1 - Stereotyping Richard and the Ricardian familia

Summary

RICHARD'S NOTORIOUS FLAWS

The creation and acceptance of Richard's supposed demerita notoria were pivotal to the success of the Lancastrian usurpation. Richard's statement of insufficiency and his awareness of particular acts of incompetence were put forward as the primary explanation of his resignation of the throne, thus establishing the vacancy which Henry claimed he had a right to fill. The demerita notoria laid the foundations both for dynastic and linguistic change, creating both the Lancastrian monarchy and the terms of reference for Lancastrian politics. Their strategic importance explains the emphasis placed by the official Record and Process account of the deposition on the self-evident quality of Richard's notorious flaws. The bill of resignation declared that Richard himself was now fully aware of his deficiency (‘veraciter ex certa sciencia’). His insufficiency, and the events which demonstrate it, are notorie, their authenticity is guaranteed by their status as commonly accepted knowledge. The demerita notoria were written down in a fixed form and publicized more widely supposedly to remove any doubt or suspicion surrounding the deposition. This removal of doubt reveals an awareness that any uncertainty about the authenticity of these notorious flaws also threatened the efficacy of the post hoc justification of the deposition. This is also demonstrated by the rewriting and revision of the list of articles. The Record acknowledges that whilst the majority of the articles were read aloud at the ceremony, it was only during the composition of the Record itself that all of the articles were included.