King Power at King Power

King Richard must have been a Leicester City Football fan. At least that is what people are saying this year.

The Leicester City Foxes had never won a top division title in their 132-year history. That is a long time.

After the Reinterment, the Leicester City Football Club's fortunes began to change in an interesting and promising way. A not very wealthy team made up of good players who were a little bit out of control at times and unfocused, began to win games to keep afloat in the Premier League. They managed to just escape relegation at the end of the season by a whisker.

And then their manager Nigel Pearson, a difficult man at best, made a huge boo-boo. He insulted a journalist by calling him an ostrich.

Okay, that sounds pretty silly, and why did that make such a difference to the Foxes?

It didn't help that Nigel Pearson's son, a member of the team, was shortly afterwards involved in a sex tape scandal in Thailand at the time with a couple of other players. This was the last straw for the Club who let Mr. Pearson go.

Now how were those Foxes going to get out of this mess?

The arrival of Italian Claudio Ranieri was heralded with skepticism for the future of the team. With the beginning of the season, the Foxes were predicted at 5000/1 to actually win the Premier League. That was greater odds than if Elvis Presley (the King) was still alive, or even King Richard himself.

But the Foxes started winning. And winning, And winning.

By Christmas, the Leicester City Foxes were top of the Premier League table. Who would have thought that could happen?

I did. I started naively rooting for the Foxes the beginning of the season. I liked Claudio Ranieri, a soft-spoken Italian gentleman who inspired his team with promises of pizza and invoked a new team spirit of total cooperation. It really spoke to my heart and current situation, so why not? I believed they could win with this winning attitude.

Sometime in February 2016, when the Foxes were still on top of the table, people began to think, maybe this is the doing of King Richard. We just gave him a burial suitable for an English monarch, after he was lost for 500 years, and now look at the underdog team of the city. Something has gotten into them. Maybe King Richard is the Foxes most valuable player. The stadium in this kingly city is named King Power, after all!

To put a long and rather fabulous story short, the Foxes did it! They won the Premier League title with 10 points to spare. "Incredible!" shouted the world. Something nobody thought would every happen.

Yesterday was the day of the Champions parade. 240,000 people showed up in the streets to celebrate the Leicester City Foxes in their 5000/1 achievement. I like to think of Richard being there, too, celebrating with them.

The Blue Army in Victoria Park, Leicester

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King Richard Statue in Cathedral Square

One Year Out

One year ago I was in Leicester, helping to bury a King.




Today we are celebrating the one year anniversary of the Reinterment of King Richard III. There are lots of activities in Leicester today.

These include:

• Children's Easter bonnet competition with medieval activities
• Book launch for How to Bury a King by The Revd. Pete Hobson
• Conflict 1485 Bosworth, with soldiers of the household of King Richard marching through the streets of Leicester
• A theatre production called Uncle Richard
• Medieval cooking and food tasting
• Calligraphy workshop
• Floral seminar

All of these sound very enjoyable to me but I will get to do none of them, being here in the United States.

But I am able to participate in one activity for the day.

Earlier this year, the King Richard III put out a request on their website for photographs taken during the Reinterment Week. They were planning to create a very large portrait of Richard III in the Visitor Centre, composed of all of these tiny photos.

Of course, I had to send in some photos so that I could be a part of the project. I would be in Leicester without being in Leicester!

Today the exhibit opened. It looks amazing! 

Here is the article about Remembering the Reinterment.

I was quite tickled to read that photos "came from as far afield as the United States." Because that includes me!

Unfortunately, I won't get to see the exhibit. It will be taken down before I return to Leicester. I will have to rely on others to tell me about it, if they are able to. They might even find me in the portrait, because I'm there! 

What photos did I include? You will just have to go to the Visitors Centre and try to guess!

Richard III and Shakespeare's First Folio

Facsimile of the First Folio
Notre Dame's Rare Books and Special Collections

During the month of January 2016, my workplace, the Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame, has been fortunate to have been one of the first stops in the year-long journey of Shakespeare's First Folio, on loan from the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Shakespeare's First Folio

I have been fortunate myself to have been involved in the activities surrounding the Folio's arrival, events, and viewing. The Shakespeare at Notre Dame staff have been phenomenal in their plans and just being allowed to participate in them has been one of my biggest honours, next to the Reinterment, of course.

