Not Just the Tudors

What happens when a small island faces the might of the Ottoman Empire?

In 1565, Malta was the setting for a brutal clash between the forces of the Ottoman Empire and the defiant Knights of the Order of St.John, warrior monks led by the iron-willed Jean de Valette. This extraordinary siege pitted faith against empire, innovation against desperation, and a handful of defenders against an unstoppable superpower.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Marcus Bull about the battle that reshaped Mediterranean power dynamics, shattered Ottoman invincibility, and forged legends that still echo in Malta’s fortified walls today.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

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Professor Suzannah Lipscomb delves into the world of Stuart-era recipe books, in which medicine, cookery and women's roles combine in fascinating ways. She discovers how these volumes were far more than just cookbooks, offering a window into how women collected and shared knowledge, and how female identity was shaped within the domestic sphere.

Suzannah's guest Dr. Kimberley Connor introduces the intriguing 1675 recipe book of Margaret Baker, which includes everything from plague preventatives to culinary delights, for example a simple spiced eggy bread that was both a tasty breakfast and a remedy for back pain.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, the editor and producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake 425 years ago this month. His crime? Radical thinking which clashed with the ideas of the Roman Catholic church. But his extraordinarily colourful life, ideas and tragic fate continue to resonate in our modern understanding of the universe and the ongoing tension between scientific inquiry and religious authority.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by best-selling author S.J. Parris - pen-name for journalist Stephanie Merritt - who has written a series of novels with Bruno as the main protagonist. Together they delve into the life of a revolutionary and engaging character who took on the church in the 16th century and paid the ultimate price.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Related episodes:

Shardlake and its Creator C.J. Sansom: https://podfollow.com/not-just-the-tudors/episode/9da9830fbb5f8145748d9dbfe2f5baf03637989c/view

Elizabeth I's Spymaster Walsingham: https://podfollow.com/not-just-the-tudors/episode/ffbad5666898e744e85314aa57727d74048cc467/view

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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The German Peasants' War - which happened exactly 500 years ago - saw peasants across Germany, Switzerland and Austria rise up against oppressive lords in a bid for freedom and social reform.  This was a pivotal and cataclysmic moment in European history, as transformative as the French Revolution and as deadly as World War I. 

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Lyndal Roper, author of Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants' War, to explore this moment of rebellion, hope and bloodshed that reshaped the landscape of early modern Europe.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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The opulent halls of 17th and 18th-century Versailles were not just filled with dazzlingly dressed courtiers and royal intrigue. They also positively buzzed with scientific discovery and innovation, making the French royal court a crossroads of science and power. 

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb visits a fascinating exhibition at London's Science Museum which peels back the gilded layers of the famous palace to reveal its lesser-known role as a hotbed of scientific thinking. Along the way, she hears about innovative and dangerous new surgeries, sees the Sun King's actual pet rhinoceros as well as the world's most famous watch, designed for Marie Antoinette.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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How did a lowly orange seller become the most famous actress of her time and mistress of King Charles II?

In 1660, King Charles II ruled that female stage roles must be played by women, leading to the rise of the 'Covent Garden Goddesses'. As a result, Nell Gwyn - born 375 years ago this month - went from being a humble orange seller to a celebrated actress and Charles II's most enduring and famous mistress.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explores how Nell Gwyn became an 'It girl' - one of England's first celebrities and cherished folk heroine - with Professor Laura Engel and Charles Beauclerk, Earl of Burford, a direct descendant of Nell Gwyn and King Charles II.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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The famous saying "I think, therefore I am" was the cornerstone of the philosophy of Rene Descartes, who died 375 years ago this month at the age of 53. His groundbreaking ideas shaped Western thought and continue to influence our understanding of existence, knowledge and the nature of reality. Descartes' ground-breaking approach involved questioning all beliefs to determine those which are absolutely certain. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Catherine Wilson to discuss Descartes' ideas and how they continue to resonate in modern philosophy, science and even popular culture.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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Professor Suzannah Lipscomb delves into the dramatic story of the first European encounters with the indigenous people of Australia. She's joined by Professor Alistair Paterson who sheds light on the reported events of February 1606 when the Dutch unexpectedly stumbled upon the shores of Cape York Peninsula. Together, they'll examine the far-reaching consequences of this first contact and its impact on centuries of Australian history.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Related episodes:

Batavia: The Worst Shipwreck in History >

The Founding of Cape Town >

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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For our final foray into the shadowy Renaissance world of the Borgia Dynasty, we explore the enigma that was Lucrezia Borgia, whose life navigating a perilous patriarchal landscape was enmeshed in scandals and power struggles. 

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Distinguished Professor Diane Ghirardo dissect the myths and reveal the truths surrounding Lucrezia Borgia, from her role as a political pawn to the allegations of her involvement in dark deeds, ending with her eventual emergence as a respected figure seeking redemption. 

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb discusses the impact of the Little Ice Age, a period of significant cooling from the 15th to early 19th centuries that caused widespread famine, drought, and socio-economic upheaval across the Northern Hemisphere. She's joined by Professors Madeline Bassnett and Laurie Johnson who share insights from their joint research project on how England adapted to severe weather conditions. Discover fascinating historical accounts and learn about humanity's resilience in the face of climate adversity.

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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In June 1497, Juan - or Giovanni - Borgia, favoured son of Pope Alexander VI, was found brutally murdered in the River Tiber. Who committed this heinous crime? Suspects ranged from his ambitious brother Cesare to the Borgias' political enemies, the Orsini family. Despite an extensive investigation by the Pope, Giovanni's murder remains one of history's greatest cold cases.

In the third episode of our special series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Catherine Fletcher as they delve once again into the Borgias' treacherous Renaissance world, uncovering secrets of power, betrayal, and intrigue.

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explores the lives of the cast of Tudor courtiers who appear in Wolf Hall, including Thomas Cromwell, Richard Rich, Thomas Howard and Eustace Chapuys. She's joined by Dr. Lauren Mackay to discuss their portrayal in Wolf Hall and what happened to them in real life after the demise of Cromwell. The episode reveals the intricate politics, personal loyalties and enduring impacts of these characters on English history.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Music by Epidemic Sound.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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Cesare Borgia, one of history's most controversial figures, was known for his ruthless ambition and political cunning. From his dramatic rise to power through to his notorious military campaigns and the legends surrounding his alleged crimes and complex relationships, he inspired Machiavelli's The Prince and left a lasting mark on the Renaissance era.

In the second of our special series on the Borgias, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Catherine Fletcher to investigate whether Cesare's reputation is well-deserved or a product of historical exaggeration.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explores the dissolution of some 800 monasteries and nunneries by King Henry VIII, a campaign that dramatically reshaped England’s landscape and society.  Suzannah meets leading experts - Professor Alec Ryrie, James G.Clark and Professor Lucy Wooding - whose research has uncovered the massive transfer of property and power that left an indelible mark on England.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Watch Suzannah's series on the Dissolution of the Monasteries by signing up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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In the 15th and early 16th centuries, one Spanish family rose to exert its influence over Renaissance Italy - the Borgias. Deploying diplomacy, marriage alliances and military force to advance their interests, the Borgias’ meteoric ascent was accompanied by stories of incest, murder, and debauchery. But how true were the rumours? 

All this month on Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is discovering how the Borgias pushed at the boundaries of acceptable behaviour for Renaissance rulers. She is joined in this episode by Dr. Katharine Fellows to consider the Borgias' rise to the pinnacle of European power. 

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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Niccolo Machiavelli’s name has become synonymous with cunning, deceit and a lack of morality to achieve one's goals in politics or business. He was a pivotal figure of the Renaissance, who witnessed the turbulence of Medici rule, radical religious reform, and the dangerous politics of European courts.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by the renowned political philosopher, historian and author Dr. Erica Benner to explore Machiavelli's journey from diplomat to revered writer. 

Related episodes on the Renaissance:

Michelangelo >

Lorenzo de Medici >

Marguerite de Navarre >

Erasmus >

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK

Across the holiday season, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb has been diving deep into the captivating stories of the six wives of Henry VIII with three special double episodes. Immerse yourself in the rich and fascinating true stories of these incredible women who changed the monarchy - and England - forever.

This time, we spotlight Katherine Howard, the girl queen wholly unprepared and unsuited for the monstrous Henry, and Kateryn Parr, the one who defied fate and emerged as a survivor. Join Suzannah for stories filled with intrigue, passion, tragedy and resilience.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Music by Motion Array, Epidemic Sound, All3Media and Pixabay

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Celebrate the 350th anniversary of Sir Christopher Wren's masterworks with Professor Suzannah Lipscomb as she and Professor Adrian Tinniswood OBE dive deep into Wren's extraordinary journey from scientist to architectural legend. Discover the untold stories behind the creation of St. Paul’s Cathedral, the radical rebuilding post-Great Fire of London, and Wren’s groundbreaking role in founding the Royal Society. Uncover the struggles, the ingenuity, and the unyielding ambition of a man who navigated political tumult, personal tragedy, and professional triumphs to leave an indelible mark on history. This episode unveils Wren’s lesser-known ventures, his enigmatic character, and the intriguing controversies that shaped his monumental career.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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In this second special Christmas edition, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb offers another chance to hear the fascinating series from earlier this year in which she took an in-depth look into the six wives of Henry VIII, revealing the rich stories and incredible lives of these women who changed the monarchy - and England - forever. This time, Suzannah turns her attention to the sad, short queenships of wife number three Jane Seymour and number four Anne of Cleves - two women about which there’s a lot more to be said than their brief marriages to Henry VIII.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Music from Motion Array, Epidemic Sound, All3Media and Pixabay

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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In the first of three special Christmas editions, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb offers another chance to hear the series from earlier this year in which she took an in-depth look into the six wives of Henry VIII, revealing the rich stories and incredible lives of these women who changed the monarchy - and England - forever. For the next three editions, we’ve joined two of those episodes together in turn to create bumper episodes. Suzannah begins with Renaissance Queen Katherine of Aragon and the woman who replaced her in Henry’s affections, the tragic Anne Boleyn. The episode delves into the fascinating lives, achievements, and sad ends of these two influential Queens, exploring their backgrounds, marriages, and the political dynamics at Henry VIII's court.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Music from Motion Array, Epidemic Sound, All3Media and Pixabay

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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How did the Bible transform from a guarded manuscript read in secret to a book accessible to millions?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Bruce Gordon to uncover the revolutionary impact of Gutenberg's printing press and Erasmus's bold Greek New Testament, setting the stage for Martin Luther's game-changing German translation of the world's best-selling book.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Nick Thomson and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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Pirates weren’t just a menace on the high seas - they were a direct threat to Spain’s empire-building ambitions in the Pacific. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Kristie Patricia Flannery to hear the untold story of how Spanish officials, Catholic missionaries, Indigenous Filipinos, and Chinese migrants joined forces to battle Chinese and Muslim pirates, as well as the British Navy during the Seven Years’ War. This is a fascinating look at the darker side of globalisation and European imperialism.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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In 1770, 14-year-old Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria arrived in France to marry Louis XVI. As Marie Antoinette, she became the ultimate diva of her time; rebelling against the the rigid protocols of court and crafting a unique visual identity; wearing men's clothing and sporting excessive elevated hair. How then did her adoring public turn on her and condemn her, leading to her execution?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Caroline Weber to discuss the royal influencer who dressed like a royal mistress, and whose lavish attire cost her her life.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

More episodes on France in the Early Modern period:

Louis XIV and his Mistresses >

The House of Guise: Europe’s Most Murderous Dynasty >

Francois I, King of France >

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Elizabeth I and Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur of Morocco shared a common goal of empire building, despite their cultural, political and religious differences. Their alliance resulted in the transformation of sugar from a luxury item to a widespread commodity and their little-known correspondence reveals a never-realised plan to conquer Spain together. 

