Events & GMM 

ZOOM TALK

American Branch Celebrates the Society & the King

The American Branch welcomes any member of the Richard III Society or its branches and groups to attend our celebratory Zoom talk by its chair Susan Troxell and research officer Dr Compton Reeves.

The event will include a virtual toast to the Society on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, a brief presentation on the Society’s history, achievements, and the American Branch’s role in supporting its mission, and a lecture detailing the historic and well-documented double coronation of Richard III and Queen Anne in 1483. 

Attendance is open to any member of the Richard III Society and its branches, with priority given to American Branch members. There is no charge to attend. Event is limited to 100 participants.
To register, send an email to membership@r3.org. 

ZOOM TALK

The Itinerary of Richard as Duke of Gloucester

Marie Barnfield, Research Officer of the Richard III Society, CLG (UK)

Learn about the Society’s new publication of the Itinerary of Richard as Duke of Gloucester – its revelations about his activities and the challenges such a massive project encountered.

This will be a 90 minute talk.

Attendance is open to any member of the Richard III Society and its branches, with priority given to American Branch members. There is no charge to attend. Event is limited to 100 participants.
To register, send an email to membership@r3.org. 

ZOOM TALK

Report on Edward IV Roll Project

Prof. Emily Steiner, Dot Porter, Ariel Bates, Emma Dyson, Noa Nikolsky – University of Pennsylvania; hosted by the Free Library of Philadelphia

Join us for an exciting presentation by the team of scholars who have been working on transcribing, translating, mapping, and “decoding” FLP Lewis MS E201 – one of the great Yorkist genealogies created during the first years of Edward IV’s reign. The team will share their discoveries about the roll and its function as propaganda, as political prophecy, and as a powerful tool for asserting the Yorkist claim to the English, French, and Castilian crowns.

ZOOM TALK

Philippa Langley Answers Your Questions about the Missing Princes

Philippa Langley MBE

Join us for an engaging Q&A with Philippa Langley, author of The Princes in the Tower: Solving History’s Greatest Cold Case, about her “Missing Princes Project” and what evidence she found of the Princes in the Tower surviving into the Tudor period. Members of the American Branch will have a chance to submit their questions in advance of the talk and to participate in a live discussion with her. Don’t miss this opportunity to talk to one of the movers and shakers in the Ricardian community!

Philippa Langley MBE is a historian and award-winning producer, best known for her role in the discovery and reburial of Richard III in 2012. She is a co-author of the bestselling The Lost King with Michael Jones, as well as Finding Richard III. On the ten-year anniversary of discovering the king’s remains, her extraordinary story was released as an acclaimed feature film, The Lost King, directed by Sir Stephen Frears and starring Sally Hawkins. In November 2023, Philippa once again rewrote the history books in her new work: The Princes in the Tower: Solving History’s Greatest Cold Case (The History Press, UK; Pegasus, USA). Based on her remarkable new research initiative The Missing Princes Project its now seven-year investigation revealed the Princes survived to challenge Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch, for the throne of England. It has been made into a feature-length Factual Special TV documentary by Channel 4, PBS in America and SBS in Australia.

This talk is on a Saturday and will last approximately 75 minutes.
Attendance is open to any member of the Richard III Society and its branches, with priority given to American Branch members. There is no charge to attend. Event is limited to 100 participants.
To register, send an email to membership@r3.org. 

ZOOM TALK

Heraldry, Blazonry and the Plantagenets

Sally Keil, secretary of the American Branch

In this class we will learn all about heraldry: its history, its function, and its current place in English society. The evolution of the College of Arms will be presented, and the development of arms as vital medieval symbols of power will be reviewed. The arms carried by the Plantagenet family, kings of England for over 350 years, will be discussed as the class will learn about blazonry. By the end of this class each student should be able to blazon a simple shield. (Blazon?! What the heck is that? Come find out!)

Sally Keil has brought her interest in history to life for her many
students in her previous presentations. A resident of Gulfport FL and
Tellico Lake TN, Sally holds a BA Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa
from Wheaton College (MA) and a Masters Degree from the U of
Pittsburgh (PA). She is the retired President and CEO of AcquiData, Inc.
She is the current Secretary of The Richard III Society – American Branch
as well as past Membership Chair. She formed ‘The Missing Princes
Project in America’, the US arm of the UK-based ‘Revealing Richard’
project.

