The Fatal Wounds of King Richard III (Infographic)

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Chart shows dagger, sword and halberd wounds to the king's skeleton.
A study of the Medieval king's skeleton reveals traumatic wounds he received at the time of death. (Image credit: by Karl Tate, Infographics Artist)

A study of King Richard III’s bones uncovered 11 injuries inflicted near the time of death by common Late Medieval weapons. Although the king was wearing armor in battle, the head injuries are consistent with his helmet having been lost or removed. A pelvis injury was likely inflicted after death.

Four of the wounds to the face, skull and ribs were likely due to dagger stabs. Another, likely fatal, wound to the rear of the skull, was likely due to a sword strike. The largest wound to the head, penetrating deep into the brain, likely came from either a sword or the spike atop a halberd.

[Read the full story on the postmortem analysis of Richard III's Skeleton]

Karl Tate
Karl Tate
LiveScience Infographic Artist
Karl has been Purch's infographics specialist across all editorial properties since 2010.  Before joining Purch, Karl spent 11 years at the New York headquarters of The Associated Press, creating news graphics for use around the world in newspapers and on the web.  He has a degree in graphic design from Louisiana State University.