First Battle of St Albans

E181119

battle engagement of the Wars of the Roses

The First Battle of St Albans was a 1455 clash between the houses of Lancaster and York that marked the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses in England.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
First Battle of St Albans canonical	6
Battle of St Albans (1455)	2

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1589745 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: First Battle of St Albans
Context triple: [Wars of the Roses, majorBattle, First Battle of St Albans]

A. Battle of Barnet
The Battle of Barnet was a decisive 1471 engagement of the Wars of the Roses in which the Yorkist forces under Edward IV defeated and killed the powerful kingmaker Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, helping to secure Yorkist control of the English throne.
B. Battle of Bosworth Field
The Battle of Bosworth Field was the decisive 1485 clash in the Wars of the Roses in which Henry Tudor defeated and killed King Richard III, leading to the end of the Plantagenet dynasty and the beginning of Tudor rule in England.
C. Battle of Towton
The Battle of Towton was a decisive and exceptionally bloody engagement in 1461 during the Wars of the Roses that secured the English throne for the Yorkist Edward IV.
D. Battle of Evesham
The Battle of Evesham was a decisive 1265 clash in the Second Barons' War in which royal forces under Prince Edward crushed Simon de Montfort's rebel army, restoring King Henry III's authority in England.
E. Battle of York
The Battle of York was a War of 1812 engagement in which American forces captured and burned the British colonial capital of York (now Toronto), significantly impacting the defense and development of Upper Canada.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: First Battle of St Albans
Target entity description: The First Battle of St Albans was a 1455 clash between the houses of Lancaster and York that marked the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses in England.

A. Battle of Barnet
The Battle of Barnet was a decisive 1471 engagement of the Wars of the Roses in which the Yorkist forces under Edward IV defeated and killed the powerful kingmaker Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, helping to secure Yorkist control of the English throne.
B. Battle of Bosworth Field
The Battle of Bosworth Field was the decisive 1485 clash in the Wars of the Roses in which Henry Tudor defeated and killed King Richard III, leading to the end of the Plantagenet dynasty and the beginning of Tudor rule in England.
C. Battle of Towton
The Battle of Towton was a decisive and exceptionally bloody engagement in 1461 during the Wars of the Roses that secured the English throne for the Yorkist Edward IV.
D. Battle of Evesham
The Battle of Evesham was a decisive 1265 clash in the Second Barons' War in which royal forces under Prince Edward crushed Simon de Montfort's rebel army, restoring King Henry III's authority in England.
E. Battle of York
The Battle of York was a War of 1812 engagement in which American forces captured and burned the British colonial capital of York (now Toronto), significantly impacting the defense and development of Upper Canada.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	battle ⓘ engagement of the Wars of the Roses ⓘ
aftermath	Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York ⓘ surface form: Richard, Duke of York, gained control of the government beginning of a period of Yorkist dominance ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	First Battle of St Albans ⓘ surface form: Battle of St Albans (1455)
belligerent	House of Lancaster ⓘ House of York ⓘ
captured	King Henry VI of England ⓘ surface form: Henry VI of England
casualties	relatively low compared to later Wars of the Roses battles ⓘ
cause	factional disputes at the court of Henry VI ⓘ rivalry between Richard, Duke of York, and Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset ⓘ
combatantStrength	Yorkist army smaller than Lancastrian army ⓘ
commander	Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset ⓘ King Henry VI of England ⓘ surface form: Henry VI of England Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham ⓘ Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick ⓘ Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York ⓘ surface form: Richard, Duke of York
conflict	Wars of the Roses ⓘ
country	Kingdom of England ⓘ
date	22 May 1455 ⓘ
era	Late Middle Ages ⓘ
killed	Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset ⓘ Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland ⓘ Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford ⓘ
legacy	often regarded as the first major battle of the Wars of the Roses ⓘ
locationDetail	fought in the streets and market area of St Albans ⓘ
memorial	commemorated by plaques and markers in St Albans ⓘ
monarchDuringBattle	King Henry VI of England ⓘ surface form: Henry VI of England
notableParticipant	Edward IV of England ⓘ surface form: Edward, Earl of March (later Edward IV) Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick ⓘ
partOf	Wars of the Roses ⓘ
place	St Albans, Hertfordshire ⓘ surface form: St Albans
politicalContext	struggle for control of the English government ⓘ
predecessorEvent	political crisis of 1453–1455 in England ⓘ
region	Hertfordshire ⓘ
result	Yorkist victory ⓘ
significance	first open battle between the houses of Lancaster and York ⓘ marked the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses ⓘ
successorEvent	Battle of Blore Heath ⓘ Loveday of 1458 ⓘ
tactics	Yorkists used surprise attack through back lanes and gardens ⓘ
typeOfEngagement	pitched battle ⓘ
weaponUsed	longbow ⓘ sword ⓘ
wounded	King Henry VI of England ⓘ surface form: Henry VI of England
year	1455 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Wars of the Roses → majorBattle → First Battle of St Albans ⓘ

Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York → conflict → First Battle of St Albans ⓘ

First Battle of St Albans → alsoKnownAs → First Battle of St Albans ⓘ

this entity surface form: Battle of St Albans (1455)

Cousins' War → significantBattle → First Battle of St Albans ⓘ

Cousins' War → hasPart → First Battle of St Albans ⓘ

Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick → battle → First Battle of St Albans ⓘ

Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset → killedIn → First Battle of St Albans ⓘ

Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset → notableBattle → First Battle of St Albans ⓘ