Have you ever thought about what happened to Richard’s clothes and jewellery? It would be amazing to find out about the fate of his belongings and it was during my research about this topic that I came across a very intriguing joust that took place from the 28th to the 30th August 1839 in the castle of Eglinton, north Ayrshire in Scotland. The said event is known as the Eglinton Tournament and it was organised by Archibald, Earl of Eglinton.
In order to enhance the importance of the tournament all the participants were purposely trained and many famous names were involved including Prince Louis Napoleon who later became Napoleon III. It was meant to be a revival of a medieval tournament inspired by Walter Scott’s “Ivanhoe” in the spirit of Romanticism and it was a reaction to the low-tone coronation of Queen Victoria. As you can imagine, it was a lavish event and it cost to the Earl more than half of his estate, but sometimes noblesse oblige and nobles were willing to do whatever was in their power to impress their friends.
The event attracted 100.000 spectators dressed in medieval attire and 10.000 tickets were given (not sold) but a terrible storm prevented the event being totally successful, as the banquet could not take place. Every participant had a lady to dedicate his possible victory to, exactly as the code of honour of the age of chivalry dictated, and the winner brought home a trophy made in the medieval style.
At this point you are asking yourselves why I am writing about something that happened 250 years after Richard’s death and how such an event could be related to him. The joust was performed following the rules of a true medieval tournament and participants had to wear authentic clothes from the Middle Ages to make the joust even more thrilling. Henry Beresford 3rd Marquis of Waterford was one of the most famous participants of what today would be a reenactment. He wore a suit of ribbed armour from the time of King Richard III. I can’t deny I jumped some inches from my chair and I tried to understand if it was a replica or a true relic and, above all, if it belonged to Richard himself. The sources are contradictory but – alas! – the majority of them make clear that the suit was from the time of Richard III (not his own) and had been brought to the Tower of London from Spain[1]. It is remarkable to notice that one source in particular brings to attention that at the time of Richard, armour had reached perfection and the zenith of elegance[2].
The suit worn by Waterford is perfectly described. It was a ribbed or plated German armour, with tilting apparel and original tilting lance. Thomas Miller in his Picturesque Sketches of London[3], gives an even better description, adding that the armour had rosettes on the shoulders that looked like little wings or epaulets that had blown loose and stayed erect.
In The Lads of the Village: A Magazine of Universal Recreation, Volume 1[4] we find a similar description but not only this! Another armour from 1465 is described and it is highlighted that it was an original from the period of Edward IV. It was Yorkist armour, a tournament suit with tilting lance, war saddle, horse housing black powdered with the king’s badge, the white rose and sun, a spiked chauffron on the horse’s head. This last armour was perfect for a man 7 feet tall and now we wonder (and dream) if it was original and possibly belonged to Edward himself!
We don’t know if every participant chose his own attire or if it was Archibald who decided on that. Henry Beresford was an eccentric, well known for his debauchery, vandalism, bad jokes and high alcohol consumption. Richard would have frowned visibly if he had been there… He was the “Knight of the Dragon” at the tournament while the “Knight of the White Rose” was the one who wore the armour from Edward IV’s time. Was Waterford chosen on purpose to point out the armour he was wearing was from the time of a king who was considered a villain? We will never know…
Were all the outfits really authentic? In The Literary world, conducted by J. Timbs, the suit is described as having been made in polished fluted steel and as the oldest garment of the whole tournament. This means that many others were fake, as they were described as old as William the Conqueror! If we trust Timbs, the suit would have been from the time of Richard and there was nothing older than that. In this case, all the others from previous ages were fake, including the one from the period of Edward IV.
Going back to our first question, of whether the suit belonged to Richard, it is clear it did not, because it would have been made in a very special way considering the King had a twisted spine. Whether it was original or not could only be proved or disproved by carbon 14.
The armours of the Eglinton Tournament are now on display in the Royal Armouries Museum of Leeds and other museums in the UK.
[1] Walter Thornbury, ‘The Tower: (part 2 of 2)’, in Old and New London: Volume 2 (London, 1878), pp. 77-95. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol2/pp77-95 [accessed 10 May 2023].
[2] George Walter Thornbury, Old and new London: a narrative of its history, its people and its places, Cassel, Petter and Galpin, London, Volume 2.
[3] Thomas Miller, Picturesque Sketches of London, Officer of the National Illustrated Library, London 1852.
[4] The Lads of the Village: A Magazine of Universal Recreation, Brook and Co. London 1875 Volume 1.
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