Not Just the Tudors

In 1628, a Dutch East India flagship called Batavia set sail from the Netherlands, never to reach her destination. Eight months into the voyage, the ship was wrecked on coral reef off the western coast of Australia. What then befell her surviving crew and passengers was horrifying and tragic. It has been described as “one of the worst horror stories in maritime history.” In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to author Jess Kidd. Her recent novel about Batavia, The Night Ship - based on her extensive research of sources and archives - has been named a Sunday Times’ Best Historical Fiction Book of the Year. This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Elizabethan England, swords were everywhere. Hanging on girdles, used in plays and depicted in paintings, they were an important marker of status and martial prowess. Swordplay was a popular martial art and pastime enjoyed by all rungs of Tudor society. But what would these swords have looked like? And how did Elizabethan gentlemen fight with them? In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Jacob H. Deacon, a doctoral student at the University of Leeds. Together they discuss the origins of swordplay and it’s relation to fencing, how it was regulated and performed by the mysterious Masters of Defence and, most importantly, how to distinguish your rapier from your backsword. This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android or Apple store  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When strange signs appeared in the sky over Quebec in 1660, the French settlers started to worry about evil forces in their midst. Then, a teenaged servant called Barbe Hallay started to act as if she were possessed by demons. She accused a local miller of bewitching her and, the following year, he was imprisoned and executed. Priests and nuns tried to drive the demons away - but in the end it was something else that worked.In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Mairi Cowan, author of The Possession of Barbe Hallay: Diabolical Arts and Daily Life in Early Canada, a fascinating account of a case of demonic possession in early modern North America.This episode was edited by Anisha Deva and produced by Rob Weinberg.The subject of this podcast was suggested by listener Mike Old, a descendent of Barbe Hallay. If you have an idea for an episode, please send it via our Twitter feed @NotJustTudors or by email to notjustthetudors@historyhit.com.For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In April 1538 - to celebrate the birth of Prince Edward and the 30th anniversary of his reign - King Henry VIII began work on a royal palace in Surrey, designed to be unequalled as a celebration of the power and the grandeur of the Tudor dynasty: Nonsuch Palace.Henry spared no expense on the estate, spending nine years and £7.4 million in today’s money on its construction. But less than 150 years later, the palace had been demolished by a mistress of King Charles II to pay off her debts.It wasn’t until the summer of 1959 that Nonsuch Palace was excavated, by a team led by Professor Martin Biddle CBE. He joins Professor Suzannah Lipscomb in this episode of Not Just the Tudors, to talk about what they discovered about one of the great wonders of the Early Modern world.This episode was edited by Thomas Ntinas and produced by Rob Weinberg.For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 new 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, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Dodds Pennock about a story of abduction, loss, cultural appropriation, and, as indigenous peoples saw it, of apocalypse. This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Three Musketeers paints a picture of King Louis XIII of France as a rather weak monarch controlled by his powerful chief minister Cardinal Richelieu. Louis’ reign is generally thought of as being the beginning of the “age of absolutism” when ministers like Richelieu were in the ascendancy and the power of the court and courtiers declined. But was this really the case?In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Marc Jaffré, who believes it’s time to revise the conventional view of this significant period in French history.This episode was edited by Thomas Ntinas and produced by Rob Weinberg.For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many of us are seeing in a new year, but of course there are, even today, several different ways of marking dates and years in various parts of the world. The most popular calendar, though, is the Gregorian, introduced in October 1852 by Pope Gregory XIII.In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Christina Faraday to find out how and why the Gregorian calendar was introduced, the impact it had on people’s lives, and the serious debate and, in some countries, centuries long resistance to its use.This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're sharing again a fascinating podcast first released at this time last Christmas.For the Tudors, Christmas Day was not traditionally the date when gifts were given. The Twelve Days of Christmas begin on 25 December and end at Epiphany, 6 January - also known as Twelfth Night. In Tudor times, all 12 were feast days, but 1 January was the day when presents were unwrapped.In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb delves into how Christmas and New Year were marked by the Tudors and Stuarts, and what kind of gifts they gave, with Dr. Felicity Heal, author of The Power of Gifts: Gift Exchange in Early Modern England.This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb presents her annual review of the year, recommending the finest history books she has discovered, the best television shows she’s watched, and the biggest historical discoveries that have changed the way we understand - or which shed new light upon - the Tudors, but not just the Tudors. And to round things up, she offers her pick of some of the exciting things to come in 2023.The researcher was Esther Arnott. This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Tudor Christmas would have probably featured as much singing as we have today, if not more, and surprisingly many of the carols would have been the same: In Dulci Jubilo, The Coventry Carol, Gabriel’s message were among the yuletide hits that would have resounded through Tudor era churches.In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Lisa Colton, Professor of Musicology and Head of the Department of Music at the University of Liverpool.Music credits: Pastime with Good Company performed by Jay BrittonCoventry CarolThere Is No Rose of Such Virtue performed by Guildford Cathedral ChoirThis Is The Record of John performed by Guildford Cathedral ChoirMarvel Not, Joseph performed by University of Surrey Chamber ChoirThis episode was edited by Aidan Lonergan and Joseph Knight, and produced by Elena Guthrie & Rob Weinberg. For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.