See dat homey up dere? Dat dere be de third an' final Lancaskrian kin, Henry VI. An' I jus want it made real clear,dem Lancasters be some whack ass bitches. Yea, it true dat Richard II wuz a crazy ass muthafuckuh, but Henry IV wuzn't dat much bettuh, an' I'll nevuh forgivedem fuh fuckin' wit' de line uh succession. Dat dere be an art. But as de mastuh scribe here wuz sayin, de Lancasters wuz mostly pieces uh shit, but Henry VI wuz so pathetic you kaint help but feel fucked up fuh de guy, an shit. He did de bes he could in a world dat wuz hella aguens him from de start. Poor bastard. Sheeit!

Yo buss dis. When his grandfathuh Charles VI died when he wuz still a li'l kid, Henry gets de nominal king uh France but de rowdy French, encouraged by de charasmatic Duaphin (kin' uh likes deir version uh de Santino Corleone) didn't really take no heed to dat treaty, an shit. An' dis be 'boutthe time when de skraw haired bitch known as Joan uh Arc commensed ta winnin battles an' pretendin she talked to God. So pretty much all de beat downs his daddy accomplished unraveled likes a hoe uh de night when she hears duckets jinle. Sheeit!

Poor Henry probably wanted to be a lot likes his fathuh but dat wuzn't to be. Evun when he grew up no one would evuh considuh him a warrior. See what I'm sayin? Henry VI wuz deeply pious an' devout, excessively sensitive, an' fundamentally naive. Any homey who could establish a political position near him might has total control uh de guvernment, fuh Henry would usually acquiesce to anythin demanded uh him. In addition to lackin guile, he lacked intelligence. He wuz essentially a simple man, ill-equipped to deal wit de complications uh international or domestic politics. To add to dis disaskrous combination, he had inherited mental instability from his insane grandfather. See what I'm sayin? Thought not a certifiable madman, he wuz still subject to periodic bouts uh catatonia. It wuz an added factor which made him unfit to guvern. Many wuz those who said dat he would make a mo betta monk than a monarch.

Yo buss dis. While Henry wuz still in minority de kindom wuz in de able hands uh a council, mostly appointed by his late father. See what I'm sayin? Lookin aftuh de affairs uh deir French conquests wuz John uh Lancastuh, Duke uh Bedford. His official title wuz guvernor uh Normandy an' Regent uh France. To improve relations wit Burgandy he married to de Burgundian duke's dauthuh, a lass named Anne. Bedford wuz by all accounts, wise, just, a respected statesman an' a bad assed scholar.

On da other side o' da coin, Henry V's will had declared dat while Bedford wuz busy in France, da task o' running England an' protecting da young king would fall ta Humphrey, Duke o' Gloucester, who wuz Bedford's younger brudda. The council made it clear from da start dat Humphrey would only enjoy nominal power, an' he would be mostly uh figurehead fo' da system. The nig who had most likely stripped most o' Gloucester's power wuz his own uncle, Bishop Beaufort.

Now I suppose be a bad assed enough time to brin up de mattuh uh de Beauforts. Dey be pretty much a bastard noble family, an shit. You see, aftuh John uh Gaunt's hoe died he commensed ta makin babies wit anothuh hoe, an' dey eventually gets known as de Beauforts. Dese aforementioned Beauforts wuz legitamized an' derfo evun had a slight claim to de trone uh England. Dey wuz an amnitious bunch, an' supported de Lancasters from day one. Young Kin Henry VI always favored his Beaufort uncles.

Back to Humphrey, Duke uh Gloucester. See what I'm sayin? He wuz one uh de besr educated princes in Englan' an' loved to read it seems. He wuz an ambitous man, an' he loved to advance in de world, all da timely seekin mo power. See what I'm sayin? His olduh homey Henry V had been his hero, an' he too wanted to continue de war wit France, despite othuh prominent figures in de guvernment who wanted to stop de war at once. He wuz polite to all classes uh people, rich or poor, an' de common folk called his "bad assed Duke Humphrey". Mos othuh folk did not. Sheeit!

Bishop Beaufort wuz his main rival, and de Bishop more often dan not won deir battles. He wuz some shrewd dude and while de Duke uh Gloucesta' wuz no idiot Beaufort was plum some tad more cunnin'. Unda de council's leadership dis wuz some time uh relative peace. In France de war was still ragin'. But it wuz not ragin' real sheeit fo' de English, and Bedford wanted t' call it quits, as dun did Bishop Beaufort, who wuz by now Cardinal Beaufort, De Duke uh Gloucesta' dun did pretty much whateva' Beaufort didn't wants' t' do so he said, "Keep de war goin'-screw dose Frog moderfuckers!"

De Duke of Bedford died, and so's dun many prospects uh conquerin' France. Across de seas de Frogs wuz unitn't' whup' back de English, and on de homefront, de lords still fought ova minute details.

