Mark the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth Field, where Richard III died

Deirdre O’Sullivan, lead educator on the University of Leicester’s England in the Time of King Richard III, talks about what learners can expect on the fourth run of this popular free online course, which starts on 13 July 2015.

The discovery and recent reburial of Richard III made headline news around the world, and this particular run of our course coincides with the 530th anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth Field, where Richard died.

It will give you the opportunity to find out more about the battlefield archaeology and discuss the value of historic battle re-enactments.

Follow Battle of Bosworth re-enactments live

We will be attending Battle of Bosworth anniversary events at Bosworth Battlefield on the weekend of the 22 and 23 August 2015, and we will update you with photographs and tweets about the re-enactments, medieval markets and expert talks.

In the final week of the course, we will also look at the rediscovery and reinterment of Richard III; from the methods used by the historians and archaeologists who reconstructed Richard’s road to Bosworth, to the recent, memorable week when the King was finally laid to rest in Leicester Cathedral.

Richard III remains popular worldwide

Richard III remains one of the world’s favourite historical figures. He was recently voted number one in this year’s History Hot 100 by BBC History Magazine readers and historians, who were asked to nominate the historical figure who they were most interested in at the moment.

Meanwhile, a forthcoming production of Shakespeare’s Richard III at The Globe in London will be performed in Mandarin, highlighting the international interest in the King.

You can find out more about this course in Deirdre’s previous post for the FutureLearn blog or join it now. You can also contribute to social media conversation about the course using the hashtag #FLrichardIII.