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We were made aware of the dig in Leicester when it was still in the planning stage. We were commissioned to produce a promotional video of the original tomb design before there was even a skeleton. On the basis of the still images and video, thousands of people donated money towards the tomb. At that time, we spoke with some of the architects of the project and knew what plans they had made to preserve the dignity of any remains that were discovered in Leicester - chiefly that one polaroid would be taken and only shared with academics who had sufficient reason to look. All this, like so much, went out of the window when the tourist bus drove into Leicester.

We were never part of the Looking for Richard team and while for some years we fought their corner, loyalty did not bind them to us any more than it did to Richard III. But the truth matters more. Not just the truth about Richard III, but religious truth, which alone gives us a window through which to see and understand all of history.

This blog is an archive of posts from 2013, as details of the dig in Leicester emerged.

The identification of the remains in Leicester as Richard III left many questions unanswered. The essays and articles on this page ask questions about the evidence and the conclusions. Please note that the burden of proof lies with those who assert that the skeleton is Richard III beyond reasonable doubt. To refute this claim it is only necessary to show that there is reasonable doubt. 

Entries in truth (2)

Tuesday
Feb052013

Making Monsters out of Men

DateFebruary 5, 2013

Updated on February 9, 2013 by Registered CommenterAbigail J. Fox

This essay is not about Richard III. And yet it is. It is about a man who has suffered similar damage to his legacy, a man whose name - just like that of Richard III - has been attached to an unchallengeable stereotype, and yet a man who would very probably have been a better neighbour and more loyal friend than most. William Cowper was an athletic youth. He excelled in every sport at school. He was bright. He liked girls, at least the few the schoolboy knew. He was inclined to make pranks on them and had sufficient charm to be forgiven. When Cowper was still a young man, he encountered more problems than he could handle. His father died. His best friend drowned. He and his fiancee were separated by her father. On the plus side, Cowper received a job through sinecure, so at least he would be well placed as a new member of the Bar. But Cowper did not like the job he was given. It was too public, too important, too serious. He wanted another man's job. He wished the man would die to create a vacancy. And then the man died!

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AuthorAbigail J. Fox CommentPost a Comment
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Monday
Feb112013

Was History Horrible?

DateFebruary 11, 2013

At one point in Richard III: The King in the Car Park, the presenter, Philippa Langley and two Leicester Scientists stand around the remains discussing wounds. And the conversation eventually settles upon one word: brutal. It is passed around as not only a comment on the way the body was treated (before and after death) but as an indictment upon the time. It is a judgment that fits in well with the general tone of history today and is popularised by the children's series Horrible Histories, which is nothing but playground whispers ... Did you know what they ate? Can you imagine? Do you know what they believed? What morons! Did you hear what they did to one another? So inhuman!

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AuthorAbigail J. Fox CommentPost a Comment
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