The British Library is at present showing an exhibition of royal manuscripts which were collected over a period of more than 600 years, by kings from Athelstan (893/4–939) to Henry VIII (1491–1547).

The beautifully illuminated pages are glowing in their original colours.  The organisers tell us that it is likely that these manuscript were not only collected by the kings, but also handled and admired by them and their families. One of the earliest books is Athelstan’s copy of the Gospels and on one page there is a note describing the king’s release of a slave named Eadhelm after his coronation in 925.

The collection was started by Edward IV to display the greater glory of God and his chosen sovereigns and country, which of course were the Yorkist leaders rather than the Lancastrian ones.  Though we find these as well on the illuminated pages:  There is the book which was a wedding present from the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury to Margaret of Anjou, whom we can see on one page receiving the present.

Detail of the illumination showing Mragaret of Anjou (in the public domain, obtained through Wikimedia Commons)

Edward himself bought manuscripts of history books for £250, possibly for the education of his sons.

Another highlight is the route map for a 13th century pilgrim to Jerusalem by Matthew Paris, who lived approx. 1200–1259 and was a monk in St Albans.  Though not much is known about Matthew we know that his only international trip took him to Norway.  In spite of this his map shows us exactly how to get to Jerusalem, travelling through Kent, France and Italy and then by boat, including the must-see landmarks en route.

One reviewer criticises that the captions of the exhibits focus on the illustrations to the detriment of their historical context.  As an example she tells us that

The one that says flatly that Edward IV’s ‘two young sons…died in the Tower of London after his death’ is a woeful “princes in the Tower” rehash with no basis in historical certainty. (A later caption, more sensibly, adds the word “presumed”.) [Flanders]

We can only applaud her sentiments.

Unfortunately other reviewers are themselves not so sure of their history as the one who informs us that there are “prayer books belonging to queens such as Margaret Beaufort, Henry VI’s wife”! [Bates]

An impressive slideshow of some of the exhibits can be seen on the BBC website:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15667183.  For this link my thanks go to the facebook page of the Richard III Society.

The exhibition is shown until 13 March 2012.  For us down-under we can only suggest that the British Library needs to redecorate.  The perfect place for their beautiful books would be to display them in Australia.  This system seems to be working very well for other museums, think of the huge success of the Musee d’Orsay in Canberra, the Städel Museum Frankfurt in Melbourne or the Picasso exhibition here in Sydney right now.

Sources:

Stephen Bates, ‘Medieval monarchs’ books showcased by British Library’, The Guardian (10 November 2011).  URL:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/nov/10/medieval-monarchs-books-british-library Date accessed:  11 Nov 2011

Mark Brown, ‘British Library digs out decorative paintings to brighten up dark ages’, The Guardian (25 August 2011).  URL:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/aug/25/british-library-dark-ages-exhibition Date accessed:  11 Nov 2011

Judith Flanders, ‘Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination, British Library’, The Arts Desk (10 November 2011).  URL:  http://www.theartsdesk.com/visual-arts/royal-manuscripts-genius-illumination-british-library-0 Date accessed:  11 Nov 2011

Mary Mcconnell, ‘Might be worth a look, Wills: The medieval manuscripts that told England’s monarchs how to be a king’, Mail online (31 October 2011).  URL:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2055338/Medieval-manuscripts-told-Englands-monarchs-king.html Date accessed:  5 Nov 2011

Scot McKendrick, ‘Exhibition in focus: Royal Manuscripts, British Library’, The Telegraph (11 Nov 2011).  URL:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/london/8865233/Exhibition-in-focus-Royal-Manuscripts-British-Library.html Date accessed:  12 Nov 2011

To continue from our recent media retrospective, here is another example that those who work with Shakespeare’s work are well aware of the difference between play and reality.  Don Crane is a professional actor and teaching artist with The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. and is at present directing a production of Richard III at a school, Westfield High.  This is what he had to say about the play and the man:

It’s a story of good triumphing over evil, but also a propaganda piece Shakespeare wrote for the Tudors. The character of Richard III is depicted as a spider — deformed, disgusting and rotten from within and without. But of course, it’s all a lie.

