research
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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…
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Summary of a talk by Laura Cardy Shortly after joining the Richard III Society, I was invited to contribute to The Missing Princes Project, initiated by Philippa Langley. My task focused on an intriguing question: might St John’s Abbey in Colchester have played a role in the fate of Richard of York, the younger of…
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In 2008, archaeologists made a find that was possibly even more astounding than the discovery of Richard III’s remains. Beneath the floor of Magdeburg Cathedral in Germany, they opened a sarcophagus that was believed to be a cenotaph, or empty, symbolic memorial. Inside, they found a lead coffin which turned out to contain the remains…
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by Ian Wilson Why do the Wars of the Roses feel like endless vendettas? At first glance, because the language of honour hadn’t changed: nobles still cried, “My blood has been offended,” or “My lineage must be avenged.” That patina of chivalry, though, concealed something very different. The talk set out to understand why so…
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Recently I came across an archaeological article which I found very interesting as it had similarities to Richard III’s finding and identification. Duke Bela of Macso was a young Hungarian nobleman who was assassinated, aged approximately 25, in 1272. On August 6, King Stephen died, and his young son, Ladislaus, IV ascended the throne. Infighting…
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Medieval buildings uncovered for the first time at the Tower of London. As part of preparations for installing a lift outside the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, we have undertaken an important archaeological excavation to record and preserve the fascinating histories beneath our feet. Go to this link on the Tower of London Facebook…
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An international group of scientists, including Prof. Turi King of Leicester University, has investigated the dental plaque (calculus) of King Richard III and concluded that it was basically the same as both other contemporary remains examined (including those from different social levels), and also modern populations! This is their conclusion: The dental calculus of King…
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If, like me, you like to browse around websites about life in the past, you might be interested in this link, https://tinyurl.com/2tk5meck, which takes you to a website called Old & Interesting. You’ll soon realise that not everything in the site dates back to the medieval period, but it’s very interesting all the same. I…
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…the online edition of the Edward IV Coronation Roll (Free Library MS Lewis E201), after three years’ work. It is now fully interactive – with transcriptions, translations and annotations. They say: In the turbulent fifteenth century, rival claimants to the English throne presented their cases in elaborate genealogical rolls. One of the most colorful and…
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On Saturday afternoon we were treated to a fantastically interesting talk by Professor Caroline Wilkinson, she who had created the reconstruction of Richard’s head. It was the Isolde Wigram Memorial Lecture and she touched on the reconstruction but concentrated on the A Voice for Richard project, which she participated in. She described all the detailed…