Philippa Langley & King Richard III
♛ Philippa Langley ♛
Interesting video with the full interview in the article!
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History Extra Interview – Philippa Langley and Michael Jones
About the search for King Richard III and his grave
Where should King Richard III be buried?
Philippa Langley and the Channel4 documentary
About the Princes in the Tower
About “The White Queen”
♛ King Richard III ♛
- Medievalists.net: When Richard III invaded Scotland (09.10.2013) – Review about an article by Sean Cunningham “The Yorkists at War: Military Leadership in the English War with Scotland, 1480 – 82” (Published in: “The Yorkist Age: Proceedings of the 2011 Harlaxton Symposium“, 2013)
- Leicester Mercury: Richard III: More than 39,000 signatures to keep king’s remains in Leicester, by Peter Warzynski (12.10.2013)
- BBC News: Richard III burial petition for Leicester hits 34,000 signatures (12.10.2013)
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: King campaign taken to No 10, by Staff Reporter, Leicester Mercury (14.10.2013) – Peter Warzynski takes petition signatures for Leicester as burial place to London, No. 10.
- Leicester Mercury: First Person: ‘The King is dead. Leave him in Leicester, where he was buried’, by Richard Gill (15.10.2013)
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Leicester’s 40,000-signature Richard III petition handed over in Downing Street, by Staff Reporter, Leicester Mercury (15.10.2013)
- Leicester Mercury: King’s last drink – and it wasn’t a pint at the pub! (15.10.2013)
- Royal Central (Blog): Petition shows support for Richard III burial in Leicester, by Jessica Hope (16.10.2013)
- Leicester Mercury: Bury king in same spot he was found, by Peter Bunney, Leicester (16.10.2013)
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: New twist in mystery of lead coffin found near Richard III’s grave, by Peter Warzynski, Leicester Mercury (17.10.2013) – May King Richard III have had a female companion all these years under a car park?
- Northern Echo: 15th-century manuscript sheds light on Richard III’s relationship with York, by Mark Foster (17.10.2013)
- BBC News: Richard III judicial review: Plantagenet Alliance wins costs order (18.10.2013)
- Yorkshire Post: New chapter on Richard III’s life in York (18.10.2013) – York city council document exhibited as main source for King Richard III’s time in York.
- NBC News: Centuries-old manuscript reveals love for Richard III, by Stephanie Pappas, Live Science (18.10.2013)
- The Guardian: Richard III relatives will have legal costs of judicial review protected (18.10.2013)
- Medievalists.net: Ricardians gather in York to commemorate England’s Last Plantagenet King (21.10.2013) – Article about the Richard III Foundation and their latest meeting at Market Bosworth earlier this October.
- Leicester Mercury: Shortlist for King Richard III artwork is revealed, by Tim Healy (22.10.2013) – King Richard III inspires modern art…
King Richard III in Print
♛ King Richard III ♛
- ITV.com: Richard III book launched in Leicester (05.10.2013) – Booklaunch by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones, co-authors of the book about “The Search for Richard III. The Kings Grave”.
- ReadFulThingsBlog.com: The King’s Grave: by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones, by IoniaMartin (05.10.2013) – Detailed review about the book publication by Philppa Langley and Michael Jones.
- Express: Book Review: The search for Richard III by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones, by Nigel Jones (06.10.2013) – The author of this review perhaps best describes his own review:
curiously lop-sided
The review is – as far as I can tell – solely based on the reading of the index and appendix of the book, which does not highly recommend its accuracy or significance to me, especially as it is in complete disagreement with the previous review by IoniaMartin. As the reviewer also has written a book about the Tower and the Princes in the Tower, it seems his review is more in his own defence, rather than an objective critique of the new publication.
I will hold back my final judgement till I get my version of “The King’s Grave. The Search for Richard III”, but so far this review only reached to confirm my opinion that historians don’t like to re-research comfortably settled and accepted ‘truths’, even when new aspects arise. - GranthamJournal.co.uk: Richard III archaeologist to give talk in Grantham (06.10.2013) – Richard Buckley will give a talk about King Richard III and his discovery in Grantham, Harrowby Methodist Church on Saturday, 19 October 2013.
- BBC News: Richard III Towton chapel remains are ‘found’ (07.10.2013) – To commemorate the many fallen in the Battle of Towton (1461), King Richard III began to build a chapel at the site, which at the time of his death was not yet completed and never was finished at a later time. (For more details about the battle and its significance, see: Towton Battlefield society
- The Northern Echo: Cabinet Minister insists remains of Richard III must be buried in Leicester – not York, by Robert Merrick, Parliamentary Correspondent (08.10.2013) – Parliamentary debate in the Commons about final resting place for King Richard III and an independent panel to determine it.
- Helen Rae Rants (Blog): The Wars of the Roses refought over Richard III’s Re-burial, by Helen Rae Rants! (09.10.2013) – A quote I just need to share, especially after the strange review mentioned above…
Helen Rae about Philippa Langley:Me, I think she [Philippa Langley] deserves a medal for her efforts and the contribution she’s made to Ricardian history.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Justice secretary insists Richard III be buried in Leicester, by David Owen (09.10.2013) – Justice secretary Chris Grayling speaks in the Commons.
- InLoughborough.com: A year of discoveries showcased at the University of Leicester (10.10.2013) – Open Day at the University of Leicester on the 12th October 2013 will showcase King Richard III!
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: What do the people of York think? By Peter Warzynski (11.10.2013) – A brave journalist on his way to York to search for the truth. Is the new ‘War of the Cities’ that easy – York for York and Leicester for Leicester? Frontiers never were that easy during King Richard III’s days and never were clear and defined for him. Enemies became friends and friends easily and without prior notice became traitors. Otherwise the devastation of Bosworth never would have happened…
Find out, if our frontiers are any different today from those 500 years back, here in this research by Peter Warzynski.
