1 00:00:29,810 --> 00:00:31,243 (cheering) 2 00:00:31,278 --> 00:00:34,714 Medieval kings can be divided into three sorts. 3 00:00:36,416 --> 00:00:39,351 There was the good... 4 00:00:42,789 --> 00:00:44,154 the bad... 5 00:00:55,335 --> 00:00:57,132 and the ugly. 6 00:00:57,170 --> 00:00:58,865 Now is the... 7 00:00:58,905 --> 00:01:00,099 (Booing) 8 00:01:02,909 --> 00:01:05,104 Amidst all the uncertainties of history, 9 00:01:05,145 --> 00:01:07,807 one thing we can be sure of. 10 00:01:07,848 --> 00:01:11,944 We know who our medieval kings were and what they were like. 11 00:01:11,985 --> 00:01:13,953 or do we? 12 00:01:13,987 --> 00:01:17,445 We're proud to be able to reveal for the first time on television 13 00:01:17,491 --> 00:01:21,894 the name of a king of England nobody's ever heard of. 14 00:01:24,197 --> 00:01:25,494 King... 15 00:01:25,532 --> 00:01:27,830 Actually, I'll tell you who he is in a minute. 16 00:01:27,868 --> 00:01:33,238 First, the story of the lives of every single king of England. 17 00:01:33,273 --> 00:01:35,434 Well that is, every single king of England 18 00:01:35,475 --> 00:01:37,943 who went by the name of Richard. 19 00:01:40,814 --> 00:01:42,839 There's good King Richard I, 20 00:01:42,883 --> 00:01:44,373 Richard the Lionheart, 21 00:01:44,418 --> 00:01:47,353 the dashing heroic crusader. 22 00:01:48,889 --> 00:01:51,016 Bad King Richard II, 23 00:01:51,057 --> 00:01:54,288 tyrannical, megalomaniac, narcissistic. 24 00:01:55,996 --> 00:01:58,294 And ugly King Richard III, 25 00:01:58,331 --> 00:02:02,131 misshapen, demonic and evil. 26 00:02:14,614 --> 00:02:17,777 If there were a poll for best English king, 27 00:02:17,818 --> 00:02:19,649 Richard the Lionheart here 28 00:02:19,686 --> 00:02:22,211 would probably come out somewhere near the top, if not top! 29 00:02:22,255 --> 00:02:25,122 Heroic, virtuous and christian. 30 00:02:25,158 --> 00:02:26,989 That's how I was taught to regard him at school. 31 00:02:27,027 --> 00:02:29,757 And it's how the Victorians, who put up this statue to him 32 00:02:29,796 --> 00:02:32,458 outside the House of commons, saw him. 33 00:02:32,499 --> 00:02:35,366 But was he a good king of England? 34 00:02:38,538 --> 00:02:41,564 Richard the Lionheart was a Frenchman. 35 00:02:41,608 --> 00:02:44,168 He was born in oxford, but he was brought up in Poitiers 36 00:02:44,211 --> 00:02:47,703 in the court of his formidable mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. 37 00:02:51,518 --> 00:02:53,145 Richard became Duke of the region 38 00:02:53,186 --> 00:02:55,154 and, according to the chronicles, 39 00:02:55,188 --> 00:02:59,682 the great nobles of Aquitaine hated him because of his great cruelty. 40 00:02:59,726 --> 00:03:03,127 He carried off his subjects' wives, daughters and kinswomen 41 00:03:03,163 --> 00:03:05,859 and made them his concubines. 42 00:03:07,634 --> 00:03:10,228 That didn't stop him being crowned King of England 43 00:03:10,270 --> 00:03:13,239 in Westminster Abbey, in September 1189. 44 00:03:13,273 --> 00:03:15,468 He'd fought his father, King Henry II, 45 00:03:15,509 --> 00:03:18,808 and seen off his brother John, to get the English throne, 46 00:03:18,845 --> 00:03:22,212 but actually, he detested the place. 47 00:03:23,250 --> 00:03:26,447 At his coronation, the London Jews arrived, 48 00:03:26,486 --> 00:03:30,422 bearing valuable gifts, but they weren't allowed in. 49 00:03:30,457 --> 00:03:34,553 Instead, they were beaten up, and there were anti-Jewish riots. 50 00:03:34,594 --> 00:03:37,085 Well, Richard must have been furious. 51 00:03:37,130 --> 00:03:40,258 After all, his only reason for being King of England 52 00:03:40,300 --> 00:03:41,961 was how much he could make out of it. 53 00:03:42,002 --> 00:03:43,697 He had an agenda. 54 00:03:43,737 --> 00:03:47,730 And it wasn't governing some God-forsaken island, full of sheep, 55 00:03:47,774 --> 00:03:49,571 where it rained all the time. 56 00:03:49,609 --> 00:03:52,203 (Battle sounds ) 57 00:03:52,245 --> 00:03:54,304 Richard was much more interested 58 00:03:54,347 --> 00:03:57,805 in what was going on a few thousand miles away. 59 00:03:59,386 --> 00:04:02,321 Saladin had just recaptured Jerusalem from the christians 60 00:04:02,355 --> 00:04:05,347 and crusade fever was sweeping Europe. 61 00:04:05,392 --> 00:04:07,587 It was Richard's chance to shine. 62 00:04:09,062 --> 00:04:12,122 The battlefield was where Richard was in his element. 63 00:04:12,165 --> 00:04:13,928 He thought fighting was fun! 64 00:04:16,102 --> 00:04:18,070 For example, when he went on honeymoon, 65 00:04:18,104 --> 00:04:21,403 he took his bride to Cyprus, and not for the sun and sex, 66 00:04:21,441 --> 00:04:24,638 but for the slaughtering, ravaging and pillaging. 