ricardienne | Calling All Snape-defenders!

Okay. All you Snape-defenders. All of [i]us[/i] Snape-defenders, I should say. We're being accused of a lot of things right now. Of being in denial, of romanticizing a character to a ridiculous degree, of coming up with crack-pot and convoluted theories for things that can be expained by simply accepting what we don't want to accept, to wit, that Snape is evil.

These apply to us in varying degrees. Some of us are gung-ho on the "Snape-and-Dumbledore-planned-the-whole-thing" theory. Others prefer the "Snape-was-forced-to-make-the-vow-unwillingly" train of though. Some of us say, "he only did it because he's really having an affair with Narcissa and couldn't refuse her," some "Snape's still on the fence, he was saving his own skin but he's really working against LV." In short, there is a whole spectrum of ideas with the basic idea of "Severus Snape is more than just a mini!Voldemort. He's more than just an evil Death Eater. He is a real man who has faced and is facing many very difficult choices which he is trying to navigate for the eventual greater good."

"So," you may be wondering, "why is she calling us all here? We've been all through this before -- we go through it on every third thread on this board. We're well aware of what we believe."

Allow me to explain. Snape is a fascinating character, we all agree. He's what the AP Lit Test might call "a character who, from his actions alone, might be considered evil, but who, on closer examination, is sympathetic." I have been very heartened to see how everyone has rallied around Snape, how there's a real commitment to figuring out the truth about him and his loyalties, how you aren't willing to accept the "apparent" diagnosis of his character. It might be said that you like lost causes. So I have a proposal for you.

There is another such lost cause, another case of a character being terribly maligned, quite possibly falsely. Another case of a man who has been accused of being the embodiment of evil when he may have been deeply principled. Another case where the evidence is unclear, where the truth is unknown, where a few dedicated people are determined to clear a name in the face of general opposition. Where theories, some flimsier than others, abound, where actions and words are analyzed to try to get at what really was going on. This is, of course, the cause of Richard III.

Yes, perhaps I have finally snapped. I am making connections between Severus Snape and Richard III.

Richard III, (1452-1485, ruled 1483-85) was the last king of England to die in battle. He was killed by Henry Tudor, later Henry VII, at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He has since been villified, most (in)famously by Shakespeare. You know: the Wicked Uncle, Crookback, Richard "Now is the winter of our discontent" "A kingdom for my horse" III. Had his brother, his two nephews, and his wife murdered. Tried to marry his niece. Most evil king England has ever known.

Or not. When one considers that Shakespeare a) was writing under Henry VII's grand-daughter and b)'s only sources were Tudor-written histories like More and Holinshead, the view becomes a little different. Examining contemporary documents and records, some have decided that Richard did not, in fact murder his nephews (the only murder that is really in contention: the rest are near-universally rejected). And a different picture begins to emerge: a loyal brother, a devoted husband, a conscientious administrater and king. (All this is, of course, looked on rather dimly by the academic establishment.)

Yes, I'm suggesting you get involved. That you check out the cause of Richard III. You may like it. Heck, what's not to like about a controversy where points hinge on what time of year strawberries ripen in England? When defending Snape gets a little dull, when you've been through all the possible theories and need a break, head over to http://www.r3.org and investigate the possibilities of, say, Henry VII murdering the princes in the tower, or of James Tyrrel's having taken them to the Netherlands. Or of Jane Shore or Lady Stanley being the killer. It's fun, it's interesting, it's like analyzing Harry Potter, only with actual historical figures!

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In other news, look at this really cool piece of HBP art.