Within the framework of this study, three layers of perception of the Wars of the Roses are consistently reconstructed: through the eyes of the gentry who lived during the confrontation between the Yorks and Lancasters, from the point of view of the 16th century Englishmen. and from the position of professional historians. For more than five hundred years, ideas about the Wars of the Roses have come almost full circle. Contemporaries fundamentally did not delve into the details of succession to the throne. Table of contents: Introduction 7Chapter I. “The World of the Gentry” of the era of the Wars of the Roses: social and cultural dimensions. Sources on the history of the gentry 18§1. Paston Family Archive 21§2. Plumpton Collection of Papers 24§3. Epistolary complex of Stonors 27§4. Narrative by Robert Pilkington 31 “Country” as the main element of the gentry’s worldview 35 The place and role of the family in the social ties of the gentry 40 The gentry of the second half of the 15th century and their “servants.” To the problem of “suites” or “liveries” 47 “Friendly unions” and “parties” in the social structure of England during the Wars of the Roses 55 Value orientations and cultural specificity of local gentry communities during the era of the Wars of the Roses 69 Chapter II. War, peace or non-peace? Wars of the Roses through the eyes of the gentry. Causes of the Wars of the Roses 85Functioning of the local judicial-administrative system during the era of the Wars of the Roses 89The problem of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Events 1450-1462 through the eyes of the gentry center, southeast and north of England 98Period 1463-1471. as perceived by the gentry of the south-east, center and north of the kingdom 112The second period of the reign of Edward IV (1471-1483) as seen by the gentry of the northern, central and south-eastern counties 120The final stage of the Wars of the Roses 123Chapter III. Creation of the myth about the Wars of the Roses (mid-XV - late XVI centuries) 135Chapter IV. The Wars of the Roses in the mirror of historiography The confrontation between the Yorks and Lancasters in English historiography 153 The Wars of the Roses in Russian historical science 168 Conclusion 175 Applications Lancasters, Yorks, Tudors 185 Family tree of the Paston family 186 Family tree of the Plumpton family 187 Family tree of the Stonors 188 Schemes and the family relations of the surnames Ainsworth and Pilkington 189 "Sweet" Pastons, Plumptons and Stonorov 190Bibliography 195