67 00:04:27,147 --> 00:04:31,880 A crusade to Richard was like a sweet shop to a kiddy, 68 00:04:31,918 --> 00:04:34,944 and since it was warfare on behalf of the church, 69 00:04:34,988 --> 00:04:37,320 no one could complain about the expense. 70 00:04:37,357 --> 00:04:40,588 And expensive it certainly was. 71 00:04:41,895 --> 00:04:44,728 His only interest in England was to use it 72 00:04:44,764 --> 00:04:48,222 as one big Piggy bank to fund his crusade. 73 00:04:48,268 --> 00:04:51,965 He even said he'd sell London if he could find a buyer. 74 00:04:54,074 --> 00:04:58,204 However, desPite his massive army, and its equally massive cost, 75 00:04:58,244 --> 00:05:02,180 things didn't really work out for him in the Holy Land. 76 00:05:02,215 --> 00:05:03,910 He failed to recapture Jerusalem, 77 00:05:03,950 --> 00:05:10,185 although he did manage to massacre nearly 3,000 Muslim hostages in cold blood. 78 00:05:11,324 --> 00:05:13,656 Then, on his way home, Richard was captured 79 00:05:13,693 --> 00:05:16,594 and spent two years in Prison. 80 00:05:16,630 --> 00:05:21,033 To pay for his ransom, his subjects were bled dry. 81 00:05:21,067 --> 00:05:25,436 His Get out of Jail card cost the country £100,000. 82 00:05:25,472 --> 00:05:28,999 That's almost the whole income of the English Exchequer 83 00:05:29,042 --> 00:05:31,237 for the previous eight years. 84 00:05:33,947 --> 00:05:37,041 Richard continued to spend, spend, spend 85 00:05:37,083 --> 00:05:39,711 in pursuit of his military ambitions. 86 00:05:39,753 --> 00:05:42,347 A lot of it went on this castle in Normandy, 87 00:05:42,389 --> 00:05:43,651 chateau Gaillard. 88 00:05:43,690 --> 00:05:46,659 State-of-the-art residence, built in 1198, 89 00:05:46,693 --> 00:05:49,321 to defend his territory in northern France. 90 00:05:50,630 --> 00:05:53,326 Historian Pamela Marshall shows me around. 91 00:05:53,366 --> 00:05:56,665 Richard was besotted with this castle. 92 00:05:56,703 --> 00:05:59,831 Remember, he's a military man, that's his main interest. 93 00:05:59,873 --> 00:06:03,900 And this is his opportunity to design his own castle. 94 00:06:03,943 --> 00:06:06,173 (Terry ) Was Richard pretty pleased when he'd done it? 95 00:06:06,212 --> 00:06:08,237 (pamela ) oh yes, he was as pleased as punch! 96 00:06:08,281 --> 00:06:10,374 And as it was nearing completion, 97 00:06:10,417 --> 00:06:13,250 he got his best mates in to come and see his... 98 00:06:13,286 --> 00:06:16,312 his ''daughter of a twelvemonth''. 99 00:06:16,356 --> 00:06:20,656 - so he calls the castle his daughter. - He calls the castle his...his daughter, yeah. 100 00:06:20,694 --> 00:06:24,391 He was as proud as a new father of this castle. 101 00:06:25,632 --> 00:06:27,691 And, as fathers often do with daughters, 102 00:06:27,734 --> 00:06:30,066 Richard spared no expense on her. 103 00:06:30,103 --> 00:06:35,040 He Poured £11,500 into the building of chateau Gaillard. 104 00:06:35,075 --> 00:06:39,205 That's more than ten times what his father used to spend on new castles. 105 00:06:41,748 --> 00:06:43,807 chateau Gaillard dominates the valley. 106 00:06:43,850 --> 00:06:47,650 Richard clearly intended it to be seen as a potent symbol 107 00:06:47,687 --> 00:06:49,951 of his overlordshiP of the region. 108 00:06:51,758 --> 00:06:56,661 In the tower, at the very top of the castle, Richard had his command center. 109 00:06:56,696 --> 00:07:00,826 It only has one huge window, very ruinous now, 110 00:07:00,867 --> 00:07:04,598 but it must have been a magnificent window, stepped back, 111 00:07:04,637 --> 00:07:08,733 and it's my belief that when Richard was holding court, 112 00:07:08,775 --> 00:07:11,801 he would have sat in this window 113 00:07:11,845 --> 00:07:15,110 with his vassals paying homage to him 114 00:07:15,148 --> 00:07:18,515 as if he were in the proscenium arch of a theater. 115 00:07:18,551 --> 00:07:21,748 The light behind him, very dramatic. 116 00:07:26,059 --> 00:07:28,391 But he didn't enjoy his castle for long. 117 00:07:28,428 --> 00:07:31,659 About a year after castle Gaillard was finished, 118 00:07:31,698 --> 00:07:35,532 Richard was killed in a typical squabble with one of his vassals 119 00:07:35,568 --> 00:07:37,092 over some buried treasure. 120 00:07:37,971 --> 00:07:41,532 Having nothing better to do, Richard attacked the vassal's castle, 121 00:07:41,574 --> 00:07:44,975 and one of the defenders, using a frying Pan as a shield, 122 00:07:45,011 --> 00:07:47,809 shot him with a crossbow. 123 00:07:48,348 --> 00:07:51,875 To get him out of prison, his subjects had stumped up a fortune, 124 00:07:51,918 --> 00:07:53,886 literally a king's ransom. 125 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:57,913 And now Richard goes and throws his life away over nothing. 