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Notes
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The figures represented are allegorical – the basilisk (or cockatrice) and a medieval demon on Richard's back – and heraldic – the white boar and part of the 'sun and roses' of the Yorkist collar. Richard became, after his death a controversial figure in history many questions about his character remaining unresolved today, the Shakespearian portrait being totally at odds with the dedication in the York City Rolls. The sculpture illustrates the heavy burden which history has heaped upon this Northern King. The tail of a basilisk curls over Richard's right shoulder as Shakespeare likened Richard to this creature which could kill its enemy by a look. The basilisk (or cockatrice) was a legendary monster with the wings and tail of a dragon and the head and comb of a cockerel.
Clinging closely to Richard's left is a medieval demon, another sometime character comparison. However, Richard was also said to have experienced terrifying nightmares of demons before his last battle at Bosworth in 1485 and perhaps it is up to us to decide where the real demons lay in the complicated politics which surrounded Richard's life and death.
These symbolic images are placed at the back of the work whence the may scarcely be seen from the front. Nevertheless they represent the twin mischiefs of legend and imagination which are a vital component of the history of the now mute and defenceless figure.
Richard's feet are curled across the White Boar – his own heraldic symbol which appears on badges, coinage and stained glass windows associated with his reign. At the meeting point of the basilisk's tail and the demon's head is a single element taken from the Yorkist collar of suns and roses.
English Heritage, Middleham Castle
Leyburn
Title
Richard III (1452–1485)
Date
1996
Medium
stone or concrete
Measurements
H 183 x W 78 x D 69 cm;
Plinth: H 30 x W 91 x D 81 cm
Accession number
88374441
Work type
Statue
Inscription description
on plaque on plinth: Richard III / by Linda Thompson, M.A.
