known as "The Kingmaker" for his vast wealth and military power — marched to London and secured the capital for York. On 4 March 1461, the 19-year-old Edward, son of the slain Duke of York, was proclaimed King Edward IV of England. 

Edward immediately moved north with his army to confront the Lancastrian forces, which had retreated to Yorkshire. The two armies met near the village of Towton, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, on Palm Sunday, 29 March 1461. It was, by most accounts, the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. 

THE ARMIES

Estimates vary, but historians suggest the Lancastrian army numbered between 25,000 and 40,000 men, giving them a significant numerical advantage. The Yorkist force numbered perhaps 20,000 to 36,000. Crucially, the Duke of Norfolk's Yorkist contingent had not yet arrived when the battle began — Edward had to fight outnumbered, at least initially. 

THE TERRAIN

The battlefield was a plateau between two rivers — the Cock Beck to the west and the Aire to the south. This geography would prove catastrophic for the losing side. The plateau was exposed to fierce winds blowing from the south, and on the day of battle a snowstorm blew directly into the faces of the Lancastrian troops — a key tactical advantage for the Yorkists, as we shall see. 

THE "NO QUARTER" ORDER

In a historically significant and chilling command, King Edward IV issued an order that there would be 'no quarter' — meaning no mercy, no ransom, no prisoners taken. This was highly unusual in medieval warfare, where noble prisoners were typically ransomed for great sums. The order reflected both the existential stakes of the battle and the bitter hatred between the factions. The result was a slaughter: contemporary accounts describe the Cock Beck running red with blood, and a mass grave site — known as "Bloody Meadow" — was discovered near the battlefield in the 20th century. 

OUTCOME

The Yorkists won a decisive and devastating victory. Estimates of the dead range from 9,000 to 28,000 men — figures almost incomprehensible for a single day of battle. The Lancastrian leadership was shattered. Henry VI fled to Scotland with Margaret of Anjou. Edward IV's grip on the throne was secured, at least for the next decade. The battle is considered the turning point of the entire Wars of the Roses. 

THE DRAMA

SETTING

The command tent of King Edward IV, near the village of Saxton, Yorkshire. The night before the Battle of Towton — the evening of 28 March 1461, Palm Sunday eve. Torches burn. Maps are spread across a rough wooden table. Outside, the sounds of an army camping — men coughing, horses stamping, distant prayers. A cold wind presses against the tent walls. Snow is beginning to fall.

 

 

 

ACT ONE: THE SITUATION

 

NARRATOR  It is the night of 28 March, 1461. The year of Our Lord. On a windswept plateau in Yorkshire, a nineteen-year-old king prepares to fight for his crown — and his life. Three weeks ago, Edward of York was proclaimed King of England in London. Tonight, he must prove it with steel. His commanders gather around the war table. The stakes could not be higher: if they lose tomorrow, the Wars of the Roses likely end with Lancastrian victory. If they win, history will be remade.

 

[Edward IV stands at the war table, studying maps. Warwick paces. Fauconberg sits, arms crossed. Mowbray arrives, shaking snow from his cloak. Sir Robert Horne stands near the tent entrance. Chaplain Benedict kneels in the corner in silent prayer. Thomas the Herald stands at attention.]

 

KING EDWARD IV  Norfolk — good. You've arrived. I was beginning to think the mud had swallowed you.

 

MOWBRAY  The roads north of Sherwood are ankle-deep in it, Your Grace. My cavalry needed three men to every horse just to keep moving. But we are here, and my men are ready — or they will be by morning.

 

WARWICK  "Ready" is a generous word for men who've been marching in snowfall for four days. But we need them, and we have them, and that will have to do. My lord king — scouts returned an hour ago. The Lancastrian position is confirmed. They hold the plateau north of the Cock Beck. Somerset commands their center; Northumberland holds the left. Their numbers are considerable.

 

KING EDWARD IV  How considerable, Cousin?

