It is very possibly true that in the Dales and in other parts of Yorkshire there are many families – richer ones perhaps – who have the strong feelings you mention – clearly there are, as you’ve met them. But perhaps it would be helpful if we could stop conflating ‘York’ and ‘Yorkshire’. Yorkshire is a massive county, and the Yorkshire Dales is some distance from York.

I thought I read that he had his happiest times at Middleham? There’s obviously a strong feeling about bringing his remains ‘home’, I think most of us might understand why that area of Yorkshire would have a claim to being ‘home’, but not York Minster.

Anyway, I do hope the situation is resolved as it’s clearly upsetting a lot of people and causing a lot of argument. Though on the positive side it has made many of us read more about Richard III and his times than we might have done otherwise.

I would like to regain my initial position of indifference to this issue, and perhaps, as you say Martyn, see it as an amusing pantomime, as I did initially. Difficult to do that when reading so much factual inaccuracy and misrepresentation, which I can’t let just stand unchallenged. I’ve read so much utter guff about what ‘York’ wants. And much of it, as I said before, from people who have absolutely no concept of modern York in the 21st century, and have romanticised and simplified both the place and the issues around the reburial.

I know I’m not alone in concerns about this campaign/petition being so vigorously supported by our elected officials: as far as I can see they’re supporting the wishes of potential tourists rather than the majority of residents.

But anyway, repeating myself a lot I fear. And about to do so again later this week in another posting perhaps.
(update: http://www.yorkstories.co.uk/blog/2013/03/18/wishes-and-white-roses-richard-iii-again/)

Planta Genista – thanks for your supportive comment, nice to read I made your day :) And thanks too for speaking up for sensible Ricardians. My apologies for perhaps doing the same kind of ‘lumping together’ and generalising I’ve been critical of.

I was very impressed by the skill of the University of Leicester people in finding and identifying the body and understand why they embarked on the project going against all good archaeological practice – it meant recognition and kudos for a department under threat in these straitened times for higher education. When we condemn greedy local authorities it’s worth remembering that there was nothing particularly credible, virtuous or academically legitimate about this whole venture – it was a massive punt and luckily for them it paid off. They’ve secured their future and applications for places are up – well done them but I can’t help thinking they really shouldn’t have bothered. Of much more interest is archaeology that tell us something about changes in village life in the East Midlands as a result of the black death for instance – this dig tells us very little, it just makes headlines for the department.

I know Leicester reasonably well having grown up on the border of the county it gave its name to. It’s an interesting city, not lovely but it has it’s moments and I can understand their desire to try and build a tourism industry on the back of this. I don’t think it will work though after the initial interest has died down – just how great a pull is Richard III and that period ? Why do people visit the Ricardian site at Middleham in greater numbers than Sheriff Hutton or Fotheringay for instance ? It’s probably got something to do with the former being on an already established tourist trail in the Yorkshire Dales, just up the road from this great farm place that does lush ice cream.

After the initial interest has died down I can’t imagine there’ll be many but the hardcore keen to see a grave and a car park. Likewise with the Minster, in the extremely unlikely event the bones end up in York it would soon become another monument people shuffle past with maybe a flicker of recognition, another line in the tourism literature for the stags and hens to ignore.

I think any York council of whatever political stripe would always have made a claim for reasons of simple tourism bucks egged on as they were by a number of historians who told them the city had some kind of sketchy claim. Likewise the Labour representatives in Leicester would have been primed to meet challenges from York, or Westminster or Fotheringay or wherever. There’s been a set piece pantomine aspect to it all.

Having studied this period of history I’m always struck by how completely alien it is to our own experience and understanding. I don’t really like any of the protagonists – they seem arrogant, odd, alien, essentially foreign in the truest sense of the word. Picking sides in the War Of The Roses is pretty silly from a 21st century point of view.

There’s a wonderful quote from an Italian ambassador in England at the time writing back to his employer stating that the common people of England are quite happy for the nobles to keep killing one another because they believe it advances the day they achieve their freedom.

I think it’s an indifference we could all do to imitate. It’s a marginal issue and should probably be treated a such. The arguments for Leicester, York, Westminster Abbey, Stoneybridge, the back of my mum’s sofa are all nonsense – a modern internet equivalent of scholastic theologians arguing over those grooving seraphim let loose in granny’s sewing box.

The thing is, when you step back and don’t worry too much about it you see it isn’t really an unholy row it’s pure panto and will end in Leicester keeping the body and York attempting to package its Ricardian links in some new festival or other and forming some kind of link with Leicester to jointly promote their tomb and our old stones.

Just for the records: Not all Ricardians favour York as his final resting place, not all of them wear rose-tinted glasses, and not all members of the Richard III Society are swooning fans.

As a member of this organization I heard of the project in July 2012, and was relieved to hear that arrangements were in place to rebury him in Leicester Cathedral, in case he should be found. My gut feeling was and still is that it is the right way to go, according to modern ethics.

The University of Leicester, the Ministry of Justice, the Church of England, the Richard III Society, the Palace, Leicester City Council and various people involved, all parties concerned were in agreement, everything was set for a quiet and respectful reburial.
And then the e-petions started, the press gleefully fuelled the dispute, more people joined the bandwagon, and now there’s a rather ugly mess. And I’m not only speaking of the MP’s and officials who chimed in, but what is happening in some “social media” groups. What happens there is the opposite of respectful, in another context they would be considered trolls.

The campaign should have stopped latest when York Minster issued their statement that they support a Leicester reburial.