Mr. Gairdner's view of the alleged crimes . . . . . . . . 281 Views stated in Mr. Gairdner's preface . . . . . . . . . . 282 Richard's character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 Richard acquitted of several charges . . . . . . . . . . . 285 Tudor fables irreconcileable with Richard's character . . 285 Mr. Gairdner's latest view of the Tewkesbury charge . . . 286-287 On Edward IV.'s proceedings after Tewkesbury . . . . . . . 289-290 His view of the Henry VI. charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 His rejection of the evidence of the writer in Fleetwood . 292 Acquits Richard of responsibility for the death of Clarence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294-295 Position with regard to the title to the crown . . . . . . 296 Believes in the Duchess of York slander . . . . . . . . . 297 His reason for the belief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Murder of the Princes. Story admitted to be full of inaccuracies and improbabilities . . . . . . . . . . 298 Richard could not have been a cool, calculating villain . 298 Must have been headstrong and reckless . . . . . . . . . . 298 Such a man might have committed the crime on a sudden impulse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 The rising in Kent supposed to be the motive . . . . . . . 299 But the murders are stated to have been in August, the rising in October. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 Thus Mr. Gairdner's theory fails . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 Mr. Gairdner supplies proofs of the King's popularity . . 300 Richard was the victim of the perfidy of a few traitors . 300 Mr. Gairdner's testimony to Richard's good qualities . . . 300 Great value of Mr. Gairdner's work . . . . . . . . . . . . 300-301 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303 {xx} GENEALOGICAL TABLES SEIZE QUARTIERS OF EDWARD IV. AND RICHARD III. . . . _to face page_ 6 SEIZE QUARTIERS OF ANNE NEVILL . . . . . . . . . . . " " 82 MAP BATTLE OF BOSWORTH FIELD . . . . . . . . . . . . _to face page_ 328 {1} LIFE OF RICHARD III PART I CHAPTER I BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD The castle of Fotheringhay[1] was the birthplace of our last Plantagenet king. This venerable pile stood on the banks of the river Nen, in Northamptonshire, amidst 'marvellous fair corn ground and pasture.' From its battlements there was an extensive view, bounded to the westward by the forest of Rockingham, while on the other side the abbey church of Peterborough and the woods of Milton intercepted the distant expanse of fen country. Originally built by bold Simon de St. Liz in the twelfth century, the castle had fallen into ruin when it reverted to the crown, and was granted by Edward III. to his son Edmund of Langley.