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Samia Errazzouki to delve into Morocco’s significant relationship with Tudor England and an often overlooked and unlikely alliance in the late 16th century.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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**Warning: This episode contains explicit descriptions of sexual acts and the use of historic terminology that does not align with current usage**

The first widespread discussion of sodomy in public discourse came in the aftermath of the so-called ‘Glorious Revolution’ that saw the Roman Catholic King James II deposed in favour of his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange.

Almost immediately, English satirists began to spread explicit charges of sodomy against William - whose male 'favourites' were no secret - and alleging his desire for other men was the cause of the royal couple's infertility. Perhaps for the first time, satirical publications and pamphlets began circulating explicit accusations against William, becoming a catalyst for persecution.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to historian Jack Beesley about his research into the early origins of homosexual identity and its subsequent discrimination in the court of William III.

Related episodes:

The Private Life of James VI & I: https://podfollow.com/not-just-the-tudors/episode/a406821154013f01e83da0fcd95f40878547caf5/view

Same-Sex Marriages in Renaissance Rome: https://podfollow.com/not-just-the-tudors/episode/708bce3dd88f4fd948c8beb606d131d9fc734576/view

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK

Beginning with the reign of Emperor Akbar and continuing through to Shah Jahan, India's Mughal Empire enjoyed fabulous wealth and stable governance, resulting in remarkable artistic achievements, including the architectural marvel of the iconic Taj Mahal.

Join Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and curator Dr. Susan Stronge at the V&A Museum in London as they delve into the opulent world of the great Mughals during their golden age.

Music from All3 Media Music.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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**This episode contains brief descriptions of tortures**

Between 1570 and 1630 there was intense persecution as thousands of people were accused of being witches in Lorraine, a small duchy on the borders of France and the Holy Roman Empire. Suspicion spread like a deadly virus through the villages and towns as neighbour turned on neighbour.

Robin Briggs, Emeritus Fellow at All Souls College Oxford, joins Professor Suzannah Lipscomb to delve into the richest surviving archive of witchcraft trials to be found in Europe. They discuss the thousands of confessions and persecutions detailed in the archive and what insights they provide into the social dynamics and cultural beliefs surrounding witchcraft in this small but notorious European duchy.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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We probably think that the only artists working in the Tudor court were men, like Holbein and Hilliard. But new research is revealing that women were painting the Tudors too, and they were probably more active than we have previously suspected.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by miniatures experts Emma Rutherford and Alan Derbyshire to discuss two of these artists - Susanna Horenbout and Levina Teerlinc - and also finds out about a stunning new discovery of a portrait of a notorious Tudor Queen.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, the audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Music by Epidemic Sounds and All3 Media Music.

Related episodes:

A Tudor Mystery: https://podfollow.com/not-just-the-tudors/episode/5e47b2618a2d57498af383103e62be4af0afdca5/view

Who Painted Anne Dudley?: https://podfollow.com/not-just-the-tudors/episode/bcd6084fd52449f3e447223f778b32e9a4ea7f69/view

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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Long before witch trials, magic was the domain of ‘cunning folk’ who were part of the fabric of medieval and early modern life. Their charms, filters and spells - for personal advancement, aiding fertility, predicting the future, even exacting revenge - offered people solutions to their problems. 

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Dr. Tabitha Stanmore, whose research navigates the social and political lives of these lesser known magical practitioners. 

All music from Epidemic Sounds

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Related episodes:

The Brutal Basque Witch Hunt: https://podfollow.com/not-just-the-tudors/episode/f0c212ec364450ef05ff7b8e4df7053fa3911d20/view

The Witchfinder General: https://podfollow.com/not-just-the-tudors/episode/9c81545a7796bf29d5de9f0c9ff75c40169a9ed0/view

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Leonardo da Vinci was a man like no other. A restless visionary and polymath, his paintings are some of the best known of all works of art.

To talk about Leonardo, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Ken Burns, the multi-award winning American filmmaker who has transformed the documentary into an art form. His latest film, made with Sarah Burns and David McMahon, explores in wonderful granular detail the singular genius of Leonardo da Vinci.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Related episodes:

Michelangelo >

Lorenzo de' Medici, the Magnificent >

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In the aftermath of the Civil War, a remote corner of Essex witnessed the most brutally devastating witch-hunt in English history. A dangerous maverick Matthew Hopkins, 'the Witchfinder General', hunted down vulnerable people across East Anglia, exploiting the anxiety and lawlessness of the times. Between 1645 and 1647, over 300 suspects were interrogated and tortured; a third of them were hanged.

As our special series on witchcraft continues, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about Hopkins and his accomplice John Stearne from historian and author Malcolm Gaskill.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, the audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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The names that spring first to mind in the Reformation of Christianity tend always to be male. But women were central to these extraordinary transformations in religious life in Europe and around the globe.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Professor Merry Wiesner-Hanks, who has uncovered the stories of hundreds of women. As monarchs and mothers, migrants and martyrs, mystics and missionaries, women's influence and actions were crucial factors in the Reformation.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, the editor is Amy Haddow, and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

If you enjoy this episode, you will be interested in these from our archive:

How Kateryn Parr Championed the Reformation: https://shows.acast.com/not-just-the-tudors/episodes/how-kateryn-parr-championed-the-reformation

The End of Monasteries: https://shows.acast.com/not-just-the-tudors/episodes/end-monasteries

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Join Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Professor Ronald Hutton as they explore the evolving definitions of witches, the global spread of witch beliefs, and their impact during the 16th and 17th century witch trials in Europe.

As part of our month-long series on witchcraft, we delve into the role of magic in different cultures, the forms persecution took and how anthropology, folklore, and history have shaped the modern understanding of witches.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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A pyrotechnic dragon roared flames into the river Thames during the coronation week of Elizabeth of York in 1487. These explosive displays were employed as a sign of might and majesty throughout the reign of Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I was the first English monarch to establish their own fire master. By the time of the Gunpowder Plot, fireworks were used not only to celebrate, but to commemorate and incite. 

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to John Withington about the remarkable development of pyrotechnics throughout the Tudor and Stuart eras. 

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Related episode:

The Gunpowder Plot - The Tudor Origins >

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In 1609, some 80 people were executed for witchcraft in France's Basque region. It inspired a final push to eradicate witches by the Spanish Inquisition across the border. One of the judges, Pierre de Lancre, published a sensationalist book which has been the source of every subsequent account. But newly discovered evidence paints a very different picture.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Dr. Jan Machielsen whose book The Basque Witch Hunt: A Secret History shows that almost everything historians thought they knew about this brutal episode is inaccurate.

Listen to our previous episode with Jan Machielsen, An Early Modern Teenage Werewolf >

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

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In the 1640s, Black communities existed in London and in most of England's port cities, communities from which men would fight and die throughout the English Civil War. There's still little evidence of the lives of these individuals. So what do we know of the Black men who took up arms during the Civil War? On which side did they fight? Were they free or enslaved? And what can this participation tell us about how race was perceived in the early modern period?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out from Sophie Merrix, whose research is uncovering the lesser known racial diversity of the Civil War battlefields.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, the audio editor is Max Carrey and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

If you found this episode interesting, then do check out these past episodes:

Black Tudors >

How Shakespeare Depicted Race >

Legacy of the Mary Rose >

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The oldest surviving part of Hampton Court Palace is a series of chambers and closets built in the 1520s for Henry VIII's chief advisor and Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey. They are now the setting for a wonderful exhibition bringing together artworks created during Henry VIII's reign alongside some evocative 16th century objects and brilliant interactive displays.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb goes to Hampton Court to meet curator Brett Dolman and talk about the exhibition which takes visitors back into the Tudor world and the lives not just of the kings and queens, but of the ordinary people whose labour upheld the functioning and magnificence of the Tudor court.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The audio editor is Ella Blaxill, the researcher is Alice Smith, and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

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In July 1588 the Spanish Armada set sail to conquer England. Three weeks later a fierce naval battle foiled the planned invasion. Many myths surround these events. The "genius" of Sir Francis Drake is exalted, while Spain’s efforts are belittled. But what really happened during that fateful encounter?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb gets the fullest possible account from Professor Geoffrey Parker who co-wrote the definitive and authoritative history of the Spanish Armada in 1988. A new, much-expanded edition, titled Armada: The Spanish Enterprise and England's Deliverance in 1588, was published in 2023.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The audio editor is Max Carrey, the researcher is Alice Smith, and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

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Related episodes:

Francis Drake’s Discovery of West Coast America >

Walter Raleigh’s Quest for Eldorado >

Henry VIII loved the spectacle of a tournament to show off. In addition to jousting displays with François I of France, Henry and the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I gifted each other armour and jousted to broker alliances. 

