How long richard iii

It is not known how easily Richard read and understood Latin, but an interest in reading the Gospels in the vernacular suggests an intention to absorb its message as perfectly as possible. In particular a prayer that was added to the book after it came into Richard's possession. This has been closely analysed in the hope of throwing light on everything from his spiritual life to his mental health. Richard's own circumstances have been taken to be directly relevant to words and phrases used in the prayer, as if it were composed with the king in mind, however texts of it have been found dating from the fourteenth century, and originating in places as far apart as Italy, Catalonia and Burgundy.

It is a long prayer, designed for use by anyone in distress, anxiety, infirmity or affliction of any kind. The prayer seems to have been particularly valued by other medieval rulers: known owners of books containing it include Alexander, Prince of Poland, Maximilian I, Frederick of Aragon, and successive Dukes of Burgundy. Recitation of the prayer on thirty successive days was enjoined, in the belief that God would then turn the supplicant's troubles to 'joy and comfort. Without additions peculiar to a single owner, the normal contents of a Book of Hours were, principally, formal prayers of the Church designed for public recitation but suitable also for private use.

The main constituent was the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a simpler, shorter version of the Divine Office, making it suitable for laypeople to pray either alone or with a companion. In addition the book contained many prayers directed to and praising the Virgin Mary. Devotion to the Mother of God was popular among both clergy and laity at all times during the Middle Ages, and there is no reason to think that Richard III was any exception.

According to John Rous in his Anglica Historia , 'King Richard was praiseworthy for his building, as at Westminster, Nottingham, Warwick, York and Middleham, and many other places, which can be viewed. He founded a noble chantry for a hundred priests in the cathedral of York, and another college at Middleham.

He founded another in the church of St Mary of Barking, by the Tower of London, and endowed the Queen's College at Cambridge with marks annual rent.

Jonathon Hughes suggests that Richard had an 'excessive preoccupation with chantry masses… He was responsible for ten chantry or collegiate foundations apart from his patronage of Queen's College, Cambridge and he distributed a stream of largesse to religious houses, parish churches, houses of friars, chapels and chantries'.

He adds that many of Richard's gifts were small and mostly given in the north, where he established most of his foundations. On 21 February he obtained a licence to found and endow the college, which was to be served by a dean, six chaplains, five clerks and six choristers. As well as providing prayers for himself, his wife and son, prayers were to be offered for his surviving siblings, the king and queen, and his mother.

Masses were also to be said for the soul of his father and his deceased brothers and sisters. However the college was not only to serve as a house of prayer, it was to contribute towards the better education of the clergy and improve services in the locality. The same licence also gave Richard permission to endow a college at Barnard Castle, comprising a dean and twelve priests. The endowment was valued at marks per annum, twice the size of Middleham. All of these foundations would have been overshadowed by Richard's plan to establish a college of priests at York Minster in While Richard may have been concerned about his own soul, his was not a unique preoccupation.

What his grants also demonstrate is his concern for the poor or those who lived in remote areas, and that they should have the benefit not only of a priest but one who was educated.

If he was concerned for his own soul he was also concerned for the souls of his people, especially those in the north. Sutton and Visser-Fuchs place Richard firmly in his time: 'Richard's religion was that of the later middle ages, humanised, fervent and personal within the strong and controlling framework of the church.

He directed his attention to the same things: he, too, adopted favourite saints to be his patrons and intermediaries with God and had particular objects of veneration.

Richard left no spiritual or other writings which would help us. But he owned religious books, whose character leads one to suppose that they were for use rather than ornament. He founded colleges and chantries and he gave alms generously in comparison to others. He probably, prayed every day, and no doubt attended Mass and other services of the church regularly. We know he had a confessor, so he will have received the Sacrament of Penance regularly too. As far as we can judge, Richard fulfilled his obligations and more, and for a medieval prince that was remarkable.

Armstrong in For Hilaire Belloc , ed. Douglas Woodruff Hammond, London, Most personal of all, perhaps, is his 'confession' in his letter to Louis XI, King of France, who had presented him, in when he was still duke of Gloucester, with a 'great bombard', the largest and most expensive gunpowder weapon available at the time.

Richard thanked the king in a letter and added 'I have always taken and still take great pleasure in artillery and I assure you it will be a special treasure to me'.

