Ballad of Richard III

Is it just me, or can you see the resemblance?

The best way to remember anything is to put it to song!  So here are the lyrics to a song about the true story of Richard III that I've just found in my web travels.

Please visit the King Richard Armitage website for more articles about the King Richard III and the long struggle to clear his name.  We hope that we may hear soon about Richard Armitage's involvement in a new film production about the monarch.



From The Mudcat Cafe
BALLAD OF RICHARD III
(Gwydion)

When good King Richard, that's Richard of Gloucester
Ascended the throne did he
He made good his promise to lower the taxes
And set all the debtors free

Now kindly King Richard was called Dicky Crookback
By Henry of Richmond, did he
Till all of his subjects had heard the foul rumor
From Dover to Anglesey

cho: Henry of Richmond, he wanted the crown
To wear on his bonny Welsh head
But Henry the Seventh he'd never be
Till Richard the Third was dead

You've heard of the princes who died in the tower
The Tower of London, you've heard
T'was Henry of Richmond who blamed his foul murders
On goodly King Richard the Third

With plotting and pledges an army was raised
To force our fair Richard to yield
And the Wars of the Roses than came to an ending
At the Battle of Bosworth Field

(Chorus here and after every two verses)
The Bishop of Ely, he blessed our King Richard
And promised to help in the fights
But even before Richard came to the battle
John Morton gave him last rites

The proud Rhys ap Thomas and handsome Will Stanley
They promised their swords to their liege
But shortly these bastards went over to Henry
And even helped plan his siege

The list of the traitors is too long to mention
And the names of the faithful are few
For Henry of Richmond vowed gold to the rebels
And death to the loyal and true

Now Henry of Richmond was crowned King of England
Some say he was Arthur returned
But Arthur Pendragon, ne'er once had he murdered
Nor looted, nor plundered, nor burned

Now you may be thinking my story's told falsely
Because you have read the bard's play
About Dicky Crookback, who murdered his brother
All on St. Bartholemew's Day

But the truth is elusive (t'was true then as now)
And falsehoods are easily spread
For some men became saints while some became monsters
Because of what Will Shakespeare said

Please click here to hear the tune and see the sheet music.

Richard III Fan Art

I've been meaning to get to this post for quite some time!  CDoart has been running this Richard III fan art theme all month on her King Richard Armitage blog.  Recently the petition has passed the 500 mark!

Then, just when I was almost ready to post, my computer crashed.  It is now in the shop and I am praying I didn't lose my RA picture collection (which is replaceable but took many months of joyful snaffling to compile). What is not so easily replaced are the downloaded fan vids from some vidders who are no longer anywhere to be found -- hello Sooth -- are you out there?  (Not to mention my holiday snaps and personal photos -- waaaahhh!)

Anyway.... back to this topic...

I did a Richard III post back in August for Richard III week where I had a few Face in Hole pictures of Richard Armitage as Richard III.  Here is a new one with a different background.  This one is from Al Pacino's portrayal of the monarch in Looking for Richard.  Guy of Gisborne looks very regal in this crown, eh?

But rather than me messing around with Face in Hole (which I love, of course) because it is so easy to use!  There are real talented artists out there who know how to do a real work of art or proper manip with better graphic software!

Here are two from TeaTotallyNot. In the first one see how she brings a Renaissance look to the portrait with her use of light.  It looks rather like a Dutch master!

The next one is even more stunning.  Although it looks more like a photograph than a painting, the details are amazing.  I am wondering especially how she did those hands!  The placement of the fingers and the rings are just like the painting!

This is proof of a real master of photomanipulation at work!

Now I will need to repost a painting done by Elizabeth Alger.  I interviewed her during the FanstRAvaganza last March. Elizabeth is an author and illustrator who is also a fan of Richard Armitage and Richard III.

You are welcome to check out the other artists' Richard III fan art here.

Richard, King of hearts

Who was Richard III?  Was he the Machiavellian prince of York bent on ascending the throne of England at any cost?  This is what William Shakespeare would have us believe.

Here are three different actors' takes on the character from the opening soliloquy: Ron Cook, Jonathan Slinger and Ian McKellen. If you watch it from Youtube there are links to other actors' performances.

Shakespeare's Richard III Act I, Scene I  (3 versions)

But Shakespeare was not a historian.  His knowledge of the real King Richard III (1452-1495) (the last of the Plantagenet family line) was based on histories written to reinforce King Henry VII's (a Tudor) claim to the throne. If this theory is true (which many modern historians now believe) then Shakespeare's extremely unflattering portrayal of King Richard is simply a dramatic work of historical fiction based on propaganda. Could you believe a biography of one your county's previous leaders if it were written not by an impartial journalist but by his political enemies?  Goodness! One can hardly even believe all the rhetoric that goes on during political campaigns, nevermind in a biography!

Please join Ian McKellen who answers questions about  Shakespeare's play.This is an interactive site where you can choose which question Mr. McKellan will answer.

 Click here: A conversation with Sir Ian McKellen.

Shakespeare's aim was never to be factual, merely to write a compelling drama, which has captivated audiences for over four centuries, since it was believed to be written in 1591.

Richard III has had many actors portray him on stage and screen.  Here is just a small sampling

David Garrick painted  by William Hogarth

John Barrymore (1929)

Sir Laurence Olivier Richard III (1955)

Sir Alec Guinness (1953)

Alec Guinness has the distinction of being the first performer to grace the stage at Canada's Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario.  How interesting that the first play performed there was Richard III.

Open since June 2 until September 25, 2011 at the Stratford Festival, Richard III is once again being performed.  This time the lead role is being played by the actress Seana McKenna.



