The Deposition Of Richard III Analysis

During the late fourteenth to mid-sixteenth century, Great Britain underwent massive changes throughout the entire realm. From the new system of deposing kings to religious upheavals, England during this time had a hard time finding peace. During those two hundred years, personal ambition of kings and nobles was the most disruptive to English society, which was exacerbated by the religious break instituted by Henry VIII in 1534.
In The Deposition of Richard II, it is obvious that the English king was disliked by all. A list of his grievances was drawn up, citing all of his poor choices as king and the reasons why he should be dethroned. The number one cause of the hatred of him was “his evil rule, that is, he has given the goods and possession
During the War of the Roses, England was constantly in a state of war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York, who were massive rivals that competed for the throne of England (History 320 Lecture, 10/30/2015). In Polydore Vergil’s account of Henry VII, Richard III’s personal ambition can be seen. The author first tells of a nightmare Richard has the night before Bosworth Field, which Vergil believes was “no dream but a conscience guilty of heinous offences, a conscience, I say” (Polydore Vergil, Account of Henry VII, 479). Though the source makes no explicit mentions of it, it is widely believed that Richard III murdered his nephews to take the throne. When his brother, Edward IV died, his legitimate son was crowned Edward V, but was shortly taken captive by his uncle and placed into the Tower of London (History 320 Lecture, 10/30/2015). Instead of allowing for a legitimate heir to take the throne as it should have gone, Richard went to immeasurable lengths to ensure he would be king, further escalating the conflict and disrupting English society as a whole. This caused not only great scandal, but Richard III was a terrible king, guilty of many offenses as Vergil states. He created great disruption not only in his court by taking the throne away from his nephew, but also to the lives of his subjects. Vergil makes note of this as well, specifically mentioning the strife of the English people, who had consistently been “torn by rival factions” (Polydore Vergil, Account of Henry VII,