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The Tudors / Re: The Crimes of Richard III
« on: December 13, 2011, 05:59:54 PM »
Just to add my points to this
1) Richard of Gloucester was loyal to his brother throughout his life - but being a loyal brother doesn't necessarily continue after the said brother is dead - particularly if you are being urged to take over the throne by friends and supporters.
2) There is NO evidence that Edward IV named a protector in his will, a) his will doesn't survive and b) a King's will was not binding in law and as in earlier cases was often ignored by his council.
3) No one took up arms against Richard of Gloucester following Edward's death in fact Rivers progress south with the young King was nothing if not slow which suggests he saw no threat.
4) The only real bad blood that existed was between Hastings and Dorset - Richard until 1483 was on reasonable terms with Rivers, the Queen and Dorset - he'd knighted the Queen's brother during the war with Scotland a year earlier.
5) The King and his brother were not seen after the summer of 1483 that suggests they died of a) natural causes one of them maybe but both is unlikely b) were murdered by Richard or one of his supporters with access to the tower or c) were perhaps killed in a botched escape attempt or d) escaped to quiet anonymity. Richard had forced Parliament to declare them illegitimate (which was in fact the job of the church not parliament) therefore he ahd little to gain for letting someone see them to prove rumours of their deaths were false that he didn't is to me damning.
I agree that no modern court would convict but i can assure you a medieval one would have done
1) Richard of Gloucester was loyal to his brother throughout his life - but being a loyal brother doesn't necessarily continue after the said brother is dead - particularly if you are being urged to take over the throne by friends and supporters.
2) There is NO evidence that Edward IV named a protector in his will, a) his will doesn't survive and b) a King's will was not binding in law and as in earlier cases was often ignored by his council.
3) No one took up arms against Richard of Gloucester following Edward's death in fact Rivers progress south with the young King was nothing if not slow which suggests he saw no threat.
4) The only real bad blood that existed was between Hastings and Dorset - Richard until 1483 was on reasonable terms with Rivers, the Queen and Dorset - he'd knighted the Queen's brother during the war with Scotland a year earlier.
5) The King and his brother were not seen after the summer of 1483 that suggests they died of a) natural causes one of them maybe but both is unlikely b) were murdered by Richard or one of his supporters with access to the tower or c) were perhaps killed in a botched escape attempt or d) escaped to quiet anonymity. Richard had forced Parliament to declare them illegitimate (which was in fact the job of the church not parliament) therefore he ahd little to gain for letting someone see them to prove rumours of their deaths were false that he didn't is to me damning.
I agree that no modern court would convict but i can assure you a medieval one would have done