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Richard Plantagenet is the son of the late earl of Cambridge, who was found to be a traitor, stripped of his land, and executed. Under these conditions, Plantagenet is reduced to the status of “yeoman,” which is a property owner who ranks below the gentry. However, because his father was executed without a trial, he believes he still has a claim to noble status. The ambiguity of his social position becomes an object of focus during a dispute over an obscure point of law with his chief rival, the earl of Somerset. Plantagenet later convinces the king of his claim to noble status, and the king grants him both his father’s old title and the title duke of York, which had belonged to his recently deceased uncle Mortimer. This action inflames the rage of Somerset, who persists with the dispute long after Plantagenet (now York) has fully committed himself to the war in France. Unable to relent, Somerset later refuses to send military aid to York at a key moment in the battle with France—an act that leads to Lord Talbot’s death. If Shakespeare treats York more sympathetically than Somerset, it’s likely because Queen Elizabeth was a descendant of Plantagenet through the House of York.