126 00:07:59,125 --> 00:08:03,789 Richard had absolutely no interest in the business of government. 127 00:08:03,830 --> 00:08:06,890 His attention span was strictly limited 128 00:08:06,933 --> 00:08:09,925 for anything that didn't involve people getting killed. 129 00:08:11,371 --> 00:08:14,863 He was King of England, but he was scarcely an English king. 130 00:08:14,908 --> 00:08:16,899 The empire that counted for him 131 00:08:16,943 --> 00:08:19,969 was Anjou, Aquitaine and Normandy. 132 00:08:20,013 --> 00:08:24,006 England was just an appendage that he used as a milch cow. 133 00:08:24,951 --> 00:08:27,112 He was a failed crusader, 134 00:08:27,153 --> 00:08:29,747 and, by all accounts, a thoroughly nasty Piece of work. 135 00:08:29,789 --> 00:08:33,190 so, why do we think of him as a good king? 136 00:08:36,529 --> 00:08:40,295 Well, the medieval monkish chroniclers gave him a good press 137 00:08:40,333 --> 00:08:42,324 because he Promoted the crusades. 138 00:08:43,369 --> 00:08:46,998 The victorians admired him as an empire builder. 139 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:52,637 But it's curious that the English banner should still contain the three lions 140 00:08:52,679 --> 00:08:57,343 that was the badge of a man who had nothing but contempt for England. 141 00:09:02,088 --> 00:09:05,524 And here he is at last, the king nobody's ever heard of. 142 00:09:05,558 --> 00:09:07,890 - King... - Wait, wait, wait, wait! 143 00:09:07,927 --> 00:09:10,487 There's another Richard we need to look at first. 144 00:09:10,530 --> 00:09:14,159 people often forget about him, but in many ways, he's the most interesting! 145 00:09:20,506 --> 00:09:25,534 Richard II was a hated tyrant, justly deposed by Henry IV. 146 00:09:25,578 --> 00:09:29,605 Well, that's what I was taught. Not only bad, but mad, 147 00:09:29,649 --> 00:09:34,586 treacherous, vindictive, megalomaniac and vain. 148 00:09:35,455 --> 00:09:37,389 The first English monarch 149 00:09:37,423 --> 00:09:40,290 to commission a realistic Portrait of himself. 150 00:09:41,694 --> 00:09:46,256 A contempPorary poet described Richard as wicked, greedy, 151 00:09:46,299 --> 00:09:51,430 poisonous, infatuated, false, cunning, two-faced, juvenile, 152 00:09:51,471 --> 00:09:54,406 oh, and offensive to one and all. 153 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:56,465 Not much change out of sixpence there. 154 00:09:57,510 --> 00:10:00,445 In 1397, he exiled the Duke of Warwick, 155 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:02,038 executed the Earl of Arundel 156 00:10:02,081 --> 00:10:04,572 and had the Duke of Gloucester murdered 157 00:10:04,617 --> 00:10:06,676 What on earth, I can hear you ask, 158 00:10:06,719 --> 00:10:11,088 could possibly be said in defense of a monster like Richard? 159 00:10:11,124 --> 00:10:14,116 Well, quite a lot, actually. 160 00:10:15,662 --> 00:10:19,758 Richard was just a boy of ten when he was crowned in Westminster Abbey. 161 00:10:19,799 --> 00:10:23,166 When he was still only 14, he faced an extraordinary test. 162 00:10:23,202 --> 00:10:26,933 His barons had levied punitive taxes on the laboring classes 163 00:10:26,973 --> 00:10:28,941 to pay for the wars in France. 164 00:10:28,975 --> 00:10:30,966 The people rose up in arms. 165 00:10:33,746 --> 00:10:36,078 The climax of the revolt came 166 00:10:36,115 --> 00:10:38,174 when thousands and thousands of peasants 167 00:10:38,217 --> 00:10:40,742 confronted the young king at Smithfield. 168 00:10:40,787 --> 00:10:44,018 The Mayor of London suddenly turned on the peasants' leader Wat Tyler 169 00:10:44,057 --> 00:10:45,581 and killed him. 170 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:50,152 Taking his life into his hands, the 14-year-old Richard 171 00:10:50,196 --> 00:10:51,493 rode forward, shouting, 172 00:10:51,531 --> 00:10:54,625 ''I am your King, your leader and your chief''. 173 00:10:54,667 --> 00:10:57,465 He then issued Pardons to everyone because, 174 00:10:57,503 --> 00:10:58,902 according to one chronicler, 175 00:10:58,938 --> 00:11:01,566 of his abhorrence for the shedding of civil blood. 176 00:11:01,607 --> 00:11:04,838 Doesn't sound cowardly or vindictive to me. 177 00:11:06,012 --> 00:11:07,377 After the peasants' Revolt, 178 00:11:07,413 --> 00:11:09,973 Richard determined to end the war with France 179 00:11:10,016 --> 00:11:11,984 that had been lining the pockets of the barons 180 00:11:12,018 --> 00:11:14,612 while ruining the rest of the country. 181 00:11:14,654 --> 00:11:17,179 Doesn't sound very wicked or greedy. 182 00:11:18,524 --> 00:11:21,755 So, was Richard a vain megalomaniac? 