Since writing last time about outside 3rd parties stirring things up between the Duke of Gloucester & the Woodvilles, I keep thinking about one thing over & over & over.
Now, I am an attorney & have been for quite some time, so I know that it's never a good idea to hire or bring into your inner circle, someone who was the attorney for another who at one point was on the other side of the same dispute. Today, doing such a thing can get you disbarred if you, as an attorney, do it. (Yeah yeah yeah, you can get the client to sign a waiver, but ha ha ha, joke's on you because word will get around & what's that thing Shakespeare says about "who steals my purse steals trash?" As an attorney, your reputation is your calling card. Get known for being a Stanley, I mean, turncoat, & good luck finding people to retain you. Believe it or not, there are not that many stupid people in this world. It just seems like it sometimes, especially during Rush Hour.)
Which brings us to Sir William Catesby. He was Hastings' lawyer. Yeah, THAT Hastings, who was loyal to Edward IV, but had conflicts with the Woodvilles in court, & was then loyal to Richard III, until he wasn't. In addition to being Hastings' lawyer, Catesby was on the Council of Edward V, & Richard appoints him to his council when he becomes king & then gives him all sorts of titles & honors. Um, what? I think to myself when I learn this little tidbit. Putting so much trust in Catesby just screams "BAD IDEA!"
It makes me wonder just what the blast was really going on in 1483, because if Richard was truly the evil, manipulative, calculating, plotting bastard we are supposed to believe he was, keeping Catesby around AND on his Council were really really stupid moves!! It's almost as if someone smacked Richard on the head with a Stupid Stick or double-dog dared him to do it, so he had to, like that poor kid in "A Christmas Story."
Consider also what Catesby (thanks for pointing this out, Planta Genista!) wrote in his will to the Stanleys: "to pray for my soul as ye have not for my body, as I trusted in you." This on top of telling his wife to tell the kids just how wonderful Henry Tudor is. Um, what?
As always, I could be missing something here, but the bottom line for me in all of this is regardless of the circumstances, putting so much trust & confidence in Catesby was a mistake, & possibly a fatal one for Richard.
"...what Hastings wrote in his will to the Stanleys..." Shouldn't that be Catesby?
ReplyDeleteHowever, you are making an excellent point which would deserve a closer look at his role.
(Note to self: check what P Hancock makes of this in his "Murder in the Tower". )
Thanks for the correction. I've edited the error out.
ReplyDelete