But with thinking about Shakespeare's life and death, it naturally means his play of Richard III is never far behind in my mind.

The Tragedy of Richard the Third was included in the First Folio. It was not one of the plays that was unique to the Folio, but because it was included, it is identified as important.

At the top of this blog entry you can see a facsimile of the Folio's first page of The Tragedy of Richard the Third with the famous speech, "Now is the Winter of our Discontent, made glorious Summer by this Son of Yorke;..." No matter what you feel for Shakespeare's Richard, this speech alone is enough to give you chills, its being one of the greatest dramatic speeches in the English language.

With the fabulous book, there was also a lovely collections of costumes in the library. These came from the Shakespeare at Notre Dame collection. And what costumes were included? Costumes from the 2013 Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival's last production of Richard III!

Richard III Costume
Shakespeare at Notre Dame

I was able to find out that this fall, the Actors from the London Stage are going to perform a new production of Richard III, but this production will include a female Richard! How will they do this? Will it make sense? I guess I will have to wait and find out.

Richard III's armour
from the 2013 Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival

That doesn't look like me!

Richard's Ghost

I saw this today on the internet. Yes, I know. You can see everything and anything on the internet. And this is from the Daily Mail, after all.

Here is the link:
Medium claims these images PROVE that the ghost of Richard III now haunts his final resting place in Leicester Cathedral.

Essentially, medium Christine Hamlett of Northwich, Cheshire, was visiting Leicester Cathedral recently, wanting to pay her respects to King Richard, and she had a peaceful feeling in the cathedral which she attributed to Richard's presence. Having been there myself during the Reinterment, I can say there was a calm feeling there that day, too, although not being psychically inclined, I would not have attributed it only to Richard. I do like to think that he was there that day, however.

Anyway, she took some photographs and when she went back to look at them, there was Richard's face looking out from a stone slab in the floor! I think the stone slab in the picture is right outside the area where the tomb is located.

Why do you think Richard's face would be in that place and not closer to the tomb, either next to it or hovering over it? I would like to examine this slab myself. I suspect a lot of people will be headed to the Cathedral soon to do just that, all snapping photos to see if they can see Richard's ghost.

Another ghostly reference to Richard appeared in this article. In nearby Donington le Heath Manor House, a 700-year-old building near Leicester, some ghost hunters claimed they had recorded the actual voice of Richard speaking to them in the bedroom where he last slept!

Why would Richard be in Donington le Heath Manor House? One story is that he spent his last night there. Richard must have had several last nights, since he is also said to have stayed at the Blue Boar in town.

Richard III and the Ghosts
Henry Fuseli & William Blake, ca. 1806

I am a fan of stories of ghosts and haunted places. My favourite movies are all about haunted houses, hotels, ships, and people. So when I hear stories about my two favourite things--ghost stories and Richard III--combined together, I get very excited!

When is the next ghost hunt at Leicester Cathedral? I'm signing up!

Finding Richard

Recently we celebrated the 530th anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth and the death of Richard III. 

By all accounts Richard fought valiantly, as did his men. It just didn't work out for him, due to unfortunate circumstances. We could say "What if...?" What if Richard's horse hadn't gotten stuck in the boggy ground? What if Richard, who was only a sword's length away from Henry, had managed to kill him him, too? What if...

Although I was not in England celebrating the anniversary by witnessing the reenactment at the Bosworth Battlefield, I have been finding Richard in various ways all around me.

This summer I found a tiny flowering plant for my garden called "White Knight" Alyssum. Of course, I had to have some because who was the White Knight? Richard III of course! 

My husband thought it funny that the garden company that produces this plant is called "Proven Winner." But I think Richard is a proven winner; despite having lost in battle, he is far more well-known and remembered today than Henry VII,

I recently went to the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Two sculptures invoked thoughts of Richard for me.

The first, called "Cabin Creek" by artist Deborah Butterfield. In the description about the sculpture, which I read after viewing it, the artist had hopes to create a form of an intelligent mare rather than a war horse. For me, though, not knowing this, I saw something else. 

