Richard III's father was Richard, Duke of York. His mother was Cecily Neville. Even by medieval standards, his parent's union was acknowledged happy and fruitful. Cecily gave birth to 11 children, 8 of them boys. Surviving letters from Richard to his mother are written with deep respect.
It was customary in the middle ages to name the child after the father or important patron. Our Richard was clearly named for his father. But one thing that we have never seen stressed before is that Richard was the eighth son of his parents. In order, the names of the sons were:
- Henry
- Edward
- Edmund
- William
- John
- George
- Thomas
- Richard
It begs the question, what was it about the baby Richard, that caused Cecily and Richard duke of York to name this child Richard?
Did being his father's namesake affect his personality?