Ricardian Bulletin June 2013

Ricardian Bulletin Magazine of the Richard III Society ISSN 0308 4337 June 2013 Ricardian Bulletin June 2013 Contents 2 From the Chairman 51 Industry recognition for Society’s PR 3 The reinterment and tomb: latest news work? Peter Secchi 5 Society news and notices 51 The unsung heroes of the Looking for 11 Future Society events Richard III project Philippa Langley 13 Society reviews 55 The Man Himself: Richard’s diet 20 Other news, reviews and events Peter Hammond 26 Research news 56 Anne Mowbray: the princess in the police 30–54 Looking for Richard – the follow-up: station Bruce Watson 30 Looking back at the Greyfriars 58 The role of Edward, duke of York, at phenomenon Annette Carson Agincourt Stephen Cooper 32 The nature of scoliosis 60 A game of kings Stephen York 36 Richard III, the Princes in the Tower and 63 A series of remarkable ladies. 4. Sofia King Harold Godwinson – a skeleton (Zoe) Palaiologa Rita Diefenhart-Schmitt argument Stephen Cooper 64 Lady Anne’ a ‘revisionist Richard ‘ fan! 37 Those missing feet and other Geoffrey Wheeler observations Lynda Pidgeon 66 Book reviews and notices 39 Ancestors, descendants and collateral 68 Ricardian crossword 4 by Sanglier 39 An adjournment debate about Richard 69 Correspondence III’s reinterment 70 The Barton Library 40 Update from Leicester City Council 72 Branches and Groups Sarah Levitt 79 New members 41 Leicester primary school children 87 Recently deceased members inspired by the Greyfriars dig 87 Obituaries 43 Richard on TV: the search for the lost 88 Calendar king on the nation’s screens Tom Carter 88 Late news 45 Greyfriars dig wins Current Archaeology Colour section between pp 32 and 33 award i. Grey Friars reconstructed 46 Here or there: the debate over the ii–iii The Leicester Conference reburial of Richard III and the ongoing iii The York Study Weekend press and television coverage iv Rose laying at Bosworth Bruce Watson and Geoffrey Wheeler v Andrew Jamieson’s heraldic design 50 A final flourish . more humour in vi–viii Advertisements varying degrees of taste Geoffrey Wheeler Booking forms between pp 64 and 65 The Ricardian Bulletin is produced by the Bulletin Editorial Committee. © Richard III Society 2013. Individual contributions and illustrations © the contributors except where otherwise stated. Printed by Micropress Printers Ltd. For details on submitting future contributions, please see p. 4 Bulletin and Ricardian back numbers: Back issues of The Ricardian and the Bulletin are available from Judith Ridley. If you are interested in obtaining any back numbers, please contact Mrs Ridley to establish whether she holds the issue(s) in which you are interested. For contact details see inside back cover of the Bulletin 1 From the Chairman It has certainly been a very busy time for the Society as we continue dealing with the exciting aftermath of the Greyfriars excavation and the controversies surrounding King Richard’s reinterment. I address some of the issues raised by the reinterment in the section that follows this piece but I must make a very clear statement about the Society’s position on the issue of the location of King Richard’s reinterment. Understandably, this is a matter that has raised much strong emotion. The Richard III Society does not have the final say on the location – indeed, it has no say – but it does have to work with the authorities of the chosen location. Individual members of the Society are fully entitled to hold their own views and to campaign for their location of choice so long as they do not use the Society’s name when doing so. The facts around the choice of location are not clear-cut, whatever some may claim. Collectively, therefore, we have a responsibility to maintain a position that does not damage our future relationship with the chosen location. King Richard’s posthumous reputation will not be helped if matters descend into an undignified dispute. We must all behave responsibly and, as a serious and responsible historical society, that is exactly what we will continue to do. This is another larger than usual Bulletin, reflecting the heightened interest in King Richard and his reputation following the recent events in Leicester. It’s good to have Philippa Langley’s thank- you to the many people in the background who made the Looking for Richard project such a success, although I blush rather when reading some of the things she says about me. Another member of the project team, Annette Carson, gives her thoughtful reflections on the Greyfriars and we have a range of other articles on the subject which I am sure are just the beginning of what we might expect in the months and years to come. I am particularly pleased that we are focusing on King Richard’s