MedievalCourses.com's brand new online history course, Richard III and the Wars of the Roses (MC03), has just gone live on the website today.
Richard Plantagenet (Richard III) ruled as King of England for little more than two years, yet his life spanned three decades of civil war, the period of turmoil and treason we call the Wars of the Roses.
In this fascinating new ten-part course we will explore the intriguing personalities involved and unravel the ever-changing fortunes of the royal Houses of Lancaster and York. The late fifteenth century was a time when today’s friend could be tomorrow’s enemy, when lives were constantly at risk from warfare, from betrayal and the dastardly deeds of others.
In this course we will follow the events which, from half a century before his birth at Fotheringhay in October 1452, nevertheless affected every moment of Richard’s life until his tragic death in battle at Bosworth in August 1485 and beyond. His successor, Henry Tudor, blackened Richard’s reputation but was likewise plagued by pretenders to his crown.
Released to coincide with the first anniversary of Richard’s reburial in Leicester, the course comes complete with a session on the discovery of the king’s remains in a council car park, his new resting place and an explanation of the latest research carried out on his bones, revealing far more intimate facts about his life than we can glean from historical documents.
Meet Warwick, the powerful Kingmaker, the turbulent Duke of Clarence – he of the ‘butt of malmsey wine’ fame – the mysterious ‘Pretender’, Perkin Warbeck, and many other colourful characters while discovering English history at its most intriguing.
Carefully and lovingly narrated by Claire Ridgway, you'll discover just what led to this famous civil war, who was involved and how Richard III came to power and was ultimately killed at Bosworth.
Note: This is an online course of downloadable or streaming audio lectures which can be done in your own time and you have lifetime access to the course once you have signed up and paid. There is no set start or end date, you can do it at your own pace.
It costs $49.95 (approx £36 at time of writing) and is open to everyone internationally.
Click here to view all the course details now.
