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Not Just the Tudors
The African Samurai
How did an enslaved East African man become Japan’s first foreign samurai, and the only ever samurai of African descent? How did Yasuke catch the attention of Japan’s most powerful warlord Oda Nobunaga, to become the most unlikely of national heroes?
In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to author Craig Shreve who, in his new novel The African Samurai: The incredible story of Yasuke, magnificently reconstructs the story of this fascinating lost historical figure.
This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.
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378. The Witches of Lorraine
42:33||Ep. 378**This episode contains brief descriptions of tortures**Between 1570 and 1630 there was intense persecution as thousands of people were accused of being witches in Lorraine, a small duchy on the borders of France and the Holy Roman Empire. Suspicion spread like a deadly virus through the villages and towns as neighbour turned on neighbour.Robin Briggs, Emeritus Fellow at All Souls College Oxford, joins Professor Suzannah Lipscomb to delve into the richest surviving archive of witchcraft trials to be found in Europe. They discuss the thousands of confessions and persecutions detailed in the archive and what insights they provide into the social dynamics and cultural beliefs surrounding witchcraft in this small but notorious European duchy.Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here >377. The Women who Painted the Tudors
41:56||Ep. 377We probably think that the only artists working in the Tudor court were men, like Holbein and Hilliard. But new research is revealing that women were painting the Tudors too, and they were probably more active than we have previously suspected.Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by miniatures experts Emma Rutherford and Alan Derbyshire to discuss two of these artists - Susanna Horenbout and Levina Teerlinc - and also finds out about a stunning new discovery of a portrait of a notorious Tudor Queen.Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, the audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.Music by Epidemic Sounds and All3 Media Music.Related episodes:A Tudor Mystery: https://podfollow.com/not-just-the-tudors/episode/5e47b2618a2d57498af383103e62be4af0afdca5/viewWho Painted Anne Dudley?: https://podfollow.com/not-just-the-tudors/episode/bcd6084fd52449f3e447223f778b32e9a4ea7f69/viewSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK376. Practical Magic: Spells, Prayers & Cunning Folk
33:59||Ep. 376Long before witch trials, magic was the domain of ‘cunning folk’ who were part of the fabric of medieval and early modern life. Their charms, filters and spells - for personal advancement, aiding fertility, predicting the future, even exacting revenge - offered people solutions to their problems. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Dr. Tabitha Stanmore, whose research navigates the social and political lives of these lesser known magical practitioners. All music from Epidemic SoundsPresented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcastRelated episodes:The Brutal Basque Witch Hunt: https://podfollow.com/not-just-the-tudors/episode/f0c212ec364450ef05ff7b8e4df7053fa3911d20/viewThe Witchfinder General: https://podfollow.com/not-just-the-tudors/episode/9c81545a7796bf29d5de9f0c9ff75c40169a9ed0/viewSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK375. Leonardo da Vinci with Ken Burns
39:26||Ep. 375Leonardo da Vinci was a man like no other. A restless visionary and polymath, his paintings are some of the best known of all works of art.To talk about Leonardo, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Ken Burns, the multi-award winning American filmmaker who has transformed the documentary into an art form. His latest film, made with Sarah Burns and David McMahon, explores in wonderful granular detail the singular genius of Leonardo da Vinci.Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcastRelated episodes:Michelangelo >Lorenzo de' Medici, the Magnificent >Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here >374. Witchfinder General
38:50||Ep. 374In the aftermath of the Civil War, a remote corner of Essex witnessed the most brutally devastating witch-hunt in English history. A dangerous maverick Matthew Hopkins, 'the Witchfinder General', hunted down vulnerable people across East Anglia, exploiting the anxiety and lawlessness of the times. Between 1645 and 1647, over 300 suspects were interrogated and tortured; a third of them were hanged.As our special series on witchcraft continues, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about Hopkins and his accomplice John Stearne from historian and author Malcolm Gaskill.Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, the audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here >373. Invisible Activists of the Reformation
37:55||Ep. 373The names that spring first to mind in the Reformation of Christianity tend always to be male. But women were central to these extraordinary transformations in religious life in Europe and around the globe.Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Professor Merry Wiesner-Hanks, who has uncovered the stories of hundreds of women. As monarchs and mothers, migrants and martyrs, mystics and missionaries, women's influence and actions were crucial factors in the Reformation.Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, the editor is Amy Haddow, and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.If you enjoy this episode, you will be interested in these from our archive:How Kateryn Parr Championed the Reformation: https://shows.acast.com/not-just-the-tudors/episodes/how-kateryn-parr-championed-the-reformationThe End of Monasteries: https://shows.acast.com/not-just-the-tudors/episodes/end-monasteriesEnjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘TUDORS’ https://historyhit.com/subscriptionYou can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK372. The Witch
40:25||Ep. 372Join Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Professor Ronald Hutton as they explore the evolving definitions of witches, the global spread of witch beliefs, and their impact during the 16th and 17th century witch trials in Europe.As part of our month-long series on witchcraft, we delve into the role of magic in different cultures, the forms persecution took and how anthropology, folklore, and history have shaped the modern understanding of witches.Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcastEnjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘TUDORS’ You can take part in our listener survey here >371. Fireworks: From the Tudors to Guy Fawkes
29:27||Ep. 371A pyrotechnic dragon roared flames into the river Thames during the coronation week of Elizabeth of York in 1487. These explosive displays were employed as a sign of might and majesty throughout the reign of Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I was the first English monarch to establish their own fire master. By the time of the Gunpowder Plot, fireworks were used not only to celebrate, but to commemorate and incite. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to John Withington about the remarkable development of pyrotechnics throughout the Tudor and Stuart eras. Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcastRelated episode:The Gunpowder Plot - The Tudor Origins >Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘TUDORS’ You can take part in our listener survey here >370. The Brutal Basque Witch Hunt
40:41||Ep. 370In 1609, some 80 people were executed for witchcraft in France's Basque region. It inspired a final push to eradicate witches by the Spanish Inquisition across the border. One of the judges, Pierre de Lancre, published a sensationalist book which has been the source of every subsequent account. But newly discovered evidence paints a very different picture.Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Dr. Jan Machielsen whose book The Basque Witch Hunt: A Secret History shows that almost everything historians thought they knew about this brutal episode is inaccurate.Listen to our previous episode with Jan Machielsen, An Early Modern Teenage Werewolf >Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘TUDORS’You can take part in our listener survey here >