Hello and welcome to the Renaissance English History Podcast, a part of the Agora Podcast Network.

I'm your host, Heather Tusco, and I'm a storyteller who makes history accessible because I believe

it's a pathway to understanding who we are, our place in the universe, and being more deeply in touch with our own humanity.

This is episode 114, and I'm back thinking about travel, specifically Richard Hackelite. His story,

as England's first travel writer is fascinating for anyone,

but especially when you add into it the fact that he actually never traveled really himself,

and then the long-lasting effects he had on English exploration. So this week we're going to

talk about exploration and armchair travel. But first, I have a very

important announcement to make, which involves real travel, and that is TudorCon. Yes, you heard that

right. I am organizing and hosting the world's first ever TudorCon. In October 2019, we will gather at a newly restored winery

adjacent to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Fair in Mannheim, Pennsylvania, which is,

incidentally, where I'm from originally. Well, not Manhattan, but Lancaster County. So we're going to

have three days of merriment, learning, feasting, and entertainment. The weekend will kick off on Friday,

the 18th of October, with a welcoming party with refreshments and period entertainment and games.

Costumes are definitely encouraged for this part. On Saturday, we're going to have a full

day of learning from speakers. We've already confirmed three and there's a whole bunch who have applied and who are in the works. So there's going to be

about six speakers on Saturday. And so that'll be a full day of learning. And then on Sunday morning,

we reconvene for another couple of talks, three or four talks in the morning, followed by

a medieval feast in the feasting grounds of the Renaissance Fair with private entertainment

and then time to spend at the fair before calling it a weekend. So the goals of the event,

first and foremost, is to bring together this amazing community from around the country

and the world even. We've got people already who signed up to come, who bought tickets,

...