Primary & Early Secondary Source Material

The Arrivall

Account of King Edward the Fourth’s Second Invasion of England, in 1471, Drawn up by one of his Followers; with the King’s Letter to the Inhabitants of Bruges upon his Success; Translated from a French Manuscript in the Public Library of Ghent

Bedingfield, Lady Charlotte Georgiana (transcriber); Jerningham, Edward (editor)

From: Archaeologia, Vol 21

Published: 1826

English translation (unattributed) of Edward Jerningham’s copy of a transcription of the original manuscript made by his sister Lady Bedingfield.

The Short Version of The Arrival of Edward IV

Green, Richard Firth

From: Speculum, Vol. 56, No. 2

Published: 1981

The complete text of the English short version, with a commentary suggesting that it may be a translation from the French short version.

1471: The Arrivall

Tewkesbury Festival 1996

Booklet

Published: 1996

Not the text of The Arrivall itself, but a modern description, based on it, of King Edward’s invasion and recovery of his throne in 1471. Produced to accompany the festival marking the 525th anniversary of the battle.

The Arrival of Edward IV – The Development of the Text

Thomson, J A F

From: Speculum, Vol. 46

Published: 1971

Discussion of the relationship between the various versions of The Arrivall.

Edward IV’s Memoir on Paper to Charles, Duke of Burgundy: The so-called ‘Short Version of the Arrivall’

Visser-Fuchs, Livia

From: Nottingham Medieval Studies, Issue 36

Published: 1992

A detailed analysis of the background and extant texts.

Baker's Chronicle

A Chronicle of the Kings of England from the time of the Romans Government, unto the Death of King Charles (extracts)

Baker, Sir Richard

Part of the Introduction plus pages 218-271 of the above work.

Published: 1679

Extracts covering the reigns of Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III and Henry VII.

Robert Bale's Chronicle

Robert Bale’s Chronicle and the Second Battle of St Albans

Kleineke, Hannes

From: ‘Notes and Documents’ section of Historical Research

Published: November 2014

Discusses and prints a hitherto unpublished page of Robert Bale’s chronicle which represents the earliest known account of the Second Battle of St Albans.

Ballads (Stanley Cycle)

Bosworth Feilde

Anon

From: Bishop Percy’s Folio Manuscript: Ballads and Romances, Vol 3, ed J W Hales & F J Furnivall

Published: 1868

Near-contemporary metrical account of the Battle of Bosworth, similar to Ladye Bessiye.

Ladye Bessiye

Anon

From: Bishop Percy’s Folio Manuscript – Ballads and Romances, Vol. 3, ed. J. W. Hales & F. J. Furnivall, pp. 219-363

Published: 1868

Metrical account of the Battle of Bosworth, similar to, but probably slightly later than, Bosworth Feilde.

The Rose of Englande

Anon

From: Bishop Percy’s Folio Manuscript – Ballads and Romances, Vol. 3, ed. J. W. Hales & F. J. Furnivall

Published: 1868

An early poem in the Stanley cycle, relating in an allegorical manner how the Earl of Richmond won the crown.

The Ballad History of the Reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII

Firth, C H

From: The Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Vol. 2, pp. 21-50

Published: 1908 (read on 21 November 1907)

Ballads as a source for the views of ordinary people. Includes discussion of The Rose of Englande.

John Benet's Chronicle

John Benet’s Chronicle

Harris, G L (ed)

From: Camden Miscellany Vol 24

Published: 1972

A Latin chronicle written by the vicar of Harlington in Bedfordshire. It covers the period 1399 to 1462, with an appended list of the knights and gentlemen slain and beheaded at Tewkesbury. Includes a useful introduction by the editor.

Buck

George Buck Senior and George Buck Junior: A Literary Historical Mystery Play

Kincaid, A N

From: Richard III: Crown and People, ed J Petre

Published: 1985

First published in The Ricardian Vol 4, No 60, March 1978. Kincaid shows how Sir George Buck’s reputation as a scholar has suffered through historians having relied on printed editions that suffered greatly from the cavalier additions and amendments of the author’s nephew and namesake.

