Richard III Group Read January 2022 Housekeeping

picture from Wikimedia.com

I am by no means a “student” of Shakespeare. I am a student of history and a professor of history. (post-Renaissance) That being said, I feel a bit unqualified to lead this discussion. Therefore, I will post the formats and rely most heavily on those who are more knowledgeable than I to direct us!

Richard III was probably written in 1592-1594. It was not published until 1597 because it seems that the original manuscript went missing. It was published in quarto format by the acting company from memory. Another edition was published in The First Folio, which critics claim is a better edition. Richard III is the last in a sequence of four history plays (the others being Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2, and Henry VI, Part 3) known collectively as the “first tetralogy.

Historical Richard III
Richard III was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1483-1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. History says he usurped the throne of his nephew, Edward V, and died in the Battle of Bosworth Field, won by Henry Tudor who became Henry VI. For such a short time on the throne, Richard III sure gets a lot of press!
From everything that I have read, Richard III seemed to be loyal to the Kings of the House of York until the death of Edward IV in 1483. Edward V was only 12 years of age and Richard III was designated Lord Protector until Edward V became of age. However, the Royal Council, dominated by Edward IV’s mother, had other ideas. She wanted Edward V crowned immediately, thus doing away with any influence Richard III had over Edward V and England. Richard III staged a coup d’etat in May of 1483 when he took (abducted) Edward V and dismissed his household, putting some in prison. Richard took Edward V to London in a great procession claiming his loyalty to the crown and himself as Lord Protector. Richard III now abducted Edward’s younger brother (also called Richard) and kept them both in the tower and on June 26 declared his claim to the throne.

There is a lot of debate between historians and Shakespeare and Thomas More. How cunning was Richard? Was he ever loyal? These are some questions that we can discuss. Richard III’s’ justification for usurping the crown was the Edward IV’s children were illegitimate.

The location of Richard’s burial place had long been a mystery; all that was known was the approximate spot where he had fallen in battle and that he had been “irreverently buried.” In 2012 a skeleton exhibiting signs of mortal injury inflicted in battle and of scoliosis was uncovered by archaeologists in a Leicester parking lot. In early 2013 genetic testing confirmed that the skeleton was that of Richard.

What became of the two princes Richard III abducted? Many tales of intrigue here! Makes for some good reading, outside the scope of what we can do here, though. But, I will probably go down that rabbit hole myself!
One thing for sure, Richard III was a polarizing king. It does seem, at least in history circles, that he was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. There has been somewhat of an effort to rehabilitate Richard III in modern times.

There are 5 acts contained within Richard III. I will post a discussion forum for each act. Post when you have finished reading each act—therefore no pressure to read a certain amount of material by the week or month. I would like to suggest that we look for some common ground while reading, such as themes?

Info from Wikipedia, biography.com, and Historic.Uk.Com

The real history of Richard III is muddled because he had to appear as the worst king ever for the Tudors to gain legitimacy. If Richard was in any way a real king and not an usurper and if he was a good king, then Henry VII is guilty of unwarranted regicide. Later on, the minority of Edward VI will keep the “villain” history alive because it was convenient.

What really did happen in these last years of the War of the Roses is disputable. None of the participants smelt of roses by that time but still, a lot of the surviving history was written by the people who did need Richard to look as black as possible.

Which does not mean that Richard did not do some of the things he was accused of. But when the Bars penned the play, he was in a Tudor world. :) And that matters.