I finally got around to watching a program on the discovery and identification of Richard the Third’s body.
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One part that sticks in my mind was one of the wounds that his skeleton displayed. The front of the pelvis showed evidence of a stabbing wound coming from behind. One scientist voiced the idea that this was a post-mortem humiliation inflicted on the body.
There is another possible explanation for this wound, however. “Wounds to the fundament” were by no means unknown in medieval warfare. If a mounted knight is struck with a powerful blow from behind he may be sprawled forward, exposing his unarmoured seat. The practicalities of riding a horse mean that the buttocks were seldom defended by anything more substantial than a short skirt of mail. Swiss halberdiers apparently dispatched quite a few knights this way.
The Burgundian chronicler Jean Molinet says that a Welshman struck the death-blow to Richard with a halberd while Richard's horse was stuck in the marshy ground. Richard’s skeleton shows two wounds at the base of the skull, each of which removed a sizable disc of bone. A powerful cleaving weapon such as a halberd would be needed to make these wounds.
If we put these bits of knowledge together we get a vivid picture of what may have been the King’s last moments alive. Surrounded by Sir William Stanley's men a halberd blow hits the back of his helmet, cutting through to remove a slice of skull. As he is knocked forward perhaps a second blow descends on the back of his head. As his unarmoured backside is revealed another attacker seizes the opportunity and thrusts in with a sword or halberd point.
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