There was, of course, nothing unusual in a twenty-six-year-old nobleman being fascinated by such weapons: they were part of the most up-to-date military technology of the day. We gain intimate information of a different nature about Richard's interests from the account of the Silesian traveller, Nicolas von Popplau, who met the king in the spring of Von Popplau reports how Richard was able to express admiration at his guest's mastery of the Latin tongue; praises the choir employed by the king as 'the sweetest music he had ever heard' , describes the magnificence of the king's meal and the great ceremony that accompanied it, but also his graciousness to his guest.

Their conversation, which almost made the king forget to eat, was wide ranging: it went from the Latin origin of the name of Pontefract to the exact date of the annual ceremony of feet washing on Maundy Thursday. The king asked von Popplau about continental princes and their affairs, and about the Turks in particular. Having been told how the king of Hungary had recently gained a great victory over them, Richard enviously exclaimed: 'I would like my kingdom and land to lie where the land and kingdom of the king of Hungary lies, on the Turkish frontier itself' , and continued: 'Then I would certainly, with my own people alone, without the help of other kings, princes or lords, completely drive away not only the Turks, but all my enemies and opponents!

His enthusiastic remark shows his confidence in his own military abilities as well as his awareness of the international situation, which made it impossible to create an alliance between the ever-squabbling princes of western Europe and organise a concerted attack on the Turks.

The general impression of Richard that we get from von Popplau's account is that of a magnificent and thoughtful princely host, who took a great interest in many, diverse matters. The Middleham Jewel Another indication of what Richard liked can be found in the will of Sir John Pilkington, a long standing servant of the house of York. In the same context should be mentioned one of those prejudices, or rather 'myths', about Richard III which have sprung up over the years: the curious idea that he was a 'fop', a dandy.

This is based on the misunderstanding, by several generations of historians, of the contents of the surviving Great Wardrobe accounts, which list among other things the materials needed for the robes worn by the fifteenth-century kings. These may appear unusually sumptuous but in fact merely illustrate the standard norms of a medieval court and its splendours. Richard's Religious Books Finally and most importantly there is Richard's undoubted liking for books. His surviving 'library' is a remarkable collection, covering most medieval interests and fields of knowledge, except medicine, law, and theology.

Striking is the fact that he put his name in his books, not as common a practice in his day as one might think. The bias of his collection, if there is one, is towards history and the history books together covered nearly everything from mythical beginnings to his own day: the story of Troy by Guido delle Collone and the lives of the British kings by Geoffrey of Monmouth, both in Latin St Petersburg, Saltykov-Shchedrin State Public Library MS Lat.

To these can be added a number of genealogical rolls and the most famous of medieval 'mirrors for princes' Giles of Rome's De regimine principum in Latin Lambeth Palace, MS Arc. Unusual texts, probably owned by Richard, were a collection of letters on statecraft ascribed to the Sicilian tyrant Phalaris, edited by Pietro Carmeliano Dublin, Trinity College, MS There are several interesting general aspects to Richard's collection of books: he had no preference for manuscript over print, and did not demand that all his books were new, or sumptuously decorated.

Through the quirks of survival his collection includes one of merely two surviving copies of the English translation of Mechtild of Hackeborn's Book of Special Grace , the only extant copy of a prose translation of the romance of Ipomedon Library of the Marquess of Bath, MS , the only manuscript copy of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Britanniae known to have belonged to a medieval king of England, and one of the two surviving texts of the Prophecy of the Eagle with a particular Commentary , which was added to the Historia.

Caxton was at the height of his production during Richard's brief reign and dedicated his Order of Chivalry to the king, and most important of all in the context of printing: when Richard's parliament took measures to control alien workers and their goods in England, books and their makers were specifically exempted. There can be little doubt that among the kings of England, of any period, Richard's interest in books and the booktrade is unusual and remarkable.

Loyalty, Lordship and Law , ed. Hammond, London , repr. A Medieval Kingship , London In King Edward was determined to regain his throne and he joined battle against his cousin and former ally, the earl of Warwick, at Barnet. The vanguard was led by the eighteen-year-old Richard and his success was recorded in the poem On the Recovery of the Throne by Edward IV:.

The duke of Glocetter, that nobill prynce, Yonge of age and victorius in batayle, To the honour of Ectour [Hector] that he myghte comens, Grace hym folowith, fortune, and good spede. In King Edward mounted an expedition to France but quarrelled with his ally and brother-in-law, the duke of Burgundy, and made peace with the French king.

Richard appeared to have hoped for a glorious campaign on the lines of Henry V's in and it was recorded that: Original artwork by Gerry Hitch. The Duke of Gloucester, the King of England's brother, and some other persons of quality, were not present at this interview, as being averse to the treaty; but they recollected themselves afterwards, the Duke of Gloucester waited on the king our master at Amiens.

