Richard III, The Return of the King, Michael Perry-style

[leadfool]

I just read about his remains here in the american Papers.  I was interested to discover that there is a Richard the Third society.  I always thought he was maligned by Shakespear, but I still marvel at the Basil Rathbone portrayal with Boris Karloff and Vincent Price, in the old movie, the Tower of London.

[carlos marighela]

Poor sod, apparently he wanted and had planned to be buried at York, which is entirely appropriate but there's a push on to bury him in Leicester. Proponents of York are now arguing the toss with those favouring Leicester.

My solution? Bury Richard at York in accordance with his wishes and bury Anthony Sher in Leicester. 'Ah!' I hear you cry 'but Anthony Sher isn't dead'. Therein lies the beauty of my proposal. 

[Arlequín]

There's the ecumenical aspect too... Richard was a devout Catholic and given that Richard spoke like a Brummie, I suggest St. Chad's in Birmingham.

[Captain Blood]

He was King of England for goodness sake. Re-inter his remains at Westminster Abbey.

Love the model. The disabled parking bay sign is a touch of genius 

[Arlequín]

So, any news yet on what they intend to do about the chronic lack of parking in Leicester city centre?

[JollyBob]

Oh I hope they do make that available. 

@ pocoloco: I can't point you to anyonline sources, but a few books I've read seem to cite Richard III as a pretty handy man in a scrap. Bosworth wasn't his first battle, and I'm sure he lead a division of Edward IV's army in at least one other, accounting himself well.

Also according to what I've read and filtered through my shitty memory, Dickie was the last English king to lead a cavlry charge, smashing through Henry Tudor's bodyguard, killing his standard bearer and damn near winning the Wars of the Roses in his final desperate sally after Stanley's betrayal.

He also invested heavily in fortifying Carlisle castle and turning it into a gun platform to keep the damned Scots at bay. All in all, seemed fairly capable both physically and strategically to me.

[pocoloco]

Thanks JollyBob. He's really interesting case. Good old Will Shakespeare depicted Richard in not so good way, but then again he was patronaged by the Tudors. Then again depicting Richard as a hunchback could have been just a transmission happening through the years, scoliosis becoming a hunchback. Just wondering if he had really fared better on the horseback at the moment of his death than fighting on foot and losing his life.

Oh well, gotta play soon both the old venerable Kingmaker and the new Crown of Roses boardgames.

[Arlequín]

He also left us a system of 'bail', instituted the 'Court of Requests', so the poor had access to the legal system and had Laws and Statutes translated into English from French and Latin. He rescinded restrictions on the print and sale of books in England too and was an avid book collector and reader himself.

I've few doubts that the Princes were killed on his watch, with or without his order. We should be wary of judging him through 20th Century eyes though, as if they had been still alive when Henry VII ascended to the throne, their life expectancy would have been measured in days, if they lasted that long.

Just wondering if he had really fared better on the horseback at the moment of his death than fighting on foot and losing his life.

 
He may have charged on horseback and ended up dismounted, which seems to be the 'folk-memory' depiction of his death, which also includes being struck down by a poleaxe or bill. Certainly judging by the head wounds he received, he was helmetless and on foot at the end.

[Hammers]

So, any news yet on what they intend to do about the chronic lack of parking in Leicester city centre?

 

[Red Orc]

On his earlier career, as JollyBob intimates in discussing the fortification of Carlisle, he was 'Lord President' of the Council of the North - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_the_North (though there isn't much information there) - during Edward's reign, and had previously lived in Yorkshire (though of course despite popular confusion between them, he wasn't 'Richard of York', that was his grandad, he was 'Richard of Gloucester'). He also spent much of his early life in Yorkshire, though he was born in Northamtonshire I believe. The city elders of York issued a statement when they heard he's been killed at Bosworth lamenting the death of their much-loved lord who had been betrayed and piteously slain. So he certainly had a good reputation in Northern England. His wife's buried in York too.

As a resident of Leicester, and an archaeologist, I'm a bit torn by this whole business. Northamptonshire wants him - that's where he was born. Gloucester wants him - that where his duchy was. York wants him - that's where he spent much of his time before being king, and that's where he wanted to be buried. Leicester wants him - that's where he was buried, and archaeological practice is to inter disturbed bodies of Christians in the nearest appropriate burial ground. Complicated, of course, as arelquin says, by the fact that he was Catholic. But then again, at the time he died, the Church of St Martin at Leicester (now St Martin's Anglican Cathedral) was a catholic church. Has the Catholic magic worn off? I'm not sure it has. It's a consecrated Catholic burial ground, I think.

[answer_is_42]

Put the poor bugger back under the car park and let him be, goodness' sake. The amount of time mankind spends faffing over the bones of long dead despots, I dunno...

Love the figure, anyway, very clever.

[Arlequín]

I find it quite ironic that when it came to financing the dig, nobody, including Leicester Council, were interested. Now everyone is laying claim. I'd say either lay him to rest in the nearest consecrated ground as Red Orc suggests, or let Philippa Langley or the RIII Society make the decision as to where he finally goes to rest.

[carlos marighela]

he wasn't 'Richard of York', that was his grandad, he was 'Richard of Gloucester'). He also spent much of his early life in Yorkshire, though he was born in Northamtonshire I believe. The city elders of York issued a statement when they heard he's been killed at Bosworth lamenting the death of their much-loved lord who had been betrayed and piteously slain. So he certainly had a good reputation in Northern England. His wife's buried in York too.

Well you could bury him under the model village at Bourton on the Water then/ I'm sure it would prop up flagging revenues and wargamers and history buffs, the people most likely to visit, usually love a good model village.

[James Morris]

Ho ho!  Love it.  Watching the programme, I was speculating how long it would take the Perries to knock out a 'Death of Richard' vignette, but this is priceless!   

[huevans]

Pretty clever being buried UNDER the carpark and not on top. He must have saved millions over the years in parking charges!