The Tudor Rose

March 29, 1461

Duke Edward of York defeats the Lancastrian army of King Henry VI at the Battle of Towton, one of many battles in England’s Wars of the Roses.

“The Tudor rose, seen on so many British embroideries from the late fifteenth century to the present, is a hybrid of the floral heraldic badges of two feuding branches of the royal Plantagenet dynasty, the Yorks and the Lancasters. For thirty years, the rivals fought for the grandest prize of all—the royal crown of England.” This is from Elly Smith’s article “The Tudor Rose Motif in History and Needlework,” found in the May/June 2000 issue of PieceWork.

The two families had incorporated roses into their heraldic badges: a white rose for the Yorks and a red one for the Lancasters. When peace finally reigned, the white and red roses were combined into one flower called the “Tudor rose,” and the Tudor family came to power.

Elly Smith’s ode to the Tudor rose motif and Renaissance samplers.

Elly’s companion project to her article is a cross-stitched wedding sampler: “This Renaissance wedding or anniversary ‘exemplar’ celebrates the golden era of sample making and the Tudor rose motif.” Wedding season is right around the corner. Complete instructions to make this gorgeous sampler are in the May/June 2000 issue.

Also, remember that if you are an active subscriber to PieceWork magazine, you have unlimited access to previous issues, including May/June 2000. See our help center for the step-by-step process on how to access them.

Jeane Hutchins is a former editor of PieceWork.

Originally published November 3, 2017; updated March 24, 2025.