Finding Richard III:

A.J. Carson, J. Ashdown-Hill, D. Johnson, P.J. Langley, W. Johnson

Description

Their task was to locate a lost grave in an obliterated church. The 'Looking For Richard' team of historians and researchers spent many years amassing evidence. Now for the first time they reveal the full story of how that evidence took them to a car park in Leicester. Reports of the dig and DNA fingerprinting were shown world-wide and won awards. But the years of prior detective work have never before been recognised. Latin texts, mediaeval priories, old maps, long-lost memorials, misleading tales of grave desecration ... not a Dan Brown novel, but a sober account of how painstaking studies of historical records achieved the goal of finding Richard III.Informed by Dr John Ashdown-Hill's sound knowledge of the Franciscans (Greyfriars) and their architecture, together with his discovery of Richard III's mtDNA, the LOOKING FOR RICHARD PROJECT launched by Philippa Langley rested on solid foundations. It rested equally on her own exhaustive research into the Greyfriars site, and her indomitable determination to see it through. Other members made up a team that until now kept a low profile, combining to facilitate, raise the money (the search cost some 00), and cultivate an ethos that laid emphasis on respect for a king who fell defending crown and country. Historian Dr David Johnson and his artist wife, Wendy Johnson, proposed a tomb design that won approval from the Richard III Society, whose members overwhelmingly financed the search.Edited with the sure touch of writer and author Annette Carson, this publication reveals how scholarship and research into 500 years of history underpinned an enterprise of which the world saw only the triumphant end result.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Archaeology
• Leicester

Informations

• Publié par: Imprimis Imprimatur
• Date de parution: 07 septembre 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780957684034
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

