The Leicester press conference and documentary screening will take place during the week before our meeting on 9 February 2013, so I am sure many of you will want to come along to this to enjoy the discussion and what it means for the Richard III Society. Dorothea, our branch’s valued member of the Bulletin editorial committee, has promised to give us an update at the meeting.
Our guest speaker for the February meeting will be Rosamund Burton. Rosamund is the author of the book Castles, Follies and Four-Leaf Clovers. Adventures along St Declan’s Way (published by Allen & Unwin) and she will be speaking about walking the ancient highway, St Declan’s Way, which she did in 2008. She describes Norman castles, Celtic churches and colourful characters, miraculous wells and talking statues, stories of goddesses, ghosts and fairies, as well as staying in a convent and a day at a horse fair.
Dotted with deserted monasteries, ruined castles, holy wells and plenty of pubs, St Declan’s Way stretches 100km from the iconic Rock of Cashel over the beautiful Knockmealdown Mountains to the fishing village of Ardmore. This ancient highway and age-old pilgrim route follows quiet country roads, farm tracks, riverbanks and mountain paths through a part of Ireland that is steeped in history. It passes through the heritage town of Lismore with its magnificent castle, in the east wing of which Rosamund’s family used to live. Rosamund promises illustrations of this fascinating journey, so “wear the green” and enjoy this special visit to Ireland.
Although born in Ireland, Rosamund Burton grew up in England, until her father got a job with the Duke of Devonshire, and the family moved to Ireland, where their home was in the east wing of Lismore Castle. Rosamund went on to become an actress, performing at Dublin’s Gate and Gaiety Theatres, and in the film, Educating Rita with Julie Walters and Michael Caine. She then worked in London before coming out to Australia 17 years ago. Rosamund now writes for a range of newspapers and magazines. She is married to an Australian and lives in Sydney.
There is more info about Rosamund’s previous talks around Australia and the publications that have accepted her work listed on her website www.rosamundburton.com
Tags: Ireland, Leicester, NSW Branch, Richard III, Richard III Society
Just a short note to our members: The March Bulletin will be delayed by about one month to allow full coverage of the findings, which are due to be announced in Leicester on 4 Feb.
However, there will be a Bulletin Extra as soon as possible after 4 Feb to bring us all the very latest, as well as a registration form for the conference on 2 March. This Bulletin Extra will be emailed to members, who have supplied us with an email address, and posted by snail mail to the others.
The registration period for the 2013 Australasian Convention has been extended. So if you would like to attend please contact our branch secretary Julia quickly – to ask for more information or to send in your registration.
You do not have to a member of one of the Australasian branches to attend. Convention is open to all members of the Richard III Society, wherever you live, as well as anyone else interested in the times. By July we should also know more about the test results from Leicester, so this is an opportunity not to be missed!
The NSW Branch will be hosting the biennial Australasian Convention in 2013.
All members and friends of the Richard III Society are welcome.
Friday, 12 July 2013 (evening): Informal get-together to welcome Interstate/Overseas guests
Saturday, 13 July 2013, from 9h00: full day of presentations with breaks for morning tea, buffet lunch in Dish restaurant, and afternoon tea
19h00: banquet in the Terrace Room (partners and guests welcome)
Sunday, 14 July 2013, from 9h00: further presentations, plus a business session before our farewell buffet lunch in Dish restaurant.
For further information and/or registration please contact the New South Wales Branch per email at info@richardiii-nsw.org.au.
Tags: Australasia, Richard III Society
– edited on 29 Dec 2012 (thank you, Renate) –
The Richard III Society announced that it is funding the facial reconstruction of the skeleton uncovered during the dig in Leicester, which is at present undergoing all sorts of tests to establish with as much certainty as possible whether these are the remains of King Richard III.
Although these tests have not yet been concluded, those in the know at the Society seem to be fairly confident with what is known so far, if they are prepared to fund a facial reconstruction. It will be based on a CT scan and be carried out by a leading expert in facial anthropology According to National Geographic this is Caroline Wilkinson of the University of Dundee, Scotland.
It is truly amazing what can be done these days, just remember when last year we were able to see the face of Ötzi, the Iceman, as he himself would have seen it if he had had a mirror 5300 years ago (see for example in this article from the BBC).
The reconstruction of Richard’s face will feature in the Channel 4 documentary which will be broadcast early in 2013 and after that it will be made widely available.
What makes this part of the examination of the remains particularly interesting is that there are no surviving portraits of Richard from his lifetime, nor any detailed description. The only description we have is by Nicholas von Popplau, who met Richard in 1484:
three fingers taller than I [i.e. von Popplau], but a bit slimmer and not as thickset as I am, and much more lightly built; he has quite slender arms and thighs, and also a great heart.