183 00:11:21,794 --> 00:11:25,321 Well, he certainly made everybody call him your Majesty 184 00:11:25,365 --> 00:11:28,493 and he insisted on everyone bowing the knee. 185 00:11:29,602 --> 00:11:31,763 (cheering) 186 00:11:31,804 --> 00:11:35,035 And he was always staging lavish displays, 187 00:11:35,074 --> 00:11:37,565 in which he was the focal point. 188 00:11:40,313 --> 00:11:43,544 one clue as to how Richard saw his role as king 189 00:11:43,583 --> 00:11:46,074 can be found at the National Gallery. 190 00:11:46,119 --> 00:11:49,555 The Wilton Diptych is probably a portable altarpiece 191 00:11:49,589 --> 00:11:52,956 which Richard would have used for his private devotions. 192 00:11:52,992 --> 00:11:56,951 so what does this tell us about Richard's concept of kingship? 193 00:11:56,996 --> 00:11:58,258 Well, an enormous amount. 194 00:11:58,297 --> 00:12:00,959 The way he's chosen to present himself, 195 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,128 kneeling here in front of the heavenly court, 196 00:12:04,170 --> 00:12:06,661 Jesus, Mary, the angels here, 197 00:12:06,706 --> 00:12:08,606 presented by three saints, 198 00:12:08,641 --> 00:12:11,576 two of whom are effectively his predecessors. 199 00:12:11,611 --> 00:12:13,909 We've got Edward the confessor in the middle, 200 00:12:13,946 --> 00:12:17,245 and st. Edmund behind him, both of them kings 201 00:12:17,283 --> 00:12:19,274 who had become saints. 202 00:12:19,318 --> 00:12:22,116 so he has holy predecessors. 203 00:12:22,155 --> 00:12:24,589 He is in a holy line. 204 00:12:24,624 --> 00:12:28,116 And they are sort of putting their voice forward to have him as king. 205 00:12:28,761 --> 00:12:30,319 And so he is worthy to be king. 206 00:12:30,363 --> 00:12:32,558 - He's worthy to be king. - ''We're vouching for him.'' 207 00:12:32,598 --> 00:12:36,193 Absolutely! And at the same time, with one exception, 208 00:12:36,235 --> 00:12:42,265 everybody in the painting is either looking at, or pointing to Richard. 209 00:12:42,308 --> 00:12:44,276 And all the angels on the right-hand side, 210 00:12:44,310 --> 00:12:48,610 they're wearing his personal emblems, the white hart badge. 211 00:12:48,648 --> 00:12:51,242 And it's like the whole heavenly court is come out and saying, 212 00:12:51,284 --> 00:12:53,115 ''Look, look, pay him attention.'' 213 00:12:53,152 --> 00:12:57,248 But it's really saying that kingship is a sacred trust. 214 00:12:57,290 --> 00:12:58,552 y es, I think so. 215 00:12:58,591 --> 00:13:00,422 Look at the gesture of Richard down there, 216 00:13:00,460 --> 00:13:04,089 he's got his hands open, it's almost a gesture of receiving 217 00:13:04,130 --> 00:13:10,160 as if Jesus is just instructing the angels to hand this flag over to Richard. 218 00:13:10,203 --> 00:13:14,105 He is being given England effectively, to look after, 219 00:13:14,140 --> 00:13:17,337 and it's Jesus and Mary who are giving it to him, effectively. 220 00:13:17,376 --> 00:13:20,743 so it's not vainglory, it's as much reminding himself 221 00:13:20,780 --> 00:13:24,614 that ''This is a sacred trust that I've got and I've got to take care of.'' 222 00:13:24,650 --> 00:13:26,675 yes, absolutely. 223 00:13:36,195 --> 00:13:40,029 In the 14th century, people were very concerned 224 00:13:40,066 --> 00:13:43,194 about the difference between a king and a tyrant. 225 00:13:43,236 --> 00:13:46,262 According to the political theorists of the day, 226 00:13:46,305 --> 00:13:50,071 a legitimate king ruled in the interests of his people, 227 00:13:50,109 --> 00:13:53,601 whereas a tyrant acted entirely in his own interests. 228 00:13:53,646 --> 00:13:55,614 It was a mantra that was repeated 229 00:13:55,648 --> 00:13:59,277 in the books of rules for princes that every author of note, 230 00:13:59,318 --> 00:14:04,813 including chaucer, felt he had to provide as part of his civic duty. 231 00:14:06,292 --> 00:14:08,692 Many thinkers, such as Dante, for example, 232 00:14:08,728 --> 00:14:11,458 insisted that for a country to be at peace with itself, 233 00:14:11,497 --> 00:14:16,434 the king must be the most powerful force in the land. 234 00:14:16,469 --> 00:14:19,461 Richard tried to concentrate pPower into his own hands. 235 00:14:19,505 --> 00:14:22,906 Now, to us today, that sounds like megalomania. 236 00:14:22,942 --> 00:14:26,036 But, back in the 14th century, things looked a bit different. 237 00:14:26,078 --> 00:14:29,707 A country in which the warring barons held the power 238 00:14:29,749 --> 00:14:31,683 was not a happy place. 239 00:14:33,152 --> 00:14:37,748 Richard's real enemies were not his peasants but his barons. 240 00:14:37,790 --> 00:14:40,020 They hated Richard's guts. 241 00:14:40,059 --> 00:14:42,425 They hated his arty-farty way of life, 242 00:14:42,461 --> 00:14:44,588 they hated his wife, who was foreign, 243 00:14:44,630 --> 00:14:48,191 and they hated the way he kept them out of power. 