[Should have known that Peter Warzynski was brave enough to find the truth. After all he was not frightened to come into contact with fans of an actor and wonderfully presented Leicester and his work and archaeological digging for King Richard III here on our website (24.08.2013).]
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Sensational News About King Richard Film
Is the film about King Richard III with Richard Armitage in the role of the king finally on its way?
Hear Philippa Langley, the screenwriter working on a project about King Richard III, talking about her progress and about Richard Armitage as her ideal King Richard III:
- ITV.com: Screenwriter wants Richard Armitage as Richard III in film (04.10.2013)
♛ King Richard III ♛
- HistoryExtra.com: Richard III’s lost chapel ‘has been found’ (03.10.2013)
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: 30,000 people sign petition to keep king in Leicester, by Peter Warzynski (03.10.2013)
- The York Press: Richard III walking tour created (03.10.2013) – Free guided tour through King Richard III’s York.
- Nerdalicious.com.au (Blog): The Search for Richard III’s DNA: Looking for Richard with John Ashdown-Hill, by Olga (03.10.2013) – More about Dr. Ashdown-Hill and his fascinating research here on KRA.
- ITV.com: Leicester petition on Richard III overtakes York (04.10.2013) – Leicester versus York. Who is the real winner in this battle, or can there be a winner?
Happy Birthday, King Richard !!!
Happy 561st birthday, King Richard III !
King Richard III’s first birthday after being found !
Let’s celebrate a king, who, after over 500 years can activate a fierce followership and easily start a – no, what am I talking about – numerous burning controversies.
Who else from history can say that about himself after all that time.
Stand strong and true for that which you believe in. Do not be silenced.
Now, how best to celebrate a king?
Or would you like to celebrate with an audio play?
Upcoming broadcasts begin on Monday, 7 Oct 2013 on BBC Radio 4. (See BBC page for the play and schedule here.)
King Richard III must feel right at home in modern times and we have a strange way of making him feel welcome.
But he certainly must see the parallels to his time. Skirmishes everywhere and all ready to do battle.
What a perfect continuation of the Wars of the Roses in its modern form.
I even feel compelled to say that he might be glad, that his duty as king is over and he now can continue as a spectator.
But the whole movements are perfect to finally give King Richard III the attention he deserves and even if you don’t agree with the one or other argument, at least they are a perfect marketing way to draw interest to his wishes, which nobody considered (during his life and especially) at and after his death 500 years ago.
Want to know more about King Richard III?
If you want to learn more about King Richard III and his time and life, the University of Leicester will hold a free online course (distance learning) on the platform FutureLearn.
See the announcement for it on Medievalists.net.
The course will be held by Senior Lecturer in Archaeology and Ancient History, Deirdre O’Sullivan from the University of Leicester
and will start on 25th of November 2013.
Duration: 6 weeks
Approx. time: 2 hours per week
No previous experiences necessary, so, if interested, join the online course here.
♛ King Richard III ♛
- HistoryExtra.com: Richard III tomb design unveiled by Leicester Cathedral, by Emma McFarnon (20.09.2013)
- TheTablet.co.uk: Finally, the judical review raises hopes of a Catholic burial for Richard III, by Angela Searles, guest contributor (20.09.2013) – With an ePetition for a Catholic church service for King Richard III.
- Daily Mail: The caricatured King and I: Why PHILIPPA LANGLEY, the author who located the remains of Richard III, wants to restore his reputation, by Marylin Swan (21.09.2013) – Interesting background article about Philippa Langley and her relentless search for King Richard III.
- Las Vegas Review Journal: Admirer of Richard III joins argument over burial site, by Jane Ann Morrison (22.09.2013) – Joe Ann Ricca, a very knowledgeable supporter of King Richard III and contributor to the KRA-website.
- LivingWithKingRichard (Blog): Changing Tombs, by Serpentine Black (22.09.2013) – I don’t really agree with that argument against the Richard III Society’s design, but I am certain the historian in me speaks here. As their design tried to get a contemporary sign language onto the tomb for King Richard III, which would be recognizable and honorable for the king himself, while already reducing it to a minimum to please a modern generation used to scarce and minimal designs. This bridging of the time and pleasing two sets of expectations, was really done well and thoughtfully, so I am not astonished about the great support the design by the Richard III Society got. But read the wider argument and see illustrations accompanying it here in this post by new blogger Serpentine Black.
- HistoryExtra.com: Richard III Society members withhold donations for king’s tomb in design row, by Emma McFarnon (23.09.2013)
- The York Press: Richard III tomb ‘looks like it was designed by Ikea’ (23.09.2013) – From the argument of Vanessa Roe – Richard’s 16th great-niece and part of the Plantagenet Alliance – it seems the design is more for our times and especially an Ikea clientele than for a king of 500 years back.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Leicester City urges fans to back Richard III campaign, by Peter Warzynski (23.09.2013)
- ThisIsGloucestershire.co.uk: ‘Raiding party’ may bring Richard III home to Gloucester, by The Citizen (23.09.2013)
- BBC News: Funds withdrawn in Richard III Leicester tomb row (23.09.2013)
- The Independent: Richard III tomb donors withdraw money over design, by Nick Clark (23.09.2013)
- Daily Mail: Funds for Richard III’s tomb are pulled because the proposed modern design ‘doesn’t befit a warrior king’, Sarah Griffiths (23.09.2013)
- BBC News: Richard III parliamentary petition misses target (24.09.2013) – There will be no Parliamentary Debate about King Richard III, as the petition has failed to gaine the required 100.000 signatures. But over 36.000 signatures is a success in itself.
