‘The Perfect Prince’
The ‘how to …’ hand-books, so popular in our
own time, which cover a vast array of skills, behaviours, activities,
etc. are not new. In the fifteenth century, books abounded advising
rulers on what was expected of them, such as ‘mirrors’ of princes or
histories that gave shining examples of how a prince should behave.
Richard III owned a number of such books and it appears he accepted
the writers’ teachings.
In a paper presented by Anne Sutton at the Society’s
symposium held in 1984 at Jesus College, Cambridge (and subsequently
published in Lordship, Loyalty and Law), she puts forward a very
strong case that Richard, both as duke and king, followed the principles
laid down for a prince and that he can be viewed as ‘a perfect prince’.
The following is a brief summary of some of those arguments. First,
what were the requisite virtues?
From The Declamation of Noblesse ‘… to
be a curious searcher for our weal publyque, merry at home, laborious
outward, besy to atteyne science, pyteous of them which has necessyte,
namely to my fader, moder & kynne, welbyloued of my neyghbours,
true to my frendes, obeysaunt & devoute in thynges relygious’.
De Regimine Principum by Aegidius Colonna,
a pupil of St Thomas Aquinas. Colonna’s prince should be prudent, dignified
but sympathetic, truthful, energetic, just but tempered with mercy,
courageous but not rash, moderate in all things, magnanimous and munificent
in his undertakings, a generous but careful rewarder of the deserving,
he should love honour, be humble and friendly while commanding respect,
have an equal as his wife with whom he shares secrets and above all
love the common good and the welfare of the state.
John Gower summed up the virtues as truth, largesse,
love of justice, pity, and chastity in marriage.
William Langland in The Vision of Piers Plowman
presents ‘a compelling image of a harmonious society bound together
by law, loyalty and love’. Loyalty was a virtue that Richard embraced
enthusiastically and included in his personal motto loyalté me lie.
The theme in all of these works is the personal
virtue of the prince. In the middle ages public morality was the extension
of private morality. ‘The king’s will had to be controlled by a desire
to serve the good of the community, the “common weal”, and by obedience
to the rule of natural law’. In the coronation oath the ideals of good
rule are reduced to four basic clauses ‘maintain the church, administer
justice, uphold the laws of England, and defend your subjects’ and the
oath was translated into English for the first time at King Richard’s
coronation.
The Church
Through the medium of sermons the church encouraged
the rich to fulfil their obligations and help the poor. Richard’s good
intentions in this area are well documented.
He promoted the court that became the Court of Requests where
the poor could present their suits at Westminster. In Glamorgan, where
he held considerable land, Richard attempted to reform the administration
system within his lordship, and T.B. Pugh commented Richard ‘had a genuine
concern for the welfare of its inhabitants.’ [1]
Of Richard’s personal piety
a little can be gleaned from his library, which included
a bible and his own book of hours. There is also evidence of devotion
to the saints and he presented a jewelled calvary containing relics
of St Peter to York Minster. As a prince Richard was obliged to make
an outward show of piety and he created a number of religious foundations,
such as the collegiate church at Middleham. The education of the clergy
was also an interest and in 1477 he made a grant to Queens’ College
Cambridge to support four priests studying theology. The priests were
charged to pray for Richard and his family, and rather poignantly, friends
and associates who had died at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury. Richard appears
to have had a genuine interest in learned clergy and in education. During
his royal progress following his coronation he stayed at Magdalen College,
Oxford, and listened to learned disputations. Richard was surrounded
by senior clergy whose reputations stood high, such as Bishop Thomas
Langton and John Russell, Bishop of Lincoln, was his chancellor.
The Knight
The chivalric code encompassed the ideals of
protecting the weak, fighting for justice, keeping the
peace, serving the common weal and rejected evil behaviour. Hand-books
and romances, like those for princes, were in circulation, such as De
Re Militari, a copy of which Richard commissioned, and Lull’s Order
of Chivalry dedicated by Caxton to Richard. Preparing for knighthood
was part of Richard’s education and from a young age he held the chivalric
post of constable of England. As constable he had his own court of law
which included the overseeing of the heralds, and ordinances for their
good behaviour have been attributed to Richard. He obviously had a keen
interest in their work, and as king he founded the College of Arms.
A practical demonstration of Richard’s military
leadership, where he displayed the qualities of discipline and moderation,
can be found in the Scottish campaign of 1482, described by Dr Norman
MacDougall as a ‘competent campaign’ [2] Richard was
granted money to pay for an army of 20,000 for only four weeks and for
1,700 men for a further two weeks. He succeeded in capturing Berwick,
marching to Edinburgh, which he occupied, controlled his army so they
did not sack the city and returned to England within the timeframe.
The Law
As both a magnate and administrator the law
played an important role in Richard’s affairs. As king it was to assume
the greatest significance. Social harmony was the ultimate goal of the
‘perfect prince’, and the right and fair regulation of society by a
recognition of mutual obligations between the different sections of
the community, such ‘as rich and poor, buyer and seller, citizen and
foreigner, lord and liegeman’ was enforced by law. As his brother’s
representative in the north Richard’s ducal council became a source
of arbitration and Richard showed concern for peaceful arbitration and
judicial solutions. When he left the north and appointed his nephew,
the earl of Lincoln, as his successor, the ducal council became the
Council of the North and its responsibilities and conduct were the subject
of a set of articles. As an administrative institution it survived into
the seventeenth century which perhaps bears testament to Richard’s skill
and foresight as an adminstrator.
Richard’s parliament of 1484, apart from
attending to the business of the king’s title and the October rebellion,
passed legislation which led Sir Francis Bacon to describe Richard as
‘a good lawmaker for the ease and solace of the common people’. For
example, Richard was concerned with the problem of corrupt and lazy
officials and some of the statutes dealt with this problem.
Richard’s policy throughout his career was to set standards whereby
officials were educated and sufficiently wealthy in order for them to
be less vulnerable to corruption. At a session in the Star Chamber Richard
personally brought to the attention of his justices connivance at altering
a court record, the reporter of the session states that Richard was
‘perturbed’ that such cases should arise.
Marriage
A stable private life was acknowledged as desirable
by the mentors of princes and indeed the problems surrounding King
Edward’s marital arrangements were directly
responsible for Richard’s elevation to kingship. They provided Richard
with a moral claim to the throne. Although little is known about the
relationship between Richard and his wife, Anne Neville, their mutual
grief at the loss of their son in 1484 and the fact that his two illegitimate
children appear to have been begotten before his marriage, perhaps indicate
the stability of Richard’s own marriage.
Conclusion
Dr Sutton concludes her paper with three contemporary
comments on Richard’s policy as duke and as king by Dominic Mancini,
Thomas Langton, Bishop of St David’s, and Von Poppelau, a German knight,
which can be found in Richard
by his contemporaries.
Further Reading:
‘A curious searcher for our weal public’: Richard
III, Piety, Chivalry and the concept of the ‘Good Prince’ by Anne F.
Sutton. Richard III, Loyalty, Lordship and Law edited by P.W.
Hammond, London 1985. Revised edition 2000 and published by the Richard
III and Yorkist History Trust. These are the proceedings of the 1983
Symposium. Available from the Society’s Bookshop.
Richard III’s Books by Anne F. Sutton
and Livia Visser-Fuchs. Gloucester 1997
The Hours of Richard III by Anne F. Sutton
and Livia Visser-Fuchs. Gloucester 1990