 

WARWICK  Thirty thousand. Perhaps more. Our count puts us at twenty to twenty-five — and that includes Norfolk's fresh troops and the men who've been sleeping in mud for a week.

 

SIR ROBERT HORNE  The men know the numbers, Your Grace. There is no hiding it from them. I will tell you plainly what they are saying around the fires tonight.

 

KING EDWARD IV  Say it plainly, Sir Robert. That is why I keep you close.

 

SIR ROBERT HORNE  They say they have marched for this king since Mortimer's Cross. They say they buried friends at Ferrybridge yesterday. And they say — some of them — that ten thousand more Lancastrian spears are ten thousand reasons to wonder whether God favors the white rose.

 

CHAPLAIN BENEDICT  God favors righteousness, Sir Robert. Not roses.

 

SIR ROBERT HORNE  With respect, Father — tomorrow morning, it will be a cold distinction.

 

KING EDWARD IV  The men's doubt is understandable. It is not acceptable. Before dawn, I will walk among every campfire personally. Every man who fought at Mortimer's Cross will hear me say his name if I know it. Every man who lost a brother at Ferrybridge will know that I know it. But that is tonight. Right now I need strategy. Fauconberg — you have been quiet. What does your eye see on this map?

 

LORD FAUCONBERG  My eye sees a problem and a gift, Your Grace. The problem: they outnumber us, they hold high ground, and they've been in position long enough to reinforce their flanks. The gift —

 

WARWICK  The wind.

 

LORD FAUCONBERG  The wind. Yes. The wind blows south to north — straight into the faces of their archers. And it is picking up. By morning, with this snow coming sideways, a Lancastrian bowman will be shooting half-blind into a gale. Our men will have it at their backs.

 

 ACT TWO: THE ARCHER STRATEGY

 

NARRATOR  Lord Fauconberg now proposes what will become one of the most celebrated tactical moves in the entire Wars of the Roses. His plan exploits the wind and the psychology of battle. In the language of modern military science, we would call it an asymmetric engagement — using terrain and environment to neutralize the enemy's numerical advantage. Listen carefully. This moment will be studied by historians for six hundred years.

 

LORD FAUCONBERG  Here is what I propose. At dawn, before the main lines engage, I advance our archers to maximum range — roughly three hundred and fifty yards from their front line. We loose one full volley. Then we step back. Thirty, forty yards.

 

MOWBRAY  We retreat before we've exchanged ten blows?

 

LORD FAUCONBERG  We invite their reply. Their commanders will see our volley land. They will order their own archers to return fire. But here is the mathematics of the wind, Norfolk: their arrows, shot into the gale, will fall thirty to forty yards short of where our men stood — exactly where they no longer are. Their arrows are wasted in empty snow.

 

KING EDWARD IV  And then?

 

LORD FAUCONBERG  And then our men advance again, now into the range of their spent arrows — arrows we collect from the ground and shoot back at them. We have essentially doubled our supply and left theirs depleted. When their infantry advances to close the distance, they will walk into a storm of their own arrows coming back at them from well-rested bowmen.

 

WARWICK  It is elegantly brutal. I endorse it.

 

HERALD  Your Grace — a question from a young man who has never studied war. If their archers run out of arrows... will they not then simply charge us with men-at-arms?

 

LORD FAUCONBERG  That is exactly what they will do, boy. And that is where the second piece of the plan takes hold.

 

KING EDWARD IV  Speak to it, Cousin Warwick.

 

WARWICK  Our line holds in three divisions. I command the center. Norfolk, you hold the right. Fauconberg, after the archer exchange, you fold your bowmen back and hold the left. When their line advances across that plateau, they advance uphill — or at best on level ground — into our formation. We hold. We do not break. We absorb their charge, and we hold.

 

MOWBRAY  And if they do not break? They have ten thousand more men. If this becomes a grinding engagement of man against man, sheer weight of numbers grinds us down over hours.

