Richard III
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Many of you will remember reading, perhaps in “The Last Days of Richard III”, how John Speed went to Leicester looking for the site of the Greyfriars but confused it with the Blackfriars which was in a far worse state of repair thus no royal body could possibly have survived. Yesterday, I lunched at the…
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We all know when Richard was born – 2 October 1452 (10 by the new calendar) and we thought this was at Fotheringhay in Northamptonshire. Now page 37 of Ashdown-Hill’s “The Third Plantagenet” suggests that it might have been Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire. We all know when he died – 22 (30) August 1485 at Bosworth…
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Well, no, he didn’t, but at times you might think he did. Along with the Rape of the Sabine Women, the Peasants’ Revolt, Jack Cade’s Rising, etc., etc. It’s quite understandable that many people think Richard was involved in dark deeds – name a medieval (or Tudor) sovereign who was not. However, there is a…
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Putting aside the disappearance of his nephews, probably the gravest accusation leveled at Richard III is the execution of William Lord Hastings in June, 1483, following an infamous meeting with his council. For centuries, debates have continued over whether it was an act of due process following the discovery of treason, an act of an…
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(This article originally appeared in the Ricardian Register, the journal of the Richard III Society American Branch, and has been reproduced here with its permission.) Allegation: Richard was an ambitious man, hungry for power and ultimately aiming for the Crown. He kept his intentions close to the vest, but in retrospect it’s apparent that he…
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2590638/Skeleton-car-park-NOT-Richard-III-Experts-cast-doubts-accuracy-DNA-dating-results.html So Professor Michael Hicks is of the view that the male Greyfriars skeleton is possibly not the remains of Richard III. Well, apart from the precise location in which he was recorded as being buried, the exact mitochondrial DNA match (and we don’t even know his great-great-grandmother), the scoliosis, the age at death and…
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by Wednesday McKenna (writing as Merlyn MacLeod) I just finished reading Stephen Lark’s The Battle of Bosworth & the Burial of King Richard III and found it a good read for anyone looking for a solid summary. Lark first summarizes the whole of Richard’s life, and then outlines the specific events leading up to his…
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Elizabeth, Duchess of Norfolk, is a good height for a woman, but not tall – only her headdress make her seem so. As a recent widow, she is clad entirely in black, from head to foot, her furred gown made of the finest wool damask London mercers can supply. She is a handsome woman –…
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Richard III, Act I, Scene I (Middleham Castle. RICHARD is discovered sitting on a throne, biting the heads off a basket of kittens as he comes up with his latest wicked scheme.) Enter LOVEL LOVEL. My lord, terrible news. A letter has come from Lord Hastings in London. Your royal brother, King Edward IV,…
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For anyone wondering whether Richard could have still formed hisletters if he’d lost digits or tips of fingers, let us begin with whatis required to write with a quill. This video: http://youtu.be/dqCBUHlPVBk features a Japanese calligrapher who, from about 1:00 minute to 3:00minutes, is writing in Gothic Litera Bastarda with a quill. (You won’tsee feathers;…
