'' Richardus Tertius'' is a play written in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

about

King Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

Thomas Legge Thomas Legge (; 1535 – 12 July 1607) was an English educator and playwright, prominently known for his play ''Richardus Tertius'', which is considered to be the first history play written in England. Early life and education Legge was the se ...

. The play was acted by the students of St. John's College, Cambridge in 1579. It was possibly seen by two of the University Wits in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

at the time:

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...

and Robert Greene. The play was never printed in its historical era (in fact, not until 1844); but it survives in nine manuscripts, and is thought to have been well known in its time. Scholars have studied the relationships between ''Richardus Tertius'' and the later plays about Richard III, the anonymous play '' The True Tragedy of Richard III'' (printed

1594 Events January–March * January 3 – Longvek, the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia, is conquered by the army of the Ayutthaya Kingdom (now Thailand), commanded by King Naresuan, after more than two years of war. King Che ...

) and

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 natio ...

's ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

''. In one view, the unknown author of ''The True Tragedy'' used Legge's play occasionally as a source, but Shakespeare did not.Robert J. Lordi, "The Relationship of ''Richardus Tertius'' to the Main Richard III Plays," ''Boston University Studies in English'' Vol. 5 (1961), pp. 139-53.

References

External links

hypertext edition of the play
1579 plays 16th-century books in Latin 16th-century manuscripts Plays set in the 15th century English Renaissance plays Biographical plays about English royalty Plays in manuscript Cultural depictions of Richard III of England Plays about kings {{latin-stub