 

WARWICK  Then Norfolk's arrival — which they may not fully account for — becomes decisive. Your men arrive on the right at the critical moment, Norfolk. Fresh troops, crashing into their left flank when it is already committed forward. 

MOWBRAY  A hammer and anvil. We are the anvil. I am the hammer. 

KING EDWARD IV  Elegantly put, Norfolk. 

ACT THREE: THE ORDER OF NO QUARTER

 NARRATOR  What follows is historically one of the most morally significant moments of the Wars of the Roses. In standard medieval practice, noble prisoners were taken alive and ransomed — it was profitable and considered honorable. Edward IV is about to break that tradition in the most dramatic way. Students should pay careful attention to the arguments made both for and against this order, and consider: what does this decision reveal about the nature of this conflict?

 

SIR ROBERT HORNE  There is one matter, Your Grace, that the men are also speaking of. The order. Whether you will give it.

 

KING EDWARD IV  I have thought of little else.

 

CHAPLAIN BENEDICT  My lord king — I must speak. As your chaplain, as a servant of God and of your soul: mercy toward a defeated enemy is not merely sentiment. It is Christian doctrine. It is what separates war from slaughter.

 

WARWICK  With great respect to the cloth, Father Benedict — we have been fighting this war for six years. We took prisoners at St Albans. We ransomed nobles at Northampton. And still the Lancastrian leadership survives, regroups, returns. Every lord we spare today rides north, finds Margaret's gold, raises another army, and we do this again in two years. And two years after that.

 

CHAPLAIN BENEDICT  So the answer is slaughter?

 

WARWICK  The answer is finality.

 

SIR ROBERT HORNE  My lord — I think of the common soldiers. My men. Men who followed this banner from London, who left farms and families. The Lancastrian footsoldier is not Henry VI. He is not Margaret of Anjou. He is a man like mine, following lords he was born to follow. The nobles who gave this order will not remember his name. I find I am troubled by this.

 

KING EDWARD IV  You are a good man, Sir Robert. And you ask the question I have asked myself at midnight. But hear me. My father's head hangs on the gates of York right now — placed there by Margaret's order. There was no mercy there. My father died at Wakefield because he believed in the honorable rules of war. He believed his enemy would honor a truce. He was wrong. The Wars of the Roses are not a tournament. They do not end with a handshake. They end when one house is unable to continue. I will not leave this field to refight it in three years.

 

CHAPLAIN BENEDICT  Then God forgive what we are about to do.

 

KING EDWARD IV  God can judge it. I am responsible for England. The order stands. No quarter — for the lords who have taken arms against the crown. For the common soldiers — those who throw down their weapons and kneel will be spared. I am not a monster. But I will not be merciful to men who made my father a warning posted above a city gate.

 

[A long silence. Warwick nods slowly. Mowbray looks at the floor. Sir Robert crosses himself. Chaplain Benedict bows his head.]

 

 

 

ACT FOUR: EVE OF BATTLE

 

HERALD  Your Grace — the scouts report a final matter. The Lancastrian lines are fully formed. They have cavalry on both flanks, though the terrain limits their use. Somerset has placed his personal banner in the center. He intends this to be his battle.

 

WARWICK  Good. Let him. A commander who fights for personal glory makes predictable choices.

 

LORD FAUCONBERG  One danger: the Cock Beck. It runs along our left flank and curves behind the Lancastrian position. If their line breaks and retreats north, they run toward it. The banks are steep after winter rains. Men in armor and in panic will not swim it.

 

WARWICK  Nature does some of our work for us.

 

MOWBRAY  I have commanded men in retreat before. There is no cruelty in terrain. It simply is.

 

KING EDWARD IV  I have one instruction for every man in this tent and every man under his command. Tomorrow we fight as one body. Not as Nevilles, not as Mowbrays, not as Yorkists who feuded with each other last year. One body. One king. One England. When Fauconberg's arrows fly, every man on this field must understand his role without being told twice. We have one chance to make this kingdom whole. I will not waste it.