We can but hope that the audience of this production as of all others that the fascinating character of the play is “all a lie”!

Source:

Bonnie Hobbs, ‘Westfield Presents ‘Richard III’ – Not your father’s Shakespeare’, Centre View (10 November 2011).  URL:  http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=355709&paper=62&cat=104 Date accessed:  11 Nov 2011

After Christ Church College’s Special Interest weekend ‘Blood and Roses’, Oxford offers another reason for the Ricardian to visit this beautiful city.

This morning a member of the Yahoo Group of the American Branch of the Richard III Society posted that the ‘Oxford Experience’ is running a course on Richard III next year.

The “Oxford Experience” is a Summer School of the Department for Continuing Education of Oxford University.

Anything concerning Richard III gets my attention, but this course should be special.  Its stated aim is “to present an accurate and balanced assessment of a much maligned man and monarch”.  The course runs for a week, 1 to 7 July 2012, and includes an array of fascinating topics:

•    The Fifteenth Century: the political and social background and royal genealogies of the houses of Lancaster, York and Tudor.

•    Richard, Duke of Gloucester: traces the early life of Richard, his roles and duties and relationships with brother Edward and other members of the nobility.

•    The Princes in the Tower: examines the evidence leading to the incarceration of the princes and assesses the various debates on Richard’s role.

•    King Richard: assessment of his brief reign, his achievements and the conspiracies against him.

•    Myths and Legends: examination of Richard’s legacy, the myths and legends which were generated upon his death and why Tudor propaganda shaped his reputation for centuries to come. The course will end with an opportunity to present your own case for or against King Richard III.

Participants of the course will be accommodated at Christ Church and can thus experience “A Slice of Student Life”.

What a great opportunity it would be to attend this course on a historical person in whom we are so interested in such beautiful surroundings as Oxford in general and Christ Church in particular!

You can find out more about the course at http://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/details.php?id=V210-22&Category=900

Recently there were a few mentions of Richard III in the media, which differentiate clearly between Shakespeare’s evil tyrant and the historical person.

The first was Allan Massie, famous Scottish writer and columnist, who wrote on 23 October a column in the UK Telegraph on Gaddafi’s death (we reported).  Massie is careful to distinguish between the literary Richard III and the historic Richard III as represented by the Richard III Society, which he mentions explicitly.  This is what he had to say (highlights mine):

To forestall complaints from members of the Richard III Society who think him a much maligned figure, a victim of scurrilous Tudor propaganda – and that much is certainly true – let me say that it is Shakespeare’s Richard, not the historical Richard of whom one knows little for certain, that I am talking about. Shakespeare’s Richard then is a scoundrel, a liar, seducer, murderer and tyrant, granted only two redeeming qualities – wit and courage.

The second was Michael Dobson in a review of the film Anonymous in the Guardian on 26 October 2011. He is director of the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham and emphasises that Shakespeare was not and did not want to be a historian evaluating sources to establish a truthful presentation of his object to appeal to our intellect.  No, he was a man of the theatre and wanted to appeal the audience’s imagination:

He gave his audiences Richard III, the hunchbacked wicked uncle, rightfully destroyed by the good avenging prince, for instance, rather than the complex politician of history, defeated and killed by an invading opportunist. History may provide good raw material for drama, but it will need a bit of underlying myth if it is really going to stay in the imagination.

This point was also made by Shakespeare actor John Bell during a recent talk he gave in Sydney.

The last mention (so far) was found by our never-tiring secretary Julia in today’s Australian Daily Telegraph.  She tells us that its education page deals with Shakespeare’s villains:

Some of his most interesting creations are his villains. Some are evil incarnate, cruel, vengeful and beyond redemption. Others seem to be victims of their own excessive desires. In some cases, Shakespeare redeems his villains, in others they get what they deserve.

