Borthday Verses

Verses on the occasion of the birthday of King Richard III, October 2nd

Nine years after his hasty and unceremonious burial in Leicester, Henry Tudor commissioned a slab to mark the grave, with a Latin 16-line epitaph both alleging Richard's criminality and praising his own generosity (it cost £10, about 150 times less than the tomb he lavished on himself). The original verses, in both Latin and English translations, are here: 

http://www.richardiii.net/downloads/Ricardian/2008_vol18_ashdown_hill_riii_epitaph.pdf

Here are mine:

Hic ego quem cista chartacea in cella claudit,
Tertius a justa voce Ricardus eram et sum, 
Anglorum rex, contra dirupta fidem perfidiis,
Sub versi situs fui, asperi, sordidique
Sicut gurgustum in quod me abjectavunt.
Hoc monumentum primum meum vilis, causa fuit
Inter litigantes: et nunc perdurare opportet
Seundam controversiam plus etiam indignam.

Aliquando argumentum judicaverit, perdurabo
Detestabilissimum monumentum secundum?
Amicum, vel inimicum, decore inhumavi:
Meo consolatio, quemadmodum judicium,
Tertium judicium finem dierum postremum
Regis regibus, hominemque bonis et malis.
Jusex ipse dixit judiciorum justissimus:
Enim judicio judicaveritis, in quo judicabimini.

(Translation)

Here am I, whom a cardboard box encloses in a store-room,
Who truly may be called Richard The Third,
King of England, despite the broken faith of the faithless.
I was laid beneath verses as rough and dirty
As the hole in which they threw me.
That first cheap memorial of mine was the cause
Of a lawsuit between two parties; and now I must suffer
A second legal dispute even more undignified.

However the judgement goes, shall I endure
A second monument most detestable?
Enemies and friends alike I gave a decent burial,
My consolation is that, however this is judged,
A third judgement at the End Of Days
By the King Of Kings, of all men, good and evil.
Most just Judge of Judges, who himself said:
By whatsoever judgement ye judge, so shall ye be judged.

Amen.

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nic ford wrote:

"<smip> Nine years after his hasty and unceremonious burial in Leicester, Henry Tudor commissioned a slab to mark the grave, with a Latin 16-line epitaph both alleging Richard's criminality and praising his own generosity (it cost £10, about 150 times less than the tomb he lavished on himself). The original verses, in both Latin and English translations, are here:

http://www.richardiii.net/downloads/Ricardian/2008_vol18_ashdown_hill_riii_epitaph.pdf <snip>

Carol responds:

Thank you for your fine verses. You have genuine talent. However, I think that J A-H has established that Henry Tudor's epitaph for Richard didn't accuse him of criminality (the only falsehood being that the English deserted him). The lines at the end about forgiveness of (unspecified) sins would be appropriate for any Catholic. Richard, if I recall correctly, bought masses and certainly established chapels, to pray for the souls of dead relatives to shorten their time in Purgatory, it being a given that all men and women are born sinful. The part about Richard being *justly* called Richard III and serving faithfully as Protector of his nephews is surprising coming from Henry, but, of course, we have to consider the timing. With Perkin Warbeck being hailed by so many people as Richard Duke of York (whether he was or not), Henry felt that it was time to downplay Richard's "usurpation" and make it clear that he, not his nephew, was the rightful king. After Warbeck's execution, Henry seems to have reversed himself again, and we get the rumors of Sir James Tyrrell "murdering" Edward's sons on Richard's orders (but no published confession, More and Bacon to the contrary).. Essentially, Henry's attitude toward Richard apparently depended on his propaganda needs of the moment. I think the contrast between the attainder vaguely charging Richard with the shedding of infants blood (no apostrophe, IIRC) and this epitaph is remarkable and suggests that Henry either knew or suspected that Richard did not kill his nephews--or need to kill them, given Titulus Regius.

It's still October 1 here, but as it's October 2 in England, I'll raise my imaginary cup with a birthday toast for Richard by the Grace of God King of England. I'd write a poem, too, but it couldn't compete with yours, nic.

