Richard III

Richard III owned religious books, but slept around….?

Sep 4, 2020

archaeology, battles, religion, sources

“Princes”, Carole Cusack, character, Charles Armstrong, Crowland Chronicle, Domenico Mancini, Henry VI, illegitimate children, Leicester dig, military record, popes, Richard III

Yes, we’ve all seen the above illustration before, but for my purposes today it’s ideal. Was Richard a saint? Or a sinner? I’ve happened upon a very interesting paper about Richard, by Carole Cusack, in which she discusses his reputation and why he still has the power to influence us today. Just what is it…
A rogue detectorist strikes at Fotheringhay….!

Sep 3, 2020

archaeology, buildings

executions, Fotheringhay, Mary Stuart, metal detecting, nighthawks, Richard III

“….A man with a metal detector was spoken to just hours before two holes were dug at the East Northamptonshire site where Mary, Queen of Scots was tried and executed. “….An investigation has been launched after the criminal incident within the grounds of Fotheringhay Castle – which is protected as a scheduled monument – overnight…
The Royal Progress of Richard III

Aug 29, 2020

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law, religion, sources, travel

“Arrivall of Edward IV”, “Princes”, Annales, Anne Neville, Anne Sutton, Black Death, Brecon, Bristol, Buckingham rebellion, Cambridge, Canterbury Cathedral, Catherine de Medici, Charles IX, Chief Justice, Compton Reeves, Cora Schofield, Coventry, Crowland Chronicle, Earl of Kildare, Edmund of Rutland, Edward II, Edward III, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Edward the Black Prince, Eucharist, execution, Fotheringhay, Francis Viscount Lovell, Gainsborough, George Duke of Clarence, George Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury, Gloucester, Gloucester Cathedral, Grantham, Great Chronicle, Great Seal, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VI, Henry VII, investiture, Isabel Neville, Jamestown, John Fortescue, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, John Kendall, John Morton, John of Gloucester, John Russell, Katherine Hastings, Latin, Leicester, Lincoln, Lionel Woodville, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Louis XI, Ludlow, Margaret d’Anjou, Micklegate Bar, Middleham Castle, Minster Lovell, mystery plays, Nottingham, Oxford, Pamela Tudor-Craig, Peter Hammond, Pilgrims’ Way, Pontefract, Reading, reburials, Rhoda Edwards, Richard Duke of York, Richard Earl Rivers, Richard III, Richard of Salisbury, River Ouse, River Severn, River Witham, Rosemary Horrox, Royal Progress, Sandwich, Sir Baldwin Fulford, Sir John Woodville, St. George, Tadcaster, Tewkesbury, Tewkesbury Abbey, Thomas of woodstock, Thomas Rotherham, Thornbury, Titulus Regius, Wakefield, Wales, Warwick, William I, William Lord Hastings, William Waynflete, Windsor Castle, Woodstock, Worcester, York

Following his coronation, Richard III – like all medieval monarchs – went on his “royal progress” through the realm. Along with an entourage in excess of 200 household men, ecclesiastics, supporters, and administrative officials, he visited towns and cities as far west as the River Severn, as far north as the River Ouse, and as…
Now Richard’s bones “suggest….[he] was a control freak who had a friendly face”….!

Aug 28, 2020

archaeology

“Tudor” propaganda, bones, character, Leicester dig, Richard III, scoliosis

Well, for idiotic claims, this one about takes the biscuit! How on earth can the examination of Richard III’s centuries-old remains tell anyone he was a control freak? Or that he was friendly? Yes, a reconstruction from his skull has proved he was good-looking, but that’s not the same as “friendly”. Mind you, as medieval…
Who was old Hick Heavyhead then….?

Aug 27, 2020

culture, humour

Edmund Crouchback, Edward I, Elizabeth I, George IV, Hundred Years War, nicknames, Richard II, Richard III, William II

We all know that our royals have had nicknames – Longshanks, Rufus, Crouchback, Good Queen Bess, Prinny and, of course, Tricky Dicky. But HICK HEAVYHEAD????? 😲 And who was it? Richard II. Apparently because he was opposed to war when his barons wanted to swarm over to France and kick seven shades out of the…
‘WE SPEAK NO TREASON’ – Rosemary Hawley Jarman

Aug 26, 2020

Uncategorized

Battle of Bosworth, Francis Viscount Lovell, Leicester Greyfriars, novels, Richard III, Rosemary Hawley Jarman, We speak no treason

Richard brought to Greyfriars for Burial. Artwork Emma Vieceli Reblogged from Sparkypus.com We Speak No Treason And so once more the awful date has come and gone. Many fictional Ricardian novels have been written based on Richard and his life but surely the scenes of the aftermath of Bosworth in We speak no Treason written by the late Rosemary Hawley…
The blond Richard again….!

Aug 25, 2020

anniversaries, genealogy, Science

facial reconstruction, hair, Richard III

There are some interesting reconstructions here..apart from the blond Richard, which (try as I will) I just cannot accept. If he’d been blond (especially THAT blond!) it would surely have shown on his portraits. Or comment would have been made. His hair was medium-brown to dark, maybe a shade of chestnut…just NOT blond! It seems…
Thomas More and the Removal Men

Aug 23, 2020

archaeology, battles, buildings, sources

“Princes”, Barnard Castle, Battle of Bosworth, Dighton, Edward of Middleham, energetic priest, fantasy, Garden Tower, John Greene, John Stow, Miles Forest, Minster Lovell, Polydore Vergil, rescue plot, Richard III, Sir James Tyrrell, Sir Robert Brackenbury, Thomas Basin, Thomas More, Tyrrell “confession”, Warwick, Will Slaughter

Thomas More’s detailed and heart-wrenching account of the murders of Edward IV’s sons is well known, and is usually either accepted or dismissed in toto so it would probably be useful to pause at this point to remind ourselves exactly what it was that Thomas More claimed had happened to the boys and why opinions…
Richard’s first resting place – recreated

Aug 22, 2020

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, religion

Battle of Bosworth, CAD, Constanza of Castile, de Montfort University, Hawthorn Building, Hospital of the Annunciation, Lady Mary Hervey, Leicester Greyfriars, Mary de Bohun, Newarke Church, paint analysis, Richard III

Five years ago, we wrote about the lost Newarke Church in the Hospital of the Annunciation, where Richard lay for two days between his death and burial in the Greyfriars. As we said, the site is now occupied by the Hawthorn Building of de Montfort University, although these two original arches have been integrated. Here…
Was Richard III king by fact or by law….?

Aug 21, 2020

anniversaries, battles, law, religion

backdating, Dukes of York, Henry VII, Parliament, Richard III, Titulus Regius 1486

“….the phrase ‘king by fact, not by law’….rang out again, though in a different choice of words, when Henry VII described Richard III’s reign. Richard III was never rightfully king from the moment he died, as he was succeeded by Henry VII, a man who felt his reign was completely illegitimate. Although Richard III would have…