Of course, Richard III features here – Kevin Spacey photo as illustration; others are Macbeths, Iago, Claudius and Aaron from Titus Andronicus. The first part of the article on Richard III is all about Shakespeare’s Richard, but then it continues:

The real Richard was neither deformed not as heartless and ambitious as Shakespeare’s character, but may have been the victim of Tudor propaganda. Shakespeare lived under a Tudor monarch and it had been a Tudor who had defeated Richard to become the first of a new dynasty.

Clearly, our message is being heard, but that does not mean that we can rest on our laurels.  After 500 years it is high time that a historically more accurate view of Richard III should prevail, rather than the distorted image that is still found too often.  As Julia remarked:  “A small dribble on the stone of persuasion, but it all helps!”

Sources:

Allan Massie, ‘Gaddafi’s death shows that there is always pathos in the destruction of the powerful’, The Telegraph (22 October 2011).  URL:  http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/allanmassie/100057193/gaddafis-death-shows-that-there-is-always-pathos-in-the-destruction-of-the-powerful/ Date accessed:  23 Oct 2011

Michael Dobson, ‘Out, damn’d conspiracy! Shakespeare was no fraud’, Guardian.co.uk (26 October 2011).  URL:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2011/oct/26/shakespeare-is-no-fraud Date accessed:  26 Oct 2011

Troy Lennon (ed.), ‘Shakespeare’s Villains’, Daily telegraph – Classmate (8 November 2011).  URL:  http://resources.news.com.au/files/2011/11/09/1226189/951723-dt-classmate-villians.pdf Date accessed:  8 Nov 2011

A special ghost for Halloween!

A few months ago we brought you a short article about a clip on Richard III from the Horrible Histories series.  I just discovered another item from Horrible Histories on YouTube.  This time it is about William Shakespeare re-writing history in his play about Richard III.  With all the furore about the film Anonymous at present it seems well-timed.

Click here for the YouTube clip.

In last Saturday’s Telegraph (the newspaper in the UK, not the Australian one) Allan Massie, famous Scottish writer and columnist, wrote a column on Gaddafi’s death.  In it he says ‘The death of a tyrant may be a matter for rejoicing, but it may also be the stuff of tragedy or at least pathos.’

He makes his point by comparing Gaddafi’s death to the fall of the tyrants in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Richard III.  In both cases the popular image of the real-life king has been very much influenced and overshadowed by the Bard.  Allan Massie is very well aware of Shakespeare’s influence and is careful to distinguish between the literary Richard III and the historic Richard III as represented by the Richard III Society.  This is what he had to say:

To forestall complaints from members of the Richard III Society who think him a much maligned figure, a victim of scurrilous Tudor propaganda – and that much is certainly true – let me say that it is Shakespeare’s Richard, not the historical Richard of whom one knows little for certain, that I am talking about. Shakespeare’s Richard then is a scoundrel, a liar, seducer, murderer and tyrant, granted only two redeeming qualities – wit and courage.

We appreciate all the good work the Richard III Society, of which we are just one small part, is doing.  Allan Massie’s column shows us that the efforts are bearing fruit.  Keep up the good work!

You can find the article from the Telegraph here.

On Thursday, 13 October 2011, an impressive number of people arrived at the New South Wales Parliament House in Sydney, not to watch politicians at work from the Gallery, but to hear Professor Stephanie Trigg from Melbourne University speak on “The Traditional, the Quaint and the Medieval in Australian Parliamentary Practice”.

There could be no better place to hear Professor Trigg speak than the Parliamentary Theatrette and, warmly welcomed by the hosts, Heraldry Australia, and some delicious refreshments beforehand, we sat back to enjoy a talk delivered with knowledge, humour and expertise.

The illustrated talk invited us to explore the medieval component of parliamentary rituals, objects and traditions, together with the relationship between the medievalism of such objects and practiced and the tradition that remains in Australian parliamentary practice.