 

SIR ROBERT HORNE  Your Grace — I ask one thing.

 

KING EDWARD IV  Ask it.

 

SIR ROBERT HORNE  That you walk among us tonight. Not as a king. As a soldier. That the men see your face by firelight, not a crown.

 

KING EDWARD IV  I had already planned it. Thomas — my plain cloak. Not the royal surcoat.

 

HERALD  Yes, Your Grace.

 

CHAPLAIN BENEDICT  Before you go, my lord — will you pray with me? Not for victory. Simply... to remember that tomorrow's dead have names.

 

[Edward pauses. For a moment, the young king is visible beneath the crown — a nineteen-year-old, about to determine the fate of a nation. He kneels beside the Chaplain.]

 

KING EDWARD IV  Yes, Father. Let us remember their names.

 

NARRATOR  The following morning — Palm Sunday, 29 March 1461 — the snow fell sideways across the Towton plateau. Lord Fauconberg ordered his archers forward exactly as planned. The wind carried Yorkist arrows deep into the Lancastrian line. The Lancastrian return volley fell short, into empty snow. For hours, the two armies ground against each other in one of the most brutal engagements in English history. Then — late in the afternoon — the Duke of Norfolk's fresh troops arrived on the right. The Lancastrian flank collapsed. The retreat became a rout. Hundreds drowned in the Cock Beck. Thousands died on the field now called Bloody Meadow. Edward IV had won his crown. The Wars of the Roses were not over — but they would never be quite the same again.

 

 

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS — SCRIPT ONE

1. Tactical Analysis: Lord Fauconberg's arrow strategy exploited wind and psychology. What made it so effective? Can you think of a modern military or sports equivalent — using environment rather than raw strength?

 

2. Leadership: Edward IV was only 19 when he fought at Towton. What leadership qualities does he demonstrate in this scene? What vulnerabilities? How do the older lords — Warwick, Fauconberg — support or complicate his authority?

 

3. The "No Quarter" Order: Chaplain Benedict and Sir Robert Horne both object to the order, in different ways. Warwick argues it is necessary for "finality." Who do you find most persuasive? Is there a difference between Warwick's argument and Edward's argument?

 

4. Common Soldiers: Sir Robert Horne speaks for the ordinary soldiers. How does his perspective differ from the lords? Why might a historian argue that the common soldier's experience is as important as the commander's strategy?

 

5. Connection to A Song of Ice and Fire: George R.R. Martin based the Red Wedding partly on Towton's "no quarter" atmosphere and betrayed trust. Can you identify which scenes or characters in Game of Thrones most directly echo what happens in this script?

 

READERS THEATER — THE WARS OF THE ROSES

 

SCRIPT TWO: THE RED ROSE COUNCIL

House of Lancaster — Eve of the Battle of Towton, 28 March 1461

 

 

 

EDUCATOR NOTES

Grade Level: High School (Grades 9–12) and College Introductory History Courses

Subject: English/British History, Medieval Warfare, Political Science, Literature

Running Time: Approximately 35–45 minutes for reading; 15–20 minutes for discussion

Companion Script: This script should be paired with Script One: The White Rose Council (House of York) for a complete lesson.

 

CAST OF CHARACTERS (8 roles, can double up to 5):

NARRATOR — Historical guide; sets scenes and provides context

QUEEN MARGARET OF ANJOU — French-born Lancastrian queen; the dominant strategic mind; passionate and relentless

HENRY BEAUFORT, Duke of Somerset — Senior Lancastrian military commander; aristocratic and proud

HENRY PERCY, Earl of Northumberland — Northern lord; commands the left flank; politically cautious

LORD JOHN CLIFFORD — Fierce and vengeful Lancastrian lord, famous for the "Butcher of Wakefield" reputation

KING HENRY VI — Pious, gentle, mentally fragile; the figurehead king whose presence inspires loyalty but whose will is uncertain

LADY ANNE EXETER — Noblewoman; voice of political calculation and concern for what comes after

HERALD (William) — Young messenger; brings intelligence reports from scouts

 

 

 

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND — FOR THE NARRATOR

The following background should be read or summarized by the Narrator before the drama begins. This background is identical to Script One in historical content but written from the Lancastrian perspective and emphasis.

