A king slandered

A king slandered

Richard iii. (Hardcover)

Customer Review

We come to learn that persevering English historians and archaeologists come to uncover the well-preserved skeleton (this is important) the hated King Richard III. It was based -if one can say -under parking in the city of Leicester, England, thrown there by the victors after the battle of Bosworth in 1485. Geneticists outstanding were reunited descendants of the last Plantagenet king - or rather one of his sisters and prove that the bones were good aloi.Un feat! or else a gigantic hoax ... and awesome God forbid!
That's plenty to revive the interest of history buffs for this king cursed!
Précipiton us look at the biography of Richard III by the American Paul Murray Kendall, published in 1955-56, sleeping on a radius of our bbibliothèque never read or never completed.
This time the motivation is there, because to confront this work, it is better to be equipped with some notions of history.
Otherwise, there is an alternative: to indulge in the pleasure of reading, without remorse forget what we read on the previous page and rejoice in what we will discover in the next. Confused Norfolk and Northumberland? We do not know exactly who betrayed Buckingham or was betrayed by him? Big deal! Lose yourself in this realm of violence, rebellions stately, of felons, heads that fall under the ax of the executioner, constantly harassed by the Scots irreducible and threatened by the usurpers of all kinds.
Paul M. Kendall stripped archival mountains, often unfortunately silent on some crucial points, worked like crazy to find the real Richard of York under the dumpers slander showered upon his memory by his Tudor sucesseurs, and behind the character created by Shakespeare, who left the indelible image of a misshapen monster, deceitful, perverse and murderous to nephews, of whom the eldest was the legitimate sucesseur his father Edward IV.Et Edward had told his jutement always loyal brother to be the protector until his majority!
If your question is precisely: "Richard was he murdered his nephews to take over the throne?" you will not answer. Kendall is as cat on hot coals on the enigma of the Children of Edward. It indicts nor exonerates and without explanation, which is a bit annoying. But it is true that there is no document about it, and even the winner, the following usurper, Henry Tudor, does not report the crime in his "trial" against Richard deceased. The current trend seems to be still: "We do not know anything."
Richard was he hunchback? Mystery in 1955. The sources reported a slightly shoulder higher than the other. The answer, as we have today: Scoliosis! Too bad Kendall no longer of this world!
No, what interests the biographer is that you can really know the man in the light of contemporary documents. And you will see, this man is very different from its black legend.
Kendall takes a liking to him to the point that we draw tears, when, on the Bosworth Battlefield, King falls at the hands of Henry Tudor supporters.
"He heard screams ... a metal shock. The cavalry Stanley was cutting his troop to pieces." Treason! "He shouted between two ax like to sum up in a word, the curse of his life. None of his men was no longer at his side. He faced only a bunch of spears and swords to the blows which he was insensitive. Yet on his helmet (...) always shone the golden circle of his crown. "Betrayal ! "he yelled, twirling his ax.
A dozen weapons pierced his armor. Alone among his enemies, he fell lifeless on the ground, leaving his kingdom and his reputation in the hands of Henry Tudor. "

Final note: this work is beautifully written and found in the person of Eric Diacon, a translator worthy.

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