244 00:14:48,234 --> 00:14:53,297 But most of all, they hated his policy of peace with France. 245 00:14:53,339 --> 00:14:55,569 War was their only hoPe of making money 246 00:14:55,608 --> 00:14:58,042 and increasing their influence. 247 00:14:58,077 --> 00:15:00,068 In 1387 the barons, 248 00:15:00,112 --> 00:15:02,103 led by Arundel, Gloucester and Warwick, 249 00:15:02,148 --> 00:15:03,945 openly rebelled against him. 250 00:15:03,983 --> 00:15:07,077 They may even have deposed him for a few days. 251 00:15:07,119 --> 00:15:10,418 And when they grabbed power they mercilessly tortured 252 00:15:10,456 --> 00:15:13,448 and executed the young king's closest friends and advisers. 253 00:15:15,027 --> 00:15:18,428 The wicked barons started squabbling amongst themselves 254 00:15:18,464 --> 00:15:20,523 about which of them was going to be king. 255 00:15:20,566 --> 00:15:24,559 And Richard was eventually able to regain power. 256 00:15:25,605 --> 00:15:28,972 The amazing thing was not that Richard eliminated 257 00:15:29,008 --> 00:15:31,135 these three barons ten years later, 258 00:15:31,177 --> 00:15:34,146 but that he took so long to do it. 259 00:15:36,282 --> 00:15:39,115 And when he did finally get rid of them, 260 00:15:39,151 --> 00:15:42,814 he refused to let the bloodshed run any further. 261 00:15:42,855 --> 00:15:44,880 He certainly didn't torture anyone. 262 00:15:49,362 --> 00:15:53,458 If anything, perhaps Richard was too soft on his enemies. 263 00:15:53,499 --> 00:15:56,662 For, in 1399, one of them, Henry of Lancaster, 264 00:15:56,702 --> 00:16:00,433 returned from exile, stole his throne and murdered him. 265 00:16:03,009 --> 00:16:06,103 Richard is branded a tyrant. And yet it could be said, 266 00:16:06,145 --> 00:16:09,945 that by bringing peace abroad, by ending the war with France, 267 00:16:09,982 --> 00:16:13,543 and peace at home, by crushing the baronial opposition, 268 00:16:13,586 --> 00:16:16,749 he was acting in the interests of his people. 269 00:16:16,789 --> 00:16:20,247 He was, in fact, playing by the rulebook. 270 00:16:22,295 --> 00:16:24,729 Richard was a victim of propaganda. 271 00:16:24,764 --> 00:16:26,595 His successor, Henry IV, 272 00:16:26,632 --> 00:16:29,100 had treacherously usurped the throne. 273 00:16:29,135 --> 00:16:32,730 Henry had to prove that Richard was a bad king. 274 00:16:32,772 --> 00:16:36,333 He called in all the chronicles to check they said nothing good about Richard 275 00:16:36,375 --> 00:16:38,366 and nothing bad about himself. 276 00:16:38,411 --> 00:16:41,175 And writers like John Gower were terrified 277 00:16:41,213 --> 00:16:43,374 into writing absurd eulogies to Henry 278 00:16:43,416 --> 00:16:47,113 and Producing gross defamation about Richard. 279 00:16:49,355 --> 00:16:52,256 Gower even goes back through his previous work 280 00:16:52,291 --> 00:16:55,283 and changes it to fit in with the new regime. 281 00:16:55,328 --> 00:16:58,661 In this book, for example, the confessio Amantis, 282 00:16:58,698 --> 00:17:01,963 which he originally dedicated to Richard II. 283 00:17:02,001 --> 00:17:05,801 In this edition, he claims to have dedicated it to Henry. 284 00:17:05,838 --> 00:17:07,135 you can see here, he's written, 285 00:17:07,173 --> 00:17:11,940 ''I send this book unto my own Lord which of Lancaster is Henry named.'' 286 00:17:11,977 --> 00:17:14,673 And a bit earlier in the poem, he claims 287 00:17:14,714 --> 00:17:18,047 to have made the dedication in 1393. 288 00:17:18,084 --> 00:17:20,712 But it's a lie. He couldn't have done, 289 00:17:20,753 --> 00:17:23,586 because Henry didn't become Henry of Lancaster 290 00:17:23,622 --> 00:17:27,023 until 1399 when his father John of Gaunt died, 291 00:17:27,059 --> 00:17:28,754 and he inherited the title. 292 00:17:28,794 --> 00:17:33,629 Gower even seems to recognize the impossibility of the dedication. 293 00:17:33,666 --> 00:17:35,065 Because he writes here, 294 00:17:35,101 --> 00:17:36,966 ''I dedicate it to Henry of Lancaster 295 00:17:37,002 --> 00:17:40,563 ''who, of course, was Henry of Derby at the time.'' 296 00:17:40,606 --> 00:17:44,133 The whole thing is a fiction designed to make it look 297 00:17:44,176 --> 00:17:48,408 as if Gower has been supporting Henry for longer than he has. 298 00:17:48,447 --> 00:17:52,941 political spin was just as alive in the Middle Ages as it is today. 