History is the coolest thing ever

[neadods]

I couldn't be more thrilled to be hearing the news about Richard III. A bigger triumph of history, research, forensics, determination, genetics, and archaeology I cannot think of. We don't think he might be RIII, we've proven that he really most sincerely is RIII.

SCIENCE ROCKS!

Serious articles with pictures include:
After 500 years, Richard III's bones yield their secret | Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/04/us-britain-richard-idUSBRE9130BW20130204

Bones Under Parking Lot Belonged to Richard III - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/world/europe/richard-the-third-bones.html?_r=0

Richard III: skeleton is the king - Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9846693/Richard-III-skeleton-is-the-king.html

But in many ways, the best part for me has been the wit that's sprung up around it. I passed on the Facebook meme of Blackadder saying "Really? Under a car park? That was your cunning plan, Baldrick?" K posted "he's parked in my spot."

But the best, THE winner hands down is the LJ-less JBM with "They paved Plantagenet and put up a parking lot."


PS - If you have never heard the complete and utter crack that is Big Finish's The Kingmaker, now is the perfect time to either dust it off or download it. Doctor Who, Shakespeare, Richard III, and history itself all go through the grinder, with hilarious results.

Comments

[lizbetann]

Re: Kingmaker, you mean the Richard III who sounds nothing so much like Christopher Eccleston. *brain sprongs*

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Yup, that one.

[redpanda13.livejournal.com]

K sent two more images gleaned from Facebook:

"Richard III Hide and Seek World Record Holder 1485-2013"

and an official-looking sign:

"This is a pay and display car park. Please pay at the ticket machine. No burying of dead monarchs."

The Guardian has half a dozen articles including some skepticism and a bunch of RIII video links-- start here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/feb/04/richard-iii-dna-bones-king

Don't miss the video of Peter Sellers parodying Olivier's Richard III while reciting the lyrics of A Hard Day's Night....

http://youtu.be/xLongUBPm5Y 2'07"

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Oooo! Will check right after work.

I've seen some skepticism too, along the lines of "this only proves he's related somewhere along the line, not that it's HIM." Which hand waves a lot, IMO.

[redpanda13.livejournal.com]

Well, a lot of people are convinced that Thomas Jefferson fathered kids on Sally Hemings, when it could have been another male in his family, such as one of his nephews. (And her first child wasn't of his line anyway.)

Best to wait for scientific findings to appear in a peer-reviewed journal rather than a press conference, though sometimes that's not reliable either.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Thing is, the Jefferson males had access to Sally, and she was in no position to say no.

On the other hand, the chances of finding someone who had an upperclass diet, the right age, buried in the right time period, showing the right wounds, and showing the right skeletal defects just *happening* to have coincidentally been lobbed into the right area of a churchyard and who isn't who they think it is strike me as being vanishingly low.

[fyrdrakken]

I saw the Blackadder macro on FB, and a friend passed along the comment (apparently made to one of the news articles), "I love it when a Plantagenet comes together."

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Groan! That's a good one!

[redpanda13.livejournal.com]

The one I keep seeing is "Pave Plantagenet to put up a parking lot."

[chapbook.livejournal.com]

Here's one from ChaucerDothTweet (https://jp.twitter.com/LeVostreGC):

"Richard III yn a carparke. Probablye a compacte spotte. By cause the two-doors are alwayes puttinge themselves above hym."

[neadods.livejournal.com]

*giggles madly*. Oh, that's fabulous!

[stlscape.livejournal.com]

Oh, that is SO good.

[mme-hardy.livejournal.com]

This makes me really, really happy. I have been (quietly) glee-ing all day.

Sometimes the folk mouth-to-mouth legends are right.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I know! Strike one for folklore!

[stlscape.livejournal.com]

Having had a soft spot in my heart for Richard since my salad days when I first read Daughter of Time (and therefore a bit grr-ish towards Henry VII),I was really happy to see that he'd been found (re-found?). It'll be interesting to see if his reputation changes a bit from the "history is re-written by the victors" Tudor/Shakespearean version.

Definitely, lets hear it for the folk tales.

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

I'm amazed by the fact science has progressed to the point that we were able to DNA match him. That is mad skills (as the kids say).