Richard III - Story versus History

Abstract

This is a study, a journey through time, back to the years of the War of the Roses, as seen from both a contemporary point of view and from that of those who had lived in that troubled period, but to which they related with detachment and humor, in the wake of that new period of calm that they were beginning to experience. The starting point of this research will be the analysis of the most famous proof of the existence of Richard III: Shakespeare’s play. The work will be analyzed from a critical point of view, through themes, characters, sources and literary genre. Additional care will be given to the key points of Shakespeare's work, recognizing those that will be the fixed points of all future works. However, the main purpose of this project is mainly to understand how the figure described by this "play" relates to who King Richard III actually was and who was really behind the creation of this character, be it Shakespeare or someone else. To do so we will analyze the main historical sources that we now have, with particular attention to drawing a clear line between history and literature, thus bypassing those false prejudices that often have contaminated historical evidence. Considered to be a cripple, murderer and a symbol of absolute evil, what truth lies behind the "mask" that Shakespeare and others before him forced him to wear?