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 of Gaeta Gaetan ships made a raid on the Genoese coast, but that year the duke was compelled to do liege homage and swear an oath of fealty ("legium hominium et ligiam fedelitatem") not only to King Roger, but also to his sons Duke Roger III of Apulia and the recently installed Prince Alfonso of Capua. Thereafter, Richard was a vassal of the king. When he died, his duchy passed to the crown and was gradually integrated into the kingdom as a royal city. Richard III of Gaeta Richard III (died 1140/1), also known as Richard of Caleno, was the Norman count