Not Just the Tudor's listener Karin Nieswohl from Vienna got in touch to request an episode on this fascinating subject.  Professor Suzannah Lipscomb obliges in the company of Dr. Karen Watts, Curator Emeritus at the Royal Armouries, to look at the meaning behind the metal.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The audio editor is Nick Thomson, the researcher is Alice Smith, and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Related episodes:

Henry VIII and Jousting >

Henry VIII’s Billionaire Wardrobe >

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How did Oliver Cromwell navigate the many forces ranged against him and rise to the pinnacle of his power?  From the execution of Charles I, through the establishment of the Commonwealth, to savage campaigns in Ireland and Scotland, was Cromwell nothing more than a ruthless and brutal dictator? 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined once again by Professor Ronald Hutton, whose new groundbreaking account Oliver Cromwell: Commander in Chief reveals a different kind of Cromwell.

Listen again to Professor Ronald Hutton in our episode, The Making of Oliver Cromwell >

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Max Carrey and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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A trusted advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, Dr. John Dee was an astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, and navigator with ties to the occult.

But what role did astrology or the occult have alongside Christianity in the Elizabethan court?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Benjamin Woolley to discuss this fascinating figure and find out how much of an impact Dee had on the reign of Elizabeth I.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

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The Tudor Rose was a well-known symbol which dominated the national identity of England. But for both the Tudors and Stuarts, flower imagery flourished across all aspects of the arts as well as in daily life, in what people wore and what they ate. At court, flower motifs were carved into architecture and embroidered into opulent gifts as symbols of imperial dominance. 

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by art historian Susannah Lyon Whaley to navigate the unique cultural language of flowers.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Ella Blaxill and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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In 1542 Jane Boleyn was executed for having aided and abetted Henry VIII's fifth wife Catherine Howard to commit adultery. It was the second time Jane Boleyn had been connected with charges of treason as just six years earlier, she had allegedly asserted a charge of incest against the then Queen Anne Boleyn and Jane's husband George. 

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. James Taffe, to re-examine this compelling, contradictory woman who served five successive Tudor queens for more than two decades during the increasingly dangerous reign of Henry VIII.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

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The events that led to the joint monarchy of William and Mary in 1689 have long been known as the Glorious Revolution, in which King James II was overthrown in favour of his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband, the Dutch Prince William of Orange. But not so glorious or bloodless were the ensuing years of devastating violence wreaked across Scotland and Ireland which have largely been ignored in histories.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Professor Ted Vallance, author of The Glorious Revolution: 1688 - Britain's Fight for Liberty.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The audio editor is Ella Blaxill, the researcher is Alice Smith, and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

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Born in 1515, St. Teresa of Avila continues to inspire countless people today with her mystical writings and spiritual insights. Yet, despite facing significant personal and institutional challenges throughout her life, she was also a bold reformer in the Roman Catholic Church.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, the Right Reverend and Right Honourable Rowan Lord Williams, to discuss St Teresa of Avila’s remarkable life and legacy.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The audio editor is Ella Blaxill, the researcher is Alice Smith, and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

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One subtle but powerful way that the Tudor and Stuart monarchs tried to show off their magnificence was through the creation of gardens that conveyed authority and cultural achievement. Garden history gives us an insight into statecraft, foreign influence and changing ideas of beauty. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. David Jacques OBE, who explains why so much money was spent on royal gardens from the reign of Henry VII through to Queen Anne. 

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, the audio editor is Max Carrey and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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Four years into Britain's experiment as a republic, Oliver Cromwell staged a coup, violently dissolving parliament. His “Bare Bones Parliament” would not last either and, in December 1653, a new kind of limited monarchy was proposed with Cromwell as “Lord Protector.” 

In this second of our series looking at the 1650s, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined again by Professor Alice Hunt to pick up the story of Britain as it moved from republic to protectorate, under the rule of Oliver Cromwell. 

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Joseph Knight and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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The 1650s were the only years in history when Britain was a republic.  Charles I had been executed, the monarchy was abolished and the House of Lords dismissed.  But what came next? How could stability be restored when people disagreed over what they had been fighting for in the first place? 

In the first of two fascinating episodes, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb delves deep into this turbulent decade with Professor Alice Hunt, author of Republic: Britain's Revolutionary Decade, 1649 to 1660. 

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

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In the last year of Henry VIII's life, his sixth wife Queen Kateryn Parr was accused of heresy and it looked as if her life could be on the line. This dramatic moment is the focus of a novel by Elizabeth Fremantle. Originally called Queen's Gambit, it has now been turned into the film Firebrand, starring Alicia Vikander as Kateryn Parr and Jude Law as Henry VIII. 

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb discusses the book and the film - and the woman that inspired them both - with Elizabeth Fremantle and also with actor Norman Bowman, who plays Henry VIII's right hand man Sir William Herbert in Firebrand.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Ella Blaxill and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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A feature of outbreaks of plague between the 14th and 18th centuries was the publication of books and pamphlets, known as ‘plague tracts’, that spread information and misinformation about the causes of plague, offered new remedies, and identified scapegoats. The audience for such publications lingered long after the threat of plague itself seemed to fade. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to medical historian Dr. Lori Jones about the promulgation of beliefs surrounding disease and the diseased.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

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Queen Elizabeth I’s travels round England - known as ‘progresses’ - were never a quick day-trip or city break. They involved scores of attendants, hundreds of carts of luggage, and lasted around 50 days each. Exactly 450 years ago, she went on one of the greatest progresses of her reign to the West Country. Among the places she stayed was Longleat House in Wiltshire, today best known as a safari park. It’s currently hosting a special exhibition to mark the anniversary of the royal visit. 

In this episode, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Longleat's archivist Emma Challinor and curator Dr. James Ford. 

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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In the autumn of 1621, hundreds of starlings were seen fighting in the sky above Cork. The following May, the city was ravaged by fire.  The pleated folds of skin around the neck of a baby born in 1566 were interpreted as divine judgment on starched ruffs. And when not a single wren was seen in Cambridge in the 1620s, people expected a foreign invasion.

In this episode, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Alexandra Walsham, to explore the many signs, wonders, omens and portents she has discovered in the archives, which offer fascinating insights into the collective consciousness of the Elizabethan and early Stuart periods. 

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Ella Blaxill and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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Queen Consort of France and mother to three successive Kings, Catherine de’ Medici's legacy could have been one of intelligence, fortitude, artistic patronage and religious moderation. But instead, as with so many women in positions of power, Catherine's life and actions have been almost entirely vilified. Deemed a witch and a callous spendthrift, she is perhaps best remembered as a dangerous instigator of extreme violence, because of her contested part in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572.

In this fourth and final episode of our mini-series exploring the lives and legacy of the House of Medici, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Mary Hollingsworth, whose new book Catherine de’ Medici: The Life and Times of the Serpent Queen, tries to get to the heart of one of history's most remarkable women.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Ella Blaxill and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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In July 1596, Fynes Moryson - a Lincolnshire gentleman and travel writer - was struck down with grief when his younger brother died as they crossed the desert on their return from Jerusalem. Moryson described his journeys and devastating experiences two decades later in an account titled Itinerary, at once a personal memoir and a huge manual of travel advice.  

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, first released in September 2021, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Eva Johanna Holmberg, whose study of Moryson sheds light on the lives and emotions of people in the early modern period.

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

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Fueled by ambition and the desire to extend their influence, the House of Medici saw the papacy not only as a religious post but a political one. Four of the Medici dynasty rose to become Pope in the 16th century.

In our third episode on the House of Medici, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Catherine Fletcher to talk in particular about Pope Leo X and Pope Clement VII, the Medici who led the church during its most fractious period: the time of the Reformation. 

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Ella Blaxill and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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We have long been taught that modern global history began when the 'Old World' encountered the 'New', when Christopher Columbus 'discovered' America in 1492. But, in a groundbreaking book, Dr. Caroline Dodds Pennock conclusively shows that for tens of thousands of Aztecs, Maya, Totonacs, Inuit and others - enslaved people, diplomats, explorers, servants, traders - the reverse was true: they discovered Europe. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, first released in January 2023, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Dodds Pennock about a story of abduction, loss, cultural appropriation, and as indigenous peoples saw it, of apocalypse. 

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

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All this month, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is taking a deep dive into the complex and controversial House of Medici, which left an indelible mark on Western civilisation.

In this second episode, Suzannah talks to Dr. Alexander Lee about Lorenzo de’ Medici, the consummate Renaissance man. But Machiavelli portrayed him as a cunning and ambitious ruler, purely self serving in pursuit of personal power. So what should we make of Lorenzo, whose life and achievements left such an indelible mark on Florence and the cultural landscape of Italy that it earned him the title Il Magnifico?

Not Just the Tudors is presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, the audio editor is Ella Blaxill and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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Around the same time as the Mayflower was landing at Cape Cod, on the other side of the world tourism was thriving in China, giving rise to a fascinating genre of travel writing.

In this episode, first released in February 2022, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explores the wonderfully rich prose and travel diaries of the period with Professor James Hargett. His research and translations reveal extraordinary insights into the society and culture of the late Ming Dynasty.

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

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The House of Medici ruthlessly wielded control of Florence for nearly 300 years. Through financial and political machinations, they transformed the city into a cultural powerhouse and the epicentre of the Renaissance, spawning popes and royalty along the way. 

Across four special episodes, Not Just the Tudors takes a deep dive into this complex and controversial dynasty that left an indelible mark on Western civilisation.

In this first episode, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Tim Parks, author of Medici Money, about the dramatic, frequently bloody story of how the Medici rose to power through their banking activities.

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Ella Blaxill and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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Just over 500 years ago, a small band of sailors completed the first ever circumnavigation of the globe, launched by Ferdinand Magellan. From the armada of five ships and some 270 men that set out, only one ship and 18 men returned. Magellan was not among them, and if he had been, he would hardly have received a hero’s welcome.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, first released in September 2022, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Magellan’s award-winning biographer Laurence Bergreen to consider Magellan the man and how his voyage changed the world’s ideas about cosmology and geography.

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Ella Blaxill and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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Henry VII was descended from some of the greatest Welsh princes. When word spread that he had a chance of taking the English throne, Welsh prophecies - which foretold that one day, one of their own would become king of the islands and would be crowned in London - looked to be coming true.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb introduces a special crossover edition with Not Just the Tudors' sister podcast Gone Medieval in which Matt Lewis is joined by historian Nathen Amin, author of Son of Prophecy: The Rise of Henry Tudor, to share the surprising story of the medieval ancestors of the Tudor monarchs.

This episode was edited by Max Carrey. The producers are Joseph Knight and Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors and Gone Medieval are History Hit podcasts.

