Richard Iii
Paper Masters has a topic suggestion on Richard III that is unique and original. Richard the III was not known for his achievements but rather from the fact that he was the "last" at many things. Focus your research paper on Richard III's "lasts" and you will have a very interesting topic to work with. These include:
- Richard III (1452-1485) was the last medieval king of England.
- The last king to ride into battle.
- The last of the Plantagenet dynasty.
Richard's brief reign remains controversial largely due to Shakespeare's play, produced a century after the king's death. Your research paper may want to discuss the way in which Shakespeare illuminates the Monarchy in Richard III. Include the relations between the Monarch and the Aristocrats. Keep in mind the contexts of time and place, both when the play was written and performed, circa 1600, and when the action is intended to have taken place, circa 1480. also keep in mind the genre of the Theater.
Richard III
Crowned king
Richard was a younger son of Richard, Duke of York, whose claims to the thrones were part of England's War of the Roses. With the final defeat of the Lancaster forces, Richard's older brother became King Edward IV. Richard became Duke of York, the most powerful nobleman in the realm. When Edward IV died in 1483, he was succeeded by his twelve-year-old son; Edward V. Richard became Lord Protector. Soon, Edward IV's two sons were declared illegitimate. Richard was crowned king on 6 July 1483, and two princes were locked in the Tower of London. The boys then disappear from history, leading many to suspect that Richard III had them murdered.
Richard III
and Rebellion
English noblemen opposed to Richard's reign began a rebellion. Learning that Edward V and his brother were dead, the rebels, led by the Duke of Buckingham, advanced Henry Tudor as their claimant to the throne. On 22 August 1485, Richard III rode into battle against the outnumbered Tudor forces at Bosworth Field. Richard III was killed, and his body was quickly buried. His grave was discovered under a parking lot in Leicester, England in 2012.