England hath long been mad, and scarr’d herself;
The brother blindly shed the brother’s blood,
The father rashly slaughter’d his own son,
The son, compell’d, been butcher to the sire:
All this divided York and Lancaster,
Divided in their dire division,
O, now, let Richmond and Elizabeth,
The true succeeders of each royal house,
By God’s fair ordinance conjoin together!
And let their heirs, God, if thy will be so.
Enrich the time to come with smooth-faced peace,
With smiling plenty and fair prosperous days![...or not....]
—Richmond, Richard III, Act V, scene v.
From The London Daily Telegraph, Peter Dominiczak reporting, we learn [tip of the fedora to Donald Douglas]:
The Dean of York has been forced to contact cathedral police after receiving hate mail about the debate over where the remains of King Richard III should be buried.
The Dean of York, the Very Rev Vivienne Faull, is understood to have received a string of abusive letters as the row intensified over the remains of the monarch, who was killed in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
The matter is currently being investigated by York Minster Police, the cathedral’s specialist force, but could be passed on to North Yorkshire Police if any more messages are received by Dean Faull.
The bones of Richard III were identified in February after being discovered underneath a council car park in Leicester. [BOB: Please see my post on this here for the fascinating story.]
The find, one of the most sensational in archaeological history, has provoked a major dispute over the where the remains should be interred.
After Westminster Abbey and York Minister both made claims, it was decided that the monarch should be buried at Leicester Cathedral.
Dean Faull, who until recently had been Dean of Leicester, became embroiled in the row after York Minster issued a statement supporting Leicester’s claims to the remains.
It has been suggested that opponents have accused her of bias because of her previous links to Leicester Cathedral.
Confession: While I admit that I should have done a post on this story as the follow-up to my post of 04 February on the finding of the remains, I must admit that the main reason I’ve done it is for the chance to use the post title.
I denounce myself.
Cry Havoc!
And let slip loose the dogs of bourbon!
—Billy Shakes, Dickhead III, Act XXIII, scene: happening
