the Ricardian Bulletin The magazine of the Richard III Society THE TOWTON CHAPEL HOW TO REBURY A MEDIEVAL KING RICHARD III’S SCOLIOSIS FOCUS ON THE BARTON LIBRARY March 2014 Advertisement the Ricardian Bulletin The magazine of the Richard III Society March 2014 Richard III Society Founded 1924 Contents www.richardiii.net 2 From the Chairman In the belief that many features of the tradi- 3 Reinterment news Annette Carson tional accounts of the character and career of 4 Members’ letters Richard III are neither supported by sufficient evidence nor reasonably tenable, the Society 7 Society news and notices aims to promote in every possible way 12 Future Society events research into the life and times of Richard III, 14 Society reviews and to secure a reassessment of the material relating to this period and of the role in 16 Other news, reviews and events English history of this monarch. 18 Research news Patron 19 Richard III and the men who died in battle Lesley Boatwright, HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG, GCVO Moira Habberjam and Peter Hammond President 22 Looking for Richard – the follow-up Peter Hammond FSA 25 How to rebury a medieval king Alexandra Buckle Vice Presidents 37 The Man Himself: The scoliosis of Richard III Peter Stride, Haseeb John Audsley, Kitty Bristow, Moira Habberjam, Qureshi, Amin Masoumiganjgah and Clare Alexander Carolyn Hammond, Jonathan Hayes, Rob 39 Articles Smith. 39 The Third Plantagenet John Ashdown-Hill Executive Committee 40 William Hobbys Toni Mount Phil Stone (Chairman), Paul Foss, Melanie Hoskin, Gretel Jones, Marian Mitchell, Wendy 42 Not Richard de la Pole Frederick Hepburn Moorhen, Lynda Pidgeon, John Saunders, 44 Pudding Lane Productions Heather Falvey Anne Sutton, Richard Van Allen, 46 Some literary and historical approaches to Richard III with David Wells, Susan Wells, Geoffrey Wheeler, Stephen York references to Hungary Eva Burian 47 A series of remarkable ladies: 7. Kunigunde, Archduchess of The Ricardian Bulletin is produced by the Bulletin Editorial Committee. Austria and Duchess of Bavaria Rita Diefenhardt-Schmitt [email protected] 48 Focus on the Barton Library team © Richard III Society 2014. 52 Books ISSN 0308 4337 55 The Barton Library Individual contributions and illustrations © the contributors except where otherwise 56 Branch and group reports stated. 62 Membership Designed by Flagholme Publishing Services Printed by XLPress Limited Distributed by e-Mediacy Limited Other features Advertising contact: Howard Choppin, 11 Coming in your June Bulletin [email protected] 51 Ricardian crossword 7 by Sanglier For details on submitting future contribut ions, please see p. 33. 60 Branch and group contact list 64 Obituaries Bulletin and Ricardian back numbers: 64 Late news Back issues of The Ricardian and the Bulletin Inside back cover: Society contacts and Calendar are available from Judith Ridley. If you are interested in obtaining any back numbers, please contact Mrs Ridley to establish Cover photo: Detail from the painting Towton 1461 by Graham whether she holds the issue(s) in which you Turner. © Graham Turner, www.studio88.co.uk (see advertisement are interested. For contact details see the opposite). For more on Towton, see pp. 17 and 18. inside back cover. Right: Philippa Langley reviews the year since the discovery of the King’s remains on p. 24. (Photograph courtesy of Murdo McLeod) 1 From the CHAIRMAN It’s now over a year since that momentous day in There will be a feature in September’s Leicester University when Richard Buckley told the Bulletin telling us about the events of world’s press that the remains found in 2012 were that summer and how the society was founded, while in confirmed as being those of King Richard and in many this issue we have two articles that bring in our founder. respects it’s been a frustrating time, as we witness the The article about Richard III’s scoliosis by Peter Stride continuing debate over where the king should finally be and his colleagues at the University of Queensland reinterred. As I write, this is still unresolved, though we touches on the medical career of Saxon Barton, as well all hope that a resolution will be achieved soon so that us giving us more insight into the condition and the King Richard can, at last, be laid to rest in honour as treatments available. Our focus on the Barton Library, befits an anointed king of England. named after our founder, reminds us of his commitment The Judicial Review reconvenes on 13 March. to learning and knowledge. It also highlights the Hopefully, most of you will have received this Bulletin important contribution the library has made to the by then but, of course, the judges may not make known Society’s success