Cambridge Annals

Annals of Cambridge, Vol 1 (extract)

Cooper, Charles Henry

Pages 224-245 of the above work

Published: 1842

Extract covering the years 1480 to 1495 and including Richard’s benefactions to, and relations with, the university.

Charter Rolls

Calendar of the Charter Rolls (extract)

Crunp, C G; Cunningham W R

Pages 237-274 from Vol 6 (1427-1516)

Published: 1927

Extract covering the years 1469 to 1501.

Chastellain

Le Texte de la Chronique de Chastellain pour les Annees 1458-1461 Retrouve dans un Manuscrit jusque’ici Inconu (The Text of Chastellain’s Chronicle for the Years 1458-1461 Rediscovered in a Previously Unknown Manuscript)

Armstrong C A J

From: England, France and Burgundy in the Fifteenth Century, pp 383-388

Published: 1983

Article originally published in Publication de Centre Europeen d’Etudes Burgundo-Medianes, No. 10 1968. This is a discussion of British Library Additional MS 54156, at the time of writing recently by the British Museum, a document which supplies one of the missing sections of Chastellain’s chronicle. (In French, but a translation can be made available on request).

Cornwallis

Cornwallis’ Paradoxical Defence of Richard III: A Machiavellian Discourse on Morean Mythology?

Condren, Conal

From: Moreana, Vol 24, No 94

Published: June 1987

Compares and contrasts the works of Cornwallis, Machiavelli and Thomas More.

The Praise of King Richard III

Cornwallis, Sir William

The 1617 edition as printed in Somers Tracts (ed. Sir Walter Scott), Vol. 3, pp. 316-325

Published: 1810

Printed version of The Encomium, an early defence of Richard III in the form of a paradox.

The Encomium of Richard III

Cornwallis, Sir William

Typed transcript

Transcript of the manuscript of the Encomium in the Duke of Devonshire’s collection at Chatsworth.

‘The Encomium of Richarde the Thirde’

Ramsden, John A

Text of a talk based on the manuscript in the Duke of Devonshire’s collection.

Published: March 1968

Discussion of an early defence of Richard III.

The Encomium of Richard III, Parts I and II

Ramsden, John A

From: The Ricardian, Nos. 22 and 23

Published: October 1968 and December 1968

Updated version of Ramsden’s talk (see above).

A Tudor Defense of Richard III

Zeeveld, W Gordon

From: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, Vol. 55, No. 4

Published: December 1940

The first published article to draw attention to The Encomium.

Council Minutes

The King’s Council and the First Protectorate of the Duke of York, 1450-1454

Griffiths, R A

From: EHR, Vol 99, pp 305-320

Published: 1984

A study of the York’s first protectorate through the lens of the extant minutes of three important meetings of the royal council held between the end November 1453 and early April 1454. The article is followed by a transcript of the source document (Harvard University (the Houghton Library). fMS Eng. 751, fos 211-214).

Crowland Chronicle

The Author of the ‘Second Continuation’ of the Croyland Chronicle: A Fifteenth Century Mystery Solved?

Baldwin, David

From: East Midland Historian, Vol 4, pp 16-19.

Published: 1994

Argues for the authorship of John Gunthorpe.

The Second Continuation of the Crowland Chronicle

Burr, K E

From: The Ricardian, Vol. 3, No. 51

Published: December 1975

Challenges Edwards’ conclusions (see below) and argues the Second and Third Continuations were indeed both written in April 1486 by John Russell.

The ‘Second’ Continuation of the Crowland Chronicle: Was it Written in Ten Days?

Edwards, John Goronwy

From: BIHR, Vol. 39, No. 100

Published: November 1966

Concentrating on the famous marginal notes, Edwards challenges two of the accepted ‘facts’ about the authorship of the Second Continuation: i.e. that it was written in ten days in April 1486, and that its author was the king’s councillor and Doctor of Canon Law entrusted in 1471 with an embassy to Charles the Bold.

Memoirs of a Yorkist Civil Servant

Gilingham, John

From: The Ricardian, Vol. 7, No. 99

Published: December 1987

Argues that the Second Continuator’s hostility to Richard reflects feelings current by government ‘insiders’ during his reign.

