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Ricardian Bulletin Magazine of the Richard III Society ISSN 0308 4337 September 2011 Ricardian Bulletin September 2011 Contents 2 From the Chairman 3 Society News and Notices including AGM arrangements and Membership Matters (subscriptions) 14 Fifty Years of The Ricardian, by John Saunders 17 Thoughts from New South Wales 20 News and Reviews including the Mendes-Spacey production of Richard III at the Old Vic, London 27 Media Retrospective 30 The Man Himself: The York Vellum: Richard‟s Coronation Visit to York, by John Saunders 33 Paper from the Study Weekend: Murder on the Tower: the death of William de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, by Heather Falvey 37 Katherine Courtenay: Plantagenet princess, Tudor countess (part 1), by Judith Ridley 40 Mr Lathol‟s Frenzy, by Tig Lang 41 Historical Fact or Fiction? by Christopher Rae 43 Your Queries Answered: (1) The Questionable Legend of Sir Henry Wyatt, by Annette Carson (2) A Canonical Minefield, by Marie Barnfield (3) Henry Tudor‟s Path to the Throne, by Annette Carson 49 Another de la Pole? by Stephen Lark 51 Correspondence 54 The Barton Library 56 Future Society Events 58 Branches and Groups 62 New Members and Recently Deceased Members 63 Obituaries 64 Calendar Contributions Contributions are welcomed from all members. All contributions should be sent to Lesley Boatwright. Bulletin Press Dates 15 January for March issue; 15 April for June issue; 15 July for September issue; 15 October for December issue. Articles should be sent well in advance. Bulletin & 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 back inside cover of the Bulletin From the Chairman e pass a significant milestone this October with the fiftieth anniversary of the very first W edition of The Ricardian, which has grown from very humble beginnings to the utterly first-rate scholarly journal we have today. In this issue of the Bulletin, we tell how it all began and how the journal developed over the decades that followed. The Ricardian has made an enormous contribution to the good reputation that this Society enjoys and I take this opportunity to salute all the past editors, but especially Anne Sutton, who has been at the helm for the past thirty-two years. Anne‟s tenure as editor has seen our flagship journal consolidate and expand its role as one of the leading and most respected journals covering our period of medieval history. This is something we can and should all take great pride in. In this issue, we have the usual combination of articles and features to both inform and entertain, including two contributions from Annette Carson. She follows Henry Tudor‟s path to the throne and gives us an interesting insight into Sir Henry Wyatt. Marie Barnfield offers a fresh look at the Beaufort offspring of John of Gaunt and Katharine Swynford: a relationship which was to have so many implications for English history in the fifteenth century. Also, we welcome two new contributors, Christopher Rae, who takes a look at the subject of fiction and historical facts in light of the success of Hilary Mantel‟s Wolf Hall, and Judith Ridley, who tells the story of Edward IV‟s daughter, Katherine Courtenay, countess of Devon.. „The Man Himself‟ reminds us of the Society‟s gift to York Minster, the splendid York Vellum, which we presented in 1966. We will be contacting the authorities at the Minster to ask if it would be possible to put it on public display during York‟s 800th anniversary celebrations next year. We also have a lot about that play by Shakespeare. The Propeller Company‟s performance was reviewed in the last issue, and we complement this with Heather Falvey‟s letter about the production.The interpretation by Kevin Spacey under Sam Mendes‟ direction, currently being performed at the Old Vic, has received a lot of media coverage. If you haven‟t seen it and if it‟s still playing when you read this and you can get tickets, I thoroughly recommend it. Whatever you think of the play, and we all know it „ain‟t history‟, whatever the Duke of Marlborough said, the performance is certainly a tour de force worth seeing. It is always interesting to hear about how members develop their interest in the subject of Richard III and subsequently find out about the Society. Dorothea Preis has gathered together some recollections from members of the New South Wales Branch which well illustrates some of the many paths that led to the Richard III Society. The triennial conference next April is booking up quickly. It promises to be a particularly stimulating one, the emphasis being on the exciting new discoveries at Bosworth. So, if you are thinking of attending, get your application in fast. Likewise with the Visits Team‟s trip to Bruges next August. The opportunity to experience the wonderful Pageant of the Golden Tree will make this trip very popular. The Members‟ Day and AGM are fast approaching, and we are all looking forward to our rather special speaker this year, Dr David Starkey. His acceptance of our invitation has sparked considerable interest, so we really do need members to confirm their attendance as spaces are limited. It will be an especially memorable day and I look forward to meeting members and talking to them about our work and plans for the future. 2 Society News and Notices Subscriptions Due Subscriptions for the forthcoming membership year fall due on 2 October 2011. Please see the renewal form in the centrefold section and Membership Matters below for rates and methods of payment. Richard III Society Members’ Day and Annual General Meeting School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), Malet Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG Saturday 1 October 2011 As is the established practice, Saturday 1 October is both the AGM and a day for members to meet each other and get involved and once again, although using a new (to us) venue, the event will follow a similar pattern to previous years. At the time of writing this article, mid July, no motions have been received by the Chairman or the Joint Secretaries. All members are reminded that motions and resolutions for the AGM agenda, proposed and seconded by Society members and signed, should be sent to the Joint Secretaries, in hard copy, by no later than Friday 16 September 2011. Similarly, nominations by Society members for membership of the Executive Committee, proposed, seconded and accepted by the nominee and duly signed by all, should also be sent to the Joint Secretaries by the same date. Forms for this purpose may be obtained from the Joint Secretaries – by electronic or hard copy means or downloaded from the Society‟s website. The Annual Report is published in this Bulletin. It contains much of the material formerly reported by officers at the AGM. This means that officers‟ reports on the day will provide attendees with any relevant updates which will enable the focus of the meeting to be on the future and members‟ issues. As with other years, there will be an Open Forum/ Question Time to enable members to raise questions and issues. These can be submitted by email or in writing to the Joint Secretaries (contact details on the inside cover of the Bulletin). If you wish to submit a question in advance, it would be helpful if it is received by Thursday 29 September. You will also be able to post questions on the day and „post -it‟ notes will be available for you to place on a board in the hall. Queries and questions may be submitted anonymously, but, if they cannot be answered on the day, questioners will be invited to give their contact details to a Society officer to enable an answer to be provided at a later date. Please remember that this is your day. Please try to attend and take the opportunity to raise any question that you have, to meet old friends and to make new ones. This year our speaker will be the renowned historian and broadcaster Dr David Starkey, who will be talking about Yorkist sentiment in the reign of Henry VII. If you intend to come to the event, please register your place by email to the Secretaries at their email address or by completing and returning the booking form which was published in the June Bulletin. 3 Requests to attend are being dealt with on a „first come, first served‟ basis. If you have not registered in advance, we regret that you may not be allowed entry as, although the venue will hold in excess of 200 persons, there is a maximum limit with which the Society must comply. If the maximum limit is reached, a waiting list will be maintained. At the time of writing (mid July) over 170 registrations had been recorded. Further to the official notification in the June Bulletin, set out below is the proposed programme for the day: Programme: 10.30 Doors open; Members arrive, time to visit stalls etc. 12.00 Inaugural Isolde Wigram Memorial Lecture – Dr David Starkey 13.15 Lunch – own arrangements 14.30 Annual General Meeting and Open Forum/Question Time followed by Raffle 16.15 (estimated) Conclusion of Members‟ Day and dispersal Details of the venue and how to get there are given below: Venue: School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), Malet Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG Public Transport: Nearest Underground station is Russell Square (Piccadilly Line) and SOAS is within easy walking distance (about 5 minutes) from the station.