Richard III of England due to the fact that it helped to legitimise Henry VII's seizure of the throne. The Richard III Society contends that this means that 'a lot of what people thought they knew about Richard III was pretty much propaganda and myth building.' The Tudor characterisation culminated in the famous fictional portrayal of him in Shakespeare's play "Richard III" as a physically deformed, Machiavellian villain, ruthlessly committing numerous murders in order to claw his way to power; Shakespeare's intention perhaps being to use Richard III as a vehicle for creating his own Marlowesque protagonist. Rous himself, in his "History of the
Richard III, Duke of Normandy Richard III, Duke of Normandy Richard III (997/1001 – 6 August 1027) was the Duke of Normandy who reigned from August 1026 to his death. His brief reign opened with a revolt by his brother. Richard III was the eldest son of Richard II of Normandy. Around 1020, Richard was sent by his father in command of a large army to rescue his brother-in-law, Reginald, later Count of Burgundy, by attacking bishop and count Hugh of Chalon, who had captured and imprisoned Reginald. When Richard II died in August 1026, his eldest son, Richard III became Duke of Normandy. Shortly