There are some further petitions going on, though I lately have the impression that they appear much too liberally. Regarding some, I have sent messages to the initiators to confirm the intent and issuers of King Richard III related petitions, but did not get feedback, so I won’t mention those here. - The Telegraph: A sordid song and dance over Richard III’s bones. The furious arguments about where and how to bury old Crook Back are ultimately pointless. By Christopher Howse (24.09.2013) – Very knowledgeable and informative article about kings burial locations and the dispute about King Richard III.
- Leicester Mercury: Richard III: Bosworth flag set to sell for thousands, by David W. Owen (24.09.2013) – Original relic of a defeat or a victory over time?
- Leicester Mercury: Richard III: Hundreds have their say on tomb designs (25.09.2013) – Feedback to the new tomb design revealed by Leicester Cathedral. (Feedback to tomb was: 78% No / 22% Yes)
- AccessHollywood.com: The White Queen Q&A: Aneurin Barnard Talks Taking On Richard III (28.09.2013)
- Leicester Mercury: Leicester’s Chinese twin city backing Richard III campaign, by Peter Warzynski (28.09.2013) – King Richard III does not only cause controversy, but also strong international support.
- BBC News: ‘Battle of Bosworth relic’ sells at Derbyshire auction (28.09.2013)
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Runners backing campaign to keep Richard III in Leicester, by David Owen (30.09.2013) – Wide enthusiasm for the petition for Leicester. A few more days to sign, while the York petition already closed.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Kasabian: Richard III’s a Leicester boy and should be buried here, by Leicester Mercury (01.10.2013) – For whom is the publicity? For Leicester, for Kasabian or – eventually – really for King Richard III?
- ITV.com: Flag to fly for Richard III (02.10.2013) – On his birthday, King Richard III’s standard is raised over Middleham Castle in his honor.
- Twitter.com: Aneourin Barnard Birthday tweet for King Richard III (02.10.2013)
Huge Happy Birthday to Richard The Third!!! pic.twitter.com/k6iIBt63j9
— aneurin barnard (@aneurinBarnard) October 2, 2013
- Leicester Mercury: Richard III: 30,000 people sign petition to keep king in Leicester, by Peter Warzynski (02.10.2013)
- Leicester Mercury: Bury the king in the city, says Leicester City’s King (02.10.2013) – Now what have foxes, football and a Mr. King to do with King Richard III? Find out in Leicester…
Due to strange internet connectivity problems, this post unfortunately is very late. Still I hope, King Richard III has/had great 561st birthday celebrations.
My internet connection gets a complete technical check by the provider next Monday and hopefully the source of all the problems will finally be found and eliminated.
Celebrating 2.000 Signatures
2000 Signatures
for the Film-Petition
King Richard Armitage
Your support made this possible!
Not everything in life is about numbers, but everything is about quality.
And so I especially want to thank you for the high quality of discussions, feedback and your ongoing and encouraging support !
Thank You !
It would not be me, if I would not take this opportunity to give the about 200 signers who did not confirm their signature via the confirmation e-mail a further chance to do so.
So please watch out for confirmation mails, if you did not confirm already.
♛
You will have recognized the little break in posts and news-updates.
Work intervened and prevented faster updates and better feedback to your request.
If you are waiting for mails or feedback, please keep patient and give me a bit more time to answer.
Right now, I am working hard to get through to see the surface of my desk again. As there is a picture of Richard Armitage there, it is really a pity to be completely covered up with work.
♛
But now to the in the meantime accumulated news.
The “War of the Cities” continues in full force:
♛ King Richard III ♛
- CNN: Richard III’s last battle: New ‘War of the Roses’ over royal remains? By Bryony Jones, CNN (05.09.2013)
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Council ‘invests in Richard III’s legacy’, by Peter Warzynski, Leicester Mercury (06.09.2013)
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III Society remains neutral on final resting place, by Dr Phil Stone, Chairman, Richard III Society, in Leicester Mercury (09.09.2013)
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: Row stirs Plantagenet passions, by Peter Warzynski (09.09.2013)
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: ‘Leicester must fight tooth and nail to keep the king”, by Peter Warzynski, Leicester Mercury (09.09.2013)
- ThisIsStaffordshire.co.uk: Tristram Hunt: Why Leicester should keep hold of King’s remains, (09.09.2013)
- The Times: Rebel found with the badge of Richard III, by Jack Malvern (10.09.2013)
- The Independent: Was the downfall of Richard III caused by a strawberry? By John Rentoul (11.09.2013)
- Travelbite.co.uk: Leicester Travelodge marks role in Richard lll story (11.09.2013)
- Leicester Mercury: Richard III: More than 20,000 sign king bid (12.09.2013)
- Telegraph & Argus: ‘King Richard III belongs in Yorkshire’, says Keighley Author (12.09.2013) – Author Carol Fellingham Webb supports the petition for a Yorkshire burial.
- BBC News: The Plantagenet Alliance: Who do they think they are? By Greig Watson (13.09.2013) – Detailed and informative article about the Plantagenet Alliance, their goals and opponents.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: MoJ to challenge Richard III review, by Peter Warzynski (14.09.2013) – The ‘War of the Roses’ continues in its modern, legal form in full force. The Ministry of Justice intends to defend the decision for Leicester.
- Royal Central (Blog): The Defence of King Richard III Part 5 – Brotherly Love, by Matt Lewis (15.09.2013) – A series of articles skillfully defending King Richard III and his actions from a well researched historical perspective.
The whole series is a real reading tip!
Also see our interview with author Matt Lewis during our King Richard Week 2013. - Royal Central (Blog): Dame Judi Dench supports a York burial for Richard III, by Cindy Stockman (16.09.2013)
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: Site of king’s last night given special plaque, by Peter Warzynski (16.09.2013) – The Blue Boar Inn, where King Richard III spent his last night before departing to the battle field and where he left his bed (indicating his need for special sleeping accommodation regarding his spine ailment).
