Not Just the Tudors

Three powerful Renaissance queens all lived together at the French court for many years. They were bound together through blood and marriage, alliance and friendship — bonds that were tested when they were forced to scatter to different kingdoms. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Leah Redmond Chang — author of Young Queens: The gripping, intertwined story of Catherine de' Medici, Elisabeth de Valois and Mary, Queen of Scots — to find out more about these three women who lived their lives at the mercy of the state.This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.You can take part in our listener survey here. 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.

Four hundred years ago in 1623, the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays was printed. Known as the First Folio, the book was integral to establishing Shakespeare's posthumous reputation just seven years after his death.In the first of four special episodes of Not Just the Tudors celebrating this anniversary, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Emma Smith about the story behind Shakespeare’s First Folio, how it collected together and preserved his works as we know them today, and its lasting legacy. This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.You can take part in our listener survey here.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.

Why do we call the Great Fire of London in 1666 “great”? Was it because of the significant challenge it posed to authorities and residents as they sought to bring it under control? Was it because of the extent of its devastation? Or was it because it occurred during an eventful couple of years where plague and war also threatened lives?In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to historian Rebecca Rideal, author of 1666: Plague, War and Hellfire, whose research has drawn on little known sources to set the Great Fire of London in the broader context of the political, social and economic events of the time. This episode was 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.

King Henry VII and his Tudor heirs knew very little about Ireland, over which they ruled in name at least. During the 118 years of Tudor rule, not one of its monarchs ever set foot in the Emerald Isle. Yet the history of the Tudor monarchy cannot fully be told without understanding its relations with Ireland. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb discovers more with Professor Christopher McGinn.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.

In the 16th Century, rude jokes and scatological humour were just as much a feature of life as they are today. Between 1529 and 1539, a Swiss linen trader called Johannes Rütiner included many jokes and humorous anecdotes in his personal notebooks. They offer an amazing insight into both the jokes that were told and the context in which they were passed on. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Dr. Carla Roth.This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.**WARNING: This episode contains examples of 16th century humour which some listeners may find offensive or shocking**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.

History has painted Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn in two very different hues: one wife, one mistress; one Spanish, one French; one committed Catholic, one radical reformer. But a new exhibition at Hever Castle examines one curious moment of confluence, right in the midst of the crucial year of 1527. It's a moment that suggests that Katherine and Anne had more in common than we normally imagine.In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb goes to Hever Castle to find out more, with curators Dr. Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey.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.

Following the Second Granada War (1568-70), thousands of Moriscos in Spain were exiled, imprisoned or enslaved. Moriscos were former Muslims who had been compelled to convert to Roman Catholicism. But in 1572, Spanish King Philip II made the enslavement of Morisco children illegal. Yet they were still separated from their parents and put to work in Christian households. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb delves into this fascinating episode with Dr. Stephanie Kavanaugh, to find out why the enslavement of children was banned, how the slave owners reacted, and what became of them.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.

In March 1582, a number of women from the small Essex village of St Osyth, were hanged for the crime of witchcraft. Several others, including one man, died in prison, in what was a shocking and highly localised witch-hunt. In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Marion Gibson, who offers revelatory new insights into the personal histories of those who were denied the chance to speak for themselves.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.

Louis XIV ruled France for more than 72 years, the longest recorded reign of any monarch of any sovereign country in history. Despite the devotion of his wife Maria Theresa of Spain, Louis took a series of mistresses, a number of them "official", with whom he had numerous illegitimate children. Yet, for the last three decades of his life, after Maria Theresa's death, he settled down more loyally with the Marquise de Maintenon. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, first released in June 2021, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about the powerful and fascinating women behind the throne of the Sun King, with Dr Linda Kiernan Knowles.This episode was 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