I suppose I am missing an opportunity for not posting more now that The White Queen is so much in the public eye, and the Yorkist era has become quite topical. However, I do not have the patience to go through a long digression on the factual and historic errors of the TV production - besides, it has already been discussed thoroughly elsewhere.
It may be said by some that at least this new production will introduce more people to the Yorkist era. Well, there may be some truth in that, if you suppose that Braveheart created more interest in Edward II and Robert the Bruce. Sadly, I am reliably informed that all too many people still live under the impression that Edward III was fathered by Wallace. While this is quite amusing - if you are the sort of person who finds ignorance amusing - it does suggest that the dreadful film has not much advanced people's understanding of the era. So will it be, I suspect, with the Yorkist era. There are already enough misapprehensions around - held, for example, by those who suppose More's work on Richard III is a sort of Holy Writ - without creating more.
1 comment:
I once used to think that, whatever the accuracy and the respect of historical truth, a program such as The White Queen could draw attention to the period it depicts.
Every night before a new episode I still look forward to watching the account of events I read about but I always find myself empty handed.
After 7 episodes I can say that had I not already read a number of books about the Wars of the Roses and the Plantagenets I would have considered that age to be comparable with the Tudor's period (and for me this is not high praise).
Now I'm thinking perhaps I ought to reassess the Tudors...but I'll think about it a bit longer.
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