 

THE LANCASTRIAN CAUSE

The House of Lancaster descended from John of Gaunt, son of King Edward III. Their claim to the throne was strong — they had ruled England since Henry IV seized the crown in 1399. Henry V, Henry VI's father, was one of England's greatest warrior-kings. The Lancastrian dynasty was not a weak or illegitimate one. It was, however, a dynasty that had inherited a mentally unstable king in Henry VI, and that vulnerability had allowed the House of York — and specifically Richard, Duke of York — to claim the throne.

 

QUEEN MARGARET OF ANJOU

Margaret of Anjou is one of the most remarkable figures of the 15th century and one of the most underappreciated in popular history. A French princess who married Henry VI at the age of 15, she quickly discovered that her husband was incapable of the vigorous leadership a medieval king required. She filled the gap herself. When the Yorkists took Henry captive, she organized armies, negotiated alliances with France and Scotland, led troops into battle, and kept the Lancastrian cause alive through sheer will for years after most would have surrendered. Historians debate whether she was ruthless or simply resolute. Her enemies called her cruel. Her supporters called her the only true man on the Lancastrian side. She is widely acknowledged as a model for Shakespeare's portrayal of strong-willed women — and an inspiration for George R.R. Martin's Cersei Lannister.

 

THE LANCASTRIAN ADVANTAGE — AND THE FATAL MISTAKE

Going into Towton, the Lancastrians held significant advantages: superior numbers, an established defensive position on high ground north of the Cock Beck, and the legitimacy of a reigning king — Henry VI — whose banner still inspired loyalty from the northern lords. The Duke of Somerset was a capable commander. The Earl of Northumberland commanded the left flank with experienced cavalry.

 

Their critical error — debated by historians for centuries — appears to have been tactical overconfidence combined with failure to fully account for the wind. They held their position and responded to the Yorkist opening archer volley as any commander would have done — with return fire. But the wind made their return fire nearly useless, while exhausting their arrow supplies. By the time the ground battle began, their archers had spent their ammunition on empty field.

 

A BATTLE WITHOUT THE KING

In a poignant historical footnote, King Henry VI did not fight at Towton. His mental and physical fragility made him a liability on the battlefield. He was present in the nearby town of York, reportedly praying. His absence from the field — while his queen organized the defense — speaks volumes about the nature of Lancastrian leadership. The dynasty's greatest strength was Margaret; its greatest vulnerability was the king she served.

 

 

 

THE DRAMA

SETTING

The command tent of Queen Margaret of Anjou, near the village of Tadcaster, Yorkshire, approximately two miles from the Yorkist lines. The same night — 28 March 1461. The Lancastrian army is vast: its campfires stretch to the horizon. But within the command tent, a different kind of tension exists — one of pride, disagreement, and the first stirrings of doubt. Margaret stands at the war table. Somerset paces. Northumberland sits heavily. Clifford sharpens a knife. Lady Anne Exeter watches everyone. Through the tent's rear entrance, King Henry can be heard faintly, praying.

 

 

 

ACT ONE: THE POSITION

 

NARRATOR  It is the night before Towton. The Lancastrian army, perhaps the largest force ever assembled in England, holds its position on the plateau north of the Cock Beck. Queen Margaret of Anjou, who has no official military title but absolute practical authority, convenes her war council. Thirty thousand men sleep outside this tent. Tomorrow they will either end the Wars of the Roses — or lose them. And not everyone in this tent agrees on how to proceed.

 

[Queen Margaret stands over the map, her finger tracing the Cock Beck's curve. She does not look up when the lords enter.]