Though von Popplau’s understanding of English genealogy leaves something to be desired – he has both Edward IV and Henry VI as Richard’s full brothers – he should be able to give a correct description of a man in whose company he spent some time.
The earliest surviving portraits are those from the Royal Collection and the Society of Antiquaries. They have been dated to the second decade of the 16th century and were probably based on portraits painted during the king’s lifetime. X-ray has shown that the Royal Collection portrait has been altered at a later stage, to make one shoulder higher and to give him a meaner expression. The Society of Antiquaries had also been “updated” at a later stage, but cleaning revealed a more genial expression.
The picture on the right is the portrait which hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London. It is suspected to be the copy of a copy of a lost original, and therefore of questionable accuracy. We might be able to replace this picture at some stage.
Richard III Society chairman, Dr Phil Stone, explained that the Society is “delighted to provide the financial support for the reconstruction; the revealing of the face will potentially be both an historic and poignant occasion for all who have an interest in this much misunderstood king.”
Philippa Langley, the driving force behind the Leicster dig, added, “To be at the point of seeing what could be the face of the last warrior King of England is an incredibly exciting prospect.”
A sentiment that we all share.
You can find the Press Release in the ‘What’s New’ section on the website of the Richard III Society.
The description of Richard III by Nicholas von Popplau’s description is quoted from:
Livia Visser-Fuchs, ‘He hardly touched his food, but talked with me all the time: What Niclas von Popplau really wrote about Richard III’, The Ricardian, Vol.XI, No.145 (June 1999), pp.525-530
Tags: Archaeology, Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars Dig, Richard III, Richard III Society
A reminder that your completed registration form and deposit for the biennial Australasian Convention in 2013 is due by by 31 December 2012!
All members and friends of the Richard III Society are welcome.
Friday, 12 July 2013 (evening): Informal get-together to welcome Interstate/Overseas guests
Saturday, 13 July 2013, from 9h00: full day of presentations with breaks for morning tea, buffet lunch in Dish restaurant, and afternoon tea
19h00: banquet in the Terrace Room (partners and guests welcome)
Sunday, 14 July 2013, from 9h00: further presentations, plus a business session before our farewell buffet lunch in Dish restaurant.
For further information and/or registration please contact the New South Wales Branch per email at info@richardiii-nsw.org.au. Please submit your completed registration form and deposit by 31 December 2012. The balance of payment is only due by 31 March 2013.
Tags: Australasia, Richard III Society
The following Press Release was published by the Executive of the Richard III Society in the UK on 30 October 2012.
• Greyfriars dig raises questions over Richard III’s ‘hunchback’ appearance
• Richard III Society calls for reassessment of ‘lazy hunchback myth’
• What is the difference between scoliocis and kyphosis?
It is time to end the lazy acquiescence with the Tudor and Shakespearean myths about Richard III. If the body found at the Greyfriars dig is Richard III, it proves he was no hunchback and if he suffered from scoliosis that is no reason to denigrate him. In this Paralympic year, we celebrate the achievements of all who overcome disabilities, let’s do the same for Richard III…
On 12 September at a press conference in Leicester’s Guildhall, Richard Taylor of the University of Leicester outlined the evidence that points to the skeleton discovered on the site of the Greyfriars being that of King Richard III. He also confirmed that it had a curvature of the spine known as scoliosis.
Scoliosis is a fixed and abnormal sideways curvature of the thoracic and lumbar regions of the spine. It can result in one shoulder being slightly higher than the other, in the case of the Greyfriars skeleton, the right shoulder.
The press conference also made absolutely clear that the skeleton did not have kyphosis, which can result in a hunchback.
So if this is Richard III, he was not a hunchback, contrary to the myths about his physical appearance.
Nowadays severe scoliosis can be corrected by surgery, although those with the condition still face challenges in their lives.
The Scoliosis Society notes that some are inspired by older siblings to overcome such challenges; Richard may well have been similarly inspired by his charismatic elder brother Edward IV. As duke of Gloucester and king Richard led an active life as an effective administrative and military commander, if he had a disability he clearly overcame it.
However there is no contemporary evidence that Richard III suffered from any visible physical problems. The only surviving description of the king is provided by a Silesian visitor, Nicholas van Poppelau, who spent time at Richard’s court in 1484. He described the king as lean, with delicate arms and legs and that he was ‘three fingers taller’ than Poppelau himself.
The legend of Richard’s hunchback began in the early days of the new Tudor dynasty when it was expedient to denigrate the reputation of the dead king; to contemporaries, a deformed body was easily associated with an evil mind. This reached its climax with Sir Thomas More, who described Richard as being ‘little of stature, ill-featured of limbs, crook backed …’.
