Not Just the Tudors

Queen Elizabeth I has been depicted on the big and small screen more times than most of her contemporaries. Now, a critically acclaimed TV series Becoming Elizabeth - streaming on STARZ - traces the turbulent early years of Elizabeth, negotiating all the political intrigues of the court on her journey towards securing the crown.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Becoming Elizabeth’s writer Anya Reiss and its Executive Producer George Ormond about finding fresh drama and bringing to light little-known episodes and characters in the ever-captivating story of Elizabeth I.

For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. Audio extract from Becoming Elizabeth courtesy of STARZ.

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The Cambridgeshire village of Warboys was the scene of one of the most famous English witch trials of the sixteenth century. There, the privileged daughters of the respected Squire Throckmorton accused a cantankerous elderly neighbour of witchcraft, sending the impoverished Alice Samuel to her death.

This shocking case is the subject of a dazzling new novel The Bewitching by author Jill Dawson, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb’s guest today. It explores a neglected episode of English history to powerful effect, vividly conveying the brutal tribalism that can erupt in a closed society and how victims can be persuaded to believe in their own wickedness.  

For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. 

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The great diarist Samuel Pepys was an avid collector of books, news and gossip, and reading was a major part of his life and the lives of his contemporaries.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb delves into Pepys’s life and wide-ranging interests with Dr. Kate Loveman.

Her extensive research offers significant insights into the man, his world and the far-reaching literary and cultural developments of the seventeenth century.

For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited by Thomas Ntinas and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The New Model Army was one of the most formidable fighting forces ever assembled. It played a crucial role in overthrowing King Charles I, propelling one of its most brilliant generals, Oliver Cromwell, to power during the English Revolution. As a fighting force it engineered regicide, pioneered innovative military tactics, and helped to keep Cromwell in power as Lord Protector until his death.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Ian Gentles to examine how the army’s brilliant battlefield manoeuvring and logistical prowess contributed to its victories.

For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was researched by Esther Arnott, edited by Thomas Ntinas and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In 1691, a peasant in Livonia - on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea - announced before a startled district court that he was a werewolf. Yet far from being in league with the Devil, “Old Thiess” insisted he was one of the “hounds of God,” fierce guardians who battled sorcerers, witches, and even Satan to protect the fields and flocks. Not surprisingly, his judges struggled to make sense of the case.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to two eminent scholars, Professor Carlo Ginzburg and Professor Bruce Lincoln, whose diverging views present a uniquely comparative look at the trial and the startling testimony of Old Thiess. 

For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited, mixed and produced by Rob Weinberg. 

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If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

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What food - and how much of it - did people eat in the Tudor period? Where did they get it? When did they eat it? What arrangements for cookery and dining were in place in their homes? What did they drink? 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Mark Dawson, who has closely studied the household accounts of the Willoughby family of Wollaton Hall in Nottingham and Middleton Hall in Warwickshire. Through them, he has been able to trace many interesting developments including the decline in enthusiasm for salted herring, the embracing of new meats such as turkey, and the complex network of supplies through merchants, markets and fairs. 

For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was researched by Esther Arnott, edited by Thomas Ntinas and produced by Rob Weinberg. 

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Ruffs, Pipes and Pearls

When Francis Drake returned home from the Spanish West Indies, he carried with him pearls to present as gifts to Elizabeth I. Around London’s Inns of Court, every gentleman smoked a pipe of American tobacco, believing it projected an air of civility. But the cultural impact of colonisation worked both ways: the Englishmen who settled in Jamestown, Virginia, took with them goffering irons to crimp fabric and make ruffs.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Lauren Working to explore how England’s desire to colonise the Americas influenced both those they met and those back home, resulting in lasting cultural change.

For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The researcher was Esther Arnott.

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If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

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From the sixteenth century through to the end of the eighteenth century, the Venetian government and the Roman Catholic Church jointly established a tribunal to repress heresy throughout the Republic of Venice. The inquisition also intervened in cases of sacrilege, apostasy, prohibited books, superstition, and witchcraft.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Nicholas Davidson about his deep research into the Venetian archives, which sheds new light on the nature of religious belief in early modern Italy and the activities the Venetian Inquisition sought to prevent.

For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was researched by Esther Arnott, edited by Thomas Ntinas 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 >

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Anne of Cleves was the ‘last woman standing’ of Henry VIII’s wives and the only one buried in Westminster Abbey. How did she manage it? Was she in fact a political refugee, supported by the King? Was she a role model for her step-daughters Mary and Elizabeth? Why was her marriage to Henry doomed from the start?

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by author Heather R. Darsie - editor of maidensandmanuscripts.com - whose research into Anne of Cleves casts a new light on Henry’s fourth Queen, potentially revealing a very different figure than the so-called 'Flanders Mare'.

For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited by Thomas Ntinas 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 > 

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In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Alan Downie about Daniel Dafoe, whose life was at least as colourful as those of the characters he created. Apart from writing one of the most famous books of all time, Dafoe survived the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London, traded in hosiery, supported freedom of religion and the press, worked as a confidant to William of Orange, as a secret agent and master spy…or so he said. And he died virtually penniless. 

For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited by Thomas Ntinas 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 >

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