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2/05/2013

Good King Richard


They found him buried in a parking lot.  Of course, his bones were there a long time before the parking lot - a very long time.  He was once King of England.  He was the last English King killed in battle.  He was Richard III and he died and was buried, hastily, in 1385. 

He was buried in the Grey Friars Church - a building that was torn down after Henry VIII declared himself head of the Church of England and confiscated all the Catholic Church's property.  The location of that church was lost to memory.  Recently, it was rediscovered.  And so was Richard.

They say that history is written by the victors.  What that means is, the stories we hear about the vanquished are told by the people who were NOT vanquished.  Richard was vanquished.  The stories that survived him were not kind.  And some were not true.

There is no sign of Shakespeare's 'withered arm'.

His back was not "hunched".  He had severe scoliosis, and probably had one shoulder prominently higher than the other.

He has been accused of the disappearance of his nephews.  It has never been proven.

Perhaps now, after time and reflection, the Tudor lies about Richard will be seen for what they are - the inaccurate picture of the loser, painted by the winner.

Ndinombethe.

3 comments:

Lovable Derek said...

So King Dick III was has been driven over, walked over, and probably littered upon for hundreds of years..... I feel like I know him very well..... like we're kindred spirits....
Thanks for an interesting post.

Tara R. said...

This is an amazing story, but I keep thinking about how a king buried under a parking lot was easier to find than a mob boss. Maybe it'll take 600 years to find Hoffa.

Holly said...

Wow, what a story. It makes you think about what might happen to your own bones.

Stopping by to say hi!