The mystery of Richard III

[shenmue]

http://m.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-29222775

Everyone knows King Richard III of England died at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. What's puzzled historians since then is what type of injury caused the death. It didn't help that the king's remains were not found until 2012. Now, researchers say they know the answer to the centuries-old riddle.

[Warpy]

1. No sane person in full armor would abandon a horse

unless that horse had been shot out from under him. Armored people simply didn't have much mobility and were sitting ducks. Pretty much all they had to do was give him enough of a push to get him off balance and down he'd go.

That's how they got the helmet off to bash his skull in. Armor was insanely heavy. Chain mail wasn't much of an improvement, there is some on display locally with interesting holes.

[Scootaloo]

2. That's all really untrue

A suit of armor might have been weighty, but it was well-distributed around the body, custom-fit for each individual who wore it. Further, it was of course made for mobility- they're going into combat and need all the flex they can get. A person who can't move on the field is dead. Chainmail too, is relatively lightweight, and when strung properly, form-fitting. It;s also omniflexible, same way a cloth shirt would be, the weave shifting and sliding with body movement.

Hollywood mockups tend to be really poor quality and are basically just tin cans with strategic hinges and fireplace mesh. And then you have the ludicrous stuff you find in role-playing games (ten-pound broadswords, are you insane?)

That said, it's not terribly hard to get someone's helmet off. And really, I dunno what the style of kingly helms was at the time - I rather doubt hey were full helms covering the entire head, because, you know. Gotta look kingly.

[Gore1FL]

3. It was immobilized.

From the article:

"Richard's head injuries are consistent with some near-contemporary accounts of the battle, which suggest Richard abandoned his horse after it became stuck in a mire..."

[Warpy]

4. Ah, gotcha

They were usually a little more careful about picking a battlefield.

[brentspeak]

5. Richard the last English king to die in battle

He was no angel, but then the ghastly Tudors who supplanted him weren't either, though Elizabeth I was a good ruler.

Give Richard credit for at least literally putting his own neck on the line.