<P> A sequence of bloody civil wars, later termed the Wars of the Roses, finally broke out in 1455, spurred on by an economic crisis and a widespread perception of poor government . Edward IV, leading a faction known as the Yorkists, removed Henry from power in 1461 but by 1469 fighting recommenced as Edward, Henry, and Edward's brother George, backed by leading nobles and powerful French supporters, vied for power . By 1471 Edward was triumphant and most of his rivals were dead . On his death, power passed to his brother Richard of Gloucester, who initially ruled on behalf of the young Edward V before seizing the throne himself as Richard III . The future Henry VII, aided by French and Scottish troops, returned to England and defeated Richard at the battle of Bosworth in 1485, bringing an end to the majority of the fighting, although lesser rebellions against his Tudor dynasty would continue for several years afterwards . </P> <P> The Anglo - Saxon kingdoms were hierarchical societies, each based on ties of allegiance between powerful lords and their immediate followers . At the top of the social structure was the king, who stood above many of the normal processes of Anglo - Saxon life and whose household had special privileges and protection . Beneath the king were thegns, nobles, the more powerful of which maintained their own courts and were termed ealdormen . The relationship between kings and their nobles was bound up with military symbolism and the ritual exchange of weapons and armour . Freemen, called churls, formed the next level of society, often holding land in their own right or controlling businesses in the towns . Geburs, peasants who worked land belonging to a thegn, formed a lower class still . The very lowest class were slaves, who could be bought and sold and who held only minimal rights . </P> <P> The balance of power between these different groups changed over time . Early in the period, kings were elected by members of the late king's council, but primogeniture rapidly became the norm for succession . The kings further bolstered their status by adopting Christian ceremonies and nomenclature, introducing ecclesiastical coronations during the 8th century and terming themselves "Christ's deputy" by the 11th century . Huge estates were initially built up by the king, bishops, monasteries and thegns, but in the 9th and 10th centuries these were slowly broken up as a consequence of inheritance arrangements, marriage settlements and church purchases . In the 11th century, the royal position worsened further, as the ealdormen rapidly built up huge new estates, making them collectively much more powerful than the king--this contributed to the political instability of the final Anglo - Saxon years . As time went by, the position of the churls deteriorated, as their rights were slowly eroded and their duties to their lords increased . </P> <P> The kingdom of Wessex, which eventually laid claim to England as a whole, evolved a centralised royal administration . One part of this was the king's council, the witenagemot, comprising the senior clergy, ealdormen, and some of the more important thegns; the council met to advise the king on policy and legal issues . The royal household included officials, thegns and a secretariat of clergy which travelled with the king, conducting the affairs of government as it went . Under the Danish kings, a bodyguard of housecarls also accompanied the court . At a regional level, ealdormen played an important part in government, defence and taxation, and the post of sheriff emerged in the 10th century, administering local shires on behalf of an ealdorman . Anglo - Saxon mints were tightly controlled by the kings, providing a high - quality currency, and the whole country was taxed using a system called hidage . </P>

By the early fourteenth century the english parliament has emerged as