over the past five decades. For that, I their decision for several weeks after that. There has pay tribute to all our librarians but especially our even been a suggestion that it may not be for several librarian emerita, Carolyn Hammond. months. Obviously, all of us hope it will be sooner The very positive response to the new‐look Bulletin rather than later. On the following pages there is a has been very pleasing. The praise for the Bulletin team summary of the review’s initial hearing on 26 is well deserved, as a great deal of work went into the November last year. Since then, we have heard that new design. There is no doubt that the standards Leicester City Council has withdrawn its wish to be achieved with the December Bulletin are repeated in this considered as a co‐defendant and now wishes to be issue, with another stunning cover and a range of considered just as an interested party. As soon as there contents to match. is further news about the Review and related matters, I am delighted, too, by the response to last year’s call we will inform members via the website and RIII for volunteers to help share the workload. You will see Mailings and there will be full coverage, of course, in from the profiles of our new committee members that the June Bulletin. we have a formidable range of experience and skills to In the news last November there was a report about call on. I welcome them and all the other volunteers and a recently rediscovered seventeenth‐century copy of a look forward to working with them in the future. fifteenth‐century manuscript that described the prayers It will be another challenging and busy year for the and music used in reburial services for members of the Society. As I asked recently in another context, will 2014 nobility. Some of you will have heard the Radio 4 be as exciting as 2013? Already it looks as if it will. programme that mentioned the discovery and during However, we remain strong and determined to meet which some of the hauntingly beautiful music from the those challenges and to continue our work in pushing service was played. We count ourselves very fortunate forward the aims of the Society: ‘to promote research in this issue to have an article by Dr Alexandra Buckle, into the life and times of Richard III’. Throughout the who discovered the manuscript. coming months, I anticipate there will be many It goes without saying that it’s been a momentous opportunities for me to meet members at the various year for Philippa Langley, too, and we have an inter ‐ events in our calendar and I look forward to meeting as view with her in which she tells us about it. Her life has many of you as possible. not been easy since she began the project and we can Finally, let me add that I have heard from Kensington only admire her stamina, while I also add my Palace that HRH the Duke of Gloucester is happy to appreciation for her support for the Society over the continue to be the Society’s patron. Since His Royal past year. Highness, like his royal cousin, is trying to reduce his During 2014, we celebrate the ninetieth anniversary workload, it is pleasing to learn that we are still of our founding by Saxon Barton in the summer of 1924. considered important enough to remain on his list. Initially, we were known as the Fellowship of the White Boar, only changing to the Richard III Society in 1959. Phil Stone 2 REINTERMENT news The Judicial Review into the decision to bury King Richard in Leicester Cathedral – a personal view ANNETTE CARSON JUDICIAL REVIEW, Tuesday 26 November 2013 (adjourned) Important note: The following summary is a personal impression of the events in the High Court which the writer attended as a member of the public. They are by no means a verbatim transcription, and indeed from my seat at the back it was quite difficult to hear the arguments. Please accept my apologies for any inaccuracies, and do not quote this account as authoritative. Heard before: Lady Justice Hallett interested party, but for wishing to have it joined as a Mr Justice Ouseley co‐defendant – so that it, too, would be bound by the Mr Justice Haddon‐Cave ruling of the Court. (There are already two named interested parties in the case: Leicester Cathedral and For the Plantagenet Alliance (claimant): Gerard Clarke York Minster.) For the Secretary of State for Justice (first defendant): Interestingly, at this point the LCC was observed to James Eadie, QC have clearly broken ranks with the University, in that it For the University of Leicester (second defendant): disputes the UoL’s role and claims to have overall Anya Proops direction of the matter, in its capacity both as the For Leicester City Council: Norman Palmer, QC landowner and as a public authority.