 

MARGARET  Gentlemen. Sit or stand, as you prefer. We have perhaps six hours before this night ends and another begins that will be much louder.

 

SOMERSET  The position is strong, Your Grace. Our right holds the ridge line. Northumberland's cavalry on the left can sweep their flank if they overextend. We outnumber them by — by a great deal. The boy-king's army is smaller, tired from the march, and they lost men at Ferrybridge yesterday.

 

NORTHUMBERLAND  Ferrybridge was a skirmish. It blooded them; it did not break them. And I would be careful, Somerset, about counting casualties we have not seen and numbers we cannot confirm.

 

MARGARET  Northumberland speaks sense. What do our scouts say, William?

 

HERALD  Your Grace — scouts returned two hours ago. The Yorkist force is encamped south of the plateau. We count fires consistent with twenty to twenty-five thousand men. However — there are reports of additional movement on the southern roads. It is possible Norfolk has not yet fully joined with Edward's main force.

 

CLIFFORD  Norfolk's men are tired and strung out along a road in the snow. They are not a factor tomorrow. Let them arrive to find their king already dead.

 

LADY ANNE  Lord Clifford's confidence is noted. I would ask that it also be examined. We have been confident before. We were confident at Northampton. We were confident that York would never dare move on London.

 

CLIFFORD  We won St Albans. Margaret won St Albans. We took Henry back from their hands.

 

LADY ANNE  We won St Albans and lost London within a fortnight. Confidence is not strategy, my lord.

 

MARGARET  Enough. Lady Anne is right to name the danger, and Clifford is right that St Albans was a victory. Both things are true. The question before us tonight is not whether we can win tomorrow — we can. The question is whether we are planning to win, or merely expecting to.

 

 

 

ACT TWO: THE TACTICAL DEBATE

 

NARRATOR  The core of the Lancastrian failure at Towton involved a decision that historians have dissected for centuries: how to use their numerical superiority, their archers, and their cavalry. The tactical debate you are about to witness reflects the real choices Lancastrian commanders faced. As you listen, consider: were they undone by bad decisions, by circumstances they could not foresee, or by a combination of both?

 

SOMERSET  My plan is simple and proven. We hold the ridge. We do not descend to meet them. They must come uphill across open ground to reach us — and while they do, our archers pick them apart. By the time they reach our line they are broken. We do not need to be clever. We need to be patient.

 

NORTHUMBERLAND  The ridge plan has merit. But I have a concern about the wind. It blows from the south this season, and tonight it is already brisk. By morning, if it does not shift —

 

SOMERSET  Every soldier knows wind is fickle. It may shift by morning. And even if it does not, a strong bow at this elevation still carries three hundred yards. The wind will not render our archers useless.

 

MARGARET  I want specifics, not reassurances. How does the wind affect arrow range and accuracy?

 

NORTHUMBERLAND  At full gale, from the south — as it was yesterday — a longbow arrow shooting north loses perhaps a third of its range. Accuracy suffers further. We would still cause casualties, but the Yorkist bowmen, with the wind at their backs, would outrange us significantly. If they are clever, they will step to maximum range, shoot, and step back before we can reply effectively.

 

CLIFFORD  Then we do not wait for their archers to exhaust themselves. We advance. We close the distance before they can exploit the wind. We take it from them as a factor entirely by getting within sword range.

 

MARGARET  And abandon the ridge? Advance thirty thousand men downhill in the dark and the snow, and meet them on open ground of their choosing?

 

CLIFFORD  Not in the dark. At dawn. Fast and hard.

 

LADY ANNE  I am not a soldier. I will ask the question a woman sees that soldiers sometimes do not. If we advance and their line holds — if they absorb our charge — what is behind us?

 

[A pause. Northumberland looks at the map.]

 

NORTHUMBERLAND  The Cock Beck. And in winter rains, the banks are — not favorable for retreat.