The ‘Second Continuation’ of the Crowland Chronicle: a Monastic Mystery

Hanham, Alison

Chapter 4 of Richard III and His Early Historians

Published: 1975

Discusses the known texts, reviews theories and observations to date, and supports Kendall’s theory that the Second Continuator was probably John Russell, but that the interspersed sections dealing with Abbey business were the work of one of the monks.

Richard Lavender, Continuator?

Hanham, Alison

From: The Ricardian, Vol. 7, No. 99

Published: December 1987

Defence of her earlier thesis that Russell was the Second Continuator and that the work was edited by the monks.

Author! Author! Crowland Revisited

Hanham, Alison

From: The Ricardian, Vol. 11, No. 140

Published: March 1998

A defence of the view that the second Continuation consists of a lay account, not necessarily written at Crowland, that was used by the monks, who made their own omissions and insertions.

The Usurpation in Vergil and the Crowland Chronicle

Hanham, Alison

Excursus to Chapter 6 of Richard III and His Early Historians

Published: 1975

Table of similarities between Crowland’s and Vergil’s accounts of Richard’s path to the throne, followed by the author’s commentary.

The Mysterious Affair at Crowland Abbey

Hanham, Alison

From: The Ricardian, Vol. 18

Published: 2008

Suggests the chronicle may have been the work of the Crowland monks after all.

Croyland at Bosworth

Harris, O D

From: The Ricardian, Vol. 5, No. 73

Published: June 1981

Argues that the name of Merevale by which Bosworth Field is described in the Second Continuation is the result of knowledge, rather than ignorance, of the battlefield area.

Crowland’s World: A Westminster view of the Yorkist Age

Hicks, Michael

From: History, Vol. 90, pp. 172-190

Published: April 2005

Starting from the assumption that the Continuator was a single Westminster clerk, Hicks analyses his personality and access to information and concludes that he ‘offers important insights’.

The 2nd Anonymous Continuation of the Crowland Abbey Chronicle 1459-86 Revisited

Hicks, Michael

From: EHR, Vol. 122, No. 496, pp. 349-370

Published: April 2007

Argues for the authorship of clerk of the Council, Richard Langport.

The Second Croyland Anonymous and His Tragedy of Richard III

Kelly, Henry Ansgar

From: Chronica (newsletter of the Medieval Association of the Pacific), No. 34

Published: Spring 1984

Proposes Richard Lavender as author of the Second Continuation and John Russell as author of the first part of the Third Continuation, and argues for the sections on local affairs having been written by these same authors using information supplied by the monks.

The Last Chroniclers of Croyland

Kelly, H A

From: The Ricardian, Vol. 7, No. 91

Published: December 1985

Expands on his earlier proposal that Richard Lavender was the author of the Second Continuation, and Bishop Russell as the author of the third.

The Croyland Chronicle Tragedies

Kelly, H A

From: The Ricardian, Vol. 7, No. 99

Published: December 1987

Discusses the Second Continuator’s use of the word tragedia, and answers Pronay’s objections to his identification of the Second Continuator with Richard Lavender, and the Third with Bishop Russell.

Croyland Observations

Kelly, H A

From: The Ricardian, Vol. 8, No. 108

Published: March 1990

The author begins by correcting his own error regarding the Bringhurst appropriation, then continues by pointing out the errors in Pronay and Hanham’s writings on the Chronicle, and finishes with a discussion of the interpretation of the manuscript at various points.

Tres Sunt Ricardi and the Crowland Chronicle

Luxford, Julian M

From: The Ricardian, Vol. 18

Published: 2008

New information concerning the Latin poem about the three kings called Richard in the Crowland Chronicle.

The Second Anonymous Continuation of the Crowland Chronicle

Thompson, Eric J

From: The Ricardian, Vol. 5, No. 73

Published: June 1981

Explains the various numbering systems used by different historians to describe the various continuations. An appendix sets out the corresponding page numbers in Riley’s and Fulman’s editions.

A Commentary on the Continuation

Visser-Fuchs, Livia

From: The Ricardian, Vol. 7, No. 99

Published: December 1987

A brief critique of Cox’s new translation of the chronicle, pointing out errors of interpretation and some biblical and classical allusions that should have been more closely adhered to in translation and pointed out for the reader. The author also suggests that certain oddities in the text point to the author having made use of existing written accounts.

