Not Just the Tudors

History Hit
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May 3, 2021 • 40min

The Queer Shakespeare: John Lyly

John Lyly's name may not be so familiar. He was a playwright and poet writing at the same time as Shakespeare and, in his day, was more famous than the Bard himself. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr Andy Kesson about Lyly's radical and, frankly, queer works: his plays in which Queen Elizabeth was compared - at court! - to the lesbian poet Sappho, and in which the marriage of two girls dressed as boys is approved by Venus, goddess of love. Why has Lyly been forgotten? And why might he just be the alternative Shakespeare for our times? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Apr 29, 2021 • 42min

Bridewell: The Palace that became a Prison

In the heart of Shakespeare's London, there was a palace that had become a prison: Bridewell. Professor Duncan Salkeld has explored the records of this notorious destination for the poor and the indigent, vagrants, prostitutes, and the idle. In this episodes of Not Just the Tudors, he shares with Professor Suzannah Lipscomb his fascinating findings about the wayward and the unruly . These include 'Black Luce', a brothel madam probably of African heritage, who has been suggested as a candidate for the 'dark lady' of Shakespeare's sonnets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Apr 29, 2021 • 34min

An Early Modern Teenage Werewolf

The witch-hunts of sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe are well-known. But did you know that some 300 people were convicted of being werewolves? In this revelatory podcast with Dr. Jan Machielsen, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb travels back to 1603 to find out more about the moving case of Jean Grenier, a self-confessed teenage werewolf from the Basque region of France. Who was he? And what were the tragic circumstances that led to his conviction? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Apr 29, 2021 • 43min

Henry VIII's Billionaire Wardrobe

Venetian ambassador Sebastian Giustinian described Henry VIII as the 'best dressed sovereign in the world'. The King spent the equivalent of £2 million a year on clothes. In this episode with Professor Maria Hayward, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb gets to grips with the sumptuous garments, the fabrics (and exaggerated codpieces) that made up the Tudor king's wonderous wardrobe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Apr 29, 2021 • 50min

Velazquez and the Spanish Court

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Laura Cumming - author and art critic for The Observer - about Velázquez, arguably the greatest genius of Spanish painting. They particularly discuss one of the world's most remarkable paintings - Las Meninas ('The Ladies in Waiting'), how the artist rose through the stifling, gilded court of Philip IV, and the way in which Velázquez dignified everyone he painted - from the King himself through to some of the most vulnerable members of his court. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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