shakespeare's tragedy of king richard the third

But time partially has exonerated Richard, for once he was dead, each Tudor went right on murdering Yorkists to insure their own succession. It is far easier to write nonsense than to spend a lifetime trying to discover new and true sources. Why do supposedly erudite historians continue to print the absurd? Why assume a partisan and dishonest lawyer, or a superb dramatist, knew history or even cared about writing it? Should moderns insist that Hollywood be a controlling source for history books, or that the gossip magazines must reflect truth?īy now, when novitiates scan the database, there is nothing to separate fact from fiction, and flamboyant fiction sells better than cold history. Although it is obvious that Tudor had overwhelming motivation to spread malicious gossip and to smear a dead man, some cannot let go of even the most outrageous slurs. Or it can take on a more sinister nature, such as what happened to Edward V, a query that moderns cannot positively answer.īy blaming Richard for everything, Tudor escaped blame for anything for two hundred years, until people were at last free to pose questions.

It may take the form of ghosts passionately listing the wrongs of an evil king, regardless of their own dwelling in hell. The vilification may be absurd, such as two years in the womb, magically withered arms, and the murder of innocent babies, but it is repeated ad nauseam. The prime sources of defamation of Richard are superstitious fiction, although this was not understood by some for centuries. King Richard III is one of England's most controversial historical figures often associated with his quest to seize the throne of England. The victor always defines the struggle and the person of the loser, and it is the victor’s version that survives and is incorporated into later works by authors who have little ability to know the truth. There is a Tudor myth that defames Richard III, but it is propaganda to satisfy the human need to vilify perceived enemies, a trait that has been with us for as long as words existed. Although he was king for only a short time, Richard continued the benevolent rule of his elder brother, Edward IV, and, indeed, proved himself one of England’s most enlightened and far-sighted rulers, with progressive ideas on government and religion.īut, following his defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth on August 22, 1485, the victorious Tudors began a process of re-writing history to destroy Richard’s reputation – a process that reached its zenith with the Shakespeare play “The Tragedy of Richard III”, first performed in the 1590s. No monarch in history has been so maligned and slandered as Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England.

Shakespeare's tragedy of king richard the third