Posted by: Lynne Foley Tags: Media
Fans of the TV series Spooks may not know of a Ricardian connection between King Richard and the actor Richard Armitage, who played the role of Lucas North.
He was interviewed by Vulpes Libris (a collective of bibliophiles writing about books) in 2009, and revealed that he was named Richard because he was born in Leicester on 22nd, and further, that one of his father’s favourite books was The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman. Quoting Richard Armitage:
I read this many years ago. In recent years it has lead to a tentative interest and line of research into the rehabilitation of this story. As an actor, it’s a project I would love to achieve. I believe it is a great story, a socio-political thriller, a love story and a dynastic tragedy. My challenge is to convince commercial producers to see beyond ‘history lesson’, but I strongly suspect that this will be a long way off…, I may even be producing by the time someone … realizes the potential for this project.
The full interview can be located here (http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/in-conversation-with-richard-armitage)
For those interested in medieval coins an online company www.time-lines.co.uk/richard-iii-coins-197-0.html has coins for sale, several from the reign of Edward IV, costing from £110 – £325.
The site features a fine coin of Richard’s time, an extremely rare London Mint, Long Cross Halfpenny. As this item has now sold, the image is available but not the price.
Oh well, I comfort myself with the thought that I could not probably have afforded it given its rarity, but at least the images of all the coins are well worth a look.
Posted by: Julia Redlich Tags: Books
The other morning, after my son left early for work, I retreated to bed with a cup of tea and my book. And read the following. It’s from Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny, Sphere/Little Brown, ISBN 978-1-84744-437-0:
A lot of what we know to be history isn’t,” said Gamache. “You know that, I know that. It serves a purpose. Events are exaggerated, heroes fabricated, goals are rewritten to appear more noble than they actually were. All to manipulate public opinion, to manufacture a common purpose or enemy. And the cornerstone of a really great movement? A powerful symbol. Take away or tarnish that and everything starts to crumble, everything’s questioned. Can’t have that.
Louise Penny is a Canadian writer, one of the many really first rate ones that flourish there. She has written five detective novels featuring Chief Inspector Gamache, all set in the little Canadian village of Three Pines which rivals Midsomer for body count! In this, her sixth book, Gamache returns to headquarters in Quebec and has to solve a several centuries old mystery before he can catch a present-day killer. Won’t tell you any more in case you want to read the earlier ones first! This one also includes a fascinating sideline on Captain Cook.
The first part of the quote is so Morton/Tudor. The “cornerstone of a great movement”: Richard III – what would he have accomplished if he’d lived? No wonder Ricardians question the tarnishing of his reputation. “Can’t have that”!
In June, second year students of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) will be performing The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare at the Parade Courtyard. The Parade Theatres are part of the NIDA complex at 215 Anzac Parade, Kensington NSW 2033.
NIDA Season of Shakespeare
The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare
directed by Tony Knight | Featuring Second Year Actors
18, 20 – 23 June 2011, 8.15pm
Parade Courtyard
Tickets on sale through Ticketek from 16 May. Click here to register your interest.
The latest issue of The Walkley, the Media Alliance magazine, contains an interview with the Channel 10 Entertainment reporter Angela Bishop*. I’d like to share the following part of the interview with you:
Beware of rumours reported as fact.
Entertainment journalism (not an oxymoron) is particularly susceptible to an internet rumour suddenly being reported around the world as fact. This is thanks to the number of entertainment reporters who have sprung up whose sole source of information is the internet. Checking facts with a reliable source still applies. (underlining mine)
This applies not only to entertainment reporters, but equally to hobby historians like most of our branch members. Add novels to the internet and the situation is very familiar!
