Coat of Arms of Sir Richard Ratcliffe, KG

Sir Richard Ratcliffe, KG (died 22 August 1485) was a close confidant of

Richard III of England Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

Life

Ratcliffe came from a

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...

family in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

, and became a companion of Richard when the latter was still

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester () is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curren ...

(1461–83). He was one of Richard's trustees in the lordship of Richmond, and was named steward of

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

. Richard, while Duke of Gloucester,

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed Ratcliffe during the Scottish campaigns, at the same time creating him a

knight banneret A knight banneret, sometimes known simply as banneret, was a medieval knight ("a commoner of rank") who led a company of troops during time of war under his own banner (which was square-shaped, in contrast to the tapering standard or the penn ...

.Ross, Charles. ''Richard III''. 1981 During the seizure of power by Richard III, Ratcliffe was chosen to return to the north and organize an army to help the Protector, as Richard III was then titled. Some sources name Ratcliffe as the person who gave the order to execute

Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers (c. 144025 June 1483), was an English nobleman, courtier, bibliophile and writer. He was the brother of Queen Elizabeth Woodville who married King Edward IV. He was one of the leading members of the Woodvi ...

(beheaded Jun 1483). When Richard became king he gave Ratcliffe a number of offices, including the currently attainted hereditary

High Sheriff of Westmorland Westmorland (sometimes spelled Westmoreland) in North West England was abolished in 1974 following Ted Heath's Local Government Act 1972. Westmorland became a part of Cumbria along with Cumberland, parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire, including the ...

, and made him a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

. He also received a large grant of lands, including much that had belonged to the Courtenay

Earls of Devon Earl of Devon was created several times in the English peerage, and was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the de Redvers (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.) family, and later by the Courtenay family. It is not to be con ...

. After the

rebellion of 1483 The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

he was given a very large number of forfeited estates. As a result, he had an income larger than most

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

s. In July 1484,

William Collingbourne William Collingborn (c. 1435–1484) was an English landowner and administrator. He was an opponent of King Richard III – corresponding with his enemies and penning a famous lampoon – and was eventually executed for treason. Family ...

, a Tudor agent, nailed a lampooning poem to

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

, London, which obliquely identifies Ratcliffe as one of the three aides to King Richard: The "catte" alludes to

William Catesby William Catesby (1450 – 25 August 1485) was one of Richard III of England's principal councillors. He also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Speaker of the House of Commons during Richard's reign. The son of Sir William Catesby o ...

; the "ratte" to Ratcliffe; and "Lovell" to Francis, Viscount Lovell, one of whose

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

family devices was a white wolf (the "dogge"). The "hogge" alludes to King Richard and his badge of a white boar.Fields, Bertram. ''Royal Blood: Richard III and the Mystery of the Princes.'' 2000 The poem was interpolated into

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

's film ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

'', a screen adaptation of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play. Ratcliffe married Agnes Scrope, daughter of

Henry Scrope, 4th Baron Scrope of Bolton Henry Scrope, 4th Baron Scrope of Bolton (1418–1459) was a member of the English peerage in Yorkshire in the 15th century. Born 4 June 1418 to Richard Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Bolton and Margaret Neville, he was still a minor when his fa ...

, one of the great barons in the north of England. Ratcliffe was one of the two councillors (the other was William Catesby) who are reputed to have told the king that marrying

Elizabeth of York Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. Elizabeth married Henry after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which ma ...

would cause rebellions in the north.Weir ''The Princes in the Tower'' p. 211-212 Ratcliffe was killed at the

Battle of Bosworth Field The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Augu ...

, on 22 August 1485.

Shakespeare play

Ratcliffe appears in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

'' as a minor character who executes

Rivers A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

and Vaughn.Boyce ''Shakespeare A to Z'' p. 532 In the

Andrew Wise Andrew Wise ( fl. 1589 – 1603), or Wyse or Wythes, was a London publisher of the Elizabethan era who issued first editions of five Shakespearean plays. "No other London stationer invested in Shakespeare as assiduously as Wise did, at least ...

1597 (first) edition, Sir Richard's character appears first as ''Sir Richard Ratliffe'' (without the 'c') then as plain ''Ratcliffe'' (with the 'c', but no 'Sir' nor 'Richard') and finally as plain ''Ratliffe''.William Shakespeare, ''The Tragedy of King Richard the third'' (London: Andrew Wise, 1597)
– HTML version of the first edition. In the 1995 film version (starring

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...

, and adapted to a 1930s setting), Ratcliffe is portrayed by Bill Paterson, and acts as (King) Richard's batman.

Citations

References

*Boyce, Charles ''Shakespeare A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Plays, His Poems, His Life and Times, and More'' New York: Laurel 1990 *Fields, Bertram ''Royal Blood: Richard III and the Mystery of the Princes'' New York:Regan Books 2000 *Ross, Charles ''Richard III'' Berkeley, California: University of California Press 1981 *Weir, Alison ''The Princes in the Tower'' New York: Ballantine 1992 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratcliffe, Richard Year of birth missing 1485 deaths Garter Knights appointed by Richard III English military personnel killed in action High Sheriffs of Westmorland Male Shakespearean characters Knights banneret of England Shakespeare villains