Earthly Kings
Illustration
Stories
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle…. (v. 1)
Most people, even those who don’t like Shakespeare, will recognize some of his most famous lines. Like:
“To be or not to be. That is the question.”
“Friends, Romans, and countrymen, lend me your ears.”
“Parting is such sweet sorrow.”
“To thine own and be true.”
One line they may especially recognize, even if they don’t know what play it’s from, is “My horse! My horse! My kingdom for a horse!”
That line was spoken by the title character of the play “Richard III” (1452-1485), one of Shakespeare‘s most popular plays, and Richard is one of his most famous villains! It was printed and reprinted eight times between 1597 and 1634 and of course it appears in the first collected works of Shakespeare on 1623 known as the First Folio.
The full title of that first printing gives you an idea of the picture Shakespeare paints:
The Tragedy of King Richard III Containing his treacherous hlots against his brother Clarence: the pittiefull murther of his innocent nephews: his tyrannical usurpation: with the whole course of his detested life, and most deserved death.
Richard III is depicted as having a major curvature of the spine. In those days it was believed that those who had disabilities were evil.
Upon the death of their father, King Edward IV, the eldest of those two nephews was declared King Edward V but was never crowned. In the play, they are imprisoned in the Tower of London where Richard has them murdered, as happens to two of his wives, his brother, and many others.
As a result the righteous people rebel. The climactic scene in which that famous line is spoken takes place at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard fell, the last English king to die in battle. His body was tossed into a nearby river.
Shakespeare’s chronicle of the time has been taken as history but there have always been those who have questioned its accuracy. The last of the Lancastrian kings, his death opened the door for the Tudor dynasty, including Queen Elizabeth, and recent discoveries have cast doubt on some elements of the story — including the assertion he had his nephews murdered.
Among the doubters is historian Phillipa Langley, whose researches led her to believe Richard’s grave lay beneath a parking lot. Excavation led to the discovery of a skeleton with a curved spine, and DNA analysis proved these were the remains of Richard III. And while his skeleton showed signs of scoliosis, it would not have been obvious to those who knew him.
Now she heads up “The Missing Princes Project.” Enlisting the aid of many individuals around the world, and employing the methods of a cold case investigation, it became obvious that contemporary sources during his short reign did not produce was not one suggestion that the princes were murdered during that period. Langley also thought it suspicious that Richard’s successor, Henry VII, did not open an investigation into what happened to them. But there was no question of restoring Edward V to the throne. Something happened to the princes — but what?
More and more it has become apparent that both of Edward IV’s sons were smuggled out of the country alive, and that each in their turn as they came of age attempted to lead a rebellion against Henry VII, who claimed they were imposters.
The upshot of all this is that despite the fact that Richard III is a great play, the actual Richard III was not a villain, but that it was important to Henry VII to make him one after his death in battle.
For die in battle he did. His skeleton showed massive trauma to his head, confirming that he bravely went into battle, as kings are supposed to do, leading the charge from the front. Unlike those who led from a safe distance in the rear, when the time came to go to battle, Richard III was in the forefront.
Unlike David, king of Israel and Judah, the Lord’s anointed, who, at the time of year when kings went forth to battle, inexplicably stayed home, with the result that when his eyes spotted Bathsheba at her bath he made the worst choice of his reign, and everything began to go south.
And unlike what happened to Richard III, it was all true.
Most people, even those who don’t like Shakespeare, will recognize some of his most famous lines. Like:
“To be or not to be. That is the question.”
“Friends, Romans, and countrymen, lend me your ears.”
“Parting is such sweet sorrow.”
“To thine own and be true.”
One line they may especially recognize, even if they don’t know what play it’s from, is “My horse! My horse! My kingdom for a horse!”
That line was spoken by the title character of the play “Richard III” (1452-1485), one of Shakespeare‘s most popular plays, and Richard is one of his most famous villains! It was printed and reprinted eight times between 1597 and 1634 and of course it appears in the first collected works of Shakespeare on 1623 known as the First Folio.
The full title of that first printing gives you an idea of the picture Shakespeare paints:
The Tragedy of King Richard III Containing his treacherous hlots against his brother Clarence: the pittiefull murther of his innocent nephews: his tyrannical usurpation: with the whole course of his detested life, and most deserved death.
Richard III is depicted as having a major curvature of the spine. In those days it was believed that those who had disabilities were evil.
Upon the death of their father, King Edward IV, the eldest of those two nephews was declared King Edward V but was never crowned. In the play, they are imprisoned in the Tower of London where Richard has them murdered, as happens to two of his wives, his brother, and many others.
As a result the righteous people rebel. The climactic scene in which that famous line is spoken takes place at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard fell, the last English king to die in battle. His body was tossed into a nearby river.
Shakespeare’s chronicle of the time has been taken as history but there have always been those who have questioned its accuracy. The last of the Lancastrian kings, his death opened the door for the Tudor dynasty, including Queen Elizabeth, and recent discoveries have cast doubt on some elements of the story — including the assertion he had his nephews murdered.
Among the doubters is historian Phillipa Langley, whose researches led her to believe Richard’s grave lay beneath a parking lot. Excavation led to the discovery of a skeleton with a curved spine, and DNA analysis proved these were the remains of Richard III. And while his skeleton showed signs of scoliosis, it would not have been obvious to those who knew him.
Now she heads up “The Missing Princes Project.” Enlisting the aid of many individuals around the world, and employing the methods of a cold case investigation, it became obvious that contemporary sources during his short reign did not produce was not one suggestion that the princes were murdered during that period. Langley also thought it suspicious that Richard’s successor, Henry VII, did not open an investigation into what happened to them. But there was no question of restoring Edward V to the throne. Something happened to the princes — but what?
More and more it has become apparent that both of Edward IV’s sons were smuggled out of the country alive, and that each in their turn as they came of age attempted to lead a rebellion against Henry VII, who claimed they were imposters.
The upshot of all this is that despite the fact that Richard III is a great play, the actual Richard III was not a villain, but that it was important to Henry VII to make him one after his death in battle.
For die in battle he did. His skeleton showed massive trauma to his head, confirming that he bravely went into battle, as kings are supposed to do, leading the charge from the front. Unlike those who led from a safe distance in the rear, when the time came to go to battle, Richard III was in the forefront.
Unlike David, king of Israel and Judah, the Lord’s anointed, who, at the time of year when kings went forth to battle, inexplicably stayed home, with the result that when his eyes spotted Bathsheba at her bath he made the worst choice of his reign, and everything began to go south.
And unlike what happened to Richard III, it was all true.
