Richard III
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On this date in 1485, the last Plantagenet king of England died on Bosworth Field defending his crown from Henry Tudor. Today, thanks to archaeological investigations on the battlefield, we know whereabouts the combat took place and that at least one side (probably the king’s) deployed artillery. The question of exactly how Richard III came…
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I have now seen the excellent Channel Four documentary on whether or not Richard III could have led the cavalry charge at Bosworth. Well, of course, it was already known that he did, so the question was, how efficiently could he do it? The …answer was “Bl–dy well!” The young man, Dominic Smee, whose scoliosis…
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Every so often something new, exciting and different comes along that makes me sit up attentively. From the first haunting notes of the flute on this wonderful album, you know you’re in for a treat. Given the name ‘folk-rock’, you might expect a blend of traditional English songs and instruments with the more modern sound…
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While searching for something else related to Richard III, I happened to notice a few interesting details I hadn’t noticed before, pertaining to the chronology of events leading up to his taking the throne. (Please note that the items below are a partial chronology of events.) 1. Late May/early June 1483. Years later, Phillippe de…
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Sir James Tyrell was a trusted supporter of the House of York, and Richard III in particular. More’s account of his introduction to Richard by a unnamed page is too risible to mention, except that it exhibits yet another flaw in More’s account, that fine work of literature, roughly equivalent to – well, name the…
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I haven’t seen this for myself yet – but I’ve seen plenty of photographs and a good deal of huffing and puffing over the replica of Richard III’s suit of armour at the recently-opened Visitor Centre in Leicester. The bone of contention, (apart from the replica’s authenticity, on which I don’t feel qualified to comment),…
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Apologies to anyone who expects this to be a five thousand word essay with at least a hundred cases but I was wondering about one thing in particular: when “Tudor” monarchs repealed legislation, how did they usually go about it? The usual procedure was – and still is – to have a new Act passed,…
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The reaction to the first part of “Kendall 2014” has been interesting. “According to Williams, Brampton was sent to Portugal as early as 22 March 1485, only six days after Anne’s death. ‘Brampton brought a double proposal to Portugal – for Richard to marry Joanna and for Elizabeth of York to marry…John, Duke of Beja…In…
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Amid the wide-ranging (and often wildly raging) debates that have taken place since the unearthing of his remains in Leicester in September 2012, I have seen it suggested that Richard III may have been unable to wear armour on account of his severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine). I find this unlikely for several reasons.…