Dugdale

A ‘Lost’ Transcription from Sir William Dugdale

Rogereson, Margaret

From: Notes and Queries Vol 239, pp 158-161

Published: June 1994

Discusses the text of Dugdale’s transcript of a lost roll describing Richard III’s visit to Coventry and Maxtoke in late May and early June 1485.

Exchequer Documents

Exchequer Warrant for Payment to Sir Edward Brampton for His Forthcoming Mission to Portugal

Barnfield, Marie (transcriber)

Transcript of TNA E 404/78/3, m.47

Date of Document: 22nd March 1484/5

Transcript of the King’s warrant to the Exchequer arranging payment for Brampton’s forthcoming embassy to Portugal. This was the embassy in which Brampton was to treat for a marriage between Richard III and the Princess Joana, and Elizabeth of York with Manuel, Duke of Beja.

Fabyan's Chronicle

The New Chronicles of England and France (extract)

Fabyan, Robert

Extract from The New Chronicles of England and France, ed Henry Ellis

Published: 1811

Extract covering the years 1459 to 1485.

Great Chronicle

The Great Chronicle of London (extracts)

Thomas, A D (ed); Thornley, I D (ed)

Extracts from The Great Chronicle of London

Published: 1983 reprint of 1938 publication

Extracts covering the years 1460-1492 (pp 192-243) and 1498-1501 (pp 274-295) plus the relevant endnotes (pp 426-447).

Gregory

Gregory’s Chronicle (extract)

Gairdner, James (ed)

From: Historical Collections of a London Citizen

Published: 1876

Extract covering 1458 to the end of the chronicle in 1469.

Hearne's Fragment

Hearne’s Fragment and the Long Prehistory of English Memoirs

Morgan, D A L

From: EHR, Vol 124, No 509, pp 811-832

Published: August 2009

Argues that the eye-witness whose account of the reign of Edward IV is included in Hearne’s Fragment was none other than Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk.

Herald's Accounts

Funeral of Edward the Fourth

Gairdner, James (ed)

From: Letters and Papers Illustrative of the Reigns of Richard III and Henry VII Vol 1, pp 3-10

Published: 1861

Transcript of folio 7 of College of Arms MS I.7.

Hume

History of England (extract)

Hume, David

Notes to pp 274-400 of Vol 3

Published: 1778

Endnotes covering the reason for the arrest of ‘Jane Shore’, the Precontract, the fate of the Princes and the identity of Perkin Warbeck.

Letters (General)

The First English Family Letters

Keen, Maurice

From: History Today, Vol 9, No 5

Published: 1959

The value for the historian of collections of fifteenth-century private letters, e.g. those of the Paston, Stonor and Cely families.

London Sources

A London Chronicle of 1460

Baskerville, G (ed)

From: EHR, Vol 28, No 109, pp 124, 127

Published: January 1913

Transcription of a brief Latin chronicle of the events of 1460. Translation available.

Historical Notes of a London Citizen, 1483-1488

Green, Richard Firth (ed.)

From: EHR, Vol. 96, No. 380

Published: July 1981

Discussion and transcription of the entries for 1483-8, including the linking of the Duke of Buckingham to the death of the Princes.

On Some London Houses of the Early Tudor Period

Kingsford, C L

From: Archaeologia, Vol. 71, pp. 17-54

Published: 1921

This article provides detailed information on the chambers and furnishings of four great London houses including Coldharbour and The Erber. Coldharbour belonged successively to the Holland dukes of Exeter, Edward IV’s sister Anne, Edward IV, Richard III, the royal heralds and Margaret Beaufort; it was also occupied by Margaret of York during her visit to England in 1480. Kingsford’s information comes from surviving accounts for Margaret Beaufort’s refurbishment of the house in the autumn of 1485. The Erber was a Neville property, owned successively by the first earl of Westmorland, Salisbury, Warwick the
Kingmaker, Clarence, Edward Earl of Warwick, Henry VII, Henry VIII and Margaret Countess of Salisbury. Kingsford’s description is based on accounts surviving from the period 1514-24. Transcripts of Kingsford’s sources are given in an appendix.

Mancini

A Classicist Looks at Mancini

Emmert, Jack

From: Ricardian Register, Vol 20, No 1, pp 9-10

Published: Spring 1995

The author discusses two contentious items of Armstrong’s translation.

