Ricardian is a term used to describe a person who is interested in rehabilitating the posthumous reputation of Richard III, King of England (reigned 1483-1485), seeking to alter the image of Richard which has been popularised by various writers and historians - most famously by the playwright William Shakespeare, who painted Richard in an unpleasant light, possibly for political reasons, in his play Richard III. Ricardian historians' work has produced editions of documents from Richard's reign, research and articles which have contributed to scholarship of England in the 1480s. Ricardian historiography includes works by Horace Walpole and Sir George Buck. Modern historians such as Charles Ross and Michael Hicks who write relatively favourably about Richard may broadly be referred to as Ricardians. Ricardian fiction includes Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time and Sharon Kay Penman's The Sunne in Splendour. There are three notable societies of Ricardians:
- The Richard III Foundation, Inc.,
- the Society of Friends of King Richard III and
- the Richard III Society
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The Richard III Foundation, Inc.
The Foundation is a non-profit educational organization that was founded in 1994. They describe themselves as an organization "founded to promote research and scholarship into the life and times of King Richard III, his contemporaries and his era, and to attempt to cast a new light on the misconceptions of his life and reign."[1]
Richard III Society
The Richard III Society was founded in 1924 by Liverpool surgeon S. Saxon Barton as The Fellowship of the White Boar, Richard's badge and a symbol of the Yorkist army in the Wars of the Roses. Its membership was originally a small group of interested amateur historians whose aim was to bring about a re-assessment of the reputation of Richard III. The society became moribund during the Second World War. In the 1950s Josephine Tey published her detective novel The Daughter of Time, in which Richard’s guilt is examined and doubted, Laurence Olivier released the film of Shakespeare's Richard III and a sympathetic, detailed biography of Richard was published by Paul Murray Kendall, all of which went some way towards re-invigorating the society. The Fellowship of the White Boar was re-named The Richard III Society in 1959. In 1980, the Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester became the society’s Patron. (Richard III was Duke of Gloucester before ascending the throne.)
The Society of Friends of King Richard III
The Society of Friends of King Richard III was created in 1978 to exonerate and promote the life and memory of Richard III. The Society is based in York, Richard's own city, and meets every month at Jacob's Well, an old building in ancient medieval York. The Society organises trips to places of Ricardian interest, lectures, medieval feasts and raises funds for a range of Ricardian purposes. It has a considerable database of books and documentary material and issues a quarterly bulletin to every member.
External links
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- Richard III Society American Branch
- Richard III Society Canadian Branch
- Richard III Society New South Wales Branch
- Richard III Society New Zealand Branch
- Richard III Society Queensland Branch
- Richard III Society Western Australian Branch
