White Rose of York actual symbolism behind the rose has religious connotations as it represents the Virgin Mary, who is often called the "Mystical Rose of Heaven". The Yorkist rose is white in colour, because in Christian liturgical symbolism, white is the symbol of light, typifying innocence and purity, joy and glory. During the civil wars of the fifteenth century, the White Rose was the symbol of Yorkist forces opposed to the rival House of Lancaster. The red rose of Lancaster would be a later invention used to represent the House of Lancaster, but was not in use during the actual conflict. The opposition
The Romaunt of the Rose The Romaunt of the Rose The Romaunt of the Rose ("the Romaunt") is a partial translation into Middle English of the French allegorical poem, "le Roman de la Rose" ("le Roman"). Originally believed to be the work of Chaucer, "the Romaunt" inspired controversy among 19th-century scholars when parts of the text were found to differ in style from Chaucer's other works. Also the text was found to contain three distinct fragments of translation. Together, the fragments—A, B, and C--provide a translation of approximately one-third of "Le Roman". There is little doubt that Chaucer did translate "Le Roman de la Rose"