Mancini, the Unsuspected Eye-witness

Hanham, Alison

Chapter 3 of Richard III and His Early Historians

Published: 1975

Highlights the vagueness of Mancini’s chronology and recall.

Dominic Mancini’s Narrative of the Events of 1483

Pollard, A J

From: Nottingham Medieval Studies, Vol. 38, pp. 152-163

Published: 1994

The author concentrates on the contradictory opinions contained in the narrative, suggestive of Mancini having incorporated information from sources with opposing political viewpoints, and suggests the identities of five of these sources.

Olivier De La Marche

The Meeting of the Duke and the Emperor: The English Survival of a Lost Text by Olivier de la Marche

Visser-Fuchs, Livia; Meale, Carol M

From: The Yorkist Age: Proceedings of the 2011 Harlaxton Symposium, ed H Kleineke & C Steer

Published: 2013

Text and discussion of a surviving English copy of a lost letter written by Olivier de la Marche describing the nine-week meeting of Emperor Frederick III and Charles Duke of Burgundy at Trier in 1473.

Mercers' Company Records

The Problems of Dating and the Dangers of Redating: The Acts of Court of the Mercer’s Company of London 1453-1527

Sutton, Anne F; Hammond, P W

From: Journal of the Society of Archivists, Vol 6, No 2

Published: 1978

On the problems of using contemporary records for dating events, with particular reference to the records of the Mercers’ Company and the dating of Hastings’ execution.

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous Native Chronicles: Facts and Fictions

Hanham, Alison

Chapter 5 of Richard III and His Early Historians

Published: 1975

Compares and contrasts the various early accounts of Richard’s reign, both well known and obscure.

Milanese State Papers

Calendar of State Papers and Manuscripts in the Archives and Collections of Milan (extract)

Hinds, A B (ed)

Extract from the above work

Published: 1912

Items in the Milanese Archives relating to English affairs between 1461 and 1485.

Molinet

Chroniques de Jean Molinet (extract)

Buchon, J-A (ed)

Chapters 100 and 101 (pages 400-411) of the above works

Published: 1828

Extract covering the period from Gloucester’s arrival in London as Protector to the marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. In French with original spelling.

Chroniques 1476-1506 (extract)

Molinet, Jean

Typed translation of Chapters 99 and 100 of the above work

Anonymous English translation of the chapters of the Chroniques de Jean Molinet covering Richard’s reign.

Sir Thomas More

More’s Richard III: History and Biography

Anderson, Judith

Chapter Six of Biographical Truth: The Representation of Historical Persons in Tudor-Stuart Writing

Published: 1984

An examination of ‘the relation of history to literature, of factual truth to fiction.’ in More’s Richard III.

Textual Problems in Sir Thomas More’s History of Richard III

Anon

Transcript of a lecture, unsigned

Undated

On the relationship between the various Latin and English versions of More’s History, lost and extant.

Cornwallis’ Paradoxical Defence of Richard III: A Machiavellian Discourse on Moreana Mythology?

Condren, Conal

From: Moreana, Vol. 24, No. 94

Published: 1987

Discusses similarities and contrasts between the works of Cornwallis, Machiavelli and Thomas More.

The History of Richard III Attributed to Sir Thomas More

Gairdner, James

From: Notes and Queries, 2nd Series, Vol. 1

Published: 1856

Suggests the Latin version was written by Morton, and that More translated it into English.

Sir Thomas More’s Satirical Drama

Hanham, Alison

Chapter 7 of Richard III and His Earl Historians

Published: 1975

Argues that More’s History of King Richard the Third needs to be viewed as a satire.

The Texts of More’s History of King Richard the Third

Hanham, Alison

Appendix to Richard III and His Early Historians

Published: 1975

Discusses the early texts of More’s History, and how they relate to each other.

The Dramatic Structure of Sir Thomas More’s History of King Richard III

Kincaid, Arthur Noel

From: Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, Vol. 12, No. 2

Published: Spring 1972

Argues that More uses the characteristics of a play to express the work’s moral purpose.

