Chapter VI: Mr. Gairdner's Richard III

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