Renaissance English History Podcast: A Show About the Tudors

Playwright Rosamond Graves joins me to talk about her new play Three Queens, premiering at the Gamut Theatre in Harrisburg, PA. The play imagines Mary I, Elizabeth I, and Lady Jane Grey meeting on the eve of Jane’s execution, exploring power, survival, and how history remembers these women.Go see the play if you're local to Central PA: https://www.paonstage.com/shows/2025/harrisburg/three-queens

In this episode, we trace the scandalous yet enduring relationship between John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford, from mistress and governess to Duchess of Lancaster. Their children, the Beauforts, carried the stain of illegitimacy but became central to English politics, and through Margaret Beaufort, their bloodline gave rise to the Tudor dynasty.

Forget modern self-help books: the Tudors had their own guides for living well. In this episode, we look at advice from Thomas More, Erasmus, Roger Ascham, William Harrison, and John Dee. From moderation and kindness to simple faith and the pursuit of knowledge, their lessons still resonate today.

In Tudor England, time was shifting from the rhythms of the sun and church bells to the tick of mechanical clocks. This episode explores how the Tudors measured their days, from sundials and cathedral clocks to Anne Boleyn’s gilt-bronze timepiece and Henry VIII’s spectacular astronomical clock at Hampton Court.

In 1511, Henry VIII’s son, Henry Duke of Cornwall, lived to adulthood. As King Henry IX, he married into the Spanish Netherlands and led England into a Catholic Golden Age: no Anne Boleyn, no Elizabeth I, and no English Civil War. Here’s how history might have looked if the first Tudor prince had survived.

It’s autumn, and the spider webs are everywhere. But in Tudor England, spiders weren’t just pests. They carried layers of meaning: omens of luck, remedies for illness, and even ties to witchcraft. In this minicast, we’ll look at how Tudors thought about spiders, their place in folklore and medicine, and why these creepy crawlies are still tied to Halloween today.

Another one from the Members Only vault from a few years ago. Meet Anne Herbert, sister of Catherine Parr, who played her own important role in Tudor history. Serving multiple queens, becoming chief lady-in-waiting to her sister, and marrying into the powerful Herbert family, Anne stood at the heart of court life. A devoted supporter of the Reformed faith, she corresponded with leading scholars and helped shape the religious and political shifts of her time.

The Howard family rose from Bosworth’s ashes to become one of the most powerful dynasties of Tudor England, producing queens, poets, and traitors. In this episode, we trace their rise at Flodden, their heights under Anne and Catherine Howard, their dramatic falls under Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, and their survival into the Stuart age.

Henry VIII’s final will was meant to control the Tudor succession, but it left a legacy of confusion. Signed with a dry stamp instead of Henry’s own hand, the will cut out the Stuart line. Yet James VI of Scotland inherited the English crown anyway. Today we’ll explore what the will said, why it was controversial, and how it shaped the future of England.Tudorcon From Home tickets: https://www.englandcast.com/TudorconFromHome