Visiting Sydney University you might feel transported back to the Middle Ages.  And if you want to learn more about this fascinating period have a look at these courses offered by the Centre of Continuing Education of the University of Sydney.  The lecturer is Yvette Debergue, who holds a PhD from the University of Sydney and is a medieval specialist.

The first is a 4 week course on Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages, covering medieval ecclesiastic and secular architecture as well as medieval tapestries and medieval gardens.    The course starts on 3 May 2012, places are still available.
More information:  http://cce.usyd.edu.au/course/AAMA

Yvette Debergue will team up with our branch member Isolde Martyn for a one day event, The Planatgenets, on 30 June 2012.  The course aims to cover the period from Henry II until the Battle of Bosworth.  It should be an interesting day.  I do have, however, certain reservations about recommending books by Alison Weir as course reading.
More information:  http://cce.usyd.edu.au/course/TPLG

And to chase away any winter chills, you might like to meet some Notorious Women of the Middle Ages, a course which will commence on 19 July 2012.
More information:  http://cce.usyd.edu.au/course/NWMA

King Richard is once again making an appearance on stage, courtesy of the Royal Shakespeare Company. This year, the production is part of the World Shakespeare Festival that sees companies from around the world presenting the Bard’s plays in their own language and their own style. A great cultural addition to Britain in Olympic year.

At Stratford on Avon, the production is one of three plays in the series Nations at War. Curated and directed by Roxana Silbert, an associate director of the RSC, the series also comprises King John and a new Mexican play by Luis Mario Moncada called “A Soldier in Every Son – The Rise of the Aztecs”.

Photograph of the Swan Theatre, Stratford on Avon taken by Michelle Walz Eriksson ; obtained through Wikimedia Commons.

The season examines ambition, power, leadership and family loyalties and betrayals, and the combination of politics and personal emotions. Silbert says that at the heart of Richard III is his relationship with his family … the women are central to Richard III. Ricardians who have always recognised the exceptional closeness of the Yorkist Plantagenet family will welcome this concept.

Although Roxana Silbert has had to trim the text (not as ruthlessly as Colley Cibber we hope) and has given it a contemporary setting, the heart and essence of the story are timeless. Richard’s relationship with his family, says Silbert, his ambition and greed are equally timeless.

Richard will be played by Jonjo O’Neill who happens to be the same age as Richard when he was killed. In a play which is totally driven by the central character, she feels that O’Neill can combine the playfulness with a very dark core. “Richard is a tremendously attractive character and his bravado is part of his charisma, but he does some unforgiveable things and that makes our relationship to him very complex”.

The Nations at War series will be presented at the Swan Theatre in Stratford . Anyone lucky enough to be in the UK this northern summer can visit http://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/richard-iii/ for more information about the production and the performance dates.

Don’t forget that the April meeting this year is on Saturday, 21 April 2012 – at the usual place of course: The Sydney Mechanics School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney.
The time: 14h00.

The speaker will be Dorothea Preis on “Richard and Learning”. Many of you will remember her talking about this in a Scrabble talk but, with those talks’  time limitations, Dorothea felt that she had barely started on the subject. So, lucky us, this time we get the extended version.  You can count on it being entertaining, well-researched and with illustrations from Dorothea’s collection.

Get ready to put up your hand to give a short Scrabble talk at our August meeting. New members should know, volunteers draw a Scrabble tile and then prepare a talk on a medieval subject beginning with that letter at a meeting later in the year. The talks should be no longer than 15 minutes.

Thank you to everyone who sent in their registration forms for our day-long conference at Mittagong RSL on Saturday, 12 May. We look forward to seeing you.

If you have suddenly realised that there is a huge blank in your diary that weekend, we don’t have to give the numbers to the RSL until 18 April, so you can let Julia know if you can come by 17 April.

To whet everyone’s appetite: presentations include talks on Eleanor Talbot/Butler, medieval coins, the Neville/Percy feud, Royal Relics – and the previously lauded “Richard III – the Posthumous Hunchback”. A description of Jousting in the time of Richard III will be given by a new member Andrew, who has found time to join us before he heads off to Europe for some serious jousting there.

Of course there will be all the usuals:  a Plantagenet quiz, a raffle with great rewards to win; a book sale; and bring and buy stall. If you are Bringing please make sure you donations are good to look at and not too difficult for Buyers to take home.  That old bar fridge you’re ditching to beat high electricity prices would not be a good idea!

For your $35 you also get morning and afternoon tea and lunch – and the pleasure of Ricardian company.

If you are staying overnight on Saturday please let Julia know if you will be joining those dining at a local Mittagong restaurant, also if you will be part of the expedition to Robertson on Sunday morning. It will be Sunday Markets  in the town that day, plus the galleries and shops to browse through, as well as places for us to enjoy lunch before returning to Mittagong to make our way to our various homes.

Lost in Castles (formerly Loyalty Binds Me), who made the brilliant DVDs of a reconstructed Middleham and Sandal Castle, just let us know that they are not charging any postage until the end of April 2012.  The reason is that in May Royal Mail is set to increase its rates.  So this is a brilliant opportunity to order that Middleham DVD or the Sandal Castle DVD you had wished for.  I’m certainly going to make good use of this offer.

If you want to look at the trailers or see pictures of other castles, go to the Lost in Castles website.

