Not Just the Tudors

On a remote Massachusetts plantation in 1651, an unpopular local brickmaker was blamed for a wave of animal ailments, children dying and vanishing property. The argumentative Hugh Parsons was accused of being a vengeful witch.  In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Malcolm Gaskill about his research into this dark, real-life folktale of family tragedy, supernatural obsessions and social anxiety in the New World of the Puritans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The royal wedding of Marguerite de Valois and Henri de Navarre on 18 August 1572, was designed to reconcile France’s Catholics and Protestants - or Huguenots. But six days later, the execution of Protestant leaders led to a massacre by Catholics of thousands more Protestants in Paris and across France. In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Sophie Nicholls - who is currently writing a popular history of the French Wars of Religion - to explore the events and tensions that led to one of the most frenzied and brutal outbreaks of religious violence in early modern history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip II of Spain - the most powerful monarch of the early modern period - was married to Queen Mary Tudor from 1554 until her death in 1558. But Philip was not merely Mary's King Consort. Rather he was King of England, co-ruler with Mary. But Philip's character and central role in the English monarchy was forever blackened by anti-Catholic versions of Tudor history. In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Gonzalo Velasco Berenguer, whose ground-breaking research shows that the reign of Mary and Philip was much more than an anomalous glitch on England's journey towards Protestantism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Spanish infanta Catalina of Aragon was raised to be a Queen, betrothed at the age of three to the heir apparent of the English throne, Arthur Prince of Wales. Eight years after Arthur's death, she became the first of Henry VIII's six wives. Catalina's mother - Queen Isabella I of Castile - was the most influential person in her life. Witness at an early age to the expulsion of Jews, the defeat of the Moors in Spain, and the triumphal return of Christopher Columbus, Catherine grew up to be a intelligent, highly literate, multi-lingual woman, devoted to her Catholic faith, and a popular, charismatic Queen.In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb discovers more about the early life of Catherine with two leading experts: Dr. Theresa Earenfight, Professor of History at Seattle University and author of a forthcoming biography of Catherine, and Emma Cahill Marron, whose dissertation is focused on the Queen's role as a patron of the arts in Tudor England.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1549, the Tudor establishment was rocked by a series of popular rebellions, born of deep discontent over the enclosure by wealthy landowners of common land, which were essential to ordinary people's livelihoods. In Norfolk, yeoman Robert Kett agreed to the rebels' demands and offered to lead them, storming and taking the city of Norwich - an act which prompted a brutal response from the full military might of the state.In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Andy Wood about the Norfolk insurrection - known as the Ketts Rebellion - and its long-term significance for the development of English society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Faramerz Dabhoiwala, a Senior Research Scholar at Princeton and author of "The Origins of Sex," dives into the seismic shifts in sexual morality from the 17th to 18th centuries. He discusses how the Puritanical views of the past began to fracture, leading to a burgeoning acceptance of sexual freedom. The conversation explores cases of moral policing, the tension between church doctrine and societal norms, and how Enlightenment thought paved the way for modern sexuality. This transformation reveals the evolving landscape of individual conscience and personal autonomy.

On a cold February morning in 1554, Lady Jane Grey was beheaded for high treason. Named as King Edward VI as his successor, Queen Jane had reigned for just 13 tumultuous days before being imprisoned in the Tower, condemned and executed.In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to author and historian Nicola Tallis who reveals the moving, human story of an intelligent, independent and courageous young woman, forced on to the English throne by the great power players in the Tudor court. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who was Thomas More - Knight, Chancellor and Martyr? His life is paradoxical, with More regarded as both saint and persecutor, Humanist intellectual and bigoted zealot. His religious writings, with their - at times - violent attacks on what he regarded as heresy, have been hotly debated.  In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Tom Betteridge. In his work, he has placed Thomas More in a broader cultural context and argues for a revision to the existing histories of the man and his reputation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, Suzannah Lipscomb talks gunpowder, treason and plot with historian and broadcaster Jessie Childs, author of the award-winning God’s Traitors.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early 1530s, the painter Hans Holbein the Younger returns to London. His patronage by Anne Boleyn and the influential Thomas Cromwell leads to Holbein creating the full-length portrait of King Henry VIII that has dominated how we have visualised him ever since. In this second of a two-part Not Just the Tudors special, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb further explores Holbein's fascinating life and work with three of the world's foremost scholars of the artist - Jeanne Nuechterlein, Franny Moyle and Susan Foister.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.