Lucas Stopper: Richard III (out of class reading)

 I have been reading many works on Richard III for my History class these past couple of weeks. Richard III grew up during the time of the Wars of the Roses in medieval Europe, and eventually usurped the throne from his brother and nephews and took over England for two years. Richard III is often portrayed as an evil maniac, both by some less-than-well-meaning medieval chroniclers, as well as by William Shakespeare. While Richard III quite obviously committed some horrible crimes, after doing quite a bit of research on him, I feel that he perhaps does not deserve the terrifying reputation that has been attributed to him. I think this goes back to our in-class discussion on empathy. I can understand (most) of Richard’s actions, as he entered into the wars of the roses at quite a young age, even if I do not want to condone anything he has done. 


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