 

MARGARET  So if Clifford's advance fails, thirty thousand men retreat into a flooded river.

 

CLIFFORD  It will not fail.

 

MARGARET  That is not a plan, John. That is faith. And faith may serve us in prayer, but on a battle map, it is a word that gets men drowned.

 

 

 

ACT THREE: THE WEIGHT OF THE CROWN

 

NARRATOR  At this moment in the Lancastrian council, something extraordinary occurs. King Henry VI himself enters the command tent. Historians record that Henry was not physically present at Towton — he remained in York. But in this dramatized scene, we imagine what might have been said if he had been present at the council. This scene is speculative, but the sentiments expressed reflect documented historical positions. Note how the question of legitimate authority — who truly leads — is at the heart of the Lancastrian tragedy.

 

[The tent flap opens. King Henry VI enters slowly, in simple clothing, clutching a rosary. The lords rise. Margaret's expression is complex — love, protectiveness, sorrow, and something like impatience.]

 

HENRY VI  My lords. My lady. Forgive me. I could not sleep, and I heard your voices. I thought — perhaps I should hear what is planned for tomorrow. For... for my kingdom.

 

SOMERSET  Your Grace, you should rest. The strategy is well in hand.

 

HENRY VI  Somerset — how many men do we face tomorrow?

 

SOMERSET  Perhaps twenty thousand, Your Grace. We hold the advantage.

 

HENRY VI  And how many will die? On both sides?

 

[Silence.]

 

MARGARET  Henry —

 

HENRY VI  I know the answer. I know that many thousands of Englishmen will die tomorrow. On the field of Towton, in the snow, on Palm Sunday — the holiest week of the Christian year. I am told God favors our cause. I find... I find that an increasingly difficult claim to make.

 

CLIFFORD  Your Grace — these men took your crown. They killed your father's allies. They killed —

 

HENRY VI  I know what they have done, Clifford. I also know what we have done. The heads on York's gates — was that necessary? Was it righteous? My father's body lies unavenged, they say. And so we pile more bodies upon it. When does it end?

 

MARGARET  It ends when Edward of York no longer sits on your throne. That is when it ends.

 

HENRY VI  Or when we are destroyed. Is that not equally possible?

 

MARGARET  Not if we win tomorrow.

 

HENRY VI  And if we do not?

 

[Margaret and Henry look at each other across the war table — across years of marriage, tragedy, and the impossible situation of a strong woman bound to a gentle king.]

 

MARGARET  Then I will not stop. I will go to Scotland. I will go to France. I will find another army. I will find a way. Our son will have his father's crown, Henry. I swear it.

 

HENRY VI  You are more king than I have ever been, Margaret. I know that. I have always known it.

 

MARGARET  Then let me be king. Go back to your prayers. Let me save your throne.

 

[Henry bows his head. He places the rosary on the war table — a quiet, broken gesture. Then he turns and leaves. The lords watch. No one speaks for a moment.]

 

LADY ANNE  He is right, you know. About the question.

 

MARGARET  He is often right about the questions. He is simply unable to provide the answers. That is why we are here. That is why we will fight tomorrow. Now — back to the wind, and the archers, and the Cock Beck. We have a battle to plan.

 

 

 

ACT FOUR: THE FINAL ORDERS

 

MARGARET  Here is my decision. We do not descend the ridge to meet them. Somerset, your instinct to hold is correct. But Northumberland — the wind is your responsibility. I want scouts watching the direction every hour. If by dawn the wind has shifted or calmed, we fight as Somerset plans. If the wind holds from the south at dawn —

 

NORTHUMBERLAND  Your Grace?

 

MARGARET  If the wind holds from the south, our archers do not engage in a long-range exchange. They hold their volley until the Yorkists advance within two hundred yards. Then we loose — close range, maximum damage, minimal wind effect. We sacrifice range advantage but preserve our arrows and our accuracy.