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In early 18th century Venice, the Ospedale della Pietà took in abandoned baby girls through a tiny gap in the wall.  In addition to ensuring the girls’ survival, the orphanage employed one of the world’s greatest ever composers - Antonio Vivaldi - to train the girls in music.  One of his pupils, Anna Maria della Pietà, became his star protegé and went on to a phenomenal career as a violinist and the maestro’s biggest rival.

Anna Maria’s largely forgotten life is compellingly recovered and reimagined in this summer’s most eagerly anticipated historical novel, The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable. She joins Professor Suzannah Lipscomb to talk about how she discovered and brought Anna-Maria's heart-rending story to life.

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

"Et in Terra Pax" from Vivaldi's Gloria in D used with the kind permission of the Girl Choir of South Florida. Watch here >

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The tempestuous and passionate Barbara Villiers captured the hearts of many in Stuart-era Britain, including King Charles II. But she had a dark side, humiliating her husband for decades, plotting the ruin of her enemies, and gambling away vast sums of money.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Andrea Zuvich who reveals the true story of Barbara and her insatiable appetite for life, love, riches, amusement, and power. 

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, the audio editor is Ella Blaxill and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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At the end of the 17th century, a small clan - the Akan - in West Africa began growing into what would later become the powerful Ashanti Empire.  The state grew rapidly in both wealth and land until it spanned most of modern day Ghana, the Ivory Coast, and Togo. 

Luke Pepera joins Professor Suzannah Lipscomb to discuss this incredible Empire, which fiercely resisted British colonialism and fought violent wars to protect and expand its territory.

Luke Pepera's documentary Africa: Written Out of History is available now on History Hit TV.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

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The 16th and 17th centuries were a crucial time for spycraft, full of political intrigue and diplomatic subterfuge. Walsingham was known as a 'Spy Master', but there were many, all vying for attention from the Crown.

But how did they and their spies operate? Professor Suzannah Lipscomb welcomes Pete Langman and Professor Nadine Akkerman to delve into the practices of espionage and reveal how the line between spy and criminal was easily blurred depending on who was in favour, and who was betrayed.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editors are Tean Stewart-Murray and Ella Blaxill. The producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

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On 28 January 1547, King Henry VIII died at the age of 55. Just hours before his passing, his last will and testament had been read, stamped, and sealed. Historians have disagreed ever since about its authenticity and validity, and the circumstances of its creation, making Henry's will one of English history's most contested documents.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, first released in January 2022, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb offers her own illuminating interpretation of the aftermath of Henry VIII's death, the mystery of his will and how misplaced trust can undermine the best-laid plans of a powerful monarch.

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Ella Blaxill and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

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In November 1588, a 21-year-old Japanese man called Christopher met Queen Elizabeth I. On the way, he had already become the first recorded Japanese person in North America. His story has been almost totally forgotten until now.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about Christopher from Professor Thomas Lockley, author of A Gentleman from Japan which recovers Christopher’s remarkable story. 

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Ella Blaxill and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

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Despite Catherine of Braganza's crucial place in British history, she has always been overshadowed by stories of Charles II’s many mistresses and forgotten as his boring, powerless wife. This could not be further from the truth.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Sophie Shorland about her new book The Lost Queen, which not only tells the full story of Catherine de Braganza and her difficult relationship with her husband, but also reveals how she changed the country in many ways both large and small.

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Ella Blaxill and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

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Robert Cecil, statesman and spymaster, stood at the heart of the Tudor and then Stuart state, a vital figure in managing the succession from Elizabeth I to James I & VI, warding off military and religious threats and steering the decisions of two very different but equally wilful and hard-to-manage monarchs. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Stephen Alford, author of All His Spies: The Secret World of Robert Cecil, about a man who became supremely skilled in the arts of power, making many rivals and enemies.

This episode was edited by Tean Stuart-Murray and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

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Six wives - six lives that we think we know everything about. But beyond their mostly doomed marriages to Henry VIII and, in most cases, tragic ends, here were six women who shaped history in their own unique ways.

In a special six part series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb has been bringing together the most illuminating interviews about the six wives from the Not Just the Tudors archive.  She has also been exploring some of the latest research and speaking to Dr. Charlotte Bolland - curator of the National Portrait Gallery’s current exhibition Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens - to paint an even fuller portrait of each of the six wives.

In this last episode in the series, Suzannah is also joined by Dr. Susan James, Dr. Micheline White and Dr. Elizabeth Norton to recount the life of Henry VIII's sixth and final consort Kateryn Parr, whom he married in July 1543 and who survived his death. Often written off as a dowdy old widow who nursed him in his last years, Kateryn Parr is the most surprising and one of the most fascinating of all the unfortunate women who were married to the king.

Not Just The Tudors is presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. This episode was edited, mixed and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

The National Portrait Gallery's exhibition titled Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens runs until 8 September 2024, displaying the images that have shaped our perception of the six wives.  Find out more, here.

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Anne Bonny and Mary Read were pirates who sailed the Caribbean in the early 18th century. For both of them, piracy offered a chance at a freedom otherwise disallowed to women.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb learns more about Bonny and Read from the novelist Francesca de Torres - author of Saltblood, which recreates Mary Read's life - and Dr. Rebecca Simon who wrote the first full-scale biography of the two women. 

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here: https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/.

You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK.

Six wives - six lives that we think we know everything about.  But beyond their mostly doomed marriages to Henry VIII and, in most cases, tragic ends, here were six women who shaped history in their own unique ways.

In a special six part series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb brings together the most illuminating interviews about the six wives from the Not Just the Tudors archive.  She also explores some of the latest research and speaks to Dr. Charlotte Bolland - curator of the National Portrait Gallery’s current exhibition Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens - to paint an even fuller portrait of each of the six wives.

In this fifth episode, Suzannah is joined by Gareth Russell, Dr. Nicola Clark and Dr. Charlotte Bolland to recount the life of Katherine Howard, whom Henry VIII married in July 1540 and who died with her head on the block less than two years later.  Of all of Henry’s queens, Katherine Howard has been the one most subject to the judgements of posterity.  But those judgements have been strangely dichotomous - was she victim or vixen?

Not Just The Tudors is presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. It was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

The National Portrait Gallery in London is hosting an exhibition titled Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens until 8 September 2024, displaying the images that have shaped our perception of the six wives. Find out more, here.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here.

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Toda Mariko, or Mariko-san, one of the main characters from the new TV series Shogun - adapted from James Clavell's epic novel - is based on a real woman, Hosokawa Gracia. Who was she? Was she the zealous Christian martyr depicted in Jesuit missionary accounts, or a wife duty-bound to protect the honour of her family? Or was she the defiant female warrior of Japanese folklore? 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Frederik Cryns, who was the historical advisor for the Shogun series and is writing a new biography of Hosokawa Gracia.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here >.

You can take part in our listener survey here >.

Six wives - six lives that we think we know everything about. But beyond their mostly doomed marriages to Henry VIII and, in most cases, tragic ends, here were six women who shaped history in their own unique ways.

In a special six part series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb brings together the most illuminating interviews about the six wives from the Not Just the Tudors archive. She also explores some of the latest research and speaks to Dr. Charlotte Bolland - curator of the National Portrait Gallery’s new exhibition Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens - to paint an even fuller portrait of each of the six wives.

In this fourth episode, Suzannah is joined by Heather Darsie, Dr. Valerie Schutte and Dr Charlotte Bolland to recount the life of Anne of Cleves. Famed since the 17th century as the 'Flanders Mare', whom Henry allegedly rejected on the basis of her ugliness, the real story behind Anne's marriage and its dissolution turns out to be quite different to the fable we've been told.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

From 20 June to 8 September 2024, the National Portrait Gallery in London is hosting an exhibition titled Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens, displaying the images that have shaped our perception of the six wives . Find out more, here >

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here >

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Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Among the male players who performed thousands of new plays in the Elizabethan repertory, the most famous were Richard Burbage and Will Kempe, members of the company known first as the Lord Chamberlain's Men and later the King's Men, the company of William Shakespeare. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Siobhan Keenan to find out more about these two extraordinary actors for whom Shakespeare created some of his most enduring characters.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Six wives - six lives that we think we know everything about.  But beyond their mostly doomed marriages to Henry VIII and, in most cases, tragic ends, here were six women who shaped history in their own unique ways.

In a special six part series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb brings together the most illuminating interviews about the six wives from the Not Just the Tudors archive.  She also explores some of the latest research and speaks to Dr. Charlotte Bolland - curator of the National Portrait Gallery’s new exhibition Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens - to paint an even fuller portrait of each of the six wives.

In this third episode, Suzannah looks into the life and legacy of Jane Seymour, perhaps the most elusive of Henry VIII’s Queens. In an attempt to understand Jane better, Suzannah is joined by Dr. Elizabeth Norton and Dr. Aidan Norrie.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

From 20 June to 8 September 2024, the National Portrait Gallery in London is hosting an exhibition titled Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens, displaying the images that have shaped our perception of the six wives . Find out more, here >

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here >

You can take part in our listener survey here >

This episode solves the 400-year old mystery of a previously unknown portrait of a young woman, dressed to look just like Queen Elizabeth herself.

When Emma Rutherford - the country's leading expert in portrait miniatures - first saw it, she knew that the painting was recognisably by the celebrated Elizabethan court painter Nicholas Hilliard. But who was the mysterious girl depicted?

Together, Emma along with Hilliard’s biographer Dr. Elizabeth Goldring set out on some remarkable historical detective work to find out. What they discovered was a story ripe with political importance, espionage, diplomatic intrigue and the question of Elizabeth I's successor.

You can see the portrait if you go to Professor Suzannah Lipscomb’s Facebook and Instagram accounts or @NotJustTudors on X. 

This episode was edited and mixed by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

For more information about our guests, please visit:

Emma Rutherford: www.portraitminiature.com or email [email protected]

Elizabeth Goldring: ttps://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/centrestaff/elizabethgoldring/

Instagram: @elizabeth.goldring 

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Six wives - six lives that we think we know everything about. But beyond their mostly doomed marriages to Henry VIII and, in most cases, tragic ends, here were six women who shaped history in their own unique ways.

In this special six part series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb brings together the most illuminating interviews about the six wives from the Not Just the Tudors archive.  She also explores some of the latest research and speaks to Dr. Charlotte Bolland - curator of the National Portrait Gallery’s new exhibition Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens - to paint an even fuller portrait of each of the six wives.

In this second episode, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb focuses on the woman who changed the history of England, Anne Boleyn. In order to make her his Queen, Henry altered the very faith of the country, banished his closest minister, broke with Christendom, and set aside his faithful, once beloved wife Katherine. So who was Anne Boleyn?

