Richard III’s Last Act

The National Catholic Register ^ | 3/25/15 | Joanna Bogle

[marshmallow]

NEWS ANALYSIS: Thursday’s interment of the last Plantagenet monarch has reawakened interest in England’s rich Catholic past

LONDON — Crowds thronging the roads and prayers and hymns chanted as a monarch is laid to rest, with British pageantry and traditions on full display.

King Richard III died more than 500 years ago and has been the subject of much controversy among historians.

And, finally, on Thursday, amid great ceremony, the monarch will be reburied, awakening all sorts of discussions connected with Britain’s history, traditions, religious beliefs and sense of common heritage.

Britain has been gripped by a sudden surge of fascination for the last monarch of the Plantagenet line, who was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.

There had long been a dispute over where his remains lay — his body was famously found near a hedge after the battle ended and hurriedly buried by monks from Greyfriars priory, after an ignominious parade through the streets to show the fullness of his defeat. Thus ended the Wars of the Roses, with Henry Tudor, from a Welsh family, triumphant. He was crowned as Henry VII. In due course, the throne would pass to his second son, Henry (the elder son, Arthur, having died), who became Henry VIII.

In 2012, the remains of Richard III were finally discovered underneath a car park (parking lot) in Leicester. (Enthusiasts had been searching for some while, following up every possible piece of historical research.)

Richard III was, of course, a Catholic — in 1485, no one could have imagined a monarch of England being anything else. It was the actions of Henry VIII (abandoning his wife, Queen Catherine, marrying his mistress, Anne Boleyn, and in the process defying the pope and the Church) that would change the religious allegiance of Great Britain.

[miss marmelstein]

There had already been leanings towards Protestantism in England - the Lollards, for example, who were generally executed. Richard the Third owned a Lollard Bible - he preferred the English language to either French or Latin - but he was a pious Catholic.

[Sherman Logan]

Thus ended the Wars of the Roses, with Henry Tudor, from a Welsh family, triumphant.

Not really. They lasted another 15 years or so, with repeated rebellions and invasions just like the one that put Henry on the throne.

Henry Tudor also wasn't Welsh in any meaningful sense of the term.

[Kozak]

There’s a fascinating documentary available on Netflix which shows how his body was found, pretty amazing.

[Slyfox]

Hillaire Belloc once asked if there was anyone who could tell him what really happened during those days in England. And he was an historian.

[Kolokotronis]

““The prayer we offer for him this evening is the best prayer there is: the offering of the holy Mass, the prayer of Jesus himself, made complete in the oblation of his body and blood on the altar of the cross, present here for us on this altar. This is the summit of all prayer, for it is made in and through the one Person, the eternal Word, through whom all created beings have life. It is a prayer that arises from the very core of creation, the cry of the Word returning to the Father and carrying within it the totality of that creation, marred and broken in its history, yet still longing for the completion for which it has been created. It is, therefore, such an important Catholic tradition to seek the celebration of Mass for the repose of the souls of those who have died, especially for each of our loved ones whose passing we mourn. Let us not forget or neglect this great gift.””

Very, very good!

[miss marmelstein]

I am having a Mass said for his soul this evening at a church in NYC. Some of my fellow Ricardians will be joining us. We will be saying some medieval prayers for the dead that an historian has put on line for us. His burial is today.

[Kolokotronis]

This is what we do, even if it’s for someone who died hundreds of years ago.

Did you note this in the Cardinal’s comment?

“It is a prayer that arises from the very core of creation, the cry of the Word returning to the Father and carrying within it the totality of that creation, marred and broken in its history, yet still longing for the completion for which it has been created.”

When we are worshipping as a community focused on the Eucharist at the Liturgy, we are, fallen as we may be, actually, tangibly approachinmg our created purpose, which, as +Athanasius the Great said, to be become like God. What the Cardinal noted is the very purpose of The Church.

[miss marmelstein]

It was not a Catholic Mass though, it was some mix of Catholic and C of E service - England, apparently, refusing to let the last English-Catholic king to die in battle to have a Mass. Oh, well.