Not Just the Tudors

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Unusual Births and Disability in 17th Century England Apr 15, 2024

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**WARNING: This episode contains themes that some listeners might find distressing and commonly-used historic terminology that does not reflect our own thoughts**

In May 1680, England become obsessed with a pair of conjoined twins. At just two weeks old, Priscilla and Aquila Herring were kidnapped from their home in Somerset to be put on show for money. A fortnight later they were dead, and a legal battle ensued over ownership and income. It is one of the earliest examples of exploitation and the exhibition of physical difference in England, a story of public display without consent, both before and after.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Whitney Dirks, whose new book Monstrosity, Bodies, and Knowledge in Early Modern England weaves the case of the Herring sisters through an examination of how physically unusual humans and animals were understood and talked about in early modern England.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here: https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/

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Seducing James I: Mary & George Apr 11, 2024

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The major new TV series, Mary & George tellsthe scandalous story of George Villiers, who rose - thanks to his mother Mary’s machinations - from minor gentry to enrapture King James VI & I, Britain’s first Stuart king. For a decade, George Villiers was at James’s side – at court, on state occasions and in bed, right up to James’s death in March 1625.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Benjamin Wooley, acclaimed author of The King’s Assassin, a compelling portrait of a royal favourite whose charisma overwhelmed those around him and, ultimately, himself.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Erasmus: Renaissance Radical Apr 08, 2024

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In the 16th century, Erasmus of Rotterdam was about as famous as anybody could be, one of the greatest intellectuals of his age. To Martin Luther's mind, though, Erasmus's radical religious vision did not go far enough. To Roman Catholic scholars, Erasmus was heretical.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor William Barker, to find out more about a scholar of great brilliance as well as personal flaws and contradictions.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

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Wars of Religion: A Woman's Fight for Justice Apr 04, 2024

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At the end of the French Wars of Religion, a widow Renée Chevalier instigated the prosecution of a military captain who had committed multiple acts of rape, homicide and theft against the villagers who lived around her. But how could Chevalier win her case when King Henri IV's Edict of Nantes ordered that the recent troubles should be forgotten as 'things that had never been'?

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Tom Hamilton, whose new book is a dramatic account of the impact of the troubles on daily life for women, peasants, and foot soldiers, who are marginalized in most historical studies.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

**WARNING: This podcast contains references to rape, violence and homicide**

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Martin Luther Apr 01, 2024

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A controversial figure during his lifetime, Martin Luther set in motion a revolution that split Christianity in the West and left an indelible mark on the world today.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, first released in July 2021, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to renowned Luther biographer Professor Lyndal Roper to explore the man behind the carefully crafted image - misogynistic, anti-Semitic, occasionally self-doubting, religiously devout yet with a crude, scatological sense of humour.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

**WARNING: This episode contains an example of strong language

You can take part in our listener survey here.

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Surgery in the Early Modern Age Mar 28, 2024

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Today surgery is one of the most important sectors in the medical field. But what was surgery like for people in the 16th and 17th centuries, before anaesthetic and sophisticated technology? How were surgeons trained? What tools did they use? And what was the rate of survival?

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb discovers more from historian and retired surgeon Michael Crumplin.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

**WARNING: Contains some graphic descriptions of surgical procedures**

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here

You can take part in our listener survey here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jewish History of Venice Mar 25, 2024

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Essential to any history of Venice during its glory days is the story of its Jewish population. Venice gave the world the word ghetto. Astonishingly, the ghetto prison turned out to be as remarkable a place as the city of Venice itself, as a literary, cultural and interfaith revival flourished.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Harry Freedman. His new book Shylock’s Venice tells the story of Venice's Jews, from the founding of the ghetto in 1516, to the capture of Venice by Napoleon in 1798.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

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Tudor Ladies-in-Waiting Mar 21, 2024

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For every Tudor Queen, their ladies-in-waiting were their confidantes, chaperones and intimate witnesses to their lives. These women were high born, even if they performed menial tasks, and many of them were educated. As King Henry VIII changed wives - and the very fabric of the country's structure - these women had to make choices about loyalty that simply didn't exist before.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb welcomes Dr. Nicola Clark, whose new book The Waiting Game, tells the untold story of the women who served the Tudor Queens.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

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Diary of a Tudor Gentlewoman Mar 18, 2024

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Diaries written by gentlewomen in the mid-16th century are hard to find. Yet, they lived through an age of upheaval as old ways were effaced in preference for the new.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb meets award-winning author Francesca Kay. In her new novel The Book of Days, she has imagined herself into the story of a gentlewoman living in the 1540s, writing her book of days, and it is spellbinding.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

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Trial of Charles I Mar 14, 2024

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In the mid-17th century, King Charles I of England was put on trial for treason against the sovereign state. Such a process involved a singular determination by Parliament to find a way, through due legal process, to try the one they saw as a man of blood, to ensure that he paid the price for his faults and failings, but not through extrajudicial summary justice.

To understand how such a thing came about, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb speaks in this episode of Not Just the Tudors to Professor Edward Vallance, who has deeply researched King Charles I's trial.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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