299 00:18:01,093 --> 00:18:05,860 I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion 300 00:18:07,032 --> 00:18:11,992 cheated of feature by dissembling nature 301 00:18:12,037 --> 00:18:16,770 Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time 302 00:18:16,809 --> 00:18:22,179 Into this breathing world, scarce half made up... 303 00:18:22,214 --> 00:18:24,808 ooh! such fun playing Richard III. 304 00:18:24,850 --> 00:18:28,013 The archetype, medieval, tyrannical king. 305 00:18:28,053 --> 00:18:29,714 I want to do some more. 306 00:18:29,755 --> 00:18:32,519 But since I cannot prove a lover 307 00:18:32,558 --> 00:18:37,427 To entertain these fair, well-spoken days 308 00:18:37,463 --> 00:18:41,661 I am determined to prove a villain... 309 00:18:41,700 --> 00:18:44,134 The trouble with shakespeare's Richard III 310 00:18:44,170 --> 00:18:45,899 is that most of it is made up. 311 00:18:45,938 --> 00:18:48,065 I mean, Richard didn't even have a hunchback. 312 00:18:48,107 --> 00:18:49,904 What? Not even a small one? 313 00:18:49,942 --> 00:18:53,844 This portrait was painted 35 years after his death. 314 00:18:53,879 --> 00:18:55,642 An X-ray shows it had been altered 315 00:18:55,681 --> 00:18:57,046 to make the shoulder higher 316 00:18:57,082 --> 00:18:59,846 and so, some claim, to give him a hunchback. 317 00:18:59,885 --> 00:19:02,877 Hmm. could be Tudor propaganda against Richard 318 00:19:02,922 --> 00:19:05,618 or modern propaganda against the Tudors. 319 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:09,589 yeah, but you wouldn't expPect an official portrait 320 00:19:09,628 --> 00:19:12,062 to include a deformity like this, would you? 321 00:19:12,097 --> 00:19:15,225 yeah, but we've got contemporary eyewitness descriptions of Richard, 322 00:19:15,267 --> 00:19:17,326 and they don't mention any hunchback. 323 00:19:17,369 --> 00:19:19,769 Aaaah! spoilsport! 324 00:19:22,975 --> 00:19:25,637 It looks like one of the biggest baddies in history 325 00:19:25,678 --> 00:19:28,670 could have been the victim of a smear campaign. 326 00:19:28,714 --> 00:19:31,046 But who would have wanted to do that to him? 327 00:19:34,987 --> 00:19:39,219 At the dark heart of the legend establishing Richard III as a monster, 328 00:19:39,258 --> 00:19:41,522 are two dead children. 329 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:44,620 When Edward IV died in 1483, 330 00:19:44,663 --> 00:19:49,157 he intended his 12-year-old son to succeed him as Edward V. 331 00:19:49,201 --> 00:19:51,601 Someone was needed to act as protector 332 00:19:51,637 --> 00:19:54,470 and Richard, as an able leader and the young Prince's uncle, 333 00:19:54,507 --> 00:19:56,702 was the obvious choice. 334 00:19:56,742 --> 00:19:59,768 However, the ex-king's widow, Elizabeth Woodville, 335 00:19:59,812 --> 00:20:02,440 fancied the job of protector for herself, 336 00:20:02,481 --> 00:20:05,882 so she tried to get her son crowned as quickly as possible. 337 00:20:05,918 --> 00:20:07,579 once he was safely on the throne, 338 00:20:07,620 --> 00:20:12,250 she and her horde of ambitious, upwardly mobile relatives 339 00:20:12,291 --> 00:20:15,488 would be in control of King and country. 340 00:20:20,065 --> 00:20:22,761 Richard foiled the Woodville takeover plot. 341 00:20:22,801 --> 00:20:25,634 He placed the Prince and his little brother in the Tower of London 342 00:20:25,671 --> 00:20:27,536 to keeP them out of their mother's clutches. 343 00:20:27,573 --> 00:20:30,201 An act most people approved of at the time. 344 00:20:30,242 --> 00:20:32,836 No one wanted the Woodvilles, mere commoners, 345 00:20:32,878 --> 00:20:34,812 to have that much Power. 346 00:20:34,847 --> 00:20:37,509 parliament then voted Richard as protector. 347 00:20:41,353 --> 00:20:45,312 At some point, Richard decided to make a play for the throne himself. 348 00:20:45,357 --> 00:20:47,291 We don't know whether he intended this all along 349 00:20:47,326 --> 00:20:49,590 or whether he just saw the opportunity and took it. 350 00:20:49,628 --> 00:20:54,588 All we know is that a senior bishop suddenly and conveniently announced 351 00:20:54,633 --> 00:20:58,296 that the late King's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was invalid 352 00:20:58,337 --> 00:21:00,805 and that the two Princes were therefore bastards 353 00:21:00,839 --> 00:21:05,071 and hence, surprise, surprise, ineligible for the throne. 354 00:21:06,712 --> 00:21:09,180 This left Richard as next in line. 355 00:21:09,214 --> 00:21:10,408 Bit of luck, really. 356 00:21:10,449 --> 00:21:13,247 And he was duly crowned in Westminster Abbey. 357 00:21:13,285 --> 00:21:15,981 Most people probably thought it was all for the best. 358 00:21:16,021 --> 00:21:19,081 However, at some point, the two Princes vanished. 359 00:21:19,124 --> 00:21:21,058 Nobody knows what became of them 360 00:21:21,093 --> 00:21:24,529 or even if they died during Richard's lifetime. 361 00:21:24,563 --> 00:21:26,030 Their probable murder 362 00:21:26,065 --> 00:21:29,364 became one of the key planks in building the scaffold 363 00:21:29,401 --> 00:21:33,804 on which Richard's reputation hangs twisting in the wind. 364 00:21:35,741 --> 00:21:38,539 But even so, our concept of Richard, 365 00:21:38,577 --> 00:21:42,570 the hunchbacked monster and tyrant, is a total fabrication. 