#Richard III Society

[shakespearenews]

By discussing what the movie is about, I’ve probably already spoiled the journey a bit for some, as the bulk of The Lost King tells of how Philippa (Hawkins) came to be fascinated by Richard III, and the battles she fought to get the dig to happen. It all starts (at least according to the film; the script makes some prime-time embellishments, and there may be some lawsuits) with a reluctant family trip to a performance of Shakespeare’s Richard III. Humiliated by a know-it-all couple at intermission, Philippa fixates on the contentious nature of the facts around Richard, as much of what is known about the monarch — considered a usurper, a tyrant, and a murderer — was the work of Tudor historians, working for the family that replaced Richard’s Plantagenets on the throne after killing him in battle. It’s a striking example of history being dictated by the winners. Shakespeare wrote more than a century after Richard’s death, but his play (among his greatest) has become Exhibit A in our conception of the young king as one of Western civilization’s great villains.

[cynicalclassicist]

We can never really know, of course, but while it might make a fun historical novel, it is probably not true. They probably died in the Tower of London in the 15th century.

I'm all for debating Richard III as much as the next medieval history nerd, but this feels a tad implausible.

Also, seeing the Torygraph put something up automatically makes me suspicious of a story.

TRICKY RICK MIGHT NOT HAVE DONE IT????

[legendaryten]

Ian’s Blog 28th January 2024

I have just finished reading a very entertaining novel called The Tudor Deception by Scott Mariani. It is a pro Ricardian Thriller that features the Richard III Society. At the end of the book, in the author notes, he describes Philippa Langley as a real life heroine. It's a shame that it was written prior to the latest missing Princes evidence as I am sure the author would have used this in his novel.

Here is a link to the book:-

[stonelord1]

The Lost Plot (by the Guardian) and 'The Lost King' Exhibition

A number of film critics have now viewed the new Steve Coogan movie, THE LOST KING, about the finding of Richard III’s remains. Reviews have been mixed but generally quite positive; I imagine it might be one of those ‘marmite’ films, which viewers either love or loathe. A exhibition in The Wallace Collection had also been arranged to coincide with the upcoming general release of the…

[squash1]

6:21, how very circular. an ending as a beginning.

actually life is beautiful.

i do have time.

[my4ththerapist]

Picture it: gansey and adam sobbing to dead poets society

[longsightmyth]

Listen listen I am in fact all for egalitarianism and anti monarchy etc etc and to be clear I'm not arguing that being a servant in tudor england was a utopian experience but I need authors writing in the period to understand that dining with servants is still the norm and not a measure of how Radical and Free Thinking your gemstone named plantagenet OC is

[blueseysyogurt]

i’ve never watched dead poets society but i like to think of todd and neil and the adam and gansey ones

[nostalgia-tblr]

Here we go, here we goooooooooo!!!

[une-sanz-pluis]

Refusing to adhere to the rules of the royal funeral had consequences, often immediately. The embalming stipulations in De Exequiis Regalibus were clearly disregarded by Edward IV when arranging for the exequies of Henry VI, oft referred to as Henry of Windsor. The 1910 tomb opening offers the physical evidence for this, but there is also narrative and financial evidence that corroborates the accusation of poor handling. The interval between Henry’s death and burial in May 1471 was only three days, as he died at the Tower of London. Henry was paraded with an open visage, so that he could be identified. According to Warkworth’s Chronicle, Henry’s body, while coffined, left blood on the ground, once at St Paul’s and once at Blackfriars. “Cruentation” was the medieval urban legend in which a victim always bled in the presence of his murderer. Henry theoretically bled in the presence of the pro-Yorkist courtiers and the royal house. Bleeding after death was also considered a sign of a martyr, and Henry quickly acquired a saintly following.65 The report of blood might be dismissed as pro-Lancastrian propaganda, but given the condition of Henry’s remains in 1910 and the stipulations of medieval preservation, the “bleeding” may have been the result of a poor embalming. The costs of Henry’s embalming were also low, as most of the money designated for his funeral was for the guarding of the corpse. Only £15 3s 6½d, given to Hugh Brice, was set aside for clergy, cloth, spices (the item that implied embalming), torches for the escort to St Paul’s and to Chertsey, and other items, such as the unmentioned embalmer himself. There was an additional payment of £9 10s 11d to Richard Martyn for twenty-eight yards of Holland linen and other items related to Henry’s exit from the Tower, including the soldiers’ salary for escort. Henry IV had spent far more than this amount caring for Richard’s body in 1400 compared to what Edward IV spent in 1471 for Henry’s body. In 1377, £21 had been spent solely upon the embalming of Edward III. The poor condition of Henry’s bones partially reflect the initial lack of a lead coffin—a measure recommended by the prescriptive texts the Liber Regie Capelle and the Household Articles. His exposure to the populace of London, the financial accounts, and the presence of tissue and hair clinging to the skull indicate that Henry was embalmed, though poorly. The body did not withstand the centuries, or even the days before burial.

Anna M. Duch, "'King By Fact, Not by Law': Legitimacy and exequies in medieval England", Dynastic Change: Legitimacy and Gender in Medieval and Early Modern Monarchy (Routledge 2020)

[bottomoftheriverbed]

The way Richard iii is so polarised in public consciousness is so annoying why can I not just say I'm a Richard iii girlie without having to clarify that I don't think he's a maligned saint who didn't kill his nephews

[littlemuoi]

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester does a reading at The Reburial of Richard III (2015)

Exodus 13: 19-22

19. And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph, who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, ‘God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here.’

20. They set out from Succoth, and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness

21. The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.

22. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

(Full service)

[legendaryten]

Ian’s Blog 31st December 2023

My song about Shakespeare’s version of Richard III was included on the 7th December 2023 Music Eye Radio Show. You can hear Chris Watson talking about Richard III and then my song at about 49 minutes into the show

[squash1]

there’s really something special about the latin-school-boys big three

[artemismatchalatte]

I have no idea what I'm going to do for NaNoWriMo this year. I feel very uninspired lately.

I just want to do well in my class and my energy has been low lately (season change on my new medicine, I'm guessing???). I need some energy because it's Shakespeare and I need to keep my grades up to stay in the honors society (no pressure lol).

Much More in the tags as per usual... :P

[nostalgia-tblr]

i've decided that my new tumblr niche is going to be pretending to woobify richard the third until that somehow catches on (note to self: find out how to become viral) and this hellsite fills up with wars of the roses discourse and epically long posts about who really killed those kids and actually no if you weren't an ABLEIST SHITLORD you would appreciate him like we do over here on the moral high ground.