This will be a 2 Hour lecture.
Attendance is open to any member of the Richard III Society and its branches, with priority given to American Branch members. There is no charge to attend. Event is limited to 100 participants.
To register, send an email to membership@r3.org. 

ZOOM TALK

“Richard III’s Bodies”

Dr. Jeffrey Wilson, Harvard University

“Richard III is a disability icon,” writes Jeffrey R. Wilson. Addressing both the man and the myth, Dr. Wilson’s talk will explore the aspects of disability that Richard III may have encountered in his life as well as those that shaped his legacy during the century that led up to Shakespeare. Our discussion of disability as a dramatic device in Shakespeare’s plays about Richard III will open up conversation about how Richard’s disability continues to be a fraught issue in theater, history, and society today. 

Jeffrey R. Wilson is a Shakespeare scholar at Harvard University. He is the author of Richard III’s Bodies from Medieval England to Modernity: Shakespeare and Disability History and editor-in-chief of Public Humanities, a new journal in development at Cambridge University Press.

ZOOM TALK

“Yorkist Bishops”

Dr. Joel Rosenthal, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, SUNY Stony Brook

We don’t usually think of bishops as “inherited” by a king upon his accession. And yet this was actually the case: Edward IV pretty much had to take and perhaps learn to work with men of some prominence who were already in place. Edward IV was 19 when he came to the throne; the 17 English bishops had already been in their positions for an average of about 10 years. They not only brought experience but some came with political baggage: some Yorkists, many with service to Henry VI’s Lancastrian government.  How did the new king manage with these men?

SUNY-Stony Brook’s Distinguished Emeritus Professor of History Joel T. Rosenthal has authored, edited and co-edited over 25 books on late medieval history. He served as an Editor of the Journal of British Studies, co-founded the journal Medieval Prosopography, and is a fellow of the Medieval Academy of America.

ZOOM TALK

“Labor & Leisure in Medieval Old Age”

Dr. Compton Reeves, American Branch Research Officer

Upending the popular misconception that all medieval people died very young, Dr. Compton Reeves will explain that not only did many people in medieval times survive to old age, but thrive. The talk will begin by examining who was considered to be an old person, with a survey of literary depictions of the aged. After noting a few rare comments about their own status by elderly medievals, we will review the Ages of Man theories and discuss provisions medieval society made for the elderly. The rest of the talk will focus especially upon the sorts of work older individuals might pursue and the kinds of leisure pastimes available for older people.

Dr Reeves joined the Richard III Society in 1968, and has served four terms as Chairman of the American Branch. Dr. Reeves is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he served as Chair of the History Department. He has authored and edited a number of books. His most widely-read book, Pleasures and Pastimes in Medieval England (a History Book Club selection in the UK and US), began as a talk for the American Branch. Compton has also written dozens of academic articles, including numerous articles for the Ricardian and Ricardian Register, and his published research has resulted in his election as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in the United Kingdom.

ZOOM TALK

“Archaeological Discovery of the Remains of King Richard III”

Sally Keil, American Branch Secretary

This presentation will tell the story of the search for the bodily remains of Richard III of England.  Sally will take us through the reasons for the search for his mortal remains, who lead the charge, and the dramatic results. Having attended King Richard’s reinterment services in Leicester England in 2015, she can provide a very ‘up close and personal’ perspective on this historic event, sharing her behind the scenes photos.

Sally Keil has brought her interest in history to life for her many
students in her previous presentations. A resident of Gulfport FL and
Tellico Lake TN, Sally holds a BA Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa
from Wheaton College (MA) and a Masters Degree from the U of
Pittsburgh (PA). She is the retired President and CEO of AcquiData, Inc.
She is the current Secretary of The Richard III Society – American Branch
as well as past Membership Chair. She formed ‘The Missing Princes
Project in America’, the US arm of the UK-based ‘Revealing Richard’
project. In addition to her love of history, she is an avid tennis player.