Monday Scholars- England in the Time of King Richard III with Deirdre O'Sullivan

LITCHFIELD, Conn. - Aug. 26, 2015 - PRLog -- Enjoy online learning and engaging discussion at the Oliver Wolcott Library with the Monday Scholars! Monday Scholars combines the best of online learning with face-to-face classroom discussion!

This session’s course will be England in the time of King Richard III and will be taught by Deirdre O’Sullivan who is the senior Lecturer in Archaeology in the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester. OWL’s Book Club Liaison, Cameron Bove, will facilitate a group discussion. Participants only need to come ready to engage their minds and participate in discussion.

The discovery of the skeleton of Richard III in a Leicester car park - and the recent revelations of an infidelity within his family’s bloodline - have made headline news around the world.

In this course, a team of scholars from the University of Leicester will explore through archaeology, history and literature the England Richard would have inhabited in the 15th century and look back at his rediscovery and re-interment.

The political scene in the 15th century was dominated by savage dynastic warfare – the Wars of the Roses - in which allegiances and power shifted among an aristocratic clique, with devastating outcomes. The century also saw the abandonment of many villages through general population decline, and a shift towards greater use of the land for pasture farming. But demand for labor meant that the prosperity of working people rose, and towards the end of the century, the introduction of printing transformed access to literacy and books.

Each week, we’ll address a different perspective of this period including: medieval warfare, the lives of peasants and farmers, food and culture, death and commemoration, and reading and the introduction of printing.

We’ll also look at how historians and archaeologists have reconstructed Richard’s road to Bosworth - the battle in which he died - and how one of England’s most famous kings came to be buried in Leicester. This will help you understand Richard III’s reinterment, as his remains were taken to Bosworth, through the villages connected with his last battle, and finally laid to rest in Leicester Cathedral in March 2015.

Deirdre O’Sullivan is a graduate in History and Archaeology, her MPhil research dealt with the Early Christian Archaeology of Cumbria. She has previously worked as a field archaeologist and as a post-excavation researcher at Durham and St Andrews. At Leicester she was responsible for introducing and running a Master’s program in Post Excavation Skills, and has directed fieldwork projects at St Bees Priory, Cumbria, the early Christian monastery on Lindisfarne (Holy Island) Northumberland, and locally at the post-medieval pottery manufacturing center at Ticknall, Derbyshire. Her current research work has been centered on the archaeologies and histories of the Dissolution and on friaries.

Light refreshments will be served. All Oliver Wolcott Library events are free and open to the public. Space is limited. Registration is required and can be done by calling 860-567-8030 or logging onto www.owlibrary.org and clicking on Programs/Adult Programs.