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: ‘Wobbly’ bones should stay in Leicester, by Peter Warzynski, Leicester Mercury (17.09.2013) – Pupils for King Richard III.
- The Telegraph: Chris Grayling to ‘vigorously defend’ Leicester burial for Richard III, Nic Collins (18.09.2013) – I wonder how King Richard III’s life could have looked like, if he would have had lawyers too fight his battle.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: Roy goes round and round for Richard III, by Peter Warzynski, Leicester Mercury (18.09.2013) – The man behind the petition for Leicester, Roy Shakespeare, collects signatures.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: Eyes of world could focus on king’s reburial, by Peter Warzynski, Leicester Mercury (19.09.2013)
- Daily Mail: Richard III will receive a burial fit for a king under a raised tomb made of Yorkshire limestone positioned on a large white rose, by Sarah Griffiths (19.09.2013)
- Yorkshire Post: University ‘hijacked’ Richard III bones discovery, by Paul Jeeves (19.09.2013) – Article about the interview with Philippa Langley’s supporters Dr David and Wendy Johnson from York.
- BBC News: Richard III tomb new design revealed by Leicester cathedral (19.09.2013) – With video news report.
- Leicester Mercury: Final Richard III tomb designs revealed, by Peter Warzynski (19.09.2013)
Off Topic:
- Haaretz: This day in Jewish history / Richard I is crowned and London’s Jews are massacred, by Ruth Schuster (05.09.2013) – King Richard III protected the Jews in his country. Does he get praise for it? No. He still remains the most dubious king on England’s throne, potentially deserving his bad reputation as much as others do their good reputation or eventually not…
Modern Form of Battle – Petitions
King Richard Armitage Week 2013 is over now, but the fantastic article contributions and interviews remain available.
Have a look here and test your knowledge about King Richard III in the quiz (solutions here).
The prizes went out via mail last week and should arrive with the two winners and KingRichardArmitage Champions 2013 shortly.
As the fandom of actor Richard Armitage often gets generally refered to as ‘Armitage Army’, it will not astonish that we use the ‘modern form of battle’ to show our hopes and whishes.
Our petition for a film to be made about King Richard III, which involves actor Richard Armitage in whatever function or action he is willing to take, is open worldwide, as also the audience of a potential film is expected to be world spanning, as do our signatures show.
As we run our petition for a film about King Richard III under the influence of actor Richard Armitage for a while now, we observe all later petitions about King Richard III with especial scrutiny, as already the topic connection ‘petition for King Richard’ brings us in close proximity with them, even when we remain completely neutral on any of their outcome.
While our petition addresses all who are interested in King Richard III and actor Richard Armitage, the new petitions for King Richard III are more localised events and most only open for U.K. citizens. Though, are they really ‘for’ King Richard III or just one place or other, interpreting the king and his potential wishes from a modern standpoint and projecting modern ideas, laws and democratic ideals on a Medieval king and – not to fortget, after all – a human being?
This is the question I, though excessively researching the running petitions, never could answer to my complete satisfaction and so I just can’t give any kind of advice how to vote or take part in the ‘Battle of the Cities’ and remain with my neutral standpoint – potentially taking the position of ‘advocatus diaboli‘ to present all positions equally – and link to all petitions available, whenever they come up in the news:
♛ Battle of the Cities ♛
- Leicester Mercury: Mercury opinion: Make it clear – Richard III belongs here (31.08.2013)
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: Keep our King where he belongs, by Leicester Mercury (01.09.2013) – Petition for Leicester (ePetition-Link, UK citizens only)
- The York Press: Still time to sign Richard III petition, Megi Rychlikova (02.09.2013) – Petition for York (ePetition-Link UK citizens only).
- The Lawyer: Tug-of-war over Richard III heads for courts, by Joanne Harris (02.09.2013) – Comment on the Judical Review, initiated by the Plantagenet Alliance.
- Yorkshire Post: It’s not Yorkshire being greedy over Richard’s resting place, by Angela Moreton (02.09.2013) – Is the burial place for King Richard III perhaps more of a modern question about our soldiers today than about the historic king? Find out here what King Richard III has to do with Afghanistan.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: ‘No evidence to say king wanted a burial in York’, by Peter Warzynski, Leicester Mercury (02.09.2013) – Prof Mark Ormrod from the University of York about the ‘wishes’ of King Richard III in the Battle of the Towns.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III campaign: MPs back our battle royal, by Peter Warzynski, Leicester Mercury (03.09.2013) – Our interview with Peter Warzynski and lots of background information about the archaeological research and Leicester can be found here on KRA.
- The York Press: ‘No evidence’ for Richard III’s burial wish, by Mark Stead (03.09.2013)
- Yorkshire Post: Dame Judi backs Richard III campaign (05.09.2013) – Dame Judi Dench is in favour of her home city York.
♛ King Richard III ♛
- BBC News: Richard III: More or Less examines how many descendents he could have (19.08.2013) – Should we possibly wait till all relatives of King Richard III are determined to allow them to give their vote in the dicision of his last resting place?
- The Telegraph: Richard III skeleton ‘was inches from being destroyed’, by Nick Collins (23.08.2013)
- ThisIsGloucestershire.co.uk: Richard III ‘wasn’t mean’ as hilarious song shows, by The Citizen (26.08.2013) – Now it is finally decided !
- Huffington Post: King Richard III’s Skeleton Was Nearly Destroyed In Burial Site ‘Disturbance,’ Scientists Say (28.08.2013)
- The Guardian: Richard III, a first for online film, by Paola Totaro (28.08.2013) – Richard III is very modern.
- Spear’s: Day of the remains: after Richard III was recovered, who owns your corpse? By Hilesh Chavda, Maurice Turnor Gardner (28.08.2013) – Who does your body legally belong to, who does King Richard III’s body belong to?
