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Richard III of England: Difference between revisions
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Richard, Duke of Gloucester (1452 - 1485), from 1483 '''King Richard III''', was the sixth son of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and brother of King Edward IV of England, who had seized the throne from the reigning king, Henry VI. (The complicated relationships of the various branches of [[The House of Plantagenet]] were the principal cause of the "[[Wars of the Roses]]", in which Richard distinguished himself.) On Edward's death, he seized the throne from Edward's son (called Edward V, though he was never actually crowned), declaring him and his younger brother Richard of York bastards. (Traditionally, Richard had his nephews murdered in the Tower of London; this has been much disputed since at least late Tudor times.) A rebellion led by Henry [[The House of Tudor|Tudor]], Earl of Richmond, arose, and Richard was killed fighting for his kingdom at Bosworth Field.
Richard's traditional reputation was largely formed by Sir Thomas More's ''History of king Richard the thirde'', which (possibly based on the reminiscences of John Morton, Bishop of Ely) depicts Gloucester as a [[Red Right Hand|hunch-backed, withered-armed]] Machiavellian villain. More's account formed the basis for [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Richard III]]'', which has probably been the most influential account of Richard's life and character -- despite its obvious historical shortcomings -- and has indeed tended to color perceptions of the entire [[The Late Middle Ages|Late
Nevertheless, Richard's [[Retcon|rehabilitation]] started fairly early. In the reign of James I (''i.e''., after the death of the [[The Virgin Queen|last]] of the [[The House of Tudor|Tudors]]), the antiquarian [[wikipedia:George Buck|Sir George Buck]] discovered the suppressed ''Titulus Regius'' that set forth the Parliamentary explanation for Richard's assumption of the throne and claimed he had seen a letter (now lost, if it ever existed at all) from Edward V's sister, Elizabeth of York, which established the friendly relations between them, and wrote his ''History of King Richard III'' in an attempt to moderate the king's negative image. Unfortunately, Buck died insane, and his history was published only after his death, by his grandson (1646). Nevertheless, the concept of a Richard slandered by Henry Tudor (considered by most a man of few scruples) gained a strong following, and has influenced historians, either positively or negatively, ever since.
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