The Making of Sir Thomas More’s Richard III

Pollard, A F

From: Historical Essays in Honour of James Tait, ed. J G Edwards, V H Galbraith & E F Jacob

Published: 1933

Discusses authorship, sources, date of composition, publication, etc.

Detailed Review of The English Works of Sir Thomas More, Vol.1 (Including Richard III)

Pollard, A F

From: History, Vol. 17, No. 68

Published: January 1933

Review of The English Works of Sir Thomas More, Vol. I, ed. W. E. Campbell, published 1931.

‘Female Perversity,’ Male Entitlement: The Agency of Gender in More’s The History of Richard III

Shepard, Alan Clarke

From: Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 311-327

Published: 1995

An examination of More’s attitude to gender roles through his depiction of the power struggle between Richard III and Elizabeth Woodville.

More’s History of Richard the Third: A Re-assessment

Smithies, Alan

Typescript

Date: 1979

Suggests that More intended his History as a satire designed to make the other Tudor chronicleslook absurd, and that his portrait of a tyrant king represents Henry VII not Richard III.

More’s Richard III and the Mystery Plays

Warnicke, Retha M

From: Historical Journal, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 761-777

Published: 1992

The author argues that the composition was influenced by the popular cycles of mystery plays.

Lord Morley

Lord Morley’s Statements about Richard III

Warnicke, Retha M

From: Albion, Vol 15

Published: 1983

References to Richard III in a document written about 1554 by Lord Morley, son of Richard III’s standard bearer at Bosworth.

Papal Registers

Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland (extracts)

Twemlow, J A

Extracts from Vol 14 of the above work

Published: 1960

The text of the material relating to the (second) dispensation for the marriage of Elizabeth of York and Henry Tudor, which was granted by the papal nuncio in London in January 1486 and confirmed by the Vatican in July.

Parliament

Rotuli Parliamentorum (extract)

Extract from Vol 6

Published: 1783

Extract covering proceedings in Richard’s only parliament in 1484.

Speeches Prepared for the Opening of Parliament by the Lord Chancellor, John Russell, Bishop of Lincoln

Nichols, John Gough (ed.)

From: Camden Society, Grants etc, from the Crown during the Reign of Edward the Fifth

Published: 1854

The texts of the speeches prepared for the cancelled convocation and parliament of Edward V, and for Richard III’s cancelled parliament of November 1483 and parliament of January 1484.

The Countess of Warwick’s Parliamentary Petitions Regarding Her Lands

Typescript copies of BL MS Cotton Julius BXII, ff. 317-8; p. 62 of The Red Paper Book of Colchester (transcribed W. Gurney Benham); and the translation of the relevant text of the 1487 parliament from The Parliament Rolls of Medieval England, ed. C. Given-Wilson

Published: 1902 (Red Paper Book of Colchester), and 2005 (Parliament Rolls)

The Countess’ parliamentary petitions of 1472 and 1487 for the restitution of her lands, and a brief contemporary account of her petition of 1485.

Titulus Regius

Typescript copy of Act of Parliament

Undated copy of Act of 1484

Text of the Act setting out and enshrining in law Richard’s title to the crown.

Political Poetry

The Rose of Rone: part three of ‘Heraldry in English Literature’

Franklyn, Julian

From: The Armorial, Vol 3, No 4

Published: November 1962

Text of contemporary poem on the Battle of Towton, with notes and commentary and a facsimile of the original manuscript.

English History in Contemporary Poetry; No 2: Lancaster and York 1399-1485

Kingsford, Charles Lethbridge (ed.)

Booklet

Published: 1913

Discusses, with quotations, contemporary ballads and satires on political and historical subjects.

A Yorkist Genealogical Chronicle in Middle English Verse

Louis, Cameron

From: Anglia, Vol. 109

Published: 1991

Text, with detailed introduction, of a propaganda poem setting out Edward IV’s claims to the thrones of England, France, Leon and Castile, probably written after the victory at Towton.

Richard III, Various Original Documents On

Richard III and the North of England

English, Barbara

University of Hull Regional and Local History Publications folder

Published: 1985

Folder of facsimile documents (including transcripts or summaries) and illustrations.

Richard III and the City of York

Freedman, Rita (compiler); White, Eileen (compiler)

Folder & booklet

Published: 1983

Introductory booklet, and folder of illustrations and facsimiles of documents with transcripts.

