White Rose of York

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White Rose of York

The White Rose of York (also called the Rose alba or rose argent), a white heraldic rose

Rose (heraldry)

The Rose is a popular symbol in England heraldry. It is a flower with five symmetrical lobes alternating with barbs and a circular seed. The rose was the symbol of the English Tudor dynasty and is associated with England, just as the thistle is associated with Scotland....
, is the symbol of the House of York

House of York

The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three of whom became List of monarchs of England in the late 15th century....
and has since been adopted as a symbol of Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a Historic counties of England of northern England and the largest in Great Britain. Because of its great size, over time functions were increasingly undertaken by its subdivisions, which have been subject to History of local government in Yorkshire....
as a whole.

itionally the origins of the emblem are said to go back to Edmund of Langley in the fourteenth century, the first Duke of York

Duke of York

The title Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch....
and the founder of the House of York

House of York

The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three of whom became List of monarchs of England in the late 15th century....
as a Cadet branch

Cadet branch

Cadet branch is a term in genealogy to describe the lineage of the descendants of the younger sons of a monarch or patriarch. In the ruling dynasty and nobility families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets – titles, realms, fiefs, property and income – have historically been passed from a father to his firstborn...
of the then ruling House of Plantagenet

House of Plantagenet

The House of Plantagenet was a royal house founded by Henry II of England, son of Geoffrey V of Anjou. The Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century....
.

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History

Traditionally the origins of the emblem are said to go back to Edmund of Langley in the fourteenth century, the first Duke of York

Duke of York

House of York

The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three of whom became List of monarchs of England in the late 15th century....
as a Cadet branch

Cadet branch

House of Plantagenet

The House of Plantagenet was a royal house founded by Henry II of England, son of Geoffrey V of Anjou. The Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century....
. The actual symbolism behind the rose has religious connotations as it represents the Virgin Mary, who was often called the Mystical Rose of Heaven. The Yorkist rose is white in colour, because in Christian liturgical symbolism

Liturgical colours

Liturgical colours are those specific colours which are used for vestments and Antependium within the context of Christianity liturgy. The symbolism of violet , white, green, red, gold , black, Rose , and other colours may serve to underline moods appropriate to a season of the liturgical year or may highlight a special occasion....
, white is the symbol of light

Light

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is Visible spectrum to the human eye , or up to 380?750 nm. In the broader field of physics, light is sometimes used to refer to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not....
, typifing innocence

Innocence

Innocence is a term used to indicate a general lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, sin, or wrongdoing. In a Criminal law, innocence refers to the lack of guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime....
and purity

Purity

Purity is the absence of impurity in a substance.Purity may also refer to:* in Buddhism, Purity in Buddhism refers to a spiritual purity of character or essence....
, joy

Joy

Joy may refer to:* Happiness, an emotion...
and glory.

During the civil wars of the fifteenth century, the White Rose was the symbol of Yorkist forces opposed to the rival House of Lancaster

House of Lancaster

The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century....
, whose symbol was the Red Rose of Lancaster

Red Rose of Lancaster

The Red Rose of Lancaster is the county flower of Lancashire.The exact species or cultivar which the red rose relates to is uncertain, but it is thought to be Rosa gallica....
. The opposition of the two roses gave the wars their name: the Wars of the Roses

Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars fought in England between supporters of the Houses of House of Lancaster and House of York....
. The conflict was ended by King Henry VII of England

Henry VII of England

Henry VII was the Kingdom of England and Lordship of Ireland from his usurpation of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty....
, who symbolically united the White and Red Roses to create the Tudor Rose

Tudor rose

The Tudor rose is the traditional floral heraldic badge of England and takes its name and origins from the Tudor dynasty....
, symbol of the Tudor dynasty

Tudor dynasty

The House of Tudor was a prominent European royal house that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms from 1485 until 1603. Founded by Henry VII of England, who, though his paternal family was Welsh people ?his grandfather was Owen Tudor? was himself also a legitimized descendent of the royal House of Lancaster....
. In the late Seventeenth Century the Jacobites

Jacobitism

Jacobitism was the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the House of Stuart kings to the thrones of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland....
took up the White Rose of York as their emblem, celebrating "White Rose Day" on 10 June, the anniversary of the birth of James III and VIII

James Francis Edward Stuart

Prince James, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England. As such, he claimed the English, Scottish and Irish thrones from the death of his father in 1701, when he was proclaimed king of England, Scotland and Ireland by his cousin Louis XIV of France....
in 1688.

At the Battle of Minden

Battle of Minden

In the Battle of Minden, a Kingdom of Prussia-Electorate of Hanover-Kingdom of Great Britain army under Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-L?neburg defeated a ancien regime army under the Louis Georges ?rasme de Contades on 1 August 1759 during the Seven Years' War....
on August 1, 1759, Yorkshiremen of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755....
's predecessor the 51st Regiment picked white roses from bushes near to the battlefields as a tribute to their fallen comrades who had died. They stuck the plucked white roses in their coats as a tribute. Yorkshire Day

Yorkshire Day

Yorkshire Day is celebrated on 1 August to promote the Historic counties of England of Yorkshire. It was first celebrated in 1975, by the Yorkshire Ridings Society, initially in Beverley, as "protest movement against the Local Government Act 1972"....
is held on this date each year.

White Rose of York

History

See also

External links