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
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
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 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.
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
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.