Thank God, the giver all good gifts, for the support received from our most loving brother, whose success is so proven that he alone would suffice to chastise the whole kingdom of Scotland.

This year we appointed our very dear brother Richard Duke of Gloucester to command the same army which we ourselves intended to have led last year, had not adverse turmoil hindered us.

The King. In his role as a 'good lord' Richard would have been asked to act as an executor. One such example is found in the will of Sir John Pilkington who came from an influential northern family:.

In Richard's brother George, duke of Clarence, was arrested by the king and tried for treason, found guilty and privately executed. Dominic Mancini, an Italian who visited England in , wrote about Richard's reaction:. Original artwork by Gerry Hitch. He contents the people wher he goys best that ever did prince; for many a poor man that hath suffred wrong many days have be relevyd and helpyd by hym and his commands in his progresse.

And in many grete citeis and townis wer grete summis of mony gif hym which he hath refusyd. On my trouth I lykyd never the condicions of ony prince so wel as his; God hathe sent hym to us for the wele of us al …'. Richard was concerned about justice, both for the individual and its administration. A Year Book reports one of his most famous acts, when he called together all his justices and posed three questions concerning specific cases.

This record provides an idea of Richard's comprehension of and commitment to his coronation oath to uphold the law and its proper procedures. The second question was this. If some justice of the Peace had taken a bill of indictment which had not been found by the jury, and enrolled it among other indictments 'well and truly found' etc. And this question was carefully argued among the justices separately and among themselves, … And all being agreed, the justices gave the King in his Council in the Star Chamber their answer to his question in this wise: that above such defaults enquiry ought to be made by a commission of at least twelve jurors, and thereupon the party, having been presented, accused and convicted, shall lose the office and pay fine to the King according to the degree of the misprision etc.

Richard III. Original artwork by Gerry Hitch This accolade for Richard comes from an unexpected source. Dacre seemed to feel intimidated by the reputations of Richard and the earl of Northumberland resulting from a raid they had made into Tevydale in the s, which Dacre was expected to repeat.

Nine years later, he is still concerned at their exploits in a letter to Wolsey who responds that, as they took effectual measures to punish and repress offenders, he hopes Dacre will obey his wholesome and friendly admonition and acquire, 'as good a character as they did'. Bob Woosnam-Savage of the Royal Armouries will contribute to this section when his research, in conjunction with the University of Leicester Archaeological Services on King Richard's skeleton, is complete.

But which account - if any - was true? Although Rous' account was backed up a few years later by Polydore Vergil's History , until it was not certain that Richard was buried at the Leicester Greyfriars. Prominent historians had questioned this, therefore more evidence was needed.

In I discovered a previously unpublished key sentence in a source at The National Archives. A widely-believed Ricardian story reported that his body had later been moved …. Bow Bridge, Leicester Even on the day the dig started in August , people in Leicester told me ' You won't find him - he was dug up in and thrown into the River Soar '.

Was this story true? Back in , the BBC commissioned me to research it. I discovered. I concluded from all this evidence that Richard III's body had never been moved , and it therefore still lay at the Greyfriars site. Where should we look for the lost church and would it be possible to find it? According to one of the trustees of a new Richard III visitor centre, local tourism has grown by three per cent more than comparable areas, and Richard is the likely cause.

The researchers collected DNA from living relatives of Richard III and analysed several genetic markers, and found the mitochondrial genome shows a genetic match between the skeleton and the maternal line relatives. Some 5, people apply on the first day, and by the end of December more than 13, people have entered the ballot, BBC News reports.

University of Leicester genealogist Professor Kevin Schurer says he has revealed a link between Cumberbatch and the king, which makes them third cousins 16 times removed.

His funeral cortege enters the city at the historic Bow Bridge after touring landmarks in the county, and cannons are fired in a salute to the king at Bosworth, where he died in Thousands of people queue for hours to see it , BBC News reports.

We will not be able to study them after reburial. And we need to learn more about the awesome Greyfriars precinct: the church, the other buildings and the role of the friars in the life of medieval Leicester. Finally, scholars will need time to consider the impact of this major new body of material evidence for interpreting the literary and historical sources of the period. This need not be an excuse for a public holiday or a Westminster Abbey service, but the opportunity for the body to lie in state for people to pay their respects.

As for the funeral service, some form of joint ceremony reflecting his Catholic faith needs to be considered. Then the process of re-assessing Richard really begins.

