The Tyrant, the usurper and the hero | Richard II: tyrant

HistoryExtra podcast

HistoryExtra

History

4.3 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2024

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Richard II lacked all the qualities a medieval monarch needed, bar one: birthright. Born believing he was God's representative on Earth, the narcissistic tyrant seems to have done everything wrong. But did Richard just not understand what it meant to be king? In the first episode of this three-part HistoryExtra podcast series 'Tyrant, Usurper, Hero', Dan Jones and Helen Castor chart Richard’s eccentricities and the trials of his reign – from the monarch’s obsessive addiction to good hygiene to his involvement in the Peasant’s Revolt and eventual downfall. (Ad) Helen Castor is the author of The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV (Penguin, 2024). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthe-eagle-and-the-hart%2Fhelen-castor%2F9780241419328. (Ad) Dan Jones is the author of Henry V: The Astonishing Rise of England's Greatest Warrior King (Bloomsbury, 2024). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fhenry-v%2Fdan-jones%2F9781804541937. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is a History Extra production.
0:07.0	Richard II, I often hold up as an example of why cousins shouldn't marry.
0:13.0	Things are starting to go wrong.
0:15.0	It's probably not good for a child to be treated like the Messiah under the age of 12.
0:20.0	His general attitude to war is Lord now.
0:23.6	I don't want to.
0:25.6	Richard has misunderstood the entire project of his kingship.
0:29.6	From 1377 to 1422, England's fortunes waxed and waned, as three dramatically different men wore its crown.
0:41.4	The deluded narcissist, Richard II, the charismatic usurper Henry IV, and the lionized
0:48.8	warrior Henry V. In this three-part History Extra podcast series, best-selling authors and historians Helen
0:56.2	Castor and Dan Jones sat down to chart the reins of these three rulers and explore how
1:03.2	they shaped England, from the Peasants' Revolt to the Battle of Ashancourt.
1:08.9	Helen's new book, The Eagle in the Heart, follows the tangled stories of Richard
1:12.9	the 2nd and Henry IV.
1:15.1	While in his new book, Henry V, Dan Jones profiles the next king to sit on the throne.
1:21.6	In this first episode, they begin with one of England's most controversial kings.
1:28.5	Richard the 2nd. Helen They begin with one of England's most controversial kings. Richard II.
1:30.9	Helen, Richard the 2nd, I often hold up as an example of why cousins shouldn't marry.
1:36.7	Could you tell us a little bit about Richard's parents where he came from
1:40.8	and maybe how that led him turning out to be quite so weird. What a question. Richard's
1:47.6	parents were pretty unusual when it came to royal marriages in the Middle Ages because his father,
1:55.8	the black prince, as we know him, was the heir to the throne, but normally you'd expect an
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from HistoryExtra, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of HistoryExtra and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.