Wednesday 21 August 2013

Violence in court.

It is extraordinary how vague my knowledge of the Kings and Queens of this country is...or was!

The war of the Roses was just a label, it didn't actually mean anything except it gave an indication of trouble between Lancastrians and those on the other side of the Penines.

Thanks to the recent drama, "The White Queen " my stock of knowledge is improved but like all good drama it left me wanting to know more.

Sunday saw the end of the matter as poor Richard was killed on the battle field and failed to ask for a horse in exchange for a kingdom!

He was gently treated in this drama in direct contrast to the play by Shakespeare where he made his first entrance as arch villain!

History it seems is not as cut and dried as we are taught in school. It is all open to interpretation..one incident can be viewed very differently by interested parties.....so we fall back on the excellent books by Hilary Mantell and Phillipa Gregory to colour between the lines....

David I failed to agree who the next King was.....so many Henry's to choose from so I went off to Wikipedia to find out.

Henry 8 was not the first Tudor king....he was the son of Henry 7 whose mother was portrayed so beautifully in the drama that started all this off.

We are much the wiser now thanks to the period drama so well done by the BBC. It is also illuminating to see how important a male child was and how much blood was shed in those dark days.

I await the next one with interest.

2 comments:

Ray Barnes said...

Like you, I've found this series absolutely riveting, though how much is fact and how much fiction is pure conjecture.
My favourite subject in school, and via Shakespeare long afterwards too, I've never missed a chance to see plays, TV dramas and the few films on the subject.
Bloody though they were, the Plantaganet stories were tame indeed by comparison with what followed.
The Tudor and Stuart monarchy must surely hold the record for murder, religious persecution, and Zenophobia.
Lovely stuff.
Thank heaven it is all long since past - or is it?

Revjeanrolt said...

I am not sure we can be certain that given the same interests to protect we would not see violence again...us humans are just the same now as then!
It does make more sense of Henry's desperation to father a son though....given all blood shed that had gone before.