FINDING RICHARD III
The Official Account of Research by the Retrieval and Reburial Project
FINDING RICHARD III
The Official Account of Research by the Retrieval and Reburial Project
together with original materials and documentation
A.J. Carson (Ed.), J. Ashdown-Hill, D. Johnson, W. Johnson & P.J. Langley
Imprimis Imprimatur
Also by Annette Carson: Flight Unlimited (with Eric Müller) Flight Unlimited ’95 (with Eric Müller) Flight Fantastic: The Illustrated History of Aerobatics Jeff Beck: Crazy Fingers Richard III: The Maligned King Richard III: A Small Guide to the Great Debate Richard Duke of Gloucester as Lord Protector and High Constable of England
Also by John Ashdown-Hill: Eleanor, the Secret Queen Mediaeval Colchester’s Lost Landmarks Richard III’s ‘Beloved Cousyn’: John Howard and the House of York The Last Days of Richard III Royal Marriage Secrets: Consorts & Concubines Bigamists & Bastards The Third Plantagenet, George, Duke of Clarence, Brother of Richard III The Dublin King The Mythology of Richard III
Also by David Johnson: Adwalton Moor 1643: The Battle that Changed a War
Also by Philippa Langley: The King’s Grave: The Search for Richard III (with Michael Jones)
Published by Imprimis Imprimatur 21 Havergate, Horstead, NR12 7EJ [e-mail]
© A.J. Carson, J. Ashdown-Hill, D. Johnson, W. Johnson & P.J. Langley, 2014, 2015 The rights of Carson, Ashdown-Hill, Johnson, Johnson & Langley to be identified as the Authors of this work have been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the copyright holders.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-9576840-3-4
Contents
Preface
1 Death and Burial: Sine ullo funere honore
2 Mendicant Orders and the Layout of a Mediaeval Priory
3 Memorials of Richard III
4 Modern Research
5 DNA of Richard III and his Siblings
6 Inception of the Search for Richard III
7 Local Topography and Archaeology
8 Facilitation
9 The Dig
10 Reburial and Commemoration
Postscript
Appendices
1 Reburial Document
2 Richard III’s Tomb – The Epitaph
3 Archaeological Dig Costs Breakdown
4 Leicester City Council Permissions ‘Looking For Richard’
5 Written Scheme of Investigation
6 Exhumation Application and Licence
7 International Appeal and Donors
Bibliography
Author Biographies
Preface
Students of the late 15th century have more than their fair share of gripping historical mysteries to consider, among them an unsolved mediaeval “whodunnit” (the fate of the ‘Princes in the Tower’), several princely claimants of uncertain origin (precisely who were Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck?) and, until very recently, the last resting place of Richard III. Indeed, Richard’s own political life, his short-lived but eventful rule and his demise in battle against Henry Tudor at Bosworth in 1485, continues to fascinate. In 2009 the possibility of finding Richard’s remains, and adding significantly to our knowledge of his life, death and reputation, brought together a group of independent historical researchers and writers, in the Looking For Richard Project . Led by Philippa Langley, they shared membership of the Richard III Society and many years of prior independent study on the subject. This book is the authoritative, and frequently gripping, account of their discovery of the king’s last resting place. It is written by the same team who organised the project, made the key historical and genealogical findings, and assembled the funding for the archaeological excavation.
The team’s historical detective work involved painstaking re-consideration of all the sources for his burial and tomb, confirming its location in the choir of the Franciscan Priory in Leicester. But where was the choir? Here the team’s scholarly analysis of Leicester’s late mediaeval urban topography and of the layout of mendicant friaries had to overcome not only the errors made by later antiquaries and traditions, but also had to face down a persistent lack of ‘professional’ enthusiasm about their research. Yet locating a skeleton was never likely to be enough – only if Richard III’s DNA could be traced forward in time to living relatives could his remains be identified beyond all doubt. John Ashdown-Hill’s genealogical research was pivotal in establishing one such a line of descent and demonstrating that mtDNA could be available from living descendants of Richard’s female siblings.
The Looking For Richard Project culminated in a specially commissioned archaeological investigation. One can only admire Philippa Langley’s persistence in finding financial backers, chiefly from members of the Richard III Society but also including the local University and other sources. She also negotiated the necessary permissions from the local council, and attracted a TV production company. It was a triumph of facilitation accomplished by independent historians and unpaid volunteers who were often faced with scepticism or indifference. Yet even more fundraising was required from Richard III Society members up to the last minute, without which the remains may still lie under car park tarmac in Leicester, or in a re-filled archaeological trench, and potentially awaiting destruction by future building development. Throughout the book the team’s learned approach, historical and scientific understanding, clarity of purpose and years of dedication are fully revealed. We are all in their debt.
The Looking For Richard Project team has truly re-written history – so read on and find out exactly how they did it.
Dr Christopher Thornton, FSA, FRHistS Associate Fellow, Institute of Historical Research May 2014
1 Death and Burial: Sine ullo funere honore
On 22 August 1485 Richard III was killed at the battle of Bosworth (known variously at the time as Redemore 1 or Sandeford 2 ). According to the contemporary report of the chronicle of Crowland Abbey, ‘he received many mortal wounds and, like a spirited and most courageous prince, fell in battle on the field and not in flight’ ( Nam inter pugnandum et non in fuga ... Richardus multis letalibus vulneribus ictus quasi princeps animosus et audentissimus in campo occubuit ).
In death his body was widely reported as subjected to indignities: ‘many other insults were offered’, the Crowland chronicle remarks, which included having a felon’s halter placed around his neck as he was carried to Leicester ‘with insufficient humanity’ ( multasque alias contumelias illatus ipsoque non satis humaniter propter funem in collum adjectum usque ad Leicestriam deportato ). 3
On arrival in Leicester Richard’s body was exposed to public gaze, as the new King Henry VII announced in a public proclamation: ‘... brought dede of the feld unto the towne of Leicestre, and ther was laide oppenly that every man mighe se and luke upon him’. 4
Reliable sources for what happened during the ensuing days in Leicester are scant and inconsistent, but some accounts mention his body being taken to ‘the Newarke’, which is generally held to refer to the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as St Mary-in-the-Newark, a Lancastrian foundation. The Frowyk Chronicle reports that Richard was ‘... bered atte Laycet[er] in the newe vorke’. 5
This assertion that he was buried in the Newark has given rise to the tentative suggestion that he might have been interred there, at least initially. 6 However, since his eventual grave is consistently reported to have been in the Franciscan Priory Church at Leicester, a temporary interment followed by exhumation appears to receive little corroboration. The most likely explanation for references to ‘the Newarke’ is that St Mary-in-the-Newark was chosen as the location for the public display of the late king’s body on arrival in Leicester.
The Warwickshire priest and antiquary John Rous, writing after 1486 and before 1491, states that ‘finally’ he was ‘buried in the choir of the Friars Minor at Leicester’ ( finaliter apud fratres Minores Leicestriæ in choro est sepultus ). 7 In the Anglica Historia , commissioned by Richard’s successor Henry VII, Polydore Vergil indicates that the new king arrived in Leicester on the evening of 22 August and ‘tarried for two days’ to make preparations for moving on towards London ( versus parandi causa duos moratur dies ). His version has Richard’s body ‘conveyed to the convent of Franciscan monks [ sic ] at Leicester ... and there buried two days after’ ( Ricardi corpus ... Lecestriam ad coenobium Franciscanorum monachorum deportatur ... biduo post terra humatur ). The first half of this sentence confuses monks with friars, but overall it appears that his burial was effected on the same day as Henry VII’s departure, i.e. on 25 August. 8
Although a variety of fifteenth-century writers came up with their own ideas of his burial place, the reports of Rous and Vergil mentioning the Greyfriars received first-hand confirmation from two sixteenth-century chroniclers, John Leland and Raphael Holinshed, writing within c .60-90 years of Richard’s death. This and other evidence is discussed below in section 3 (‘Memorials of Richard III’).
Polydore Vergil, having reported with satisfaction that Richard’s body was transported to Leicester ‘naked of all clothing’ on the back of a horse with his arms and legs hanging on each side ( cuncto nudatum vestitu ac dorso equi impositum, capite et brachiis ac cruribus utrinque pendentibus ), completed the picture of disparagement by noting that his interment was afforded no funeral solemnity ( sine ullo funere honore ). 9 In this he was