1460

The date is the year of the Battle of Northampton when King

Henry VI was captured by the Earl of Warwick at Delapre Abbey. This was just one of the battles of the War of Roses, a war which contested the right of the king, who was seen as weak and mentally unstable, to the throne. The throne was sought by Richard of York, who had a claim to it from his ancestors Lionel of Antwerp and Edmund of Langley, the third and fifth sons of Edward III. Henry came from the House of Lancaster and Richard from the House of York, with their symbols being the red rose and the white rose respectively.

Shoes with extraordinarily long toes were in fashion in the fifteenth century but shoe fashions during the time of the War of the Roses were in transition and the square toe or duckbill toe was gaining in popularity.

Shoes that were either red or white were very popular during the time of the War of Roses as they instantly proclaimed your allegiance to the House of York or Lancaster.