Richard III and the Princes in the Tower

Langdon-Davies, John (ed.)

Jackdaw folder No. 24

Collection of facsimile copies of documents etc. relating to Richard III and the mystery of the Princes; aimed at older school children.

John Rous

John Rous and the Survival of the Neville Circle

Lowry, Martin

From: Viator, Vol 19

Published: 1988

On Rous and the circle to which he belonged. Were the Rous Roll, Beauchamp Pageant and Historia written to excite sympathy for the Kingmaker’s widow?

Historia Regum Anglie (extract)

Rous, John

The final portion of the work, starting with the birth of Henry VI (pp. 210-219)

Published: 1745

Extract from Hearne’s edition, covering the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III and Henry VII. In Latin, but an English translation is included.

Historia Regum Angliae (English translation of extract)

Rous, John; Hanham, Alison (trans)

From: Richard III and His Early Historians, 1483-1535, by Alison Hanham

Published: 1975

Hanham’s translation of the portion of the Historia covering Richard’s reign.

The Rous Roll (extracts)

Rous, John

The Alan Sutton reprint of Pickering’s 1859 edition of the English version of the Roll

Published: 1980

Extracts covering Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, the Earl and Countess of Warwick, the Duke and Duchess of Clarence and their children, and Richard III, Anne Neville and Edward Prince of Wales.

The Rous Roll: The English Version

Wright, C E

From: British Museum Quarterly, Vol. 20, No .4

Published: 1956

Synopsis: Description of the unaltered version of the roll – a chronicle of the Earls of Warwick, bought by the British Museum in 1954.

John Russell

Prospositio Johannis Russell

Russell, John; Guppy, Henry

Modern reprint of John Rylands Facsimile edition

Published: 1919

Booklet containing (1) a facsimile of Caxton’s edition of the Latin oration given by Russell to Charles Duke of Burgundy, in February 1470 on the Duke’s investiture with the Order of the Garter, and (2) an introduction by Henry Guppy. An English translation of the oration can be made available.

Rymer's Foedera

Syllabus of Rymer’s Foedera (extract)

Hardy, Sir Thomas Duffus (ed)

Extract from Syllabus of Rymer’s Foedera, Vol 2 (1377-1654)

Published: 1873

Extract from the Syllabus (a list of the documents in the Foedera itself) covering the years 1483 to 1485.

Signet Letters and Warrants

Signet Warrants for the Great Seal and Signet Letters to the Chancellor 1483-1485

Hairsine, R C; Hairsine P B (transcribers & translators)

Transcription and translation of the contents of The National Archives file C 81/1392

Transcripted/Translated: 1979

Transcripts of signet letters and warrants from Richard’s reign. In original spelling, with translations of those that are in Latin or French.

The Chancellor’s File

Hairsine, R C; Hairsine, P

From: Richard III, Crown and People, ed. J. Petre, pp. 403-434

Published: 1985

Article first published in The Ricardian, Vol 5, No. 64, March 1979. Discussion of TNA C 81/1392 above.

Stonor Papers

Revisiting the Stonor Manuscripts

Hanham, Alison

From: Historical Research, Vol 86, No 231

Published: February 2013

An examination of the limitations of Kingsford transcriptions and of further letters found since Kingsford’s time.

Venetian State Papers

Calendar of State Papers, Venice (extract)

Brown, Rawdon (ed)

Extract from Vol 1 of the above work (1202-1509)

Published: 1864

Extract covering the years 1482 to 1486.

Polydore Vergil

Some Materials for a New Edition of Polydore Vergil’s ‘History’

Gasquet, Francis Aidan

From: Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, New Series, Vol 16, pp 1-17

Published: 1902

A plea for a ‘critical edition’ of Polydore’s history of Henry VII reign based on the author’s original manuscript in the Vatican Archives rather than on the mid-16th century printed editions currently used.

Polydore Vergil, the Second Italian

Hanham, Alison

Chapter 6 of Richard III and his Early Historians

Published: 1975

Seeks to answer the following questions: ‘Was his treatment of Richard’s reign deliberately designed as Tudor propaganda, or notably slanted to agree with contemporary views? What were his sources, oral and written, and how did he treat their evidence? And how was Vergil’s work used by subsequent historians?’