scoliosis, a matter that will surely now be central to our understanding of the king. I am especially grateful to those who have shared their own experiences of living with the condition and the Scoliosis Association for their co-operation in putting the feature together. I am also pleased to record that the Society has recently made a donation the Association. Leicester has certainly taken to King Richard in some interesting ways – we have reports about the St John the Baptist Primary School’s very creative Greyfriars afternoon and the Richard III- themed Leicester Beer festival. Richard Smith of the East Midlands branch was our on-the-spot reporter for both. Wendy Johnson brings the recent study weekend in York alive for those unfortunate enough not to be there. She notes that ‘it is events such as this – with knowledgeable speakers, and fascinating talks – that make membership of the Richard III Society so worthwhile’. As a participant at the weekend, I couldn’t agree more. Heather Falvey tells us about the Society’s latest research achievement, the York Wills, a collaborative effort from the many members engaged in the transcription and editing of the wills, and I thank them all, especially the late Lesley Boatwright, who played such a pivotal role. This sort of research achievement is another thing that makes membership of the Society worthwhile. Such things are yet more testaments to the fact that we have been working for nearly 90 years to secure a reassessment of King Richard III’s reputation. We are advertising for more volunteers in this issue (see p. 10) and I urge anyone interested in helping us with our work to get in touch. I am sure everyone will understand that, with all the activity of recent months and with the considerably increased membership, our officers, all volunteers themselves, have been stretched considerably putting in many extra hours. So, we need to expand and strengthen our team to share out the workload a bit more and to ensure that we are fully equipped to face the challenges ahead. Here in the UK we are hoping for a decent summer after last year’s disappointment, but whatever the weather and wherever you live in the world, I wish you well – we certainly have exciting times ahead. Phil Stone 2 The reinterment and tomb: latest news Myths and miasmas, rumours and rubbish Many will be aware of the host of rumours and stories concerning the reburial of King Richard’s remains – will they be buried in Leicester or York, who are the Plantagenet Alliance, etc., etc.? I cannot promise to dispel the fog that surrounds all of this, but I will try. Many, including members of the public, are unhappy about the choice of Leicester Cathedral for the remains to be reburied. Many would prefer that they be reinterred in York, though other places have been mentioned at various times, including Westminster Abbey, Windsor, Worksop, Fotheringhay, Gloucester and Peterborough. Leicester was chosen and, barring intervention from a much higher authority, the decision will stand. The decision has never been ours to make and the Society was never consulted. You will know that a design for a tomb for Richard III was submitted by the Society to the authorities in Leicester Cathedral. Unfortunately, though they have told us that they like certain aspects of the design, they will not accept it in full. At the time of writing, they are still undecided as to whether they want a ledger stone, a raised monument or something in between the two. They have agreed that, if the former is chosen, it will be set in such a way that it cannot be walked on. Even so, several of us have made it very clear that anything less than a table tomb monument will not be acceptable to the Society. Some of the changes suggested by the cathedral would be acceptable to us, so long as they are incorporated into a table tomb, but it also seems that in multicultural Leicester the authorities have a problem with depicting Richard’s boar on the tomb. Needless to say, we have pointed out that, as Richard’s cognisance, this is an integral part of the design and, again, it is not negotiable. The cathedral have set up various committees to discuss different aspects of the entire reinterment process – how the remains will be taken to the cathedral, what will happen then, the liturgical arrangements, and so on and so on. I am trying to make sure that the Society is represented on each of these committees and working parties. Sometimes this has not been easy. The cathedral has a liking for the fait accompli! Incidentally, King Richard will not get a funeral. Having had one at the time of his initial interment by the monks in the Greyfriars, he cannot have another.

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