Tudor myth

The Tudor myth is the tradition in English history, historiography and literature that presents the 15th century, including the Wars of the Roses, in England as a dark age of anarchy and bloodshed. The narrative that the Tudor myth perpetrated was curated with the political purpose of promoting the Tudor period of the 16th century as a golden age of peace, law, order, and prosperity. The hope was to elevate King Henry VII's rulership compared to his predecessors.

The Tudor myth may have also been advanced by the Tudors and their confederates due to the poor financial conditions of the populace in the 16th century as opposed to the 15th century. In Thomas Lambert's Richard III, the Tudor Myth, and the Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism, he argues that the 16th century had "...poorer economic performance and higher taxation during the Tudor reign compared to the previous century..."

The Tudor myth was made to elevate King Henry VII (a Lancastrian by relation), by ruining King Richard II and King Richard III. Throughout the 16th century, Richard II would be vilified and portrayed as a terrible leader and traitor to the English monarchy. Richard III (and by extension, Yorkist loyalties) is portrayed as an irredeemable tyrant to legitimize Tudor rule. The most popular rendition gained notoriety due to Shakespeare's play, Richard III, in which King Richard III's moral character is berated.