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Why did fighting break out in 1455?

'The immediate factors or events that turned the possibility of conflict into a reality' Henry’s illness 1453-1454 Mutual fear 1455

'The factors that made conflict more likely but still not certain' Enmity between York and Somerset Public opinion Henry’s recovery

'The factors that created the possibility of conflict' Henry VI’s failure Feuds between nobles

Evidence to support the hypothesis
The immediate factors or events that turned the possibility of conflict into a reality

Henrys illness 1453-1454; Henry’s illness left space for a large power vacuum. The country needed rule desperately but those who were due to step in spent time arguing amongst themselves over who should be in charge during the king’s absence. This led to tension between the nobles, the more powerful vying for the chief position amongst themselves, and the less powerful watching from the sidelines, nervous of who to take alliance with. Mutual fear 1455; I believe that the key aspect that could have driven both opposing sides to war was the fact that were were genuinely fearful of each other. Both were well aware of the fact that the other side had military power available that could be brought to bear against them. This meant that the tensions continued to increase between both sides as both continued to make ready against the other, and a vicious circle of increased rhetoric and preparedness continued until it reached breaking point.

The factors that made conflict more likely but still not certain Enmity between York and Somerset; What began as a noble court feud advanced into a full scale confrontation. This personal distaste between York and Somerset began to influence how they both felt to extend their political feud into a sizeable military one. Public opinion; The general population each had their own standpoints. Most probably disliked both as many members of the nobility were accused of some crime against the people by the people. However, most opinions were probably swayed by where you lived, and how popular that faction was in the area. The difference is that public opinion is one of the reasons why conflict was pushed, as the government was being pushed to act to essentially save the country. Unfortunately, these people were also swayed by propaganda against whichever was the chosen opponent, and many therefore fought for the individual factions out of a lack of knowledge of the other. Henry's recovery; This presented a problem because now the original and undeniably rightful ruler was 'back in the game' as such. This meant that none of the positions of power or out of power acquired by any party were once again, more fluid and open to change. This pushed war because each faction needed to solidify it's power in the face of a changing situation.

The factors that created the possibility of conflict Henry VI's failures; Henry's failures constituted the state that the country ended up in. This is important because it demonstrated his inability to run the country itself. However, the key aspect of this is that the situation allowed the nobility their increased power, proved in evidence simply by the fact that the nobles had so much control over daily life in 1455.

In summary, I believe that these points fit the areas that they are factored into because all of them still have a relevance into why the war began. The most important factor is the mutual, deep fear that was engrained into the two opposing factions. Both knew that the situation would most likely at one point require bloodshed to occur for one faction to take power. This meant that though both conspired for war, it is likely that neither wanted to make the first act of aggression, as the other would obviously retaliate. The small skirmishing that took place before the war began in full swing was pushing ever more to a full-scale conflict, however much the two sides wanted to avoid it. Both needed a military to protect themselves from the other faction, but both wanted to fill the power vacuum left in Henry's place. At the same time, the two sides were both fearful of the power of the other, and smaller noble groups were also placed in a difficult political position, as they needed to support one or the other faction to ensure their own survival. Just as important is the fact that Henry's previously failures allowed for the situation from beforehand to occur. The fact that the situation arose to start with is down to the nobility being able to come to so much an increase in their governing power, and this only happened because the king himself simply could not keep control. Were he able to keep control in the first place, there would be no power vacuum, keeping these the most important catalysts for the beginning off

The Harriss Theory

My understanding of the Harriss opinion is that he believes York almost needed to step in, in the eyes of the people. He believes that this is because the revolt caused total chaos in the country. With a King in a situation that meant he struggled to maintain any order at the best of times, the revolt seriously tipped this over the edge. For example, he discusses private revenge, and the manner that people could simply pursue anything they wanted or needed, or whoever they held in anger. He suggests that York was viewed as almost a people's champion. As known commonly, we are aware that York held much of the public opinion in his good stead. After the revolt, he was almost seen as the Warrior of the common men, needed to come and restore order and safety to the country after the revolt had caused all of this anarchy. I think he also thinks that the King himself was totally incapable of being in charge, and restoring order was almost an impossible task under the current ruling. But, it doesn't seem as if he blames the King to such a great extent, he almost decides that the King was innately stuck in a situation that meant he could not hold control over the problems occuring within his own country. He believes that though it may not have totally been his fault, it was certainly his problem. He believes that the prospect of York being so popular with the people makes it totally valid for the King to have been fearful of the Duke. However, he also says that the arrival of York may not have helped in the long term due to his rocky relation with the nobility. This is because the relationship with the nobility and the key members of the noble council was absoloutely key to stability in the country at the time. This may have meant that had the KIng been able to keep control, he would have been able to solve the problem. However, due to the lack of a decent ruler, York may have felt like he almost had to step in.

Though my opinions have not changed that much over the course of the article, it is interesting to see that York's own opinions could have held influence over his decisions to act and when, and on that note, what course of action he should take. It is interesting also to see how the public opinion could have prompted the change in noblee standing as the people rose up against the King, who himself does not have much of a bearing on the decisions made at the time.