Not Just the Tudors

Was Henry VIII as all-powerful and tyrannical as we have come to believe? Is the scheming of Thomas Cromwell portrayed in Wolf Hall close to the truth? What were the roles of the clergy, or parliament, or the land-owning gentry, in supporting or influencing the sweeping changes that rocked England during the period?In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor George Bernard. He has been picking apart the conventional view of Tudor society, the work of influential past historians, and the roles of a Machiavellian monarch, the church and individuals, to ask where did the power really lie? And did they really have a choice? Keep up to date with everything early modern, from Henry VIII to the Sistine Chapel with our Tudor Tuesday newsletter: Subscribe here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Early in the morning of Sunday 13 November 1536, a London merchant named Robert Pakington was shot dead crossing Cheapside as he walked to church. It was the first gun crime in London's history. But who pulled the trigger? In a time of religious turmoil, was Pakington's murder perhaps provoked by his outspoken criticism of the clergy?In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb speaks to historian and writer Derek Wilson, whose novel  The First Horseman launched a series exploring true, unsolved Tudor crimes.If you’re enjoying this podcast and looking for more fascinating Tudor content, then subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter, here > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since its first outing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017, the stage musical Six has become a worldwide theatre sensation. In it, the six wives of Henry VIII are re-imagined as a girl band, competing to decide who will lead the group based on how much they suffered while married to Henry.Six was created by two Cambridge undergrads, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, while they were studying for their final exams. In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to them, to discover the story of how they brought Henry VIII's six wives out from under their husband's shadow and gave each of them their moment in the spotlight.Keep up to date with everything early modern, from Henry VIII to the Sistine Chapel with our Tudor Tuesday newsletter: Subscribe here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1547, the 14-year-old future Queen Elizabeth I is living with her step-mother Queen Catherine Parr and her new husband Thomas Seymour, uncle to Elizabeth's half-brother King Edward VI. But when Seymour begins an overt flirtation with Elizabeth, she is sent away by Catherine. Later, when Seymour is arrested for treason, Elizabeth and Seymour's relationship comes under close scrutiny.In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Elizabeth Norton about this harrowing and potentially damaging episode from the early life of the Virgin Queen.Sign up to receive History Hit's Tudor Tuesday newsletter, here > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oliver Cromwell - the only commoner to have become Britain's head of state - has puzzled biographers for centuries. He was a complex character, courageous but at the same time devious and self-serving. But the Cromwell who comes through in his own speeches and writings does not give us the full picture. In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Ronald Hutton about his remarkable new book which reveals a Cromwell who was both genuine in his faith and deliberate in his dishonesty.You can also subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter, here > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1682, three impoverished women from Bideford in Devon were hanged, becoming the last people to be executed for witchcraft in England. The evidence against them was flimsy and their conviction was secured against a background of a baying mob mentality. Yet their story has endured, and their names were chanted as recently as the 1980s, as both inspiration and incantation, by women peace activists at Greenham Common.In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to John Callow, whose new book The Last Witches of England demonstrates how the case of the Bideford witches sheds light upon the turbulent religious, political, class and social tensions of the 17th century.  Keep up to date with everything early modern, from Henry VIII to the Sistine Chapel with our Tudor Tuesday newsletter: Subscribe here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the 17th century, England was known as "Devil-Land" - a diabolical country torn apart by seditious rebellion, religious extremism and royal collapse. Dr. Clare Jackson has written a dazzling, original account of English history's most turbulent and radical era telling the story of a nation in a state of near continual crisis.  Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Jackson about England between 1588 and 1688 which was, in many ways, an unstable state, rocked by devastating events from the Gunpowder Plot to the Great Fire of London.Sign up to receive History Hit's Tudor Tuesday newsletter, here > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Ottoman Empire has long been seen as the Islamic-Asian opposite of the Christian-European West. But the reality was very different: the Ottomans played an integral role in European history. Their multiethnic, multilingual, and multi-religious domain reached deep into the heart of the continent, connecting the East and West as never before.  In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Marc David Baer about the extraordinary Ottomans, how their rulers saw themselves as the New Romans, how they fascinated Henry VIII, and how a true picture of their power and influence upends our common concepts of the Renaissance.Sign up to receive History Hit's Tudor Tuesday newsletter, here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an age before newspapers and mass media, how did the general public keep abreast of what was going on? How did they find out about the seismic changes going on at court, and in the religious life of the country?  In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Jenni Hyde, whose extensive research into the early modern period proves that the news was not only spread by word of mouth and pamphlets, it actually became the stuff of ballads and communal songs.Sign up to receive History Hit's Tudor Tuesday newsletter, here > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the Vatican Library, there survive 17 highly personal love letters, written in King Henry VIII's own hand to Anne Boleyn between 1527 and 1528. How the letters got there no one exactly knows - they were probably stolen from Anne to be used as evidence in Henry's divorce trial with Catherine of Aragon. In the second of her Explainer podcasts, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explores these extraordinary letters that changed history. The podcast includes excerpts from History Hit's newly released audio book of the Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn, read by Matt Lewis, which can be listened to in full here >Sign up to receive our Tudor Tuesday newsletter, here > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.