Not Just the Tudors

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 Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘TUDORS’ https://historyhit.com/subscription You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK

Transcribed - Published: 25 July 2024

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. Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘TUDORS’. You can take part in our listener survey here >

Transcribed - Published: 22 July 2024

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 Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘TUDORS’ https://historyhit.com/subscription You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK

Transcribed - Published: 18 July 2024

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.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘TUDORS’ https://historyhit.com/subscription You can take part in our listener survey here >

Transcribed - Published: 15 July 2024

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. Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘TUDORS’ https://historyhit.com/subscription You can take part in our listener survey here >

Transcribed - Published: 11 July 2024

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.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘TUDORS’ https://historyhit.com/subscription You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK

Transcribed - Published: 8 July 2024

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.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

Transcribed - Published: 4 July 2024

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. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 1 July 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 27 June 2024

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. You can take part in our listener survey here.

Transcribed - Published: 24 June 2024

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 >.

Transcribed - Published: 20 June 2024

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 > You can take part in our listener survey here > Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Transcribed - Published: 17 June 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 13 June 2024

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 >

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2024

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] Goldring: ttps://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/centrestaff/elizabethgoldring/Instagram: @elizabeth.goldring  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 >

Transcribed - Published: 6 June 2024

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 >

Transcribed - Published: 3 June 2024

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. 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

Transcribed - Published: 30 May 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 27 May 2024

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 >

Transcribed - Published: 23 May 2024

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. 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

Transcribed - Published: 20 May 2024

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/ You can take part in our listener survey here

Transcribed - Published: 16 May 2024

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. 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

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2024

**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. 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

Transcribed - Published: 9 May 2024

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. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 6 May 2024

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. 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 >

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2024

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. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 29 April 2024

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. 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 >

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2024

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. 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 >

Transcribed - Published: 22 April 2024

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. 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

Transcribed - Published: 18 April 2024

**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. 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

Transcribed - Published: 15 April 2024

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. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 11 April 2024

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. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 8 April 2024

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** 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 >

Transcribed - Published: 4 April 2024

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** 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

Transcribed - Published: 28 March 2024

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. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 25 March 2024

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. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 21 March 2024

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. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 18 March 2024

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. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 14 March 2024

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. 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 >

Transcribed - Published: 11 March 2024

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. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 7 March 2024

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. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 4 March 2024

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** Discover the past with exclusive history documentaries and ad-free podcasts presented by world-renowned historians from History Hit. Watch them on your smart TV or on the go with your mobile device. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Sign up now for your 14-day free trial here > You can take part in our listener survey here >

Transcribed - Published: 29 February 2024

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. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 26 February 2024

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. Discover the past with exclusive history documentaries and ad-free podcasts presented by world-renowned historians from History Hit. Watch them on your smart TV or on the go with your mobile device. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Sign up now for your 14-day free trial here > You can take part in our listener survey here >

Transcribed - Published: 22 February 2024

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. Discover the past with exclusive history documentaries and ad-free podcasts presented by world-renowned historians from History Hit. Watch them on your smart TV or on the go with your mobile device. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Sign up now for your 14-day free trial here: https://access.historyhit.com/checkout/subscribe/receipt?code=tudors&plan=monthly You can take part in our listener survey here >

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2024

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. Discover the past with exclusive history documentaries and ad-free podcasts presented by world-renowned historians from History Hit. Watch them on your smart TV or on the go with your mobile device. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Sign up now for your 14-day free trial here > You can take part in our listener survey here >

Transcribed - Published: 15 February 2024

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. Discover the past with exclusive history documentaries and ad-free podcasts presented by world-renowned historians from History Hit. Watch them on your smart TV or on the go with your mobile device. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Sign up now for your 14-day free trial here: https://access.historyhit.com/checkout/subscribe/receipt?code=tudors&plan=monthly You can take part in our listener survey here >

Transcribed - Published: 12 February 2024

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. Discover the past with exclusive history documentaries and ad-free podcasts presented by world-renowned historians from History Hit. Watch them on your smart TV or on the go with your mobile device. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Sign up now for your 14-day free trial here: https://access.historyhit.com/checkout/subscribe/receipt?code=tudors&plan=monthly You can take part in our listener survey here >``

Transcribed - Published: 8 February 2024

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. Discover the past with exclusive history documentaries and ad-free podcasts presented by world-renowned historians from History Hit. Watch them on your smart TV or on the go with your mobile device. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Sign up now for your 14-day free trial here > You can take part in our listener survey here >

Transcribed - Published: 5 February 2024

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. Discover the past with exclusive history documentaries and ad-free podcasts presented by world-renowned historians from History Hit. Watch them on your smart TV or on the go with your mobile device. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Sign up now for your 14-day free trial here > You can take part in our listener survey here >

Transcribed - Published: 1 February 2024