The lines of the horse, with the strong horizontal piece in the mane area, was reminiscent of a sword. The horse's head is down, waiting for the indication from it's imagined rider to charge into battle. I could picture Richard sitting on this horse at the top of the hill, holding his sword at the ready, and watching Henry and his troops approach.

Another sculpture that inspired me was "Torso of a Knight." by artist Jean Arp, a significant artist in both dadaism and surrealism.

Suit of Armour
Grand Rapids
Public Museum

We are meant to see a helmeted knight, in armour. He is standing, resolute and brave, watching for the battle to start. Knights in armour must stand straight and tall because of the rigidity of the metal. This reinforces the idea of firmness and strength, as well as some austerity.

What is our knight thinking while he is waiting for the battle to begin? He is probably thinking that some, even many of his soldiers will be injured or die, and even he may not make it. Richard had to be thinking of that as he contemplated the battlefield. The day would end with victory for one side or the other.

When I am at home, I bravely fly my own Royal Standard. It reminds me of Richard every time I see it waving in the breeze.

And at my own birthday, celebrated soon after the Battle Anniversary, who did I include in the decorations? King Richard, of course!

My Adventures Program at the Library

This past week, I finally did my presentations at the public library on Richard III. I did a Power Point presentation, including many links and photos. Of course it wasn't without technical difficulties. I can try to embed the presentation here:

A Royal Reinterment from Helen Cawley

This will provide you with the presentation and I think the links will work. I have lots of links to interviews, pictures, songs, and news stories done at the time.

I had about 25 people attend both presentations. They seemed really interested and asked great questions. At one of my presentations, the links would not work in the version of Power Point I was using, so I had to wing it. I was really surprised by how much I could speak on the topic off the top of my head!

I'm actually really sad that the presentations are done now. I miss thinking so much about Richard, although I am still looking for evidence of him here around me, reading news about him and his tomb, looking at my pictures, and planning my next trip to see what's new!

Coronation Day

On this date in 1453, Richard was coronated Richard III, King of England and France, Lord of Ireland, in Westminster Abbey.

Here is what the Abbey website has to say about it:

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was crowned in the Abbey as Richard III on Sunday 6 July 1483. The day before he and his Queen Anne (Neville) rode in procession from the Tower of London to Westminster. On the day of the ceremony they walked barefoot on a red carpet from White Hall to Westminster Hall and then to the Abbey. The queen's train was borne by Margaret, Countess of Richmond whose son would become Henry VII after defeating Richard at the battle of Bosworth. Richard was crowned by Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury and the queen's coronation followed. Almost the entire peerage of England was present at what was a magnificent spectacle. The traditional coronation banquet in Westminster Hall followed.

How very ironic that Queen Anne's train was carried by the woman who would play a huge part in the downfall of Richard. What was Margaret Beaufort, the Countess of Richmond, thinking that day as she walked behind Anne? Was she thinking of her only child, Henry, and how he should have been there instead?

Was Margaret Beaufort a pious woman or a schemer?
She is known to have taken Richard's Book of Hours
from his tent at the battle scene and kept it for her own.

It must have been a wonderful occasion at the time and, with the peerage all attending, does that indicate widespread support? Maybe only as appearances go. There were undoubtedly still rumours circulating about the Princes and Richard's quick takeover.

Contemporary Illumination from the Rous Roll

Richard and Anne's son, Edward, was about 9 years old at this time and was not present at the ceremony. Some say he was a delicate child and his ill health prevented him from attending. Only a few short months later, he would be dead, and Queen Anne, too. Richard would have no legitimate heirs to pass on the crown, leaving him open for the conflict to come.

Today I am giving my first presentation on this King and my experiences as outlined in this blog and the public library. Although I lived through the Reinterment week and have studied Richard for some months now, I feel I know him less than when I started. He and his times are so very complicated. Motivations are lost in history and some things we might never know about what he did and why, or even if he did them.

History is like that, slow to reveal its secrets, and that is the fascination for many of us. No wonder we are addicted to the search!