This episode was edited and mixed by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

From 20 June to 8 September 2024, the National Portrait Gallery in London is hosting an exhibition titled Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens, displaying the images that have shaped our perception of the six wives . Find out more, here >

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here >

You can take part in our listener survey here >

The mid-15th to mid-16th centuries in Europe was an era of political, social, and religious unrest, when the Roman Catholic Church was being questioned by those who sought a more direct connection with God. 

In the midst of this turmoil in Germany stood Thomas Müntzer, a preacher, theologian, and reformer. Müntzer's role in the German Peasants War had him labelled variously as a bloodthirsty revolutionary or a people's hero. Martin Luther later described Müntzer as a “ravening wolf” and a “false prophet.” 

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about Müntzer’s extraordinary life and times with historian, novelist and translator, Andrew Drummond. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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If you think that the female spy is a 20th century phenomenon - be it Mata Hari, Mrs Zigzag or Eve Polastri - think again!  Accounts of numerous 17th century 'she-intelligencers' have lain undiscovered in archives for centuries.  And these remarkable women were much more than the honey-trap accomplices of a Stuart-era George Smiley. 

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, first released in May 2021, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Nadine Akkerman, author of Invisible Agents: Women and Espionage in Seventeenth-Century Britain to talk about her fascinating quest to unearth the plots and conspiracies involving women spies that have been forgotten by history.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Six wives - six lives that we think we know everything about.  But beyond their mostly doomed marriages to Henry VIII and, in most cases, tragic ends, here were six women who shaped history in their own unique ways.

In this special six part series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb brings together the most illuminating interviews about the six wives from the Not Just the Tudors archive.  She also explores some of the latest research and speaks to Dr. Charlotte Bolland - curator of the National Portrait Gallery’s new exhibition Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens - to paint an even fuller portrait of each of the six wives.

First up, Katherine of Aragon, the wife to whom Henry was married for twice as long as all the others put together - a woman much underrated and much maligned.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

From 20 June to 8 September 2024, the National Portrait Gallery in London is hosting an exhibition titled Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens, displaying the images that have shaped our perception of the six wives . Find out more, here >

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here >

You can take part in our listener survey here >

Margaret Tudor - daughter of King Henry VII, sister to Henry VIII - was married at 13 to James IV of Scotland, learning the skills of statecraft that would enable her to survive his early death and to construct a powerful position in Scotland. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about Margaret from Dr. Linda Porter. Her new book, The Thistle and the Rose: The Extraordinary Life of Margaret Tudor puts the record straight about a misunderstood and underestimated Tudor monarch, whose determination to fight for the rights of her son James V laid the groundwork for a future British state.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The acclaimed TV series Shogun, now screening on Disney+, is based on true events. Its main character John Blackthorne is modelled on William Adams, the English pilot of a Dutch ship that arrived on Japanese shores in 1600 with a handful of survivors.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors - suggested by listener Lucy Canning - Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about the real history behind Shogun with Giles Milton, best-selling author of Samurai William: The Adventurer Who Unlocked Japan.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill produced by Rob Weinberg.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here: https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/

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Fans of historical fiction and crime novels have been saddened to learn of the recent death of the award-winning, best-selling author C.J. Sansom, just days before the release of Shardlake - the TV series based on his Tudor barrister detective novels.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb pays tribute to a fine author, and a fine fictional creation with the writer and journalist Antonia Senior. 

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill produced by Rob Weinberg.

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**This episode contains conversation about sexual behaviour**

In early modern Europe, acting upon same-sex desires was forbidden. We only know of many of the cases because of records of criminal trials. But the evidence of the past does not suggest that we can easily find a straightforward match for modern concepts of homosexuality.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Sir Noel Malcolm, whose acclaimed new book Forbidden Desire in Early Modern Europe, demonstrates that the practice of sexuality not only varies across time but, in early modern Europe, it varied across geography. 

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Sir Walter Raleigh remains one of the most famous men of the Elizabethan era. He was a true Renaissance man - a statesman, soldier, writer, explorer and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I.  In 1594, Raleigh heard about the legendary golden city of El Dorado and, the following year, explored what is now Guyana and eastern Venezuela in search of it.  In his account of the expedition, Raleigh made exaggerated claims as to what had been discovered, contributing to the enduring El Dorado legend, and his own celebrity. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, first released in May 2022, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to writer and historian Mathew Lyons about Raleigh, his dream of finding El Dorado, and the epic scale of his failure.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I died and King James VI of Scotland, became King James I of England.  Elizabeth was a hard act to follow for the Scottish newcomer who faced a host of problems in his first years as king: not only the legacy of his predecessor but also unrest in Ireland, serious questions about his legitimacy on the English throne, and even plots to remove him. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors - recorded in front of a live audience at the Gloucester History Festival - Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Susan Doran, about how, contrary to traditional assumptions, James's accession was by no means a smooth one.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In the 16th and 17th centuries, sailing was a tool of warfare and empire, of conquest and discovery, of trade and travel. But vessels were often lost or wrecked in heavy storms or on unfamiliar routes, through attack and piracy. Many such shipwrecks are still being found. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. David Gibbins, maritime archaeologist and author of A History of the World in 12 Shipwrecks. His work as a diver has taken him across the globe, investigating some of history’s most fascinating wrecks.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The traditional view of the birth of modern science places it firmly in the 17th century with such huge names as Bacon, Descartes, Newton, and Galileo.  But a century earlier there were others - whose names are not so well-known to us - who paved the way for later scientific breakthroughs.  Patrons and particular places in northern Europe developed new technology and encouraged collaborations in an environment where intellectual innovation could occur, laying the foundations for subsequent discoveries.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Violet Moller, whose new book Inside the Stargazer’s Palace tells the untold story of the extraordinary workshops, observatories and libraries of Early Modern Northern Europe.  

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In the 16th century, spices drove the world economy, creating riches on an unprecedented scale. Spanish and Portuguese explorers competed to find the elusive source of cloves and nutmeg, and when Portugal reached the spice islands of the Moluccas, it set in motion a fierce competition for control.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Roger Crowley, whose new book Spice: The 16th-Century Contest that Shaped the Modern World chronicles the adventures, shipwrecks, and sieges that formed the first colonial encounters—and remade the world economy for centuries to follow.

This episode was edited by xx and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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What do we know about what Elizabeth I actually looked like? How was her appearance altered through the use of cosmetics? Portraits suggest that makeup was used to lightly accentuate lips and cheeks, alongside a sheer wash of white base on her skin. What products would she have typically used and how were they made? 

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by author and educator Sally Pointer, to decipher the truth about Elizabeth's image and how her use of makeup has become part of her enduring legacy.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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**WARNING: This episode contains themes that some listeners might find distressing and commonly-used historic terminology that does not reflect our own thoughts**

In May 1680, England become obsessed with a pair of conjoined twins. At just two weeks old, Priscilla and Aquila Herring were kidnapped from their home in Somerset to be put on show for money. A fortnight later they were dead, and a legal battle ensued over ownership and income. It is one of the earliest examples of exploitation and the exhibition of physical difference in England, a story of public display without consent, both before and after.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Whitney Dirks, whose new book Monstrosity, Bodies, and Knowledge in Early Modern England weaves the case of the Herring sisters through an examination of how physically unusual humans and animals were understood and talked about in early modern England.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The major new TV series, Mary & George tells the scandalous story of George Villiers, who rose - thanks to his mother Mary’s machinations - from minor gentry to enrapture King James VI & I, Britain’s first Stuart king. For a decade, George Villiers was at James’s side – at court, on state occasions and in bed, right up to James’s death in March 1625.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Benjamin Wooley, acclaimed author of The King’s Assassin, a compelling portrait of a royal favourite whose charisma overwhelmed those around him and, ultimately, himself.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In the 16th century, Erasmus of Rotterdam was about as famous as anybody could be, one of the greatest intellectuals of his age. To Martin Luther's mind, though, Erasmus's radical religious vision did not go far enough. To Roman Catholic scholars, Erasmus was heretical. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor William Barker, to find out more about a scholar of great brilliance as well as personal flaws and contradictions. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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At the end of the French Wars of Religion, a widow Renée Chevalier instigated the prosecution of a military captain who had committed multiple acts of rape, homicide and theft against the villagers who lived around her.  But how could Chevalier win her case when King Henri IV's Edict of Nantes ordered that the recent troubles should be forgotten as 'things that had never been'?

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Tom Hamilton, whose new book is a dramatic account of the impact of the troubles on daily life for women, peasants, and foot soldiers, who are marginalized in most historical studies.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

**WARNING: This podcast contains references to rape, violence and homicide**

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A controversial figure during his lifetime, Martin Luther set in motion a revolution that split Christianity in the West and left an indelible mark on the world today. 

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, first released in July 2021, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to renowned Luther biographer Professor Lyndal Roper to explore the man behind the carefully crafted image - misogynistic, anti-Semitic, occasionally self-doubting, religiously devout yet with a crude, scatological sense of humour.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

**WARNING: This episode contains an example of strong language

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Today surgery is one of the most important sectors in the medical field. But what was surgery like for people in the 16th and 17th centuries, before anaesthetic and sophisticated technology? How were surgeons trained? What tools did they use? And what was the rate of survival? 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb discovers more from historian and retired surgeon Michael Crumplin.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

**WARNING: Contains some graphic descriptions of surgical procedures**

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Essential to any history of Venice during its glory days is the story of its Jewish population. Venice gave the world the word ghetto. Astonishingly, the ghetto prison turned out to be as remarkable a place as the city of Venice itself, as a literary, cultural and interfaith revival flourished. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Harry Freedman. His new book Shylock’s Venice tells the story of Venice's Jews, from the founding of the ghetto in 1516, to the capture of Venice by Napoleon in 1798. 

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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For every Tudor Queen, their ladies-in-waiting were their confidantes, chaperones and intimate witnesses to their lives. These women were high born, even if they performed menial tasks, and many of them were educated. As King Henry VIII changed wives - and the very fabric of the country's structure - these women had to make choices about loyalty that simply didn't exist before.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb welcomes Dr. Nicola Clark, whose new book The Waiting Game, tells the untold story of the women who served the Tudor Queens.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Diaries written by gentlewomen in the mid-16th century are hard to find. Yet, they lived through an age of upheaval as old ways were effaced in preference for the new.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb meets award-winning author Francesca Kay. In her new novel The Book of Days, she has imagined herself into the story of a gentlewoman living in the 1540s, writing her book of days, and it is spellbinding.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In the mid-17th century, King Charles I of England was put on trial for treason against the sovereign state. Such a process involved a singular determination by Parliament to find a way, through due legal process, to try the one they saw as a man of blood, to ensure that he paid the price for his faults and failings, but not through extrajudicial summary justice.

