Battle of Bosworth Field of visible combat. Despite the dramatic licences taken, Shakespeare's version of the Battle of Bosworth was the model of the event for English textbooks for many years during the 18th and 19th centuries. This glamorised version of history, promulgated in books and paintings and played out on stages across the country, perturbed humorist Gilbert Abbott à Beckett. He voiced his criticism in the form of a poem, equating the romantic view of the battle to watching a "fifth-rate production of "Richard III"": shabbily costumed actors fight the Battle of Bosworth on-stage while those with lesser roles lounge at the back,
Ricardian (Richard III) was his wish. During the campaign, the group failed to attract enough support to petition parliament. Ricardian (Richard III) Ricardians are people interested in altering the posthumous reputation of Richard III, King of England (reigned 1483–1485). Richard III has long been portrayed unfavourably, most notably in William Shakespeare's play "Richard III", in which Richard is portrayed as having murdered his nephew, the crown prince of England, a 12 year old child at the time, in order to secure the English throne for himself. Ricardians have worked in an effort to turn this around and to paint this portrayal, and the