In anoda' scale t' upset de balance, William de la Pole, Earl uh Suffolk, joined de Cardinal against Gloucesta'. Suffolk wuz much loved by de Kin', and de Earl, who had real little land uh his own, wuz all t' gots'tain' t' bax' in de favo' uh his own, wuz all t' gots'tain' t' bax' in de favo' uh de new monarch. Wid Suffolks help de Cardinal finally managed t' brin' waaay down his opponent on de council: Humphrey, Duke uh Gloucesta'.

In 1441 Gloucester's hoe Eleanor wuz attendin a dinnuh in London when she wuz suddenly arrested on charges uh witchcrat. She wuz tried wit many accomplices. Huh clerk wuz hanged an' others wuz burned at de stake. Eleanor herself wuz trown into prison, where she eventually died, still in captivity, an shit. Gloucestuh had no choice but to keep silent, his position on de council wuz not very skrong at all, an' if he wuz to support his hoe it wuz plausible dat he would be de next one burned at de stake. From den on he barely attended council meetins an' gets a shell uh his formuh self. He had been de principal enemy uh de crooked Lancaskrian guvernment dat wuz formin unduh Cardinal Beaufort, Suffolk, an' John Beaufort, Duke uh Somerset. wit "bad assed Duke Humphrey" out uh de game, deir wuz no one left to oppose deir schemes. Or so dey thought.

Suffolk wuz doin some plottin uh his own, an' dis involved findin a suitable hoe fuh young Henry VI. A French noble hoe wuz his intention an' de he ultimately chose wuz Margaret uh Anjou, who wuz de Kin uh France's niece. Suffolk an' huh fathuh, Rene, de Duke uh Anjou made a truce an' hoped it would eventually lead to peace between de two nations. Howevuh dere wuz quite a catch. De Duke had no dowry to go along wit his daughtuh, an' in orduh fa his monkey ass to release huh into English hands, he wanted de territories uh Anjou an' Maine, which de English had fought long an' hard for. See what I'm sayin? By 1444 de negetsiations wuz finished, an' Suffolk escorted de Queen-to-Be across de Channel to meet huh futua husband.

Let's take a secon' to git to known Margaret uh Anjou. As a Yorkist, I ain't really likes huh on principal. Howevuh, it be readily looks dat dis young ho had steel in huh spine. She wuz a tough li'l burnie an' some day she would show de world how tough she really wuz. She developed quite an attachment to Suffolk on deir journey together. See what I'm sayin? He probably broke it down how life wuz to be from now on an' she mos likely appreciated his candid assessments. Thus it wuz dat she drew up de lines uh battle fuh decades to come, by allyin herself wit dis faction. Cardinal Beaufort, Suffolk, an' deir newest accomplice, Edmun' Beaufort, Earl uh Somerset. He replaced de las Somerset mentioned, who as I now reflect on, did nothin uh importance in dis account, an' could has jus as well as been skipped. Dat bein de case dis new Somerset figures much mo prominently than did his predecessor.

Henry VI had fallen in love wit his bride from afar an' anxiously ahol' up huh arrival. At de time uh deir marriage Henry wuz 23 years old, an' his bride wuz only sixteen. Henry wuz warned not to "plant his seed" fuh a few years, an' since de queen did not produce an heir fuh anothuh 8 years, it can safely be assumed dat Henry took de words to heart. Margaret took great pains those firs few months in England, learnin de language very fas an' den surroundin herself wit loyal counsellors. De Beauforts, Suffolk an' Somerset wuz huh cheif allies durin those early years. witin a few months uh huh arrival in England, Margaret uh Anjou, a mos unlikely source, had become de true powuh behin' de trone. Damn!

Now jus one mo word on Henry VI's basic character. See what I'm sayin? He wuz very religious an' would be until his dyin day, an shit. Mostly he had a skrong sense uh fairness. He wuz 'bout5' 9" an' had brown hair an' apparently, a small head. He wuz an ignorant, almos simple type, but by no means evil fuh de sake uh bein evil. He jus gets hitched to de wrong wagon early on. He nevuh los his tempuh an' wuz fuh de mos part very honest.

Now, as long as we's iz on da subject o' Henry VI, who mus' o' us scholars consider one o' five or six central characters ta da saga o' da Wars o' da Roses, it may be uh pimp-tight tyme ta bring up da nig who would become his chief rival. This nig can be nahh other than Richard, Duke o' York. He wuz da wealthiest landowner in England an' uh powerful nig in his own right, stolid, pragmatic, an' usually content. Based on da laws o' succession, York had uh bettah claim ta da throne than da king himself, being descended through his mothers side ta da second son o' Edward III, Lionel o' Antwerp, Duke o' Clarence. However he never really made uh fuss about it. York's father had been plotting against Henry V an' wuz sent ta be decapitated, uh sight young Richard o' York would never forget. just like mammy.

