Malvasia Malmsey was one of the three major wines exported from Greece in medieval times. (For other examples, see Rumney wine and Cretan wine). It is alleged that when Edward IV of England convicted his brother, George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, of high treason, his private execution consisted of being "drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine," which is dramatized in Shakespeare's "Richard III". Both Monemvasia and Candia have lent their names to modern grape varieties. In Greece, there is a variety known as Monemvasia, evidently named after the port, though now grown primarily in the Cyclades. In western Europe,
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence Edward was so harsh with his brother is because he had discovered from Bishop Robert Stillington of Bath and Wells, that George had let slip the secret of Edward's pre-contract marriage with Lady Eleanor Talbot. Although legend claims Richard III had brought about his brother's death, the opposite is true—he tried to prevent it. Clarence is a principal character in two of William Shakespeare's history plays: "Henry VI, Part 3" and "The Tragedy of Richard III." Shakespeare portrays Clarence as weak-willed and changeable, his initial defection from Edward IV to Warwick is prompted by outrage at Edward IV's unwise marriage