366 00:21:42,615 --> 00:21:44,105 The real man was rather different. 367 00:21:51,223 --> 00:21:53,623 Richard grew up here, in the North of England, 368 00:21:53,659 --> 00:21:56,787 where he seemed to be more at home than he was in London. 369 00:21:56,829 --> 00:21:58,524 probably the weather. 370 00:22:01,133 --> 00:22:04,330 And his brother Edward IV obviously knew he could trust him 371 00:22:04,370 --> 00:22:07,999 because he gave the 19-year-old the rather tricky job 372 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:11,771 of keeping the wild and woolly North on side. 373 00:22:14,213 --> 00:22:17,410 Records kept in Richard's Power base at York 374 00:22:17,449 --> 00:22:20,009 reveal him as an effective negotiator, 375 00:22:20,052 --> 00:22:21,986 a successful peacekeeper 376 00:22:22,021 --> 00:22:24,489 and a champion of the poor. 377 00:22:24,523 --> 00:22:28,857 Thomas Langton, the Bishop of st. David's, wrote in 1483, 378 00:22:28,894 --> 00:22:33,888 ''He contents the people where he goes best that ever did prince. 379 00:22:33,932 --> 00:22:37,561 ''For many a poor man that hath suffered wrong many days, 380 00:22:37,603 --> 00:22:40,595 ''hath been relieved and helped by him.'' 381 00:22:42,241 --> 00:22:47,008 As king, Richard introduced major reforms to the legal system. 382 00:22:47,980 --> 00:22:51,746 Dic mihi, Terenti, accuratus, 383 00:22:51,784 --> 00:22:55,311 quantum biberas ea nocte? 384 00:22:55,354 --> 00:22:58,983 For a start, he insisted it should be conducted in English 385 00:22:59,024 --> 00:23:00,719 rather than Latin. 386 00:23:00,759 --> 00:23:06,425 Now, just exactly how much had you been drinking that night, Mr. Jones? 387 00:23:08,133 --> 00:23:11,068 Richard's law reforms were really pretty impressive. 388 00:23:11,103 --> 00:23:14,436 He introduced a kind of legal aid for the poor 389 00:23:14,473 --> 00:23:16,873 and he also addressed a very pressing problem, 390 00:23:16,909 --> 00:23:19,878 he took steps to make sure that juries weren't intimidated. 391 00:23:23,482 --> 00:23:26,315 When Richard made his first visit to York as king, 392 00:23:26,351 --> 00:23:28,512 the city put on a hell of a show. 393 00:23:28,554 --> 00:23:32,684 These streets were lined with tapestries and Arras cloth, 394 00:23:32,725 --> 00:23:35,319 and there were pageants and speeches and feasting. 395 00:23:41,100 --> 00:23:45,764 The city also had a whip round, and parting with hard cash 396 00:23:45,804 --> 00:23:48,796 is not something people round here do lightly. 397 00:23:48,841 --> 00:23:53,301 Here in the city archives, they've still got the record of who paid what. 398 00:23:53,345 --> 00:23:56,178 Let's see, this is John Newton, Mayor, 399 00:23:56,215 --> 00:23:58,843 he's paid £20, that's two Xs. 400 00:23:58,884 --> 00:24:00,909 And elsewhere someone's paid £30, 401 00:24:00,953 --> 00:24:03,080 £20, £10. 402 00:24:03,122 --> 00:24:05,352 Now, £10 was a lot of money in those days. 403 00:24:05,390 --> 00:24:09,292 It was equivalent, say, to a year's income for a country parson 404 00:24:09,328 --> 00:24:11,728 or four to five years' income for a laborer. 405 00:24:11,764 --> 00:24:15,029 so these people are parting with quite a lot of cash. 406 00:24:15,067 --> 00:24:17,126 In fact, some people thought it was a bit too much. 407 00:24:17,169 --> 00:24:19,364 you can see down here, Thomas cater, 408 00:24:19,404 --> 00:24:21,463 he's been put down for £20, 409 00:24:21,507 --> 00:24:23,498 that's been very firmly crossed out. 410 00:24:23,542 --> 00:24:25,635 Imagine the scene - (Yorkshire accent) ''oh come on, Thomas, 411 00:24:25,677 --> 00:24:28,145 ''we're gonna put you down for £20, then, come on, lad.'' 412 00:24:28,180 --> 00:24:30,341 ''Hey I haven't got £20, I can't pay it.'' 413 00:24:30,382 --> 00:24:32,748 ''Well I've put you down now for £20.'' ''cross it out!'' 414 00:24:32,785 --> 00:24:34,912 ''No, it'll look bad in t'records.'' 415 00:24:34,953 --> 00:24:37,513 ''I don't care. Nobody's gonna see it, are they?'' 416 00:24:37,556 --> 00:24:39,387 But we are, 500 years later. 417 00:24:42,761 --> 00:24:44,524 And there are other records 418 00:24:44,563 --> 00:24:48,021 which proved that the city of York genuinely admired Richard. 419 00:24:52,504 --> 00:24:57,806 When news of Richard's death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 reached York, 420 00:24:57,843 --> 00:25:01,973 the council notes, ''King Richard late mercifully reigning upon us 421 00:25:02,014 --> 00:25:04,710 ''was piteously slain and murdered 422 00:25:04,750 --> 00:25:06,877 ''for the great heaviness of this city. '' 423 00:25:08,654 --> 00:25:10,713 Now that's not a conventional eulogy. 