- NewStatesman: Was the downfall of Richard III caused by a strawberry? By Amy Licence (31.08.2013) – What consumption of food can cause …
- Telegram & Gazette: Woodstock woman to attend King Richard III’s reburial, by Richard Duckett (02.09.2013) – Article about a Richard III Society member, Sally Keil, from the U.S., who will attend the burial ceremony in Leicester next year.
- LiveScience.com: Infected and Hunched: King Richard III Was Crawling With Roundworms, by Douglas Main (03.09.2013)
– I must admit, I would have been rather surprised if he had not had the infection. Considering that most of our grown and today cultivated food and fruit had not been domesticated nearly as much in the late Middle Ages, but really was collected in the woods, everything else would rather have been a miracle. Furthermore, without the invention of sewage works, the spreading of the parasites was rather a democratic business, even in a royal society.
But, after all, this is news that even achieves to get the attention of German newspapers, when the last time only money could alert them to King Richard III. - Science World Report: King Richard III Carried Intestinal Parasites, by Kathleen Lees (04.09.2013)
- Smithsonian.com: Richard III Had a Nasty Case of Roundworms, by Rachel Nuwer (04.09.2013)
- RedOrbit.com: Roundworm Discovered In Remains Of King Richard III, by Lawrence LeBlond (04.09.2013)
KRA-Week 2013: Thank You
! Congratulations !
to our KingRichardArmitage Champions
We have the winners of this year’s quiz!
The quiz remains open so that you can further try your knowledge,
but the book prizes will go to:
Fabi & Kathryn Barnes
To my great surprise, it was a point decision and not by random number selected from all the correct answers.
And I had thought, I had made the quiz much too easy.
Sorry! Solutions are available here now.
Quiz prizes are: Two books by
Isolde Martyn “The Devil in Ermine”
♛
Thank You !!!
to all interview partners
- Authors Isolde Martyn & Matthew Lewis – for their wonderful novels about King Richard III,
- Peter Warzynski – for his insights into archaeology and sharing first-hand Leicester experience with us,
- Fitzg – for her insights into King Richard III’s clothes,
- Jim Cowan – for exploring King Richard’s Wales,
- Dr. Ashdown-Hill – for enabling the find of King Richard III, and
- MaryAnn & Michael Tedstone – for bringing King Richard III back to life in music,
and all our helpers and contributors
of the King Richard Armitage Week 2013.
It was a fantastic experience for me
and I hope you enjoyed the celebrations!
KRA-Week 2013-8: Historical Music – The Orpheus Project
Links: King Richard Week 2013 & Quiz
! Attention !
The winners of the quiz are final and will be announced in a separate post today, where also the link to the quiz solutions will be revealed.
♕ ♛ ♕
King Richard III & Music
An interview with MaryAnn & Michael Tedstone
The Orpheus Project
Peter Warzynski in his interview (25.08.2013) gave us so insightful background information about Leicester and the euphoria about finding King Richard III there.
What better method is there to express happiness and joy than in music?
So I am very happy to present a Leicester based team of composers, MaryAnn & Michael Tedstone, with their group
The Orpheus Project
The two composers, MaryAnn & Michael Tedstone, brother and sister, are famous for their film music and their successful effort to combine old traditions with new musical elements.
They embrace the history and time of King Richard III and present musical elements and lyrics he might have known or heard himself in their new recording:
“The Last Plantagenet”
To tease you a bit with the wonderful music, here is a sample of “The Last Plantagenet”.
And I can assure you, it is worth having a look around the websites of the composer team, as their diverse music really is a joy and has a wide bandwidth of styles. I already spent quite a while on their websites and listened to their wonderful music:
- www.orpheusproject.co.uk
- www.manikemusic.com
- The Orpheus Project on SoundCloud
- ManikeMusic on SoundCloud
But now, I let them tell you themselves about their music and creative ideas behind “The Last Plantagenet”:
♛
How did the group “The Orpheus Project” come into existence and when?
The Orpheus Project came into existence in 2011, when we recorded an Album of Ancient Greco Roman music. We wanted to create an ensemble made up of musicians who are experts in their fields but do not have traditional early music training. I think that early music can be over stylised and I wanted the music to have a natural feel. I felt that by making a new ensemble and having a new look at how music is written and created, we could provide a refreshingly new sound to different periods of music.
Who composes / arranges / selects music / chooses, researches and finds texts / trains the group / records the music?
MaryAnn does most of the composition/arranging music selection and trains the group.
Michael records and produces the music. One of the things that makes The Orpheus Project unique is that we have our own industry standard studio. we are used to writing music and recording it for projects all over the world so it’s easy for us to make albums. We don’t have to worry about studio time and finding a good producer. We have one of the best music producers right here with us.
What is the background of your group and your individual musicians?
MaryAnn Tedstone studied Early music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Philip Pickett.
Michael Tedstone studied music production at Alchemea College of music.
Glenn Sharp is a world music musician who play with the Jadid ensemble and is signed to Universal Music.
We use a variety of other musicians and vocalists who are experts in their fields. Each period calls for different instruments so it’s hard to give further information
Are your musicians only perform in this group or also individually or in other groups or ensembles?
Our musicians regularly play in other ensembles. Its what keeps us fresh and excited about what we do.
Why was this name chosen for the group? What connection does your group have to the Greek mythology?
When Orpheus called to his father Apollo, he did so on a golden lyre. I have always wondered what the music was that called the God Apollo down to Earth to help his son Orpheus. The Orpheus Project seemed like a good name. Our first Album was of Greco Roman music too. It also combines old and new which is what The Orpheus Project is all about.
Is your group mainly doing recordings or performing life?
The group does both live recordings and performs live.