To understand how such a thing came about, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb speaks in this episode of Not Just the Tudors to Professor Edward Vallance, who has deeply researched King Charles I's trial. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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After the Restoration of the Monarchy, the upper classes took their cues from court life - its entertainments, costumes, food and leisure pursuits. The Stuart-era aristocracy were cultured, political, well educated, immoderate yet religious. So how did devotion and piety coexist with a lifestyle dominated by excess? 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out from Ben Norman, historian and author of Pomp and Piety: Everyday Life of the Aristocracy in Stuart England.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Jane Seymour is a paradox. Of Henry VIII’s six wives, she is the one about whom we know perhaps the least. She was the most lowly of the queens, but she had royal blood. She's often described as plain and mousy and lacking opinions, but when we do see her in the sources, she tends to be doing something that shows agency, while wearing some very flashy clothes indeed. So what can we make of Jane Seymour?

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Elizabeth Norton, author of a 2009 book about Jane Seymour and a forthcoming scholarly biography.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Opening music: The Death of Queen Jane, performed by Karine Polwart, used with kind permission of the artist and Hudson Records.

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In the British Library, there is a manuscript copy of the memoir of Princess Gulbadan, the only surviving female-authored memoir from the Mughal Empire. In it, Gulbadan tells her extraordinary story: from growing up in a multi-cultural society, via life in a walled harem, to an unprecedented women's pilgrimage to Mecca, complete with dramatic shipwreck in the Red Sea.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Professor Ruby Lal, whose latest book, Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan, examines this largely forgotten manuscript and the life of the remarkable woman who wrote it.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Fairy tales exist everywhere and in every time. Through centuries of oral tradition and the invention of print and later advances in television and film, fairy tales have altered and shaped themselves in reflection of changing cultural norms. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb goes back to the 16th and 17th centuries and to the first time that fairy tales were written down and compiled. She is joined by Nicholas Jubber, author of The Fairy Tellers: A Journey into the Secret History of Fairy Tales.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

**WARNING: This episode contains some graphic language and descriptions**

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Astronomer Johannes Kepler was an important and admired figure in the scientific revolution of the early 17th century. But when his widowed mother was accused of witchcraft, the scientist remarkably defended her, in a trial that lasted six years.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to author Ulinka Rublack who has pieced together this extraordinary true story.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In Elizabethan and Stuart England, ghosts weren't supposed to exist. Protestant preachers and writers had banished them - but people continued to see them. So how did our early modern forebears reckon with ghosts and their heavily counterpart, angels?

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out from Professor Peter Marshall, author of several books on ghosts, beliefs and the dead in Reformation England.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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How did Britain's islands become woven into our collective cultural psyche? Traversing Irish poetry, Renaissance drama and Restoration utopias, author Alice Albinia’s research has boldly upturned established truths about Britain, paying homage to the islands' beauty, independence and their suppressed or forgotten histories - including of women rulers.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Alice Albinia talks more about her book The Britannias: An Island Quest with Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. 

This episode was edited by Tomos Delargy and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The first surviving mention of condoms dates from the mid-16th century, in the writings of an Italian anatomist better known for the discovery of the fallopian tubes. Born out of a medical need to prevent the spread of syphilis, the condom was originally made from fabric, normally linen, and later from animal guts.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb meets Dr. Kate Stevenson, whose work as a dress historian has taken her on a journey of discovery into the origins of the condom.

**WARNING: This episode contains graphic language and sexual content**

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In the early modern period, belief in fairies was quite commonplace. But put all thoughts of Tinkerbell aside!  These fairies were altogether more dangerous beings - troublemakers, child-snatchers, seducers and changelings.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Prof. Diane Purkiss, author of Troublesome Things: A History of Fairies and Fairy Stories. 

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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King James VI and I, the first monarch to reign over Scotland, England and Ireland, has a mixed reputation. To many, he is simply the homosexual King, the inveterate witch-roaster, the smelly sovereign who never washed, the colourless man behind the authorised Bible bearing his name, or the drooling fool whose speech could barely be understood. For too long, he has paled in comparison to his more celebrated Tudor and Stuart forebears.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Dr. Steven Veerapen - author of The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I - whose research has revealed King James as a gregarious, idealistic man obsessed with the idea of family, whose personal and political goals could never match up to reality. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In the early modern period, it was patently clear to everyone that supernatural beings, foremost among them the devil, were at work in the world, intervening in human affairs.  Can we find the origins of beliefs in vampires, zombies and revenants in this age too?  How exactly did such beings manifest themselves?  And how do we make sense of this in an age in which people believed they were living under a providential God? 

Joining Professor Suzannah Lipscomb to kick off a month of special Not Just the Tudor podcasts on supernatural beings in the early modern world is Professor Darren Oldridge, author of The Supernatural in Tudor and Stuart England and The Devil: A Very Short Introduction. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Henry VIII was termed "by the Grace of God, King of England, France and Ireland.”  Ireland was England’s oldest colony.  But what bloody events and brutal actions led to the English conquest of Ireland?  How did the relationship between the two countries change over the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?  And how did the Irish respond to such subjugation? 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, author of the forthcoming book, Making Empire, Ireland, Imperialism and the Early Modern World.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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History books rarely make much reference to the impact of climate and the natural environment on people, and vice versa.  Yet volcanic eruptions and storms, droughts and cyclical pressures have shaped human history, both in raising up civilisations and bringing them to their knees. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to acclaimed historian Professor Peter Frankopan - who has adopted this revolutionary new way of looking at history - to examine the impact of nature on human life in the 15th to 18th centuries.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Reginald Pole has been styled as both the nemesis of Henry VIII and as Mary I's bloody accomplice. Pole was related to the English royal family through the Plantagenets and was himself implicated in a plot against Henry VIII in 1538. So how did he rise to become the last Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury, and then use his position both for and against the Tudor monarchs? 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Frederick Smith to discuss this complex and charismatic personality.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The public fascination with true crime is nothing new. Four centuries ago, the sensational story of the death in the Tower of London of Thomas Overbury, a lawyer in the court of King James I, led to a scandal that rocked the monarchy to its core. 

In this episode of Not Just The Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Professor Alastair Bellany, about the death of Overbury and why it threatened the Stuart throne.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In 1621 the Virginia Company of London put out a call for young, handsome and honestly educated women to become wives for the planters in its new colony in Jamestown. Hopeful husbands were supposed to pay for their English brides in best leaf tobacco. But who were the women who made the Atlantic crossing? And what became of them when they arrived? 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb meets author Jennifer Potter to find out more about the lives of these extraordinary women.

***Warning: This podcast includes references to slaughter and hostage taking.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Girolamo Savonarola was a late 15th century Dominican friar who rose to become a preacher, prophet, and politician. He took on the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church and despotic rulers including the powerful Medicis. He was both progressive - helping to lay the foundations of the Reformation and the Enlightenment - but also fundamentalist and deeply unsettling. 

In this episode, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to award-winning author Denise Mina, whose novel Three Fires tells the story of Savonarola and his role in the bonfire of the vanities - the burning of objects considered sinful, such as cosmetics, mirrors, books, and art.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Life in Tudor England was risky. In addition to the outbreaks of plague, the threat of poverty and the dangers of childbirth, there were social risks - of not fitting in, of social death. How was a person supposed to behave? And what were the dangers involved? 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out about the art of surviving by 'blending in', with teacher and writer Toni Mount, author of How to Survive in Tudor England. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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For anyone studying the politics of the 1570s-80s, it would be hard to avoid Elizabeth I’s ‘spymaster’ Sir Francis Walsingham, who seemingly rose from nowhere to become one of the most important men of his time. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Dr. Hannah Coates, who has reappraised Walsingham's political practice, religious outlook and role as a councillor to the Crown. Drawing on new and underused sources, she's created a fresh, nuanced, and detailed assessment of mid-Elizabethan politics.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The unsolved mystery of what happened to the Princes in the Tower - Edward V and Richard, Duke of York - is possibly English history’s greatest cold case. Were they murdered by their paternal uncle Richard III? Or were two plotters to take the Tudor throne of King Henry VII - Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck - connected to, or in reality, the Princes who had survived?

Recent findings have raised new questions about the 540-year-old mystery and in this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explores the evidence and the enduring speculation with author Nathen Amin and History Hit presenter, Matt Lewis.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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From Henry VIII declaring himself as the ‘loyal and most assured servant’ of Anne Boleyn to the poems lavished on Elizabeth I by her suitors, the dramas of courtly love have captivated readers and dreamers for centuries. 

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, first released in September 2021, Sarah Gristwood tells Professor Suzannah Lipscomb how the Tudors actually re-enacted the roles of the devoted lovers and capricious mistresses first laid out in the romances of medieval literature - romantic obsessions that shaped the history of Britain.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In the cut-throat world of Renaissance Florence, Alessandro - the illegitimate son of a Duke and a mixed-race servant - attempts to reassert the Medicis’ faltering grip on the city state. But after just six years in power, Alessandro is murdered by his cousin while anticipating an adulterous liaison.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, first released in August 2021, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Catherine Fletcher, author of The Black Prince of Florence, about one man's spectacular rise to power against the odds, and his violent demise.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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To this day, the presence of angels is synonymous with the Christmas story and the momentous events associated with the Nativity. For the Tudors and Stuarts, widespread belief in angels brought a touch of the miraculous to life, but so too did ghosts, although it was sometimes hard to distinguish them from angels - or demons.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, first released on 23 December 2021, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb summons up the spirits of times past with historian Dr Laura Sangha, an expert in the beliefs associated with the supernatural in the early modern period.

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We think of Shakespeare as a man out of time. His stories and characters, his capturing of human nature, and his exquisite use of language, continue to speak to us today - and will endure for the centuries to come. But he was born in a rural market town in the early years of Elizabeth I's reign, and was formed by the social, religious, and political worldview of the period. 

In this special episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb reflects on the world that shaped Shakespeare and its concerns that seeped into his timeless plays.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Have you ever wondered how and where our Christmas tradition of pantomime originated? 

