The term Henriad, following after Kernan, acquired an expanded second meaning, which refers to two groups of Shakespearean plays: The tetralogy mentioned above ("Richard II; Henry IV, Part 1; Henry IV, Part 2;" and "Henry V"), and also four plays that were written earlier and are based on the historic events and civil wars known as The War of the Roses; "Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2, Henry VI, Part 3," and "Richard III". In this sense, the eight Henry plays are known as the Henriad, and when divided in two may be known as the "first Henriad" with the group that was written later known as the "second Henriad".