Wales and the Crisis of the Lancastrian Monarchy

Despite the historiographical consensus of the last fifty years, neither the stimulus of disorder in Wales nor Welsh resources were of great importance in the crisis experienced by the Lancastrian monarchy in 1456–9. Re-examination of key episodes, such as the raid by Sir William Herbert and Sir Walter Devereux on Aberystwyth and Carmarthen, does not support the suggestion that they were a trigger to decisive actions in the period. In particular, the decision of the Lancastrian court to leave London and establish itself in the English Midlands is here attributed primarily to disorder in the capital and the threat of war with Scotland.