Carol

Very well written. Amen. Sharon ----- Original Message ----- From: nic ford To: Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2013 11:04 PM Subject: Borthday Verses

Verses on the occasion of the birthday of King Richard III, October 2nd

Nine years after his hasty and unceremonious burial in Leicester, Henry Tudor commissioned a slab to mark the grave, with a Latin 16-line epitaph both alleging Richard's criminality and praising his own generosity (it cost £10, about 150 times less than the tomb he lavished on himself). The original verses, in both Latin and English translations, are here:

http://www.richardiii.net/downloads/Ricardian/2008_vol18_ashdown_hill_riii_epitaph.pdf

Here are mine:

Hic ego quem cista chartacea in cella claudit,
Tertius a justa voce Ricardus eram et sum,
Anglorum rex, contra dirupta fidem perfidiis,
Sub versi situs fui, asperi, sordidique
Sicut gurgustum in quod me abjectavunt.
Hoc monumentum primum meum vilis, causa fuit
Inter litigantes: et nunc perdurare opportet
Seundam controversiam plus etiam indignam.

Aliquando argumentum judicaverit, perdurabo
Detestabilissimum monumentum secundum?
Amicum, vel inimicum, decore inhumavi:
Meo consolatio, quemadmodum judicium,
Tertium judicium finem dierum postremum
Regis regibus, hominemque bonis et malis.
Jusex ipse dixit judiciorum justissimus:
Enim judicio judicaveritis, in quo judicabimini.

(Translation)

Here am I, whom a cardboard box encloses in a store-room,
Who truly may be called Richard The Third,
King of England, despite the broken faith of the faithless.
I was laid beneath verses as rough and dirty
As the hole in which they threw me.
That first cheap memorial of mine was the cause
Of a lawsuit between two parties; and now I must suffer
A second legal dispute even more undignified.

However the judgement goes, shall I endure
A second monument most detestable?
Enemies and friends alike I gave a decent burial,
My consolation is that, however this is judged,
A third judgement at the End Of Days
By the King Of Kings, of all men, good and evil.
Most just Judge of Judges, who himself said:
By whatsoever judgement ye judge, so shall ye be judged.

Amen.

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Optime exprimatus. Gratias agimus!Si vales bene est.Jan.

Sent from my iPad
On 1 Oct 2013, at 23:36, "Sharon Feely" <[email protected]> wrote:

Very well written. Amen. Sharon ----- Original Message ----- From: nic ford To: Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2013 11:04 PM Subject: Borthday Verses

Verses on the occasion of the birthday of King Richard III, October 2nd

Nine years after his hasty and unceremonious burial in Leicester, Henry Tudor commissioned a slab to mark the grave, with a Latin 16-line epitaph both alleging Richard's criminality and praising his own generosity (it cost £10, about 150 times less than the tomb he lavished on himself). The original verses, in both Latin and English translations, are here:

http://www.richardiii.net/downloads/Ricardian/2008_vol18_ashdown_hill_riii_epitaph.pdf

Here are mine:

Hic ego quem cista chartacea in cella claudit,
Tertius a justa voce Ricardus eram et sum,
Anglorum rex, contra dirupta fidem perfidiis,
Sub versi situs fui, asperi, sordidique
Sicut gurgustum in quod me abjectavunt.
Hoc monumentum primum meum vilis, causa fuit
Inter litigantes: et nunc perdurare opportet
Seundam controversiam plus etiam indignam.

Aliquando argumentum judicaverit, perdurabo
Detestabilissimum monumentum secundum?
Amicum, vel inimicum, decore inhumavi:
Meo consolatio, quemadmodum judicium,
Tertium judicium finem dierum postremum
Regis regibus, hominemque bonis et malis.
Jusex ipse dixit judiciorum justissimus:
Enim judicio judicaveritis, in quo judicabimini.

(Translation)

Here am I, whom a cardboard box encloses in a store-room,
Who truly may be called Richard The Third,
King of England, despite the broken faith of the faithless.
I was laid beneath verses as rough and dirty
As the hole in which they threw me.
That first cheap memorial of mine was the cause
Of a lawsuit between two parties; and now I must suffer
A second legal dispute even more undignified.

However the judgement goes, shall I endure
A second monument most detestable?
Enemies and friends alike I gave a decent burial,
My consolation is that, however this is judged,
A third judgement at the End Of Days
By the King Of Kings, of all men, good and evil.
Most just Judge of Judges, who himself said:
By whatsoever judgement ye judge, so shall ye be judged.

Amen.

--
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Feliz Cumpleaños, El Rey Ricardo!
On Oct 2, 2013, at 4:40 AM, "Jan Mulrenan" <janmulrenan@...> wrote:

Optime exprimatus. Gratias agimus! Si vales bene est. Jan.