Our next performance is for Leicester City Council where we are playing at a banquet.
I saw in the information, that you Ms Tedstone, are mainly composing film music and soundtracks for movie and film productions and advertisements. Is this also the direction of “The Orpheus Project” or to what purpose was this group created?
The Orpheus Project was intended to write music for historic documentaries and tv programmes but has become so much more due to the level of interest that we have received.
Why the title “The Last Plantagenet” for your CD? It gives already an interpretation of the events surrounding King Richard III’s demise in the Battle of Bosworth as well as the legitimacy of his royal succession. Is that intended or a reference to the last Plantagenet King on the throne of England or not an exact reference to King Richard III at all?
The album the Last Plantagenet is a reference to King Richard III. This album is music that he either might have heard, or music that has been specially composed in the style of the period.
What connection does the music have with King Richard III and are the music pieces new arrangements of old music or new arrangements ‘in-the-style-of’?
The Orpheus Project albums are intended to be a soundscape of what someone living in the period might have heard. For example our album SPQR is a representation of what Nero might have listened to.
Where do the texts / lyrics come from? E.g. the French text of the piece “Douce Dame”.
The Texts are all original. There are two by Dufay and One from Machaut.
If they are historic texts, would they be something Richard III could have had access to?
Yes we think King Richard III might have heard Douce Dame.
What image of King Richard III does the music promote?
(e.g. Richard III as courtier, as religious person of his time, as entertainment and music loving noble of his time,…)
I hope that the music makes you think that if King Richard III was riding through the streets of Leicester he might have heard something like our music playing in the street or in a pub.
What is your / your group’s connection to King Richard III?
We became interested in King Richard III when his body was found in a car park in Leicester and we started researching the music straight away.
What determined your choice of instruments in your group?
Not every travelling troupe of musicians would have had every instrument available to them. I felt that the lute and the hurdy gurdy were expensive instruments and so we should have only one. We chose lute. We have thought about what would happen to instruments when musicians of the period slept in fields or woods in between towns and we think that would have been really bad for all the instruments. Hopefully they put them in wooden cases.
Will your group get any official involvement in the ceremonies around King Richard III’s reburial next year?
We are officially involved with Leicester council. They are selling our CD in the museum and promoting us as much as they can. The re-burial is a church event and I have no idea at this stage how much involvement we will have.
What are your / your groups next plans for recordings? Is there more in store for all Richard III and late 15th century music fans?
We are thinking of looking at Robin Hood next which is not too far away from King Richard III. Stay tuned on our website www.orpheusproject.co.uk for more details.
Now that is good news for all Richard Armitage fans. Hopefully Sir Guy of Gisborne gets an extra place and special representation in the new music-project.
We will also keep you informed when the music of “The Last Plantagenet” will become available on iTunes in September 2013.
So far, you can order the CD version – £ 9,99 (PayPal payments accepted) – via alex@manikemusic.com.
(Please get in contact for delivery rates, though they are very decent and partially free of charge and the CD is sent out worldwide.)
Links: King Richard Week 2013 & Quiz
KRA-Week 2013-7: Finding Richard III as a Result of Historical Research – Dr. Ashdown-Hill
Links: King Richard Week 2013 & Quiz
! Attention !
Last day of quiz-entries taking part in the drawing!
(Today till midnight [GMT] !)
Quiz prizes are: Two books by
Isolde Martyn “The Devil in Ermine”
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History’s new potential
in the discoveries of Dr. John Ashdown-Hill
Why a special article about Historian Dr. Ashdown-Hill here, during the KRA week, when we already had interviews and present his research work here on the website?
- Dr. John Ashdown-Hill talks about his research regarding King Richard III
- Started KRA-page about Dr. Ashdown-Hill’s research. (With recommended video presentation of research steps.)
- Information about Dr. John Ashdown-Hill and his publications.
And other articles already covered the topic of ‘airbrushing’ Dr. Ashdown-Hill out of the story of finding King Richard III:
- Richard III: Historian claims he was ‘airbrushed out of king story’ (by Peter Warzynski, Leicester Mercury, 06.08.2013)
- Leicester ‘airbrushed’ historian out of Richard III find (by Paul Jump, Times Higher Education, 01.08.2013)
There was something I needed to figure out and I want to present some of my thoughts and results to you here.
Dr. Ashdown-Hill is an open-minded researcher, who searched for facts, where others readily followed legend – over centuries.
As the dissection of legend in the case of King Richard III was so very important, to even allow the beginning of the search, I cannot readily understand, why the one man, doing all the work mostly singlehandedly, strongly believing in the validity of his finds, does not get the praise he deserves.
It required already great effort together with Philippa Langley, to even raise sufficient doubt with researchers and officials in Leicester, to get their agreement to do a paid contracted search and give all the required permissions for the digging.
(And here a big motive for the specialists was that they could at least find other historically significant material for Leicester, to make it worth their while, which in the end caused their agreement to start digging.)
But why chose exactly this location for the digging, when the supposed location, indicated by a plaque, was so far away from it?
That was the result of a meticulous research of maps and sources about Leicester – done by Dr. John Ashdown-Hill.
He recognized, that some newer maps were inaccurate (the street drawn at the wrong side of the Greyfriars’ church, according to written sources of contemporaries) and the old medieval streets must have been located a bit differently from what reconstructions of historical Leicester so far made believe.
This changed the location and the area of research entirely and was based on the research of Dr. John Ashdown-Hill.
So, why is there no mention of this fact?
You would think, after all this research so essential for finding King Richard III, there should be a hall of fame for Dr. Ashdown-Hill.
Perhaps next year’s opening of the King Richard Museum in Leicester will remedy that fact and will give praise where praise so clearly is deserved.
We at the KRA website already started our small contribution to a ‘hall of fame’ here and hope to be able to contribute to set things straight.