424 00:25:10,756 --> 00:25:14,886 Richard's enemies were now in power and to be seen to be siding with the late king 425 00:25:14,927 --> 00:25:16,292 was potentially suicidal. 426 00:25:16,328 --> 00:25:19,195 And yet these men felt so strongly about him 427 00:25:19,231 --> 00:25:22,689 they were prepared to put their names to that statement in the records. 428 00:25:22,734 --> 00:25:26,261 So why have we ended up with this view of Richard 429 00:25:26,305 --> 00:25:28,739 as an evil monster? 430 00:25:29,541 --> 00:25:33,272 The verdict on Richard was written by his enemies. 431 00:25:33,312 --> 00:25:36,406 He was defeated in battle and killed by Henry Tudor, 432 00:25:36,448 --> 00:25:39,383 who had himself crowned as Henry vII. 433 00:25:39,418 --> 00:25:42,945 And in order to justify this illegal regime change, 434 00:25:42,988 --> 00:25:45,616 Henry needed to convince the world 435 00:25:45,657 --> 00:25:48,023 that Richard was the very epitome of evil. 436 00:25:48,060 --> 00:25:51,860 The disappearance of the Princes made it a piece of cake. 437 00:25:55,868 --> 00:25:58,894 Shakespeare toed the line of Tudor propaganda, 438 00:25:58,937 --> 00:26:04,569 and in so doing created one of our most enduring stage villains. 439 00:26:04,610 --> 00:26:10,913 But I am in so far in blood that sin will pluck on sin 440 00:26:13,318 --> 00:26:17,584 Tear-falling pity dwells not in this eye... 441 00:26:20,525 --> 00:26:23,255 Which brings us to the king of England 442 00:26:23,295 --> 00:26:25,126 that no one's ever heard of. 443 00:26:28,166 --> 00:26:31,363 Well, have you ever heard of King Louis the first and last? 444 00:26:31,403 --> 00:26:32,529 No? 445 00:26:32,571 --> 00:26:34,539 Well, that's not surprising, really, 446 00:26:34,573 --> 00:26:36,666 because he's been kind of airbrushed out. 447 00:26:38,877 --> 00:26:42,711 The story starts in 1215, when bad King John 448 00:26:42,748 --> 00:26:45,444 was locked in a struggle with his barons. 449 00:26:45,484 --> 00:26:49,352 Rather than let them take over the country, he surrendered it to the pope. 450 00:26:49,388 --> 00:26:53,188 The furious barons retaliated by inviting prince Louis, 451 00:26:53,225 --> 00:26:56,558 heir to the French throne, to come and replace him. 452 00:26:57,696 --> 00:26:59,926 John retreated to Winchester, 453 00:26:59,965 --> 00:27:02,661 Louis was hailed as king in London 454 00:27:02,701 --> 00:27:06,501 and celebrated Mass here in st. paul's cathedral. 455 00:27:06,538 --> 00:27:09,063 Roger of Wendover wrote in his chronicle, 456 00:27:09,107 --> 00:27:12,474 ''Louis received the homage and fealty of all the barons 457 00:27:12,511 --> 00:27:15,742 ''and the citizens who were awaiting his arrival there.'' 458 00:27:15,781 --> 00:27:19,683 For five months, John and Louis fought tooth and nail across the country, 459 00:27:19,718 --> 00:27:22,846 until John lost the crown jewels in the Wash. 460 00:27:22,888 --> 00:27:25,880 And lost his life in a bout of dysentery. 461 00:27:25,924 --> 00:27:28,051 - (Groans ) - (Toilet flushing) 462 00:27:28,093 --> 00:27:31,927 Leaving Louis as the effective ruler of England. 463 00:27:31,964 --> 00:27:35,161 But of course the pope wasn't gonna allow that. 464 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:36,428 (Battle sounds ) 465 00:27:36,468 --> 00:27:39,096 And he helped to organize the opposition. 466 00:27:40,072 --> 00:27:42,472 Louis and his forces were eventually crushed 467 00:27:42,507 --> 00:27:45,271 at Lincoln castle in 1217. 468 00:27:47,145 --> 00:27:49,875 But for nearly a year, he'd run most of England. 469 00:27:49,915 --> 00:27:52,975 He'd received homage as King from most of the barons 470 00:27:53,018 --> 00:27:54,747 and from the King of scotland. 471 00:27:54,786 --> 00:27:57,380 Which sounds pretty much like a king to me. 472 00:27:57,422 --> 00:28:01,586 so why doesn't Louis figure in the royal roll call?. 473 00:28:03,028 --> 00:28:05,326 perhaps he is not on the list because he never actually 474 00:28:05,364 --> 00:28:07,264 had the crown stuck on his head. 475 00:28:07,299 --> 00:28:10,666 But then neither did Edward V or Edward VIII, and they're on it. 476 00:28:12,371 --> 00:28:16,330 or is it just too embarrassing to admit to a second French invasion? 477 00:28:18,877 --> 00:28:23,439 The point is, history isn't necessarily what happened, 478 00:28:23,482 --> 00:28:26,781 it's very often what somebody wants us to think happened. 479 00:28:26,818 --> 00:28:30,515 so I suppose we shouldn't believe everything we're told. 480 00:28:30,555 --> 00:28:32,955 Even if it's as set in stone 481 00:28:32,991 --> 00:28:36,188 as the names of the Kings of England.