The Usurpation in Vergil and the Crowland Chronicle

Hanham, Alison

Excursus to Chapter 6 of Richard III and His Early Historians

Published: 1975

Table of similarities between Crowland’s and Vergil’s accounts of Richard’s path to the throne, followed by the author’s commentary.

Horace Walpole

Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of King Richard III, by Mr Horace Walpole, Quarto, pp 134

From: The London Chronicle

Published: 9 to 11 February 1768

Newspaper review of Walpole’s work.

Masters, Robert, B D

From: Archaeologia, Vol. 2, pp. 198-215

Published: 1771

Text of a presentation to the Society of Antiquaries by the rector of Landbeach in Cambridgeshire, pouring scorn on Walpole’s revisionist notions.

Observations on the Wardrobe Account for the Year 1483; wherein are Contained the Deliveries made for the Coronation of King Richard the Third, and Some Other Particulars Relative to the History of that Monarch

Milles, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah

From: Archaeologia, Vol. 1, pp. 361-383.

Published: 1770

Presentation by the President of the Society of Antiquaries countering Walpole’s claim that entries in the Wardrobe Accounts show that Richard III had arranged for the deposed Edward V to participate in his coronation (see below), and concluding that the traditional story of his murder at Richard’s hands is therefore correct.

Supplement to the Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of King Richard III, with Remarks on some Answers that have been made to that Work (extract)

Walpole, Horace

Covers pages 185 to 219 of a fragment intended to form part of vol. 2 of a complete edition of Walpole’s Works. According to a note by Mr. Grenville, ‘After the printing of this part the whole bundle of the Historic Doubts was accidentally destroyed, and Mr. Walpole abandoned the printing of the edition’ (ref. British Library catalogue)

Written: 1770

Walpole’s response to criticisms of his Historic Doubts.

A Reply to the Observations of the Rev. Dr. Milles, Dean of Exeter, and President of the Society of Antiquaries, on the Wardrobe Account of 1483, &c.

Walpole, Horace

Covers pages 221 to 244 of the above fragment

Written: 1770

Walpole acknowledges his error in interpreting the entry on Edward IV’s son in the Wardrobe Accounts, but derides Mille for imagining that this proves Richard to have murdered him.

Short Observations on the Remarks of the Rev. Mr. Masters, on The Historic Doubts

Walpole, Horace

Covers pages 245 to 251 of the above fragment

Written: 1770

Walpole’s response to Robert Masters’ presentation (see above).

Postscript to My Historic Doubts

Walpole, Horace

Covers pages 251 to 252 of the above fragment

Written: February 1793

Walpole acknowledges that the Duke of Orléans’ role in the French Revolution has caused him to acknowledge not that Richard did commit the crimes of which he has been accused, but that in the more barbarous age in which he lived ‘any atrocity may have been attempted or practised by an ambitious prince of the blood aiming at the crown’.

Wardrobe Accounts

Observations on the Wardrobe Account for the Year 1483; wherein are contained the Deliveries made for the Coronation of King Richard the Third, and some other Particulars relative to the History of that Monarch

Milles, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah

From: Archaeologia, Vol. 1, pp. 361-383

Published: 1770

Text of a presentation given by the President of the Society of Antiquaries countering Walpole’s claim that entries in the Wardrobe Accounts show that Richard III had arranged for the deposed Edward V to participate in his coronation. The text contains a transcript of the section of the Wardrobe Accounts relating to Richard’s coronation.

Warkworth's Chronicle

‘Warkworth’s Chronicle’ Reconsidered

Thomson, J A F

From: EHR, Vol. 116, No. 467

Published: June 2001

Compares the two extant versions of the chronicle and concludes that Warkworth was probably not the author.

William Wey, Itineraries

An English Pilgrim to Compostela

Hogarth, James (trans.)

From: Medieval World, March-April 1992, pp. 15-19

Published: 1992

English translation of that part of the Itineraries of William Wey, fellow of Eton College, that deals with his account of his journey to Compostela in 1456.

Banner image of King Richard III’s Book of Hours (MS 474f.7v) reproduced by kind permission of Lambeth Palace Library.