THE HOUSES OF LANCASTER AND YORK

1 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER IS OLDER THAN YORK

The house of Lancaster was founded in 1267, almost 200 years before the Wars of the Roses began. King Henry III created the earldom of Lancaster for his second son, Edmund Crouchback, who was also Earl of Leicester and held the lands of Derby, too. In turn, Edmund’s son, Thomas, picked up the titles of the Earl of Lincoln and Salisbury through marriage, making him one of the most powerful noblemen in England.

The house of York was more than a century younger than Lancaster, being established in 1385 when Richard II created the dukedom of York for his uncle, Edmund of Langley. Edmund’s son, Edward, died at Agincourt without an heir,