Click on the titles below to reach the Paypal payment page:

Middleham Castle DVD – £9.99

Sandal Castle DVD – £9.99

Life of William Cowper CDs – £7.99

Middleham and Sandal Castle Gift set – £15.99

Enjoy!

It is good to see that our cause is getting out there.  Yesterday Lyn Gardner reviewed for the Guardian a new play, Iceberg Right Ahead!, written to coincide with 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster.  While the reviewer’s view of the play itself is not very positive, her comparison to Richard III is spot on:

Sticking to the known facts isn’t always the route to entertaining theatre – Richard III would probably have had much to say about Shakespeare’s doubtful portrayal of him…

Of course, a fair amount of studies have been published, which attempt to show a more balanced view of the last Plantagenet king, but their impact is mostly limited to those interested in the period.  However, finding little unconnected remarks that go against the stereotype is extremely hopeful.  They reach a far wider audience and their impact cannot be underestimated.  There just might be someone reading this review, who had never thought twice about Richard III, whose interest is piqued to find out more about the historical Richard.

Thank you, Lyn Gardner!

Lyn Gardner, ‘Iceberg Right Ahead! – review’, Guardian.co.uk (28 March 2012).  URL:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2012/mar/28/iceberg-right-ahead-review Date accessed:  29 March 2012

Just a reminder that this coming Sunday (1 April) is Palm Sunday and thus the day to commemorate the Battle of Towton, fought in a snow storm on Palm Sunday 1461 (29 March).  As every year the Towton Battlefield Society is hosting an event to “commemorate those men from the House of York and the House of Lancaster who fell on that fateful day’.

As we have seen before, Helen Cox will be launching her new book Walk Towton 1461 at this event.  We are grateful to Adrian White and theTowton Battlefield Society for providing us with a link to their official programme.  What a pity that for us “down under” it’s just that little bit too far to go round – we can just be jealous of all our readers, who have the opportunity to visit the commemoration with its fascinating shows and walk the battlefield on one of the guided tours.

We all wish all those taking part in the commemoration, whether actively or as a visitor, an interesting day and hope that the weather will be better than on that fateful Palm Sunday 551 years ago.

To find out more and view the programme, visit the page of the Towton Battlefield Society.

The New South Wales Branch of the Richard III Society is encouraged by the number of younger people – ie: those still students at school or university – who have an interest in the varying opinions about Richard III and contact us for more information.

Whereas the two young ones pictured are not even students yet, we hold out great hopes for their future membership. Samantha (nearly two) and Zachary, who was two weeks old at the time of the photograph, are the grandchildren of  Isolde Martyn, one of our Branch’s recent past presidents, and still a welcome and regular contributor to our meetings.

Isolde, of course, is also an author of some repute. Her historical novels* are not only well written but exceptionally well researched, and have won several awards both in Australia and the United States.  We’re looking forward to her next book about Buckingham, as well as a much anticipated novel about Elizabeth Lambert (Jane Shore).

Isolde, we trust you to keep Sam and Zach well and truly in the Ricardian loop!

* The Lady and the Unicorn and The Silver Bride both have a distinct Ricardian connection (in the United States the titles are The Maiden and the Unicorn and Moonlight and Shadow).  The Knight and the Rose is a delightful historical romance set in the time of Edward II.

Visit Isolde at http://www.isoldemartyn.com/

Helen Cox, author of the highly acclaimed The Battle of Wakefield Revisited:  A Fresh Perspective on Richard of York’s Final Battle, December 1460, told us about two upcoming events, which would be of great interest to all Ricardians.

Tomorrow, Saturday 24 March 2012, the event ‘Searching for Wakefield’s Battlefield’ is launched with the aim to find evidence of the battle, which cost Richard’s father, brother and uncle as well as thousands of others their lives.  If you should be lucky enough to find yourself in the area, make sure that you go to the Sandal Castle Visitor Centre and meet Helen in person.  And don’t forget to bring your copy of Helen’s brilliant Walk Wakefield 1460: A Visitor Guide to Battle-Related Sites along!

The feeling among the Yorkists was doubtlessly rather depressed after the loss of the Battle of Wakefield, however, just three months later with the victory of the Battle of Towton on Palm Sunday, 29 March 1461 the Yorkist supremacy seemed complete.

To commemorate this bloody battle (no, I’m not swearing – it is regarded as the bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil) there will be an event hosted by the Towton Battlefield Society on this year’s Palm Sunday on 1 April 2012.  At the event Helen is also launching her new book Walk Towton 1461.  To quote from the flyer:

With Walk Towton 1461, you can follow the Earl’s campaign from his first victory at Mortimer’s Cross to disaster at St Albans, the fierce contests of Ferrybridge and Dintingdale, and the bloody finale at Towton, with an illustrated guide to visiting sites connected with the battles. Each of the four main sections contains a short history, directions to sites (including maps), and information on opening times and admission charges

During the commemoration, you can buy this new book at the TBS Authors Stall in the Barn, Old London Road, Towton for £6.00.  And all of us, who can’t be there, can order a copy of Helen’s latest book as well as of her others from York Publishing Services on www.YPD-books.com for £7.50.

Helen Cox & Alan Stringer, Walk Towton 1461: A Visitor Guide to Battle-Related Sites, Herstory Writing & Interpretation/York Publishing Services, 2012.  ISBN 978-0-9565768-2-8 (Paperback, 70 pages, 20 black-and-white plates, 6 line drawings)