Here we go! Another semester, another blog post!
Last semester, I read Beowulf and I was quite irritated at what little back-story was given regarding the "villain" of the story, Grendel. In my head, since nothing was given in the pages, I made up some pretty elaborate back stories regarding who he was as a character and why he was the way he was. What we were given was that he was a cruel monster who was cast aside with his mother and who also happened to wreak all kinds of havoc on the local populace. Was he truly a monster or was he misunderstood? Maybe he was the bastard son of the local king and only killed a ton of people because he was pissed that he was cast aside because of his birth. I used to think like this all throughout reading that story and I was very happy to do it again with our most recent reading.
Richard III.
Not much is really known about him. And like with Beowulf, that irritated me. However, DoT really delves into the possibilities of his history. Was he a cruel uncle who had his two goons slaughter his sons? Maybe. Was he really in love with his wife (and cousin) Anne or was he just using her for her fortune and knew he needed a queen for his impending rule? The mysteries are endless and I'm LOVING IT!!! I mean his motto is Loyalty Binds Me. Even his friggin' MOTTO is mysterious!!
There's no clear cut answer! Was he a villain or not? Was he a loyal brother or was it a facade to cover up his scheming plots? Did he mourn the loss of his nephews' disappearance or was he celebrating in the royal chambers? WE HAVE NO IDEA!! And while this is frustrating as all hell for historians (and me, let's be honest), I can't seem to help but love the mystery this book brings to life.
However, I just about threw the book across the room when Grant kept reading Sir Thomas More's work. And he read it for FOREVER. I kept screaming (in my head, ofcourse, I'm not crazy) at Grant that More was during Henry VIII's time NOT Richard III. You guys will have no idea how happy I was when Grant came to the realization that what he was reading was a farce. Here's what I imagined:
The fact that there was no "current" historian in Richard's day was immensely puzzling. Where did Edward's historian go? And why didn't he stick around to document Richard's life? And HELLO how about the huge elephant in the room regarding his remains!? What's the deal with that?! How did he friggin' get buried under a parking lot!?UGH! Too many questions not enough answers but I feel like that just opens up the mind for us to make our own predictions.
Loved the book and I can't wait to keep reading and finding out more mysteries regarding Richard III.
