2008 12 Winter Bulletin.Pdf
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Ricardian Bulletin Winter 2008 Contents 2 From the Chairman 4 The Robert Hamblin Award 5 Society News and Notices 13 Richard III Society Bursary is awarded to Matthew Ward 16 Logge Wills Are Here At Last: by Lesley Boatwright 17 Media Retrospective 20 News and Reviews 28 Proceedings of the Triennial Conference 2008: Part 3: Survivors 37 The Man Himself: by Lynda Pidgeon 40 A Bearded Richard: by David Fiddimore 41 William Herbert, Earl of Huntingdon: A Biography: Part I: by Sarah Sickels 43 Eleanor Matters: by John Ashdown-Hill 45 The Real Reason Why Hastings Lost His Head: A Reply: by David Johnson 47 Correspondence 51 The Barton Library 52 Report on Society Events 60 In the Footsteps of Richard III: 2009 Annual Tour for Ricardians and Friends 61 Ricardians in Krakow and a Photo Caption Competition 62 Future Society Events 65 Branch and Group Contacts 66 Branches and Groups 71 New Members 71 Recently Deceased Members 72 Calendar Contributions Contributions are welcomed from all members. All contributions should be sent to the Technical Editor, Lynda Pidgeon. Bulletin Press Dates 15 January for Spring issue; 15 April for Summer issue; 15 July for Autumn issue; 15 October for Winter issue. Articles should be sent well in advance. Bulletin & Ricardian Back Numbers Back issues of the The Ricardian and 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 back inside cover of the Bulletin The Ricardian Bulletin is produced by the Bulletin Editorial Committee, Printed by Micropress Printers Ltd. © Richard III Society, 2008 1 From the Chairman ith the Christmas season almost upon us again, it is always interesting to reflect on how W our modern celebrations compare to those which would have been held in Yorkist Eng- land. In the fifteenth century, it was first and foremost a religious festival, something which can- not really be said today, and of course, there would have been no turkeys in those pre-Columbus days. Instead, a goose would have been the bird of choice, or possibly even a swan. Mince pies were true to their name, with shredded meat being the main ingredient, while the Christmas pud- ding was in the form of a spicy porridge, known as ‘frumenty’. Our last Bulletin for 2008 offers another feast, this time of articles, reviews and news. The series based on the talks given at this year’s triennial conference on the fate of the Princes in the Tower continues with three articles about possible survivors. Also, we welcome a new contribu- tor, Sarah Sickels, a young member from the American Branch. She writes about William Her- bert, the earl of Huntington, who married Richard’s illegitimate daughter, Katharine. As we’ve not had a Letter from America for a while, it’s good to hear from our American friends with an account of their recent visit to these islands. During 2009, we will have a series of articles commemorating the quincentenary of the deaths of Henry VII and his mother, and the piece in the News and Reviews section about the unlikely case for the canonisation of the latter surely throws down a challenge to us. Another review points to a possible new feature with examples of members having traced their ancestry back to Yorkist England. If any of you have managed this, please let us know. We’ll try not to mind if they happened to be Lancastrians! Writing of family history reminds me that the next Who Do You Think You Are? - Live exhibition is not so far off. The Society will be there again, so please visit and give us your support. A particularly exciting initiative next year will be the launch of a series that provides a chal- lenge to the published novelists amongst our membership. Graham Turner’s pictures of fifteenth century scenes and people are greatly admired and all contain within them a story waiting to be told, and that’s the task we have set our novelists: choose a picture and tell us the story. The se- ries will kick off in the spring issue with Sandra Worth. This issue has the minutes of the AGM held in October. It was good to be back in York, but as Jane Trump points out in her Low Down, attendance was a little disappointing. Perhaps the credit crunch made some members think twice about attending? As has been the custom in recent years, an abridged version of my address to the AGM is published in the Bulletin and follows this piece. As we look forward to another challenging and interesting Ricardian year, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and, in these uncertain times, a safe and, I hope, prosperous 2009. Phil Stone 2 The Chairman’s Keynote Address to the Society at the AGM At our AGM last year, I referred to 2007 as being a year of consolidation. I think we can look upon 2008 as a year of measured expansion, building upon the secure base that has been created by our reforms of the past six years. We have begun to advance and I am particularly pleased to note that our accounts for the last financial year show a healthy surplus, providing us with the capital to do yet more. Some of the highlights of the past year include the Triennial Conference in Cirencester and our debuts at Who Do You Think You Are? – Live at Olympia, and the prestigious Leeds Medie- val Congress. This is not to forget, of course, all the regular activities that make up the Ricardian year – the visits, commemorations, branch meetings, the bursaries, the ongoing work of the Re- search Committee, the Richard III and Yorkist Trust, and the Ricardian Churches Restoration Fund amongst others. Particular mention should be made of the Wills Project, something that seems to have been around for so long that I was beginning to wonder if the organisers were waiting to include my will, as well! The importance of the successful conclusion of this project cannot be overstated. It is a milestone achievement for the Society that will significantly enhance our reputation amongst fifteenth-century historians and scholars, at the same time extending our reach to the ever grow- ing family history community. Looking forward from the measured expansion of this year, we look to focused expansion during 2009, recognising that the best results are only achieved by the careful targeting of our efforts, aiming for where they can have real impact. In July, we will be back at the International Medieval Congress at Leeds and our presence will be even more pronounced as we hope that three of our members will be contributing lectures to the Congress. In January, we will launch the Bosworth Portal, an interactive computer screen to be installed in the reception area of the new battlefield centre. Sponsored and provided by the Society, it will focus on King Richard, provid- ing a balanced account of his life and reign. At the end of February, the Society will be present at the Who Do You Think You Are? – Live exhibition again, with a stand on the main walkway through the middle of the hall. The Visits team are working on an exciting programme, including a long weekend in South Wales and the possibility of a day trip to Croyland. The biennial Aus- tralasian Convention will take place in Perth, Western Australia, and we wish all who attend it safe journeys and a successful convention. 2009 is the year that sees the quincentenary of the accession of Henry VIII, of course, and, following the recent television series The Tudors, the reign will now have to be totally reas- sessed. This innovative series has revealed many new facts about the king and his times, not least the one that Henry found the fountain of youth and apparently never aged. If only they could follow this up with The Yorkists – there’d be no shortage of sex scenes, either, with Edward IV dropping his hose on all possible occasions. Seriously and more importantly, in 2009 it will be fifty years since the Fellowship of the White Boar was renamed The Richard III Society, an anniversary that will be commemorated in the Bulletin. The change of name has been fortunate, for not only has it gained us wide recogni- tion, it has proved very effective in selling our message. As the man said, it does what it says on the tin. While we look to the future, I hesitate to say that we look forward to the next fifty years, as I hope that, in 2059, there will be no need for a Society that is seeking to restore the reputation of Richard III. Perhaps we can hope that our successors at that year’s AGM will be celebrating the name’s 100th anniversary, basking in the knowledge that the Society’s aims of a reassess- ment of the times and reputation of Richard of Gloucester have shown the world that he really was Good King Richard. It has always been my pleasure at the AGM to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who has done work for the Society, and at this time, I would like to record my special thanks to the Executive Committee. I know how much they put into the running of the Society and the support that they give me. The voluntary spirit is alive throughout the Richard III Society, and my thanks go to 3 you all for making it so.