 

SOMERSET  That means absorbing whatever they send at us during the approach.

 

MARGARET  Yes. It does. Our men hold. They hold and they let the Yorkists feel confidence for a few minutes, and then when they are within range, we answer them.

 

CLIFFORD  And the cavalry?

 

MARGARET  Northumberland's cavalry holds on the left until the Yorkist right commits. If Norfolk's men arrive, Northumberland sweeps their flank before they can establish position. If Norfolk's men do not arrive in time — we do not need the cavalry at all. The ridge holds, the arrows fly, and the center grinds them down.

 

NORTHUMBERLAND  And if the center does not hold?

 

MARGARET  Then God help us all. But I believe it will hold. I believe in these men. I believe in you. Somerset — you have your orders. Clifford — your men anchor the right, no impetuous advances without my signal. Everyone returns to their commands now. Before dawn, I will ride along the line myself.

 

LADY ANNE  Your Grace — the men will see you. It will matter enormously.

 

MARGARET  It is the least I can give them. They are giving their lives. I can give them an hour on horseback in the cold.

 

[The lords begin to leave. Margaret remains at the war table, alone now, looking at the map. She places her hand on the position of the Cock Beck.]

 

HERALD  Your Grace — shall I bring anything?

 

MARGARET  No, William. Leave me. I need... a moment of silence. Tomorrow there will be no silence at all.

 

[The Herald withdraws. Margaret stands alone. Outside, distant and faint, a voice begins a psalm — one of the Lancastrian soldiers, singing in the dark.]

 

NARRATOR  The wind did not shift. On the morning of Palm Sunday, 1461, it blew from the south with bitter force, carrying snow directly into the faces of thirty thousand Lancastrian soldiers. The Yorkist archers, commanded by Lord Fauconberg, executed their plan with devastating precision. The Lancastrian return volleys fell short. As the armies locked in brutal hand-to-hand combat, the Duke of Norfolk's fresh Yorkist troops arrived on the right — exactly the reinforcement Margaret had tried to account for, arriving at exactly the worst moment. The Lancastrian left collapsed. The retreat toward the Cock Beck became a catastrophe: hundreds drowned, hundreds more were cut down under Edward's order of no quarter. Somerset survived and fled north. Northumberland died on the field. Clifford had been killed the day before at Ferrybridge. Margaret and Henry fled to Scotland. Margaret spent the next decade fighting — just as she had promised — to restore the Lancastrian crown. She would not succeed.

 

 

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS — SCRIPT TWO

1. Leadership Under Constraint: Margaret of Anjou was the real military and political leader of the Lancastrian cause, but she held no formal title of authority. How did she exercise leadership? What obstacles did her gender create in a 15th-century military context? How does she work around them?

 

2. The Tragic King: Henry VI is depicted as gentle, pious, and morally sensitive — but ineffective as a wartime king. Is he a sympathetic figure? How does his presence in the tent affect the other characters? Is it possible to be a good person and a bad ruler simultaneously?

 

3. Strategic Analysis: Margaret's revised plan — hold volleys until close range — is historically defensible. What went wrong? Was it bad luck, bad decisions, or factors beyond any commander's control? Could the Lancastrians have won at Towton?

 

4. Lady Anne as Outsider: Lady Anne Exeter asks questions the lords dismiss or overlook, including the critical question about what lies behind the army if they advance. Why might the lords have difficulty hearing her? What does her role in this council reveal about who gets heard in high-stakes decisions?

 

5. Comparing the Two Councils: Having now read both scripts — York and Lancaster — what structural similarities do you notice in how each side planned? What crucial differences? Which council do you think made better decisions, and which made decisions that were doomed by circumstances they could not control?

 

6. The Cersei / Margaret Connection: George R.R. Martin has acknowledged Margaret of Anjou as a partial inspiration for Cersei Lannister. Identify three specific qualities or situations in this script that mirror Cersei's characterization in Game of Thrones or A Song of Ice and Fire.