Monday, 4 February 2013

For God's Sake



Tests on a battle-scarred skeleton unearthed last year prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that it is King Richard III, who died at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, and whose remains have been missing for centuries.




 'For God's sake let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings;how some have been deposed:some slain in war..........'

     Sad indeed the story of Richard the Third as told by that Tudor propagandist William Shakespeare.
What brings this to mind is the discovery of a skeleton of a man with multiple wounds inflicted by sword, arrow and halberd neath a parking lot  near the site of an old dismantled church in Leicester.The wounds correspond to what the old chroniclers said about those on Richard's body after the Battle of Bosworth. DNA from the skeleton seems to match that of a Canadian descendant of Richard's sister.It is a rare type so it is easily compared.
It will be interesting to see if his remains will be interred with the other English monarchs in Westminster Abbey.

'......for within the hollow crown that rounds the mortal temples of a king keeps Death  his court........'

4 comments:

Kay Dennison said...

Fascinating!!!! As a descendant of highland Scots, we didn't like aristocracy much -- not even our own after Robert the Bruce sold us out!

ViewPoint2010 said...

Glad to have you back in the saddle GFB! I seem to be getting more and more signals lately that I have to do something about my lifestyle (couch potato with double poutine and lotsa diet coke).

As for Richard III, it appears they're going to bury him in Leicester Cathedral (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9847738/Richard-III-to-be-re-interred-in-major-ceremony-at-Leicester-Cathedral.html) Might not have the sweet scent of royalty as W.A. but at least he'll get a proper burial.

You take care of yourself now y'hear! ;-)

Wisewebwoman said...

Yes I saw this GFB and currently I'm reading "An Intimate History of Humanity" which goes into the way we exalt these human creatures to royalty. And quickly fall on them like a pack of wolves.

Along with a lot of very interesting other stuff.

XO
WWW

Government Funded Blogger said...

Kay: I wasn't aware of the Bruce selling out.

VP:Obey the signals my friend because its a big time pain in the butt to be tethered to a bunch of drugs that keep one alive.

WWW: I will look for some reviews of the book you are reading.The title is intriguing.