The medievalism of course is based on the Westminster parliamentary system, and we were engrossed by the various uniform requirements for officers such as Black Rod and Speakers – some of which have been modified for modern suitability, and the option major figures have now of wearing wigs.

Some marvellous examples of the all important mace were shown, and we enjoyed the description of a makeshift mace made from a plumbing pipe when the correct one had not been finished in time. Even more curious was its mount (a toilet float) and the handles formerly on old shaving mugs.  Creativity at work when needs must …

A highlight of the evening was surely the picture of the valued and almost unique copy of the English 1297 version of Magna Carta, bought for Australia from the Kings School in Somerset for £ 2,500 in 1957.

Explanations of various parliamentary roles were given – and apparently they weren’t all safe and sure appointments, considering the amount of Speakers of the English Parliament who were murdered or beheaded in the 14th and 15th centuries.

This was something followed up by Christopher Puplik, the former Senator for NSW (and publicity office for our Branch of the Richard III Society in the 1980s), when he rose to thank Professor Trigg for her presentation that was so informative and inspiring.  He told the audience that members of the Richard III Society can relate to the execution of Speakers, remembering William Catesby, beheaded by Henry Tudor immediately after the Battle of Bosworth.

It was a memorable evening, something that didn’t surprise those of us who attended Professor Triggs’ presentation of “Ladies of the Garter” a few years ago, and we look forward to her return to Sydney next year in connection with her book on the Order of the Garter.

At our AGM on 8 October, the NSW Branch unanimously decided to support the Middleham Church Appeal with a donation of $300.  Of course individual members are also encouraged to think about making a private donation – and I know that some members have done so since we first published the Appeal on our website in September.  However, the branch committee felt it was also important to do something as a branch and to give everyone the opportunity to feel involved.

I’m sure our members will be pleased to know that our contribution, though it might be small in the scope of the repairs needed, did not go unnoticed.  Phil Stone, Chairman of the Richard III Society, send us a ‘thank you’ on behalf of the Appeal and the Executive Committee of the Society saying that it will be appreciated by the folks in Middleham, who would probably not be able to raise the necessary funds on their own.  The Society also thanked us on their Facebook page.

The Church of  St Mary and St Alkelda has such strong Ricardian connections that we would not expect the community of Middleham to shoulder the costs on their own and feel it only right to express our support for Richard III in this way.

For Australians surely there can be no better person that John Bell to listen to about William Shakespeare.  During his childhood in Maitland he was fortunate to have Shakespeare-loving teachers who took classes to see the Olivier Henry V, Hamlet and Richard III, as well as plays performed by visiting companies (not always brilliant).   One teacher told his parents that John’s destiny was inevitable:  to become an actor.

And at Sydney University he made his first appearance in 1959 as Coriolanus in a production by Ken Horler with whom, ten years later, he was to found the Nimrod Theatre.  In the interim he had spent five years with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the UK.

As he left to return to Australia he admits he wondered if he was doing the right thing.  Now he recognises it is the best decision he ever made.  He has acted and directed Shakespeare for all the major theatre companies in Australia, and in 1990 he founded the Bell Shakespeare Company without which our theatre world would be a lesser place.

He gave a lively and wonderfully informed talk about his book On Shakespeare* on 11 October 2011 at one of North Sydney Library’s author presentations held in conjunction with The Constant Reader bookshop.  Naturally there was a full house, standing room only eventually, but who noticed as we listened to descriptions of Stratford on Avon and seeing the places where Shakespeare was born and died; of learning of the challenge of performing at the new Globe theatre, a replica of the original, where the vertical audience tiers mean goodbye to a subtle aside and character introspection.  Full on projection to the highest level …

The talk was kept to a reasonable length in order to have time for questions – and the first of these (from someone I could barely see across the crowded room) was about Richard III. Read the rest of this entry »