BuryingRichardIII,Englandslastpostapocalyptic

warlord
PeterAppsisExecutiveDirectorofProjectforStudyofthe
21stCentury.FollowhimonTwitter:@pete_apps
Thisweek,Britainfinallyburiesorratherreburies
theDarkAges.
OnThursday,KingRichardIIIEnglandslastmedieval
monarchwillbeinterredinLeicesterCathedral,almostthreeyearsafter
archaeologistsdughisremainsoutofacarparkrunbythelocalcouncil.
Thedeathinbattleofakingknowntohistoryforbadlyneedingahorseandfora
hunchedback,markedtheendofthemedievalperiodinEngland.Hisreplacement,
HenryTudorthevictoratBosworthFieldin1485whobecameHenryVIIisseen
asaverydifferentman,amuchmoremodernkingforamuchmoremodernera.
AsRichardfoughtinbattleanddiedinvain,theworldoratleastEuropewas
beginningtomakesomehugeleapsforward.
Lifeinthe15thcenturyremainedseriouslytough.Itwasmorethanamillenniumsince
thefallofRomeandcollapseofitsempireintheWest,butlifeworsethanwhenthe
legionsleftin410.Evenby1485,theroadswerelessnavigable,tradehaddiminished,
andthepopulation,whilelarger,wasalmostcertainlymuchlessliterate.
Insomeways,Richardwaslittlemorethanapostapocalypticwarlord,aleaderoperating
inarough,worldwherecentralauthoritywasalwaysonthebrinkofcollapse.
TheclashofChristianitywithIslamcouldstopwarsinEurope,powersunitingtotakethe
HolyLandduringtheCrusadeshadprovedthat.Mostlocalconflicts,however,were
simplyaboutpower.Itwas,essentially,aGameofThronesworld.
Allofthat,though,wasabouttochangeveryquickly.Bythe1550s,bibleswouldbe
everywherenotjustinLatin,butincreasinglyinmodernlanguagestoo,fuelingthe
Reformation,Christianreligiouswars,revolutionsandunrest.
Science,technologyandexplorationwerealsoleapingforward.Muslimforceswereall
butoustedfromtheIberianPeninsula.InSpain,PortugalandItalytheRenaissancewas
beginningtogaintraction.AlongthecoastofAfrica,Portuguesesailingshipswere
pushingpasttheequatorintothesouthernhemisphere,almostcertainlyfurtherthanthe
Romanshadgone.ColumbuswouldsailfortheAmericaswithinsevenyearsof
Richardsdeath.
Amilitaryrevolutionwasunderway,too.BytheendoftheWarsoftheRoses,basic
artilleryandevenhandgunswereincirculationbuttheywererudimentaryand
cumbersome.Battlewasstillthepreserveofheavilyarmoredcavalryandinfantrywith
pikesalong,thrustingspearthatalmostcertainlykilledRichard.HadaRomanlegion

beingthrownforward1,000yearsintimetoBosworthField,itmightstillhavewonthe
day,ifonlybecauseofitslegendarysenseofdiscipline.Acenturylater,itwouldhave
beencuttopiecesinminutesbysophisticatedprojectileweaponry.
AfterRichardsdeath,therewerehugechangesinadministration.Richardsreplacement,
HenryVII,wasanadministrativegeniuswhohelpedshapehowmanyregimesafterwere
tofunction,bothinandoutofEngland.Hedividedthepublicfinancesintothe
ExchequerthefundsandaccountsofgovernmentsandtheChambermoney
controlledbytherulerhimself.
Indoingso,hehelpedcreatemoderngovernmentjustasinTuscanyatthesametime,
themerchantsofFlorencewerecreatingmodernbanking.
Inmanyways,theworkdonebythearchaeologistsandforensicscientistswhoexamined
andidentifiedRichardsboneshasfurtherenshrinedhisdeathasthemomenttruly
modernAngloSaxonhistorybegins.Beforeit,historicalaccountsarestillshadowy,the
numberofsourceslimited,rumoranddoubtwidespread.Byusingpresentday
technologytoexamineRichardsdeath,however,wehaveagreaterdoseofclarity.We
dontknow,ofcourse,whetherhereallyshoutedmyhorse,myhorse,mykingdomfora
horseasWilliamShakespearehashimdo.Wedo,however,knowthat,bytheend,he
waslikelyoffhishorseandfightingontheground.Andthathewaskilledbymultiple
blowstotheskullbyseveralassailantswithweaponsfromthelatermediaevalperiod.
History,ofcourse,tendstofocusonthevictors,andRichardwasespeciallyunfortunate
inthathisstorywasindeliblywrittenbyShakespeare,whohappenedtohaveaTudor
queenElizabethtoplease.Forcenturies,thefateofRichardsbodyremained
largelyunknown,andhislegendvile.
Severalbooks20thcenturybookshavetriedtoshedakinderlightonRichard(including
JosephineTeysoutstandingDaughterofTime),butperhapsmodernitysgreatestgiftis
simplyhavingclearlyidentifiedhisbody.Now,thelastPlantagenetkingwillhavea
propertombinaproperchurch.
ThispieceoriginallyappearedonReuters.comonMarch25,2015.
ProjectforStudyofthe21stCenturyisanonnational,nonideological,nonpartisan
organization.Allviewsexpressedaretheauthorsown.