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out from Dr. Oliver Crick, who traces pantomime’s origins to Commedia dell’arte - Italian travelling players who adapted their performances to other cultures and senses of humour. 

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The Coventry Carol and In Dulci Jubilo are songs that are still sung at this time of the year.  Curiously, despite their medieval roots, these tunes remained popular throughout Protestant Elizabethan England, a period when there was a complete overhaul of music in church and what it was expected to do. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr Jonathan Willis to explore the complex effects of the Reformation on music in England.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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How we visualise the Tudors largely comes from their portraits painted by Hans Holbein the Younger.  Between 1526 and 1543, he captured the elite of the Tudor court and beyond - Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Thomas Cromwell, politicians, courtiers, soldiers and countless others.  

Every Holbein portrait seems to have begun with a drawing taken at a live sitting. An exhibition of these drawings in now on at Buckingham Palace and allows us to see Holbein’s process at work.  

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb tours the exhibition with its curator Dr. Kate Heard and art historian Dr. Elizabeth Goldring. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Life in the 16th and 17th centuries was brutal - the development of warfare technology made conflicts catastrophic for civilians as well as soldiers, there were regular epidemics, and famines both man-made and natural. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb meets Professor Ole Peter Grell, who co-wrote The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Religion, War, Famine and Death in Reformation Europe with Dr. Andrew Cunningham. Today's discussion focuses on just three of the four horsemen: the red horse of war, the black horse of famine, and the pale horse of death and disease.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Centuries before Proust's Remembrance of Things Past took us on a tour of memory and James Joyce played with stream of consciousness, a 16th century nobleman - Michel de Montaigne - developed a wholly new style of reflective prose that examined his place in the world. His thoughts, questions and worries appear on the page as though they are your own, at once intensely personal to his own life yet somehow universal. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks about the enduring legacy of the essays of Montaigne with Sarah Bakewell, author of How to Live, or a life of Montaigne in one question and twenty attempts at an answer.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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For the Tudors, tapestries not only brought warmth and colour to a room, but they were magnificent demonstrations of artistic skill and of moral messages. A campaign is now under way to save a vast golden tapestry – Saint Paul Directing the Burning of the Heathen Books - personally commissioned by Henry VIII around 1535, at the time he broke with Rome. If the campaign is successful, the tapestry will go on display to the public in the Faith Museum, Bishop Auckland in County Durham, in Spring 2024. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Sutherland Forsyth and Claire Barron from the Auckland Project, who are spearheading the campaign to try and save this precious, glorious tapestry for the nation. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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On 17 November 1558, Queen Mary I died. But how would history have turned out differently if Mary had lived another 30 years? Where would her Roman-Catholicism taken England? Would Mary have patched up relations between England and the rest of Europe? 

In this counterfactual special to end her Tudor Dynasty series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb asks a panel of experts to speculate on the reign that might have been. Suzannah is joined by Dr. Gonzalo Velasco Berenguer, Prof. Alexander Samson and Prof. Anna Whitelock.

Subscribers to History Hit can also watch this discussion, here: https://access.historyhit.com/what-s-new/videos/mary-i-real-fake-history

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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For centuries, Hampton Court has been a stage for monarchy, revolution, religious fundamentalism, sexual scandals, and military coups. In his new book The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of History at Hampton Court, Gareth Russell moves through the rooms and the decades, each time focusing on a different person who called Hampton Court their home.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Gareth to find out more about the many sovereigns and servants that lived and worked in Hampton Court and the personal tragedy and political importance of this extraordinary place.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Anne Boleyn is usually considered in the context of her marriage to - and demise at the hands of - King Henry VIII. But ultimately, the memory of Anne eventually triumphed, and her death was avenged, through the reign of the daughter she barely knew, Queen Elizabeth I.

Piecing together evidence from original documents and artefacts, historian Tracy Borman - in her new book Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History - shares compelling evidence that Anne exerted a profound influence on Elizabeth’s character, beliefs and reign. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Borman to discover more about this special relationship.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The truth about Henry VIII may surprise you. This second episode of Not Just the Tudors' Tudor Dynasty mini-series provides you, in a nutshell, with everything you really need to know about Henry: his upbringing as a second son, his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, his exploits on the battlefield and tilt yard, his dependence on Cardinal Wolsey, his romance with Anne Boleyn, the break with Rome, his foreign policy, his murderous legislation and the downfall of Thomas Cromwell.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb goes to Lincoln College, Oxford, to get to grips with the iconic and infamous monarch with his biographer, Dr. Lucy Wooding.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb pays a visit to historians Dr. Anthony Delaney and Dr. Maddy Pelling, who are the hosts of History Hit’s new podcast, After Dark. Myths, Misdeeds, and the Paranormal. Twice a week, Anthony and Maddy are taking listeners to the shadiest corners of the past, unpicking history's spookiest, strangest and most sinister stories.

For this episode, they were keen for Suzannah to delve deep with them into the ever fascinating subject of witches and witch trials in early modern Europe.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Annie Coloe and Rob Weinberg.

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Professor Suzannah Lipscomb kicks off four special episodes about the Tudor Dynasty with a look at its founding father King Henry VII. Seen as an exile and outsider with barely a claim to the throne, there was little to suggest that the obscure Henry would last any longer than his predecessor Richard III who Henry defeated at the battle of Bosworth Field. To maintain his grip on power and to convince England that his rule was both rightful and effective, Henry VII embarked upon a ruthless and controlling kingship

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about this unlikely monarch with Henry VII’s biographer Sean Cunningham.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The Gunpowder Plot is one of the hinge events of British history - an act of terror the roots of which stretch back to the Tudor period and Henry VIII's break with Rome. It's a story of Holy War, divided loyalties and religious hatred. And it has never been more timely. 

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, first released in September 2021, Suzannah Lipscomb talks gunpowder, treason and plot with award-winning author and historian Jessie Childs.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In the 1640s, Matthew Hopkins gave himself the grandiose title of Witchfinder General and set himself the task of purging England of witches. But where did his obsession come from and why did he adopt this monstrous role? 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to playwright Joanna Carrick, whose new work The Ungodly at the Avenue Theatre in Ipswich, explores these very questions.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The most famous Black African in Tudor England is John Blanke, a musician in the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII. The discovery of Blanke, originally by Professor Sydney Anglo, was made famous by Dr. Miranda Kaufmann’s 2017 book Black Tudors, The Untold Story.  A year earlier Michael Ohajuru started the John Blanke Project, an art and archive venture inviting historians and artists to respond to this evidence of the first person of African descent in British history for whom we have both an image and a record.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to them both about the evidence for Africans in early modern Britain, whether John Blanke was exceptional, what new things we're learning about him, and why it's important to tell stories like his.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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We are all familiar with great Tudor palaces and country houses but what were the homes of ordinary people like during that time? How were they built, and how did designs change with the use of new materials and construction methods? What did people do in their various rooms? How did they cook, clean and sleep? And, very importantly, did they keep pets? 

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Bethan Watts, author of Inside the Tudor Home: Daily Life in the Sixteenth Century.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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There are countless ways to understand and analyse the Tudors but a new book takes a unique look at the dynasty through its statistics. And there’s a lot more to discover than just the famous six wives.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Carol Ann Lloyd, author of The Tudors by Numbers, about the novel approach she has taken to looking at the Tudors.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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When it comes to Shakespeare's biography and his inner life, there's a certain lack of evidence. But what if Shakespeare actually signposted us to an event that radically metamorphosed his world? What if he named his most famous, most acclaimed play Hamlet after his son, Hamnet, who died at the age of 11?

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to author Maggie O'Farrell who won the Women's Prize for Fiction with her novel exploring this very question. Hamnet is now also a play by the Royal Shakespeare Company, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti, being staged at the Garrick Theatre in London. Suzannah talks to Maggie O'Farrell about both the novel and the play.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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What encouraged a young man who had spent most of his formative years being raised by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, to bite the hand that feeds him and become one of the Empire's greatest enemies? Why risk his life spending most of his adult years leading a revolt when he could have enjoyed the pomp and pleasures of being a prince? And when did the revolt he led become the foundations of an entire nation? The man in question is William the Silent, also known as William, Prince of Orange.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Nick Ridley to find out more about William the Silent’s rise as a nationalist leader that led to the founding of the Netherlands.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg and edited by Joseph Knight.

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Most of our knowledge of witchcraft accusations and executions comes from the proceedings of high profile and significant trials. Professor Marion Gibson’s new book traces the history of witchcraft through 13 such trials.

In today’s episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Professor Gibson explore four trials between the 1480s and the 1620s - from Austria, Scotland, Norway, and Virginia in the United States. This is the period during which people didn't just believe that witches existed, they came to believe that witches made a pact with the devil which put them entirely at odds with right thinking Christians. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Did women really do nothing to shape England’s culture and traditions through centuries of turmoil, plague, famine and religious reform? In her new non-fiction book, best-selling author Philippa Gregory questions the male version of history by recounting the stories of normal women: those who left records and those who were ‘hidden from history.’ By spotlighting their presence, she puts women where they belong – centre stage.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Philippa Gregory about women’s integral role in social and cultural change in the early modern era.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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In the same way that Shakespeare’s women characters were performed by boys in female costume, African, Middle Eastern, Hispanic and Jewish roles in his plays were taken by white men, deploying a series of racial symbols, stereotypes and, to modern ears, troubling racial language. But how did Shakespeare's original audiences view race and racial difference? And how has this understanding changed? 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Farah Karim-Cooper, whose new book The Great White Bard raises important questions about Shakespeare's depiction of both race and racism. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, is often vilified as one of the Tudor century's most unpleasant characters. His was a family marked by treason, beheadings and incarceration - a dynasty whose pride and ambition secured only their downfall. But can this uncle to two wives of Henry VIII be rescued at all from infamy?

To unpick this complex man, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Robert Hutchinson, author of House of Treason: The Rise and Fall of a Tudor Dynasty.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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Henry VIII's sixth wife Kateryn Parr was a scholar and a writer in her own right. She was one of the first English women to have works published under her own name, creating a new role as both queen and author, translating politically sensitive texts in collaboration with Henry and Thomas Cranmer.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb meets Dr. Micheline White. Her discoveries also shed new light on Kateryn Parr’s influence on the future Queen Elizabeth I, the English Reformation and its ongoing legacy.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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What did the Tudor age understand about digestion? How did this affect what foods people prepared and ate? Was there such a thing as healthy eating? How did they manage seasonal food changes and seasons of scarcity? And what role did food play in establishing class, belonging and status?

