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Richard III Society
A new facial reconstruction of King Richard III, based on the bones unearthed beneath a parking lot in Leicester, England, show the vilified monarch in a kinder, gentler light.
By Stephanie Pappas
LiveScience
More than a month has passed since archaeologists announced they'd found the bones of Richard III under a parking lot in Leicester, and the headlines have mostly moved on. But for many, the lure of King Richard III is just beginning.
Richard III enthusiasts, or Richardians, as they are known, have societies in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The discovery of the bones of the medieval king has only swelled their ranks. At the same time, the reburial of the king has sparked strong opinions. Why does this particular monarch incite such fascination? Fans say his shrouded history is a major draw.
"He's just such an enigmatic figure, and people are drawn to that, because there's such mystery about him," said Molly McAleavey, a Denver-based member of the Richard III Foundation, one of the societies dedicated to the king. "What was he like, really? What is the truth?"
Richard's mystery
Richard III was king of England from 1483 to 1485, but played an important role as a military commander prior to his monarchy, during the reign of his brother Edward IV. His brother's young sons weren't seen in public after Richard took the throne, leading to speculation that he had them murdered.
Those accusations are just the tip of the iceberg. After Richard III died during the War of the Roses, an English civil war, the next dynasty (the Tudors) did what they could to smear his name. William Shakespeare later wrote a play, "Richard III," drawing heavily on these portrayals of the king as purely evil.
The Shakespeare play was the point of entry for many a Richard enthusiast, who tend to be history buffs in general.
"I've always been interested in history," said Sandra Wadley, the secretary and one of the founding members of The Society of Friends of King Richard III, based in York, England. "I just didn't think anybody could be as black as William Shakespeare made out this man to be." [Gallery: The Discovery of Richard III]
Another fictional portrayal, in the detective novel "The Daughter of Time" (Peter Davies, 1951), drew in other Richardians. That book features a Scotland Yard inspector unraveling the history of Richard and concluding that he was innocent of historical charges of villainy.
Rediscovering Richard
Many modern-day Richardians agree the monarch was falsely vilified.
"When you read about what Richard did with his parliament and how he behaved in military matters, you find quite an extraordinary character," said Wendy Moorhen, the deputy chair of the Richard III Society, which was instrumental in organizing the excavation for the king's bones.
University of Leicester
This is the spine of what has been confirmed to belong to King Richard III. It shows the king would've had so-called idiopathic adolescent-onset scoliosis, meaning the cause is unclear though the individual would have developed the disorder
after age 10; the curvature would've put pressure on the man's heart and lungs and could've caused pain.
Enthusiasts such as Moorhen don't want to remake Richard in the image of a saint, but they do want to rehabilitate his image from that of the twisted hunchback with the withered arm portrayed by Shakespeare. The discovery of the skeleton has helped, Moorhen said: It's now known that Richard III did have scoliosis, a curvature of the spine. But he wasn't a hunchback, nor was there anything apparently wrong with his arm.
"I think it demonstrates a strength of character in Richard, that despite that he had this problem, he still rode, he could still fight, he could still lead in battle," Moorhen said.
The discovery of the bones was a day of excitement for Richardians both in the United Kingdom and abroad. "It's absolutely astounding," said Jonathan Hayes, the chairman of the American branch of the Richard III society.
Burial controversy
The saga has not been a completely smooth one, however. The decision by the University of Leicester (which has legal exhumation and reburial rights) to inter Richard III in Leicester Cathedral upset some Richardians who wanted to see his body returned to York, where he spent much of his life. Last week, Hugh Bayley of the British Labour Party said during a debate that some of the mail over the issue had been "frankly inflammatory."
It's not clear who sent the angry missives, and Richardians contacted by LiveScience seemed eager to stay above the fray.
"I think most of the members of the Society are less interested in the actual location than in making sure that the reburial is both dignified and respectful of his role as an anointed English monarch," Hayes said.
Wadley, who would have liked to see Richard III return to York, said she expected that he'd be interred in Leicester — and she was looking on the bright side.
"He finally gets to rest not under a car park, but under proper, consecrated ground," she said.
Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook and Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.
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England was lucky that the Tudors won rather than continue with the Plantagenets in power. Whatever faults Henry VIII had, he enabled England to become a modern country more easily than would have been the case otherwise. And his daughter Elizabeth sealed the deal.
Do you have any proof for that? Please list the Tudor kings who have died in battle.
It seems as though none of the points that William Shakespeare, the Tudor brown-noser, were actually true but rather a toadying, sycophantic attempt to gain favor with the "royals". If I were the Tudors I would be shaking in my velvet boots.
Long live King Richard!
PS: He's going to be buried in York Minster.
There are a couple of excellent histories on the Wars of the Roses that do NOT rely on the Tudor view of Richard III. They are based on contemporary writings from diaries, chronicles and personal letters that support the theory that Richard was a despot.
There was a great public outcry over the fate of thefate of the two young princes. There was great dissatisfaction among the nobles over the way Richard governed the country and revived the age old custom of "hostage taking" to ensure their loyalty and compliance. All of these monographs were written BEFORE Bosworth and before the Tudors allegedly poisoned public opinion.
I believe there was only one English King who died in battle prior to the death of Richard at Bosworth. Harold Godwynson, the Saxon king of England died at Hastings in 1066.
Richard the First also known as "Couer de Lion" was fatally wounded by a French crossbowman during the siege of a French castle. There was no general military action underway, no assault, no battle, nothing like that. Richard was just pursuing his favorite past-time of taking potshots at the guards on the castle walls when one of them shot back and wounded him. He died several days later.
It's generally believed that Richard's younger brother, John, was another despot responsible for murders and rapes and embezzelments. But most historians believe, as bad as John was, he couldn't hold a candle to Richard III.
I say put him back in the parking lot.
It's Ricardian and I'm a Society member and there are Societies world wide not just UK and US! Try looking even further afield. Return the King home to York!
People should be aware that recent scholarly works do not blame Richard III for the deaths of his brothers two sons....instead they point to the dynastic ambitions of the Duke of Buckingham, who had his own plans if the two sons of Edward IV were out of the Way....Not only was Richard away from the tower where the boys were transferred from the castle, but he was on his first journey around the country assuring the nation that Richard the PROTECTOR, and Uncle was doing the job his brother assigned him to do. The continuity of government and assurance were important tasks for the newly minted Overlord of young Edward V, and the mother, former Queen Catherine Woodville had handed over the other son to Richard's Care. People who don't trust your intentions do not behave in such a manner, they typically run, hide and leave the country to protect the heir to the throne. FYI
Sorry for nit-picking, but Josephine Tey (pseudonym for Elizabeth Mackintosh) wrote The Daughter of Time, not Peter Davies as the article states.
Each country has their Richard III. Here in America we have Obama I.