Sent from my iPad
On 1 Oct 2013, at 23:36, "Sharon Feely" <[email protected]> wrote:

Very well written. Amen. Sharon ----- Original Message ----- From: nic ford To: Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2013 11:04 PM Subject: Borthday Verses

Verses on the occasion of the birthday of King Richard III, October 2nd

Nine years after his hasty and unceremonious burial in Leicester, Henry Tudor commissioned a slab to mark the grave, with a Latin 16-line epitaph both alleging Richard's criminality and praising his own generosity (it cost £10, about 150 times less than the tomb he lavished on himself). The original verses, in both Latin and English translations, are here:

http://www.richardiii.net/downloads/Ricardian/2008_vol18_ashdown_hill_riii_epitaph.pdf

Here are mine:

Hic ego quem cista chartacea in cella claudit,
Tertius a justa voce Ricardus eram et sum,
Anglorum rex, contra dirupta fidem perfidiis,
Sub versi situs fui, asperi, sordidique
Sicut gurgustum in quod me abjectavunt.
Hoc monumentum primum meum vilis, causa fuit
Inter litigantes: et nunc perdurare opportet
Seundam controversiam plus etiam indignam.

Aliquando argumentum judicaverit, perdurabo
Detestabilissimum monumentum secundum?
Amicum, vel inimicum, decore inhumavi:
Meo consolatio, quemadmodum judicium,
Tertium judicium finem dierum postremum
Regis regibus, hominemque bonis et malis.
Jusex ipse dixit judiciorum justissimus:
Enim judicio judicaveritis, in quo judicabimini.

(Translation)

Here am I, whom a cardboard box encloses in a store-room,
Who truly may be called Richard The Third,
King of England, despite the broken faith of the faithless.
I was laid beneath verses as rough and dirty
As the hole in which they threw me.
That first cheap memorial of mine was the cause
Of a lawsuit between two parties; and now I must suffer
A second legal dispute even more undignified.

However the judgement goes, shall I endure
A second monument most detestable?
Enemies and friends alike I gave a decent burial,
My consolation is that, however this is judged,
A third judgement at the End Of Days
By the King Of Kings, of all men, good and evil.
Most just Judge of Judges, who himself said:
By whatsoever judgement ye judge, so shall ye be judged.

Amen.

--
This space for an email signature has intentionally been left blank.

Excellent! I love your verses.

Sheffe
Happy Birthday to Richard


From: nic ford <marcodubnos@...>
To:
Sent: Tuesday, October 1, 2013 6:04 PM
Subject: Borthday Verses

Verses on the occasion of the birthday of King Richard III, October 2nd

Nine years after his hasty and unceremonious burial in Leicester, Henry Tudor commissioned a slab to mark the grave, with a Latin 16-line epitaph both alleging Richard's criminality and praising his own generosity (it cost £10, about 150 times less than the tomb he lavished on himself). The original verses, in both Latin and English translations, are here:

http://www.richardiii.net/downloads/Ricardian/2008_vol18_ashdown_hill_riii_epitaph.pdf

Here are mine:

Hic ego quem cista chartacea in cella claudit,
Tertius a justa voce Ricardus eram et sum,
Anglorum rex, contra dirupta fidem perfidiis,
Sub versi situs fui, asperi, sordidique
Sicut gurgustum in quod me abjectavunt.
Hoc monumentum primum meum vilis, causa fuit
Inter litigantes: et nunc perdurare opportet
Seundam controversiam plus etiam indignam.

Aliquando argumentum judicaverit, perdurabo
Detestabilissimum monumentum secundum?
Amicum, vel inimicum, decore inhumavi:
Meo consolatio, quemadmodum judicium,
Tertium judicium finem dierum postremum
Regis regibus, hominemque bonis et malis.
Jusex ipse dixit judiciorum justissimus:
Enim judicio judicaveritis, in quo judicabimini.

(Translation)

Here am I, whom a cardboard box encloses in a store-room,
Who truly may be called Richard The Third,
King of England, despite the broken faith of the faithless.
I was laid beneath verses as rough and dirty
As the hole in which they threw me.
That first cheap memorial of mine was the cause
Of a lawsuit between two parties; and now I must suffer
A second legal dispute even more undignified.

However the judgement goes, shall I endure
A second monument most detestable?
Enemies and friends alike I gave a decent burial,
My consolation is that, however this is judged,
A third judgement at the End Of Days
By the King Of Kings, of all men, good and evil.
Most just Judge of Judges, who himself said:
By whatsoever judgement ye judge, so shall ye be judged.

Amen.

--
This space for an email signature has intentionally been left blank.