Richard III's skeleton identified

Being generally squeeed about here: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7932902#post7932902

He took a lot of punishment. Whatever his merits as a king, he seems to have been a brave as hell fighter.

Oh yes, and I think they'd better make some bed space at the Hospital for Overacting.

Did anyone see the follow-up programme on More4 last night? Very interesting info on the archaeology [I am biased though, as Leicester is where I am studying archaeology ]

I still don't understand Mary Beard's stance on this though. It was a Cambridge University archaeologist who was brought into study the curvature, and even he agreed it was Richard!

Does that also mean you are in favour of the Leicester burial then, GothicAngel, despite it going against his wishes and the wishes of his closest living relatives?

Is Mary Beard being sceptical? In the beginning her objections were just to the way it was being treated as such a massive marketing opportunity. (I don't agree with her on that though - in an ideal world it would be nice not to have to, but smaller universities are always going to feel embattled and I don't blame them for extracting the biggest possible benefit from it.)

SpinningWheel said:

Does that also mean you are in favour of the Leicester burial then, GothicAngel, despite it going against his wishes and the wishes of his closest living relatives?

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Well, I can argue that there is no historical record to back that up.

Personally, I would have rather have had him interred at Westminster. I live in NE England, and have no particular inclination to see him interred at York. I believe that the license to excavate said that he was to be buried at the closest place possible.

I would like to argue that James IV of Scots should be repatriated to Scotland, so that he can be buried in Stirling as he wished.

Yes, let's definitely move James IV, that would be fun

As I understand it the licence listed 3 options, Leicester Cathedral or Jewry Wall Museum (there'd be a public outcry if they even thought about that!) or any other suitable consecrated place. So the flexibility is there.

Seriously, he'd be more use to Leicester than any other place, but I do feel a little bit uncomfortable about such an instrumental approach being taken with the remains of a human being.

I'm so glad they've found him, and that he'll have a known and honored place. Strangely, it does matter--a little like the return of the war dead or their dog tags.

Welcome home, Richard.

Another Once and Future King?

How about the Daily Mail headline that said "Richard III's Ancestors Demand York Burial"?

That headline has since been updated, of course, but... holy cow!!!


On the other hand, I'd love to see Richard III's ancestors visit Leicester. Do they clack and clatter as they walk?

AnneMarble said:

How about the Daily Mail headline that said "Richard III's Ancestors Demand York Burial"?

That headline has since been updated, of course, but... holy cow!!!


On the other hand, I'd love to see Richard III's ancestors visit Leicester. Do they clack and clatter as they walk?

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That's brilliant.

I'll have a dig through my emails, but I recall reading the university newsletter, that York has laid no claim to remains.

Not only no claims to Richard, but a sort of disclaimer:
Statement from York Minster regarding Richard III
http://www.yorkmix.com/york-press-releases/statement-from-york-minster-regarding-richard-iii/

I am disgusted though, that York Minster gets hate mail
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/102...mail_over_Richard_III___s_last_resting_place/

The University of Leicester have now released the archaeological report in the peer-reviewed Antiquity journal.

http://antiquity.ac.uk/Ant/087/0519/ant0870519.pdf

Some light Bank Holiday reading for me then!

Thanks for the link.

Ok, nobody else has said it so I will.

A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!

Jamesdomus1066 said:

A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!

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A hearse, a hearse! My kingdom for a hearse!

ouch! almost as bad as the dromedary joke. it was probably jokes like that that got the princes murdered! -s6

Jamesdomus1066 said:

Ok, nobody else has said it so I will.

A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!

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That's a thought. I hope that Richard arrives at the reinterment on a horse drawn carriage. A medieval king arriving by motor calvacade just seems wrong . . .

Let's hope they won't ship his bones FedEx ...

It was broadcast yesterday, I think. I certainly watched one yesterday. The research team found a young lad with exactly the same spinal condition as Richard 111 and he helped them test how the king could have performed in armour and on a warhorse, among other things charging for 1,000 yards and then slicing a target with a sword.

Truly riveting stuff.

Richard 111's diet also came under scrutiny.

It was concluded the falling off his horse was his downfall - his lacking of the saddle support reduced his stamina. Mind you, I suspect falling off a horse in battle would have contributed to the downfall of any armoured knight.

angeliz2k said:

They've discovered some new information about Richard III's diet from his bones:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/s...n-revealed--the-richard-iii-diet-9673772.html

Also, there will be a Channel 4 documentary:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/...ting-Richard-III-Channel-4s-New-Evidence.html

I really hope PBS picks this up and airs it soon!

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gothicangel said:

That's a thought. I hope that Richard arrives at the reinterment on a horse drawn carriage. A medieval king arriving by motor calvacade just seems wrong . . .

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However they wind up transporting him, I would certainly expect it to be more dignified than the way the Tudors handled him.

angeliz2k said:

Bufty: ah, I see on closer reading that it did indeed air on Channel 4 already. I know the (Channel 4?) documentary about he discovery of the bones was aired in the US on PBS pretty quickly.

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No one notified me. I most certainly would have watched.

This is fascinating. (And I just finished reading WE SPEAK NO TREASON, so I'm especially interested.)

I have been reading about him since I was a teen. Always wondered what he was really like. This whole thing fascinates me and I will be looking for the documentary--s6