Surviving documents from his reign, including letters in Richard's own hand and extracts from official papers, are reproduced here from the 500-year-old originals. These include a letter from Richard to his mother, 1484; Richard's official justification for taking the throne, 1484; a proclamation against Henry Tudor, 1485; and Richard's letter to the Lord Chancellor requesting the Great Seal, 1483. Each key document is reproduced in a double-page spread which also includes an extended contextualizing caption and a modern transcription where necessary. The original sources are woven together by a brief narrative history of the reign, fully illustrated in colour with portraits, photographs and other material from the archives.
Author Biography
Sean Cunningham is Medieval and Early Modern Records Manager at The National Archives and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
