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Blurb and introduction to Project
My senior capstone project examines the disappearance of Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, better known as the Princes in the Tower, and how the narrative surrounding their fate changed over time. Rather than treating the case only as a mystery to be solved, this project focuses on historical memory: how primary sources, Tudor political narratives, visual culture, and later interpretations shaped public understandings of guilt, legitimacy, and power. Through this research, I became especially interested in how history is not only recorded, but also retold, reframed, and preserved.
Abstract
This project explores how the story of the Princes in the Tower developed from a late medieval political crisis into one of England’s most enduring historical mysteries. By examining contemporary written sources, Tudor-era accounts, visual representations, and later interpretations, the project analyzes how changing political agendas shaped the way Edward V and Richard, Duke of York were remembered. Rather than attempting only to determine responsibility for their disappearance, this research considers how narratives of guilt, innocence, legitimacy, and tyranny were constructed over time. The project argues that the history of the Princes in the Tower reveals as much about the power of historical memory as it does about the events of 1483 themselves.
A Note on the Project
This project began with a familiar historical question: what happened to the Princes in the Tower? As my research developed, however, I became less interested in treating the topic as a simple mystery and more interested in how that mystery has been shaped by centuries of interpretation. The case of the Princes in the Tower shows how historical narratives can be built from uncertainty, politics, rumor, evidence, and imagination. This project reflects my broader interest in archives, visual culture, public history, and the ways societies remember the past.
Capstone Content
Proposal
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