Not Just the Tudors

Sir Walter Raleigh remains one of the enduring names from the Elizabethan era. He was a true Renaissance man - a statesman, soldier, writer, explorer and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1594, Raleigh heard about the legendary golden city of El Dorado and the following year, explored what is now Guyana and eastern Venezuela in search of it. In his account of the expedition The Discovery of Guiana, Raleigh made exaggerated claims as to what had been discovered, contributing to the enduring El Dorado legend, and his own celebrity. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to writer and historian Mathew Lyons about Raleigh, his dream of finding El Dorado, and the epic scale of his failure.

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The Ottoman Sultan Suleyman I - known as "Suleyman the Magnificent" in the West - was the most feared and powerful man of the sixteenth century. His journey to power was built on brutal choices and intimate relationships - with the Greek slave who became his closest friend, the Venetian plutocrat who sold him gems and won him allies and the Russian consort who stole his heart. Within a decade, Suleyman reached the walls of Vienna, while his pirate admiral Barbarossa dominated the Mediterranean. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to award-winning author Christopher de Bellaigue, about his acclaimed new book The Lion House which recounts the first third of Suleyman's reign, a remarkable rise to power which led to his domination of the Middle East, large swathes of north Africa and the Mediterranean.

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Many of the private and public dramas in the life of Henry VIII took place at Hampton Court Palace. Begun in 1514 for Cardinal Wolsey, Hampton Court became one of Henry VIII's favourite residences. Set in 60 acres of magnificent gardens, much of the Tudor building was destroyed during King William III's massive rebuilding and expansion work, as he sought to create a residence to rival the Palace of Versailles.

In this explainer episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb takes a walk around Hampton Court to take in the sights and tell the story of this spectacular, historic building.

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In 1667 - 355 years ago this month - a young London publisher called Samuel Simmons printed a very important book - John Milton's Paradise Lost. Milton had come to the fore in radical politics and, for a time, was considered an enemy of the state. Paradise Lost was published as his dream of a Godly republic became a reality and then crumbled, and as he himself turned blind and experienced the death of his wife and son.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Thomas Corns about the fascinating history of the writing and publishing of one of the greatest epic poems in the English language.

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The recently released film Lapwing is set during the Tudor period, one year after the Egyptian Act of 1554 effectively criminalised Romani people and others - generically labelled "Egyptians" - and those who harboured them. Lapwing tells the story of one such family who are exploited by a vengeful salt farmer on the Lincolnshire coast.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about the little-remembered Egyptian Act from Dr. John E. Morgan, and more about Lapwing from its writer Laura Turner.

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The Dudleys were the most brilliant, bold and manipulative of power-hungry Tudor families. Every Tudor monarch made their name either with a Dudley at their side - or by crushing one beneath their feet. With three generations of felled family members, what was it that caused the Dudleys to keep rising so high and falling so low?

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Joanne Paul, author of The House of Dudley: A New History of Tudor England, the story of a noble house competing in the murderous game of musical chairs around the English throne. 

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Francesca Caccini (1587-c.1641) is one of the forgotten women of classical music. She was an exceptional singer and instrumentalist, but above all, an immensely talented composer. Working full time at the Medici court from the age of 20, Caccini became one of its best paid employees. Many of her compositions have been lost, but her only surviving stage work, La liberazione di Ruggiero, is considered to be the oldest opera by a woman composer.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about this great and neglected composer from biographer Dr. Anna Beer and Deborah Roberts, Artistic Director of the Brighton Early Music Festival.

The podcast features excerpts of Caccini's music from Ars Lyrica Houston's programme, Italian Sirens, recorded in Zilkha Hall, Hobby Centre for the Performing Arts, Houston, Texas on 12 November 2017 with Sydney Anderson (soprano), Cecilia Duarte (mezzo-soprano) and Matthew Dirst (Artistic Director). Audio courtesy of Ars Lyrica Houston.  

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Visitors to the Holburne Museum in Bath are having a close encounter with the most familiar faces in English history. A stunning exhibition, The Tudors: Passion, Power and Politics, includes some of the most iconic Tudor portraits, evoking that torrid era of religious conflict and political intrigue.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb walks round the exhibition with curator Monserrat Pis Marcos to discuss the paintings and the turbulent lives of those portrayed.

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The Taj Mahal was commissioned 390 years ago by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. But what can we know about the king from the exquisite love temple he built? What do its inscriptions tell us about Shah Jahan's life, love and faith?

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Father Michael D. Calabria, who has deeply studied this most beautiful and famous of buildings and the Emperor who created it.

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François I of France not only introduced the Renaissance to France, he became the perfect Renaissance king - an inspiring military leader, a charismatic diplomat, an art collector and a lover of literature. But he was also intensely human and flawed.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to author Leonie Frieda, whose biography of François I brings to life the great monarch who turned France into a great nation.

Keep up to date with everything early modern, from Henry VIII to the Sistine Chapel with our Tudor Tuesday newsletter >

If you would like to learn more about history, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit >

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