Here are some other unusual portrayals of this character.

Al Pacino in the docudrama Looking for Richard (1996)

He is looking very regal in this crown!

Ian McKellen

Interesting costume choice here...

Kenneth Brannagh


Surely this must be one of the quirkiest portrayals of all!  Here is Peter Sellers in a parody of Laurence Oliver's performance of RIII using the lyrics to The Beatles' song A Hard Day's Night




 This is talk show host Craig Ferguson's off the cuff impression.

None of these portrayals come close to revealing the real person behind the myth.  Is the truth lost in the mists of time?  Many historians labour to set the record straight.  The Richard III Society (both the British and the American chapter) has been sponsoring research into this question for many years.  

Besides historical essays and books there have been several popular novels which investigate this theme.  The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey was written in 1951 as part of her detective series about the Scotland Yard Inspector Alan Grant.    Another work of detective fiction along these lines is I, Richard written by Elizabeth George (who also writes the Inspector Lynley series). The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman is an award winning book of historical fiction.  (I read this book years ago and remember enjoying it immensely.  I have recently purchased a new copy, but haven't gotten around to a reread yet.)  Here is a great review from the blog Fly High!  

This blog post contains a very concise argument about the true character of Richard III.

Does this look like a hunchbacked, misshapen, limping multiple murderer?  
Although I don't believe you can read someone's character from observing their face (no matter what Tey's Inspector Grant believes), this portrait does not show any evidence of a deformity. 

The earliest surviving portrait of Richard III

On closer inspection you may notice that one shoulder is higher than the other.  Could this be where people got the idea he was hunchbacked? One writer claims that Richard's greater muscle mass in his arm is what makes for the difference in the size of his shoulders.  Apparently he was a very able soldier, brave in battle and a mighty wielder of the heavy battle axe. 

Dare I offer a modest opinion here?  Perhaps it was merely this artist's rather crude attempt at perspective which gives us this false impression?  This whole debate might actually boil down to "a mountain being made out of a molehill", or more likely -- a hunchback being made out of a shrug.

Portrait from the collection at Windsor Castle

 I was very excited to recognise this as the actual portrait I saw in the Queen's appartments at Windsor Castle last summer.  The more commonly found portrait is a later copy of this one. I knew something wasn't right about the other portrait I used in this post. But notice here, it is the opposite shoulder that is higher.  Make up your minds, you portrait artists!  What! Does he have a mobile hump?  Perhaps he just put it on for portrait purposes, just to confuse the masses!  What a practical joker that Richard III must have been! :)  Imagine, here we are 500 years on, still not getting the joke.  He must be rolling in his grave!

 Richard Armitage, who was born on August 22 (the same date as Richard III fell at Bosworth Field) has always wished to play a more true to life characterization of his namesake.

Was he a cocky jokester?

A troubled, brooding romantic hero?

Or was he just misunderstood and in search of himself?

We hope he gets his wish to bring a better version of the life of Richard III to light.  See this website to add your name to the petition, if you would like to help.

Whatever you believe about Richard III, fans of Richard Armitage know he is our King of Hearts!

Can't get you out of my head....

 This song kind of describes all these various reminders of 

Richard Armitage I found everywhere on my trip to Britain:

This fanvid is courtesy of Elva75. Thank you for letting me use it Elva!

This lovely shop brought visions of another Thornton to mind!
None other than wonderful John Thornton from the BBC's North and South, (2004),
as portrayed by the magnificent Richard Armitage himself!

Who could resist this Thornton, with his voice as rich as velvety as Thornton's chocolates?

 

 I couldn't help stopping to buy some luscious chocolates while I was there. 

(What! It was a present for our hosts in Glasgow! )

This shop brought back warm memories of his chocolatey-rich voice-over in this  
Santander Ad:

Even in the washroom in Edinburgh Castle I was reminded of him!  Imagine having Armitage on tap!

The first place we booked for a few days stay in Leeds, West Yorkshire was an apartment owned (or managed) by someone with the last name of Armitage! I figured this was a good omen for the rest of the trip. I meant to embarrass myself by asking if he was related to another famous Armitage (you-know-who), but I never got around to it. I KNEW I'd regret it! Here is how I imagine the conversation probably would have gone (had I bothered).

Phylly: So...your name is Armitage...Is that a popular last name in these parts? 

P. Armitage: Not really, not as common as Smith or Jones at least.

Phylly: Hmmm...I was just wondering because there is this actor I know with the same last name...I wonder if you've heard of him....Richard Armitage?? (said while blushing -- and being elbowed by husband who is wearing a disapproving scowl).

P. Armitage: No, can't say I have...what was his first name again?

Phylly: Richard?

P. Armitage: Hmmm...I have been getting a few strange calls lately from women....asking for a Richard, then giggling and hanging up! I wonder if THAT'S what's been going on!

Somehow, I'm glad I never mentioned it!

Oh, and I saw Richard III's portrait at Windsor Castle. I had earphones on at the time, listening to the audioguide so I didn't realize my voice was a bit loud as I exclaimed excitedly, "That's Richard the Third!!"

People turned around to stare at me, possibly wondering why a portrait of a long-ago deposed king would make me shout in the Queen's state apartments? 

Of course, we fans of Richard Armitage know how he longs to bring to film a new biopic about this much-maligned ruler, possibly with himself in the title role? (We can only hope!)

 I am not even certain that this was the portrait I was looking at then. I can't seem to find another one online that looks more like the one I seem to remember. (I may have to do some library research!) Why, oh why, didn't I buy a guidebook?!!

More about my travels in Great Britain soon. Thanks for your patience!