Richard III a Introduction

Richard III – A introduction

A. Historical Background In order to understand many of the events in the play, you need to first of all understand the historical background. Look at the family tree below and then read the information which follows.

The Plantagenets King Edward III 1327-1377 Richard II 1377-1399 (his father the Black Prince died before he could become king). In 1399 Richard II, who was accused of tyranny and misruling the country, was deposed by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, who became King Henry IV.

The House of Lancaster Thus, began the rule of the House of Lancaster, represented by the red rose. King Henry IV 1399-1413 struggled hard to maintain control of a country against baronial rebellion. His son Henry V 1413-1422 is famous for defeating the French at the Battle of Agincourt. At the same time, he had to put down a rebellion led by Richard, Earl of Cambridge, who wanted to put Edmund Mortimer on the throne.

Q1. Look at the family tree and say why Edmund Mortimer had a greater claim to the throne than Henry V?

When Henry V died in 1422, his son was only 9 months old. Q2. What problems do you think this would cause?

Henry VI ruled from 1422-1461, and his reign was a disaster. He lost control of France and was more interested in religious affairs than politics. He left his wife, Margaret of Anjou to manage affairs of the state. She played a great role in trying to defeat her enemy, Richard, Duke of York and placing her own son, Edward on the throne. The battles, which took place from 1455 – 1487 between these two families, (Lancaster and York) are known as the Wars of the Roses.

The Wars of the Roses 1455-1487 In 1453, when he was 32 years old, Henry VI suffered his first attack of mental illness. As a result, Richard, Duke of York took control of the country? In 1455, when he was better, Henry tried to regain control of the country and so the Wars of the Roses began. The followers of the king wore a red rose (Lancastrians), and the followers of Richard wore a white rose (Yorkists). 1460 – Battle of Wakefield, Richard Duke of York was killed. His young son Edmund, Earl of Rutland was killed too. Battle of Northampton: Henry VI was captured and forced to acknowledge Richard as heir to the throne. 1461 – Henry VI lost the throne to Richard’s son Edward IV. 1670-71 – Henry VI was restored as ruler. However, the Yorkists rallied again. They won two decisive victories over the Lancastrians in 1471: Battle of Barnet and the Battle of Tewkesbury. At the latter battle, Margaret’s son 2 prince Edward was killed. Henry VI was then taken prisoner and executed in the Tower of London.

Q2. Historically, prince Edward (Margaret’s son) was killed by George of Clarence, and King Henry was killed by murderers appointed by the king. Who does Shakespeare blame for these murders?

House of York As described above, Edward IV ruled from 1461-1471, before being forced to flee the country. He then returned, defeated Henry VI, and became king again. On his death in 1483, he left two young sons, Edward V and Richard. Edward V was just 12 when his father died. His coronation date was set for May 4th, 1483, however, on the way to London, he was detained by his uncle, Richard, Duke of Cloucester and imprisoned in the Tower of London. His brother Richard joined him later that year. It is still a mystery as to what happened to the two brothers. Their uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester now became King of England. He was crowned Richard III and he ruled from 1483-1485. He was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 and Henry VII became King of England. So began, the Tudor royal family.

House of Tudors Henry Tudor (Henry VII): 1485-1509 / Henry VIII: 1509-1547 / Edward VI: 1547-1553 / Mary I: 1553-1558 / Elizabeth I: 1558-1603 (Shakespeare wrote Richard III during Elizabeth’s reign).

B. Who was Henry Tudor (called the Earl of Richmond in the play) and what were his claims to the throne?

Henry V married Katherine of Valois in 1420. 1422 Henry V died and Katherine was left the young mother of Henry VI and a young widow. She remained in England, but was retired from court life. When she died in 1536, it was discovered that she had in fact three more sons and two daughters! One of the fathers was a man called Own Tudor. Henry VI did not reject his half-brothers and he legitimised them. He gave one of them, Edmund, the title Earl of Richmond. Edmund married Margaret of Beaufort and they were the parents of Henry Tudor. Margaret Beaufort was also descended from John of Gaunt (check the family tree!) and so Henry Tudor’s claims were reinforced. To bring an end to the civil war, he married Elizabeth of York, who was the daughter of Edward IV.

Q3. Why do you think the claims of Henry VII to the throne were insecure? (Clue: royal lineage was based on patriarchy – male descendants). Q4. Why was it important for the Tudors and historians at that time to blacken Richard III’s name? Q5. Read over all of the information above and identify which characters are in the play and which ones are mentioned. Fill out the grid below.

Characters in the play Characters which are mentioned 3

C. The real history of Richard III It is hard to know the “truth” about Richard III as there are not many documents available, especially concerning the disappearance of the two princes. Q6. Look at the facts below and see how Shakespeare changes them:

Facts about Richard III Shakespeare’s Version 1452 Richard was born. He was a sickly, small boy. He is presented as a “deformed, unfinished cripple”. 1460 Richard’s father the Duke of York dies at the Battle of Wakefield. Richard then lives with the Warwick household and grew up with Anne Neville. They were cousins and had to ask for permission to marry. 1471 Battle of Tewkesbury – Lancastrians defeated. Richard did not kill the young prince of Wales, nor Henry VI. 1472 Married Anne Neville. Most historians think that her marriage to Edward, Prince of Wales, had not been consummated. George, Duke of Clarence opposed this marriage. 1478 Clarence continuously plotted against his brother the king. He was arrested, tried and secretly executed in the Tower. Richard had no responsibility in his death. During this time, Richard and Anne lived a dignified life in the north. 1483 Edward IV died. His testament made Richard Protector of the Realm. The Protector kept his function until the new king was crowned. Richard and Buckingham rode to Ludlow to meet the princes, and claimed that on the way: Lord Rivers (Queen’s brother), Lord Grey (Queen’s eldest son by her first marriage) and Vaughan (an ally of the Woodvilles) tried to ambush them. The Woodvilles were arrested and executed. Whilst it is true that the two princes disappeared, note that Henry Tudor did not accuse Richard of killing them, when he came to power in 1485. Elizabeth also sought reconciliation with Richard in 1484, which she would not have done had she known he had killed her sons. October 1483 Buckingham rebelled against Richard. 1485 Death of Edward, Richard’s son. Death of Anne as well probably from tuberculosis. At the Battle of Bosworth, Richard was defeated by Henry Tudor. Richard tried to fight it out with Henry, but he was killed before reaching him. Stanley, Earl of Derby, stopped his troops from taking an active role in supporting Richard.