I only wish that the strange cult of this murderous little tyrant would also lie down and die. The idea of a state funeral in a church, abbey, minster or cathedral honouring a serial-killing child murderer is almost obscene. Murder is murder, however ancient. Beyond that, even though the discovery of his remains sheds little further light on his reign, it has served to illumine — and to glorious effect — something that many pessimists had doubted: the abiding attachment of the British to their history.

Long live King Richard! Amazingly, Shakespeare was right, not [Scottish mystery novelist] Josephine Tey — which must annoy all the revisionists. As for what next: why not DNA-test the reputed bones of the princes in the Tower? Though both stories are examples of the black legend that will quickly develop around the king after his death, we do know that Cecily, aged 37 at the time, suffered a particularly painful labour.

The victor claims the thrown as Edward IV. Within a year he is created Duke of Gloucester. Richard, however, remains loyal to his brother, following Edward into exile in the Netherlands in October when Warwick and Clarence conspire successfully to put Henry VI back on the throne.

While abroad, Edward and Richard are hosted by the Burgundian nobleman Louis de Gruuthuse, whose book collection leaves a lasting impression on both men. They had earlier returned to England to reclaim the kingdom, landing in Yorkshire in March before marching southwards, gathering troops and welcoming their brother Clarence back into the Yorkist fold. Fighting takes place in a thick fog, resulting in the Lancastrian forces accidentally attacking each other.

Warwick flees the battle on horseback, but is discovered in a nearby wood and killed. Margaret and her son had landed on the south coast on the day of the battle of Barnet; Edward IV and Richard, learning of the invasion, had marched towards the Lancastrians, at times travelling 36 miles in a single day.

At the battle of Tewkesbury Richard is again successful in destroying the Lancastrian army, and Prince Edward is killed on the battlefield. The following day, Richard presides over the trial and execution of the Lancastrian commander, the Duke of Somerset, who is dragged out of the abbey after attempting to seek sanctuary there.

This version has never been proved. This sparks a major row between the brothers. However, when assistance promised by the Duke of Burgundy fails to materialise, Edward gets cold feet and instead in August chooses to sign the Treaty of Picquigny with the French king Louis XI, which provides the English king with a substantial annual pension.

He had been executed at Wakefield in , his head displayed on a spike in York and his body placed unceremiously in a grave at Pontefract. The funeral is marked by an elaborate feast for 1, Unlike Richard, who is building a reputation as a stalwart of the Yorkist dynasty, Clarence was disenchanted with his own prospects, and seemed again to be flirting with rebellion. In he was arrested for his involvement in the death of one of his servants. Edward was determined to see his brother punished, and led the treason trial against him.

War had erupted between England and Scotland during the early s; in , Richard was appointed lieutenant general of the north, leading several border raids. In June , Richard leads a full invasion of Scotland with a force of around 20, men. In the end, Albany backs down. Next day, Richard arrests Rivers and seizes the young king. Elizabeth flees into sanctuary, and Richard is proclaimed Protector of the Realm.

Richard is crowned on 6 July. According to the chronicler John Stow, this may have been a failed attempt to free the princes in the Tower, and ultimately may have sealed their fate.

Other sources suggest that the princes were murdered on the advice of the Duke of Buckingham; Thomas More suggests that Richard decided to have them killed while in Warwick during his summer progress. A lack of evidence means that the fate of Edward V and Richard, Duke of York remains unknown to this day.

Richard is stung by the news that Henry, Duke of Buckingham, a previously loyal supporter, has joined the uprising. Meanwhile, Henry Tudor sails from Brittany in the hope of landing near Plymouth. Forced to turn back, he is soon joined by hundreds of English exiles who flee abroad after the failed rebellion. Bondsmen working on crown lands are also freed.

The king and his wife, Anne, are stunned. Richard is without an heir. Earlier, on Christmas Day , Henry Tudor had sworn that he would take Elizabeth of York as his wife if he successfully invaded England.

Henry won French backing and began to prepare a fleet, while intrigue in England continued. Rumours circulate that Anne has been poisoned; some add that Richard plans to marry his niece, Elizabeth of York. Believing that he will crush Henry, whose forces number only 2, or 3, and are dwarfed by the vast army gathered by the king at Nottingham, Richard delays his departure from the city to observe the festival of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on 15 August.

His body is stripped and taken to Leicester, where it is later buried in the Grey Friars priory. Chris Skidmore is a historian and politician, and the author of several books on late medieval and Tudor England.

Did he murder the Princes in the Tower? Did he want to marry his niece, Elizabeth of York?