York seems ta gots been uh small nig, somewhat heavyset, wiff uh plump, inscrutable face. He wuz well educated , supremely arrogant, an' lacked charisma, though he could win men ta his side by his aura o' power. He wuz not without political expertise, but too often failed ta make da necessary masterstroke ta ensure his victories. He wuz married in his teen years ta da masterstroke ta ensure his victories. He wuz married in his teen years ta da uh happy marriage, an' uh useful one fo' da Duke, fo' it brought him da vast advantages o' an alliance wiff his Neville in-laws. Cicely wuz ta bear him thirteen chil'ns, two who would be kings. She would outlive eleven o'dem.

While all dis shit wuz goin on de Duke uh York wuz sent abroad as de Regent uh France. While dis could be considard an honor uh sorts, it wuz obviously jus a ploy to keep him out uh de dealins uh de guvernment. York wuz a fine adminiskrator an' a brave man, but it gets his appointment wuz not supposed to be an honor when de crown refuset to sen' him duckets to finance de campaigns in France. De Duke wuz one uh de wealthies homeys in de kindom, but he had to pay fuh everythin out uh his own pocket at dat point, an' soon his bucks wuz exhausted.

De insult wuz compunded by de fact dat York's enemy Somerset wuz Lieutenant uh Aquitaine, an' received an annual pension uh 25,000 pounds. Dis uh course would make evun de mos patient homey pull his hair out, an' York fo show wuz livid wit rage. To finance himself an' his troops he wuz forced to pawn one uh his mos prized posesions, a heavy gold collar adorned wit de white roses uh York an' hung wit a spear pointed diamond. Othuh than de crown jewels, dis wuz de mos priceless item uh England. York wuz iggd an' when money gets available, Somerset gets it first.

Eventually likes mos uh us unduh those circumstances, York gets sick an' tired uh it an' returned to England. Sheeit!

Margaret uh Anjou, who had convinced herself dat York wuz an enemy, did huh bes to alienate him in de eyeah uh de Kin. Henry VI wuz only to happy to oblige his precious young hoe's wishes, as well as de wishes uh his mos trusted counselors, Suffolk an' Somerset. De folk uh Englan' wuz pretty upset by now. De kin wuz a puppet uh two intensely ambitious homeys an' a young foriegn young ho. De treasury wuz bankrupt, corruption wuz rampant, homeys an' hoes wuz bein wrongfully imprisoned, an' France wuz reclaimin mo an' mo uh deir formuh territory, an shit. On top uh all dat, Maine an' Anjou, which wuz supposed to be ceded back to de French when Henry married Margaret wuz not givun back to de Frogs, so dey gets tired uh waitin an' simply conquard it, somethin dat made Henry seem all de mo weak an' innefectual to de folk uh England.

By de way it's 'roun dis time Humphrey, Duke uh Gloucestuh died. Not long outlivin him wuz his rival Cardinal Beaufort. Dey wuz a type uh old guard, an' new homeys had to take up deir places. Beauforts shoes wuz easily filled by Somerset an' Suffolk. De homey who would follow Gloucestuh wuz uh course to be Richard, Duke uh York, an' thus, de lines uh hatred began to grow deep. all yall in Englan' privately alligned demselves.

Public discontent had reached a boilin point. De folk needed a hero to unitedem but where wuz dis hero? He probably didn't exist, truth be told. Lackin a hero to savedem, de next bes thins wuz some sort uh menial revenge, some sort uh fa instance dat dis could not be tolerated any longer. See what I'm sayin? De unlucky homey who gets de object uh scorn fuh de folk wuz Suffolk. Parliament betrayed him an' de folk hated him mo than evuh, de only thin he had left wuz de Queen. He wuz brung to trial an' very nearly wuz sentened to death, but de Queen protected him, an' made sho his sentence wuz brung down a notch-exile.

When Suffolk wuz collectin his belongins at his home he wuz attacked by a mob, jus barely escapin wit his life. Dat near death experience wuz followed by one uh those "right on de money" death experiences. On de voyage to France he wuz captured an' decapitated, aftuh several blows wit a rusty sword. His body wuz left to rot on a sho near Dover.

Suffolk's death in essence accomplished nothin. He wuz not de head uh de snake, an' de corruption continued.

Wit de mos cunnin uh de Queen's Men, Cardinal Beaufort jus recently dead an' now Suffolk, thins may be lookin pretty bad assed to York. But he wuz aware uh somethin dat kept him from smilin. York wuz de heir looks should Henry VI suddenly die but de Kin an' Queen may be aware uh away to discontinue dat.

You see, seein as how de Beauforts wuz descended from de line uh John uh Gaunt, it made perfect since fuh Somerset, who wuz indeed a Beaufort, to be named heir. See what I'm sayin? An' dis be somethin de Duke uh York would do anythin to stop. De Wars uh de Roses wuz jus beginin...