One aspect, which especially fascinates me in the work of Dr. Ashdown-Hill, is his research, remaining unbiased by the ‘mainstream’ line of previous historical research and starting to get to the fact beneath layers of wrong and long traded interpretation.
This is a fact which exceedingly makes me happy about the research of Dr. John Ashdown-Hill and the finding of King Richard III.
It gives me hope for the art of history in its entirety, that with new perspectives and openness, history with its extensive tools and methods is able to discover great things about the past in the future.
History loses its dust cover and the strictures and rules by some self announced dictators and starts to get truly ‘researchable’ again.
So the real questions about King Richard III for me are not
will he be buried in York or Leicester or …,
was he a good or bad king,
was he a saint or murderer,
but that finding him was able to break up traditional perceptions of a story and a new approach was found and the truth behind it was revealed, after over 500 years!
This fact alone makes me absolutely jubilant!
History is no static entity any longer, but a playground opened up for new research. (While ‘playground’ not in the slightest means this is an easy task, but what history always has been, hard work and an enormous accumulation of knowledge of all kind.)
So go and search and keep your mind open for any possible result!!!
I hope to find out much more about the developments and events leading to the archaeological research in Leicester in the new book by Philippa Langley announced for the end of October 2013:
.
And Dr. John Ashdown-Hill publishes his new research about royal marriage traditions and currently works on a new book about Richard III’s third brother, George, Duke of Clarence:
.
Kindle version:
.
Links: King Richard Week 2013 & Quiz
KRA-Week 2013-6: Richard III – England & Wales – by Jim Cowan
Links: King Richard Week 2013 & Quiz
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King Richard III & Cardiff
by Jim Cowan
For some time, I had been aware of the historical website about Cardiff and Wales by Jim Cowan:
This window was also the reason which brought us in contact.
Mr. Cowan commented on that picture here on the KingRichardArmitage website and, instead of releasing that comment, I asked him, if he could share his wide knowledge with us here at the website at more length.
See for yourself, what wonderful article developed from that comment, as Mr. Jim Cowan can tell the mysteries, story and connection between Cardiff and King Richard III so very gripping:
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Cardiff is a city that often surprises the casual visitor. It is the capital city of Wales and has the buzz and activity that you associate with such centres of population, but at first glance does not appear like a typical capital city. Where are the historic palaces and churches? Why is the Cathedral more than 2 miles from the city centre? Where exactly is the “historic centre”?
As a proud citizen of Cardiff, and lover of royal history, one thing which for many years frustrated me was that Cardiff did not enjoy the colourful royal associations of the other capital cities of Britain: London and Edinburgh both have their palaces and sagas of Royal intrigue, plotting, triumphs and calamities.
Cardiff, by contrast, is a city which most associate with the industrial revolution; a Victorian dockland town which boomed when the coal mined in the nearby Welsh valleys was in demand throughout the world and Cardiff was its outlet. However, so rapid and dramatic was that transformation, that Cardiff’s life before the 19th century has been almost entirely forgotten.
Discovering this colourful but little known history has been for me a wonderful voyage of discovery. The jewel in the crown (pun fully intended!) has been discovering that, throughout its history, Cardiff has had fascinating, intriguing and, at times, dramatic links to English Royal History from the 12th to the 21st centuries. To paraphrase the famous line attributed to the cult TV series “Star Trek”, you might say of Cardiff that “It’s a Royal City but not as we know it!”
We even have a period of Cardiff’s history where key characters from the last turbulent years of the Plantagenet dynasty have links to the town.
So how is this so? For 600 years prior to the Victorian coal exporting boom, Cardiff was, in British terms, of no significance whatsoever. Its population hovered approximately between 1,500 and 2,000 people. It was a walled town, and by all accounts fairly prosperous in Welsh terms: it was the largest borough in Wales and, as a staple port, was the chief port of south Wales for exporting the produce of an essentially rural economy, and importing vital supplies, primarily trading with nearby Bristol. However, that fact alone illustrates the insignificance of Wales since its resistance to Anglo-Norman invasion was finally crushed in the late 13th century. In contrast to Edinburgh and London it was never a centre of Government and never a Royal powerbase.
However, all throughout its history we find the Royal connections! Some are admittedly on paper only but others are far more dramatic. These connections begin with the arrival of the Normans in south Wales in the late 11th century, some two decades after William the Conqueror’s Norman Conquest. The south-eastern region of Wales was seized from the Welsh Prince Iestyn ap Gwrgan by Robert Fitzhamon. Fitzhamon made a base in Cardiff, on the site of a mighty but ruined Roman fortress. Cardiff Castle was born, with a classic Norman Motte and Bailey Keep.
Fitzhamon was given the title “Lord of Glamorgan”. Essentially this role was equivalent to Governor General for the region stretching from the South Wales border with England to South West Wales. The Lord of Glamorgan would wield considerable power and autonomy and his was the most powerful of the so called “Marcher” Lordships, which, until the 16th century, existed along the entire English-Welsh border, to keep England safe from Welsh resistance. Through this title, its office and its system of inheritance, the Royal connections with Cardiff began.
Robert Fitzhamon, the First Lord of Glamorgan, arranged for his daughter Mabel to marry another Robert, the eldest illegitimate son of King Henry I. As the son of a King his upbringing had all the trappings of Royal privilege resulting in him being a brilliant soldier and tactical expert. This marriage brought the young suitor considerable land and titles, including inheriting the position of Lord of Glamorgan from his father in law, to which was added another title, 1st Earl of Gloucester. He fortified Cardiff with a stone keep which still stands today nearly 900 years later.