Tudor chroniclers repeated the legend and provided the basis for Shakespeare’s portrayal of a king who is ‘determined to prove a villain’. It was all character assassination and historical ‘spin’.
-ends-
About the Richard III Society
With a worldwide membership and local branches the Society is actively engaged in original research through its own initiatives and through collaboration with other institutions bodies and scholars. Through the Richard III and Yorkist History Trust, a charitable body established by the Society, we publish important academic works and make research grants. The Society publishes an annual journal, The Ricardian, with original articles on fifteenth century history and a quarterly members’ magazine the Ricardian Bulletin.
Members of the Richard III Society are available for media interview on any topic concerning the life and times of Richard III, the Leicester dig or any related matter.
Richard III Society Press Office
NEW CONTACT DETAILS
Press Officer
Peter Secchi
+44 7780 866225
peter@crunchcommunications.co.uk
www.richardiii.net
Or contact the NSW Branch on: webmaster@richardiii-nsw.org.au
Tags: Leicester, Richard III, Richard III Society
Part of yesterday’s debate in the House of Commons dealt with a topic of great interest to all of us: where Richard III should be reinterred, if the remains found in Leicester are confirmed to be his.
In the debate both a member for Leicester and one for York argued in favour of their cities. As a compromise, a MP for Nottinghamshire suggested Worksop as a halfway point between the two. It seems, however, that Worksop is not in the running.
The MPs for the other rival cities stated their respective claims in a debate which was at times quite humorous. Jonathan Ashworth for Leicester South argued that the site where Richard had been for 500 years is “a stone’s throw from Leicester cathedral”.
The MP for York, Hugh Bayley, pointed out how well regarded Richard III was in York even 527 years after his death, to be interrupted by another MP asking whether Richard was still on the electoral roll. Mr Bayley also reminded us that it was not appropriate “to argue on the Floor of this place over his mortal remains [which] is more like medieval cathedrals fighting over saints’ relics.”
MP Tony Baldry answered questions for the Church Commissioners, which seems to tend more to Leicester as “the tradition is that they would be buried and reinterred at the nearest Christian cathedral, which happens to be Leicester Cathedral.” However, there was not yet a final decision and emphasized that “once those tests are concluded, the nature, place and marking of any reinterment will need seriously to be considered”.
For a more humorous take on the whole issue, watch the Richard III video on ‘David Mitchell’s Soapbox’ in the Guardian.
Our readers will remember that we reported on Philippa Langley being awarded the prestigious Robert Hamblin Award for her dedication and hard work in making the dig possible. I received an email from Philippa this morning thanking the NSW branch for our message of congratulation. This is what she said to all our branch members: “The Robert Hamblin award was very much a shock (and then some!) but I was incredibly honoured to receive it. Please will you pass on my thanks to everyone in NSW, I was so touched to see your message.”
Information on the debate in the House of Commons can be found on the BBC or you can read the transcript of the discussion.
Tags: Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars Dig, Parliament, Richard III, Richard III Society
The Richard III Society has awarded Philippa Langley the Robert Hamblin Award, which was established in 2002 to recognise work of outstanding service by a member. In addition, she was awarded honorary life membership in recognition of the particular merit of the Greyfriars Dig.
We would like to congratulate Philippa on these awards. Our branch would like to join all Society members world-wide in thanking her for her tireless work in making this dream come true.
You can read the Press Release of the Richard III Society here.
Tags: Archaeology, Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars Dig, Richard III, Richard III Society
We just received the sad news that Dr Lesley Boatwright passed away.
Phil Stone, Chairman of the Richard III Society, said on behalf of the Exceutive Committee:
It is with great sadness that we have to announce the passing of Dr Lesley Boatwright after a short illness. She died in the early evening of the 4thOctober.
Lesley, also known by some as Lesley Wynne-Davies, will be greatly missed,both as a friend and as a Ricardian.
A full tribute to her will appear in due course in the Bulletin.
The Executive Committee
I had the pleasure of getting to know Lesley, when attending a Bulletin Committee Meeting this July, and found her to be very helpful and enthusiastic. So it was very sad to learn that she had been taken ill and her passing not long after.
The Executive Committee had appointed her a Vice-President on Monday and we heard that she was pleased about this well-deserved recognition.
Our branch and the Society as whole have lost a good friend.
Tags: Richard III Society
The September 2012 issue of the Ricardian Bulletin has just arrived in my letter-box. As always it promises to be an interesting read. The NSW branch is well represented with the invitation to the Australasian Convention in 2013, which will be hosted by our branch, an article on Dorothea being able to attend the Bulletin Committee meeting in London and the sad news of Harold passing.
The Bulletin has been mailed out from the UK to each member directly and we hope that all of you will receive your copies in the near future. Should there be any problems, please let me know.
Tags: NSW Branch, Richard III Society
