RICHARD III HALFPENNY (Coin)
Rights information: Copyright: Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Description
Richard III is often portrayed as a villainous hunchbacked king obsessed with power and unfit to rule. However, this image of a hunchback with a limp and withered arm was created to turn him into a deformed monster to justify the claims of the Tudor dynasty.
- Jack Guy, Curating for Change Fellow, Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Community curation: I wanted to explore the cultural image of Richard III. Did he have a ‘hunchback’ and, if so, how did this affect him in the 15th century. Richard III did have a curvature of the spine. However, this would not have been noticeable under his clothes, in fact prior to his defeat, written accounts show him as a loyal brother, brave soldier and popular ruler. No one at the time suggested he could not do his job because he had a hidden disability. He was an integrated part of society, despite his disability.