Apparently at Middleham Castle in Wensleydale in North Yorkshire there is a
sculpture representing a basilisk on the back of King Richard who reigned from
1483-1485. Richard died at the battle of Bosworth in 1485. The link here shows
an excellent panorama of the castle.Richard was sent to the castle as a small
boy.The figures are allegorical,the white boar being heraldic. The tail of the
basilisk or cockatrice curls over Richard`s right shoulder. The white boar is at
Richard`s feet whilst the basilisk`s tail meets a demon`s head. Richard III is
not the same Richard as Richard I ( Richard the Lionheart.)
Monday, July 24, 2017
MUIRHEAD`S MYSTERIES: King Richard III and the basilisk
Continuing my very very very occasional series on `British monarchs and strange
animals`(in the sense that this is only the 2nd blog in 7 years on this
theme!),I came across a British Heritage leaflet a while ago titled `Middleham
Castle Sculpture What Does the Sculpture Represent?`
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