What did Richard III Actually Look Like?
Throughout history both writers and actors have been highly influenced various Tudor propagandists and playwrights, such as William Shakespeare, to portray the final Plantagenet king- Richard III as an evil villain and cruel and uncaring uncle. As a result the generations after Richard's defeat, at the Battle of Bosworth, have grown up with the belief that Richard was a nasty, manipulative man who wrangled his way to the throne of England. But was he really as bad as he is describe?
To start off with, Tudor playwright William Shakespeare (1564- 1616) and Medieval historian John Rous (1411- 1491) both describe Richard as an ugly being. Here is some of what they have to say about the Medieval monarch:
William Shakespeare: "A poisonous bunch- backed toad, a limping hunch- back with a withered arm."
John Rous: "Richard was retained within his mother's womb for two years and emerging with teeth and hair to his shoulders. He was of small stature, with a short face and unequal shoulders, the right higher than the left."
However whilst reading these descriptions, we must remember that Shakespeare was writing these words at least one hundred years after the death of King Richard III and therefore defiantly did not meet him. And Shakespeare was writing during the reign of the family who had defeated the king in a battle, so he probably wasn't going to say much (if not anything) good about Richard! He was also writing for an audience who want something juicy and intriguing rather than 'boring' yet historically accurate!
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| Drawing of Richard III and his wife Anne Neville, Taken from the Rous Roll |
John Rous was also writing at the beginning of the reign of the first Tudor king- Richard's enemy- Henry VII and because Rous was previously a York supporter, he would not want to be seen by the new monarch as any more suspicious than he already was. We must also take into account that when writing in the reign of Richard, Rous wrote a scroll- (now known as the 'Rous Roll') in which he describes Richard as "a mighty prince" who is "beloved of all his subjects" and "an upholder of law".
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| Richard's skeleton |
Thankfully, in 2012, an archeological dig in Grey- friars, Leicester, revealed the skeleton of a man with a spinal disorder. After they discovered it (under a car park), they carried out some DNA tests, using Richard III's distant relatives, Michael Ibsen and Wendy Duldig. On 4th February 2013, the University of Leicester revealed that the skeleton was Richard III!
The spinal curvature was proved to have been 'scoliosis' that more than likely started during his teenage years! So one thing about what Shakespeare said has been proved scientifically and historically accurate! Scoliosis is a disorder that causes the spine to bend slightly to one side, which sometimes results in one shoulder higher than the other.
What do you think King Richard III of England look like? Comment down below what you think.
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