Robert is more commonly known as Robert the Consul and played a significant role in England during the 12th century struggle for the throne, between Henry I‘s daughter, Matilda (Robert the Consul’s half sister), and her cousin Stephen of Blois. During his Lordship events at Cardiff Castle changed the course of English Royal history when the castle was, in effect, occupied by two sons of Kings. One was Lord and Master of the castle, Robert the Consul, and the other his captive, Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, eldest son of William the Conqueror, and uncle of Robert the Consul. He was imprisoned following his failed attempt to depose his younger brother Henry I, spending the last eight years of his life the prisoner of Robert the Consul in Cardiff where he died in 1134.
The Royal link fleetingly re-emerges with Robert the Consul’s granddaughter, Isabel of Gloucester, in the late 12th century, with her marriage to Prince John, son of Henry II. Through that marriage Prince John took the title Lord of Glamorgan before the marriage was annulled and the title passed to relatives of Isabel.
From that point the title passed through a number of great noble families in the ensuing centuries including the De Clare family (the coat of arms of Cardiff still bears the three inverted Chevrons of this family); the Despenser family (one of whom, Hugh Despenser the Younger, was executed brutally in 1326 for his association with the ill fated Edward II), and the Beauchamp family.
The Beauchamp family were responsible for the creation of the house on the west wall of Cardiff Castle, which forms the core of the present castle apartments. Their construction followed the dramatic years of the early 15th century when Cardiff was, like many towns in Wales, all but destroyed during the great but ultimately unsuccessful Welsh uprising against the English, led by the powerful Welsh leader Owain Glyndwr.
It is in the mid-15th century, however, that we find Cardiff Castle becomes associated with some of the leading figures in the Wars of the Roses, between the houses of Lancaster and York.
The Beauchamp claim to the Lordship of Glamorgan died out with their failure to produce a male heir. Eventually the Lordship was inherited by Anne, Countess of Warwick. Females were unable to carry the title in their own right, so it was assumed by her husband: Richard Neville, better known as Warwick the Kingmaker. Following his death at the battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 the title passed to George Duke of Clarence, spouse of his eldest daughter Isabel, who held it until his death in 1477. After that time the title passed to Richard of Gloucester, spouse of Warwick’s other daughter, Anne.
Richard of Gloucester, of course, became King in 1483 which meant that de facto the Lordship of Glamorgan merged with the crown.
Richard Neville’s part in the general saga of the Wars of the Roses is widely known. What is frustrating is that so few details are known about the detail of life in Cardiff and Glamorgan at this time that we simply do not know the extent of the comings and goings of the Nevilles when they held the Lordship. Perhaps somewhere such details exist, buried and hidden as incidental detail and trapped in some archive for someone to discover one day. We see the references to Richard Neville in the Glamorgan Charters issued at this time but that is it. However, there are tentative clues to suggest that the Nevilles did more than hold the Glamorgan Lordship as a mere title.
For evidence of this we look not to political or military events at or directed from Cardiff Castle, but to something more aesthetic which still stands proudly to this day 200 yards from the castle: The Church of St John the Baptist.
While the Nevilles held the Lordship, a new building began to emerge in the city centre. The Church of St John the Baptist had been in existence since the 12th century but the old building had been destroyed during Glyndwr’s 1404 attack on the town, which he had viewed as an English Colonial outpost.
The new Church was unlike anything seen in the town before: a 40m (130 ft) high tower emerged, taller than any building in the town, topped by a flourish of pinnacles. To this day no church tower in the southern half of the UK has as many ornamental pinnacles as this one. It was a sign that there was serious finance and intent behind its construction. Where could this support have come from? Certainly not the merchants of Cardiff. Cardiff was too small and modest for such opulent gestures.
The answer comes in a document contained in a church a few miles west of Cardiff. The 1721 register of the Church of Llanblethian, Cowbridge, contains the following entry:
“Anno 1473 Anne the second daughter and co-heir of Richard Neville the late Earl of Salisbury and Warwick was married to Edward Prince of Wales, son of King Henry the sixth. She was late Lady of the Manor of Glamorgan and Morganwg. Built this Tower the south part of Cowbridge Church and St John’s Tower in Cardiff was also married to Richard Duke of Gloucester afterwards King of England by usurpation…..”
It would be wonderful to have some evidence that, while Lord of Glamorgan, Richard himself ever spent time in Cardiff Castle. The official line taken by the castle is that there is no evidence that he did. However, I tend to take the view that he may well have spent time there, even if it was brief. While there is no official record of his presence in Cardiff, Richard was known as a keen administrator. As Lord of Glamorgan from 1477 it would have been in character for him to oversee personally, even if only occasionally, the running of the region for which he was responsible. Had he come to Cardiff then business would probably have been conducted from the Plantagenet Hall of Cardiff Castle. In the nineteenth century this was remodelled into (and remains) the library of the castle.
Sadly we have no more than such speculation on which to base thoughts on Richard’s link to Cardiff. However, we have the visual evidence on which to base our imaginings, not only in St John’s Church, but with the Plantagenet exterior of the Cardiff Castle apartments.
In addition, the castle rooms are lined with stained glass windows of every Lord of Glamorgan from the twefth century creation of the title to its 16th century dissolution by Henry VIII (the last Lord of Glamorgan). This is thanks to the talented nineteenth century designer Charles Campbell, part of the team of the ingenious art architect William Burges, whose patron was the Third Marquess of Bute, richest man in Europe, and owner of Cardiff Castle, who transformed the building into a spectacular fairytale monument to his ancestry through gold, glass, marble, stone and wood. Whether by accident or design, as you enter the castle apartments, the first two figures you see are Anne Neville and Richard III beautifully portrayed in stained glass. It would be difficult to find in south Wales a more fitting place of pilgrimage for anyone seeking to discover and revere this much maligned figure.
by Jim Cowan,
Cardiff History and Hauntings
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Links: King Richard Week 2013 & Quiz