King Richard III might have been a control freak, but not a psychopath
It was exciting enough when scientists found King Richard III's body and recreated what he could have looked like 528 years ago, but now they've gone one step further and psychoanalyzed him.
Professor Mark Lansdale, Head of the University of Leicester's School of Psychology, and forensic psychologist Dr. Julian Boon have created a psychological analysis of Richard III based on the consensus among historians in relation to the king's experiences and actions.
Richard III was often looked at as murderous villain, known for killing his nephews in order to gain the thrown from his brother's young son. He was also famously portrayed as such in William Shakespeare's play "Richard III."
Modern day fans of the Yorkist leader argue that the dead king was actually made to look a lot worse by his Tudor successors. They needed to portray his rule as being unfit in order to make their dynasty appear more legitimate.
The researchers found little signs of the traits psychologists would use to identify psychopaths in today's society - including narcissism, deviousness, callousness, recklessness and lack of empathy in close relationships.
However, they did find that Richard III most likely suffered from "intolerance to uncertainty syndrome," which could have caused the king to have some control freak tendencies.
"This syndrome is associated with a need to seek security following an insecure childhood, as Richard had," said Lansdale in a statement. "In varying degrees, it is associated with a number of positive aspects of personality including a strong sense of right and wrong, piety, loyalty to trusted colleagues, and a belief in legal processes, all exhibited by Richard."
The scientists also noted that Richard III's curved spine could have impacted how he interacted with people, as having physical deformities during this time was seen as having a twisted soul.