Page "Richard III of England" Paragraph 32

During Richard's reign, the historian John Rous praised him as a " good lord " who punished " oppressors of the commons ".

After his death, Richard's image was blackened by his Tudor successors, culminating in the famous portrayal of him in Shakespeare's play Richard III as a physically deformed machiavellian villain who cheerfully commits numerous murders in order to claw his way to power.

Rous himself led the way in his History of the Kings of England, written during Henry VII's reign.

Rous reversed himself and now portrayed Richard as a freakish individual who was born with teeth and shoulder-length hair after having been in his mother's womb for two years.

His body was stunted and distorted, with one shoulder higher than the other.

Rous also attributes the murder of Henry VI to Richard, and claims that he poisoned his own wife.