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Brigitte Webster, a culinary historian and journalist. Her new book, Eating with the Tudors: Food and Recipes is full of extraordinary insights that give us an idea about how the Tudors really lived.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In some portraits of Henry VIII there appears another, striking figure. This is Will Somer, the king’s fool, a celebrated wit who could raise Henry’s spirits and spent many hours alone with him. But was Somer an “artificial fool” - a comedian who spoke truth to power - or a “natural fool,” someone with intellectual disabilities?

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Swedish historian Peter K. Andersson, whose new biography of Somer - Fool: In Search of Henry VIII’s Closest Man - reveals a little-known world where comedy could be something cruel and unpleasant.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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In an age when literature was dominated by men, Margaret Cavendish wrote passionately about gender, science and philosophy. She published under her own name, and advocated for women in work. Her 1666 novel The Blazing World was one of the earliest works of science fiction.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Francesca Peacock, author of Pure Wit: The Revolutionary Life of Margaret Cavendish, which recounts Cavendish’s fascinating, pioneering, yet often complex and controversial life.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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One of Early Modern Europe’s most powerful families, the Hapsburgs shared a physical trait so distinctive that it came to be regarded as a badge of honour - the large, jutting jaw that was a result of family inbreeding. But that was only part of their physiological challenges.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks genetics, inbreeding and the sad fate of the Hapsburgs with Dr. Adam Rutherford, author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our Genes.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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At 31, Michelangelo was considered the finest artist in Italy, perhaps the world. Long before he died at almost 90, he was widely believed to be the greatest sculptor or painter who had ever lived. Few of his works - including the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, David and The Last Judgment - were small or easy to accomplish. Like a hero of classical mythology, Michelangelo was subject to constant trials and labours. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Martin Gayford, author of Michelangelo: His Epic Life, about the life and work of Michelangelo and how he transformed forever our notion of what an artist could be.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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The Safawid Dynasty, which ruled Iran from 1501 to 1736, marked the beginning of modern Iranian history. At its height, it controlled all of what is now Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Armenia, eastern Georgia, parts of the North Caucasus including Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The period was extensively documented by scholars, western travellers, in literary works and commercial and political records. There are surviving buildings, monuments, coins, pottery, carpets, paintings, metalwork, and illustrations.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb meets Professor Andrew Newman to find out more about this fascinating history.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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On the morning of 12 October 1654, in the Dutch city of Delft, a sudden explosion was followed by a thunderclap that could be heard more than 70 miles away. Carel Fabritius - now known across the world for his exquisite painting ’The Goldfinch’ - had been at work in his studio. He, along with many others, would not survive the day.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to The Observer’s art critic Laura Cumming whose new book, Thunderclap: A memoir of art and life & sudden death, reveals her passion for the art of the Dutch Golden Age and her determination to lift up the reputation of Fabritius. 

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Henry VIII was described as the 'best dressed sovereign in the world' by the Venetian ambassador Sebastian Giustinian. The Tudor King spent the equivalent of £2 million a year on clothes.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, first released in April 2021, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Maria Hayward to get to grips with the sumptuous garments, the fabrics — and exaggerated codpieces — that made up Henry VIII’s wondrous wardrobe.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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Contrary to the idea that the early modern stage was male-dominated, girls actually played an active part in religious dramas, civic pageants, Elizabethan country house entertainments, and Stuart court and household masques. Girls also excelled as singers, translators and authors whose power was evoked in the plays of Shakespeare. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Deanne Williams, author of Girl Culture in the Middle Ages and Renaissance,

which shows how the active presence and participation of girls shaped Renaissance culture.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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In 1671, an Anglo-Irish officer, the self-styled Colonel Blood attempted to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. The thwarted crime brought him face-to-face with King Charles II. This incredible story is the subject of a riotous new stage comedy, The Crown Jewels, starring Al Murray and Mel Giedroyc.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Al Murray as well as the play’s author Simon Nye and its director Sean Foley.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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Did King James VI of Scotland plot to assassinate Elizabeth I? Did she name him as her successor? For centuries, dozens of pasted-over passages in the original manuscript of William Camden’s Annals have been inaccessible. But now, technology has made them visible for the first time, offering new insights into the political machinations of Elizabeth’s court.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from researcher Helena Rutkowska and Calum Cockburn from the British Library. 

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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Best known for St. Paul’s Cathedral, Christopher Wren was the greatest architect Britain has ever known. But he was so much more: he applied his mind to astronomy, meteorology and anatomy. How did he achieve so much while running the nation's biggest architectural office with all its petty jealousies and political challenges? 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about this extraordinary figure from Professor Adrian Tinniswood, author of His Invention So Fertile: A Life of Christopher Wren.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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Books belonging to Henry VIII, Richard III, Mary I and Edward VI are among the treasures in the historic library of the Archbishops of Canterbury, one of the oldest public libraries in England. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb takes a tour of just a few items from Lambeth Palace Library’s priceless collection with the librarian archivist Giles Mandelbrote.

There are pictures of all of the items featured in this podcast on Suzannah’s social media accounts - @sixteenthCgirl - on Facebook, Twitter, Threads, and Instagram. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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Seymour, Dudley and Parr are all well-known Tudor names. But often, behind the more famous men in those families, there were women who had a much greater influence than has previously been acknowledged.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by historian and researcher Sylvia Barbara Soberton to discover more about three such women - Ann Seymour, Jane Dudley and Elizabeth Parr - who galvanized their husbands, shaped power relations, and helped orchestrate events that we usually assume were driven by men. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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How did an enslaved East African man become Japan’s first foreign samurai, and the only ever samurai of African descent? How did Yasuke catch the attention of Japan’s most powerful warlord Oda Nobunaga, to become the most unlikely of national heroes?

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to author Craig Shreve who, in his new novel The African Samurai: The incredible story of Yasuke, magnificently reconstructs the story of this fascinating lost historical figure.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Artemisia Gentileschi was the most celebrated female painter of the 17th century, as famous in her lifetime as Reubens or Van Dyke. But the events of her life were as savage as the events depicted in her paintings.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Elizabeth Freemantle, whose new novel Disobedient imagines Gentileschi’s life and the pivotal events that may have fuelled the energy and fury of her paintings.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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How meaningful can a gift - especially of a book - be? In the fickle world of the Tudor court, the strategic gifting of books was a common practice, bound up in relationships of power, politics and protest. A new exhibition exploring this subject at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, includes a stunning book made by a young Elizabeth I which she gave to Katherine Parr as a New Year’s gift in 1544. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb visits the exhibition to find out more from curator Dr Nicholas Perkins and historian Dr. Felicity Heal.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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In the sixteenth century, religious beliefs underwent a dramatic change. As differences between the late medieval Roman Catholic Church and the nature of Luther's Protestantism spread across Western Europe, where you stood on points of theology could literally mean life or death. For example, what did you have to do to attain salvation? And what happened in the most holy moment of a church service, the Mass? 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explores the complex and fascinating ideas that people believed with Professor Alec Ryrie.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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The name Ivan the Terrible is synonymous with brutality and ruthlessness. While Western scholars insist that the first crowned Tsar of all Russia did create a policy of mass repression and execution, others claim Ivan’s name has been tarnished by Western travellers and writers. How then should his complex and fascinating personality be understood?  

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb examines the evidence with Dr. Charles Halperin, one of the world's foremost historians of Ivan the Terrible.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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From the mid-15th century to the mid-16th century, there were 10 Queens Consort of England, from Margaret of Anjou to Katherine Parr. For each of these Queens, jewellery was a way she could signify her status and her legitimacy, display familial and cultural ties, and chart life events - from courtship and marriage, through motherhood, to death. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Nicola Tallis, whose book All the Queen's Jewels 1445-1548: Power, Majesty and Display examines the personal and political connections of Queens through the lens of their jewellery.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg and Elena Guthrie.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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As Queen Elizabeth I lays dying, King James VI of Scotland is waiting to accede to the throne of England. But who will thrive and who will fall under the new King? Will it be the scholar Francis Bacon, whose brilliant mind is the envy of the court? Or his hated rival Edward Cook, the greatest lawyer of his generation?

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors — recorded at the Hay Festival of Literature & Arts —

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Jesse Norman MP about his new novel The Winding Stair, an epic tale of jealousy and intrigue in Elizabethan and Jacobean England, which, in its lowest moments, holds a darkened mirror to our own contemporary politics.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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In the summer of 1579, Francis Drake had to land in a ‘fair and good bay’ on the western coast of the New World when his ship - The Golden Hind - needed repairs. A sign was put up, naming it Nova Albion (‘New England’) for Queen Elizabeth I. But the question of exactly where Drake landed has continued to vex historians to this day.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Melissa Darby, whose meticulous and painstaking work has uncovered all manner of evidence to finally resolve the controversy.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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What do you get when you bring together five top historians to debate depictions of Thomas More on film and TV? History with the gloves off - our third special episode of Not Just the Tudors Lates! This time, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb takes as her starting point the life of the scholar who wrote Utopia, the Lord Chancellor who became a Roman Catholic martyr and saint.

Suzannah is joined again by Dr Joanne Paul, Jessie Childs, Alex von Tunzelmann and Professor Sarah Churchwell to compare the various film versions of Thomas More’s story, where they have got it right - and often wildly wrong.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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The most admired and influential composer during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I, William Byrd died exactly 400 years ago on 4 July 1623. Byrd’s music ranks among the most unique and inspired works of the late Renaissance. Remarkably, Byrd was a practicing Catholic in Anglican England who persistently faced threats of religious persecution.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more to Byrd’s award-winning biographer Dr. Kerry McCarthy. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

The following musical extracts are used with the kind permission of the performers:

Clarifica Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXqpCaVnYfQ&t=29s

Performed by Léon Berben

Domines quis habitat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1zrywqZfyQ

Performed by the Byrd Ensemble

Similles Illes Fiant (In Exitu Israel) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM8N8JlgnJA

Ad Dominum Cum Tribulare https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6KHWQ5OzWQ

Performed by The Cardinall's Musick directed by Andrew Carwood

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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When we think of Shakespeare, we mostly think of language. But what about gesture and other forms of nonverbal communication - from thumb-biting in Romeo and Juliet to Pistol giving “the fig of Spain” in Henry V? Do gestures say something specific about the gendering of guilt and shame?

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, rounding up her series for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb takes a look at this fascinating topic with theatre scholar Dr. Miranda Faye Thomas.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >

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