Photos of Greyfriar's, Leicester

From correspondent Andy McDonald, a fascinating set of photos in response to an old article, "In Search of Greyfriars, from the American Branch website. Richard III's body was reputed to have been buried in the churchyard at Greyfriars prior to (possibly) having been exhumed and thrown in the nearby River Soar.

Comments on the locations and their significance are welcome. And many thanks to Andy for reaching out to us.

From Andy's email:

Attached..

• Leicester Cathedral, the Catholic Church of St Martin (numerous images)
• Leicester Guildhall (whitewashed wood framed building very close to the cathedral) Dating from 1390.
• Greyfriars (street level view)
• Excavation at Greyfriars, showing stonework (age unknown)
• Various street level photos of Greyfriars and Friar Lane as well as New
• Street (opposite cathedral), Peacock Lane etc.
• Gated car park at rear of buildings on Greyfriars

The modern day bridges on the east side of Leicester city are all on the sites of the ancient bridges in medieval maps of Leicester. Close to the mid-19th century wall plaque regarding the remains of Richard III is a bridge on the site of the Bow Bridge, on which is mounted a plaque regarding the hitting of his head on the bridge whilst draped across his horse. This bridge is almost directly across from Castle Gardens, where the Motte & Bailey castle was sited (and the Motte is still there, although it was topped with a bowling green in Victorian times). I believe that RIII stayed here in his way to the Battle of Bosworth (although it was Leicester castle by this time, built on the site of the motte and bailey castle)

Andy has offered to take additional photos. Comments on this post and the content of the linked photos, are welcomed. Suggestions for Andy for additional photos, too!

More photos here. Related link: David Baldwin on Richard's grave here [Adobe Acrobat file].

Annual General Meeting 2009: October 16-18

Mark your calendar now for the 2009 American Branch, Annual General Meeting, which is being planned now and will be held in Las Vegas, NV. Expand your knowledge of Richard III in history and in literature, make new friends, meetup with online friends, catch up with old. (What's an Annual General Meeting like? Details on the 2008 meeting here.)

Schallek Fellowship Recipients 2005-2008

Since 2005, the Richard III Society, American Branch has funded an annual $30,000 fellowship award. This program is endowed by generous gifts from the late William B. and Maryloo Spooner Schallek during their lifetimes and by a bequest from Maryloo Schallek. The program is administered on behalf of the American Branch by The Medieval Academy of America.

Judging is in process for the 2009 award, for which applications were due October 15, 2008.

Recipients since the project's inception were:

• 2005: Janelle A. Werner, University of North Carolina. "'As long as their sin is privy': Clerics and Concubines in Late Medieval England."
• 2006: Katharine K. Olson, Havard University. "'Fire from Heaven': Understanding Popular Religion and Social Transformation in Wales c. 1400-1600 in Comparative British Context"
• 2007: Janes Bennett, Ohio State University. "St. Albans, Bury St. Edmunds, and the Evolution of the Later Medieval English Polity"
• 2008: Mary Raschko, University of North Carolina. "Rendering the Word: Vernacular Accounts of the Parables in late Medieval England"

Information on the program, including application guidelines, can be found at the Medieval Academy of America website.

Graduate Awards Deadline: February 15, 2009

Five $2,000 awards will be given for graduate study by this American-branch sponsored program administered by the Medieval Academy of America. Details and links to application forms here.

2009 American Branch Tour - Brochure Online

In the Footsteps of King Richard III, June 21-July 1, 2009. From the brochure:

This unique tour fits the bill perfectly if you are a sociable person with a keen interest in Richard and in medieval England! Sites we will visit having associations with Richard III and his contemporaries include, among others, Middleham, Bolton, Pickering, Skipton, Conisburgh, Sandal and Ashby-de-la-Zouch castles, as well as the parish churches of Middleham, Sutton Cheyney, Skipton and Pickering. Our travels will also include fabulous Tewkesbury Abbey and Minster Lovell Hall (the lovely home of Sir Francis Lovell), an entire day at leisure in ancient York, and an optional visit to Ludlow Castle. And, of course, we will make our annual pilgrimage to Bosworth Battlefield where Richard lost his crown and his life. The day will include the hanging of our memorial wreath at Sutton Cheney church, as well as several hours at the fine Battlefield Centre. Here we will be treated to an excellent presentation on the the most valid of the proposed battlefield sites, short jaunts to both the traditional site on Ambion Hill and the site nearer to Dadlington, and visits to both Richard’s memorial stone and King Richard’s Well.

Deadline for registration and deposit: February 12, 2009

Download the brochure:
http://www.r3.org/travel/tours/2009/r3-2009tourbrochure.pdf

R3 at Kalamazoo: Call for Papers

Deadline for paper proposals for the 2009 International Medieval Congress is September 15. The Richard III Society, American Branch sponsors a session of papers on fifteenth-century English history every year. Link to the call for papers here.

(The call for papers is in Adobe Acrobat format -- search on the session organizer, Candace Gregory-Abbott, to go directly to the Richard III Society session.)

The 2009 International Congress for Medieval Studies is scheduled for May 7-10 at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.

Register online for Annual General Meeting

The American Branch's Annual General Meeting, Fun in the Sun, is scheduled for Orlando FL September 26-28, 2008. In the spirit of good fun, the schedule includes a side trip to the Medieval Times Kissimmee venue, which boasts a replica medieval village in addition to the dinner and entertainment.

Details and online registration here.