* The Walkley Magazine, Issue 66, May – June 2011, p 54. For more information on The Walkley, go to http://www.walkleys.com/home
The current issue of Britain magazine (May 2011) has an article on fighting for the throne in the Wars of the Roses. It is disappointing that the caption to the reproduction of Millais’ painting of the princes suggests that Richard murdered them. This may be due in part to the influence of Alison Weir, a number of quotes from her on the subject are included in the article. She cites the discovery of the skeletons as pointing to murder, and says further than Richard’s plan to take the throne was bound to backfire because the shedding of infants’ blood shocked Richard’s contemporaries as much as it does us. Neil Jones provides a potted history of the conflict and the article includes a number of colour illustrations. Jones mentions that the Richard III Society is today encouraging a reassessment of this much-maligned king, and it is encouraging also that the Society and alternative views about Richard are being given some attention.
The long awaited launch of Helen Cox’s follow-up to The Battle of Wakefield Revisited took place on 19 March 2011 at Waterstone’s Booksellers in Wakefield.
In Walk Wakefield 1460 Helen is our guide to all the sites connected with the battle. The book contains a brief history, directions to the sites (including maps), and up-to-date information on opening times and admission charges for visiting.
Helen Cox and her husband Mick Doggett at the launch of Walk Wakefield 1460 (photograph © Mike Wilson)
Helen reported that there was a good turnout for the launch and was particuly happy to see some who had travelled long distance to attend, like a Battlefield Society member from Preston in Lancashire, and a Richard III Society member from Beverley in East Yorkshire. Some people bought copies of both Wakefield Revisited and Walk Wakefield. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by: Dorothea Preis
One of the activities arranged by the Richard III Society are triennial conferences. These are usually held at UK universities and leading academics in the field of medieval history are invited to present papers. Triennial conferences are a popular event among Ricardians and are usually fully booked quickly.
The next triennial conference will take place from Friday, 20 April, to Sunday, 22 April 2012. It will be held at the Burleigh Court Conference Centre at the University of Loughborough in Leicestershire.
Next year’s conference will dealing with ‘Bosworth and Warfare’ and will be looking at new finds and new ideas. This promises to be an interesting and stimulating weekend, which will offer new insights into the important aspect of late medieval history.
So far three speakers have been confirmed: Glenn Foard, Project Officer with the Battlefields Trust, will be speaking on the recent discoveries at Bosworth. Anne Curry, Professor of Medieval History at the University of Southampton, will be looking at the documentary evidence for the battle. Well-known scholar, Livia Visser-Fuchs, will be taking an in-depth look at one of the men who fought for Richard III at Bosworth, the Spanish mercenary Juan de Salazar. Other speakers are yet to be confirmed, but all will speak on topics which will focus on recent new discoveries and ideas about the battle of Bosworth in particular and English medieval warfare in a wider context.
The weekend will also include a visit to Bosworth with a guided tour of the battlefield and a visit to the Battlefield Centre, where a number of the new finds from the battle’s new location are exhibited.
More information will be available from the Richard III Society in the UK.
The Bodleian Library in Oxford is hosting a fascinating colloquium and exhibition called The Language of Maps: Communicating through cartography during the middle ages and renaissance in June this year.
“Historic maps have broad appeal in contemporary cultures around the world. One reason for this – it might be thought – is because the ‘language of maps’ is universal and straightforward, but is it? How do maps communicate to us? How do they work?’ The colloquium tries to answer these questions and promises to “further our understanding and appreciation of the complexity of medieval and Renaissance maps and map‐making”.
This sounds fascinating to anyone with an interest in our period, and the beautiful setting will just add to it.
To find out more, click here.
Recently I had the pleasure to attend the Special Interest Weekend on ‘Blood and Roses: England 1450 – 1485’, which took place at Christ Church College Oxford from 24 to 27 March 2011. This is the eighth Special Interest Weekend Christ Church is hosting, past events included a variety of topics.
A group of overseas Ricardians – US, Canada and Australia – who had arrived early, met on the Wednesday evening prior to the official start for a highly enjoyable pub crawl and dinner at The Trout. A big thank-you goes to Dave for organising this. It was great that Christine, a Ricardian from Stroud in Gloucestershire, could join us for the evening. Wherever Ricardians meet you can be sure they will have a lot to talk about and enjoy themselves. Read the rest of this entry »
