The Renaissance: not such a golden age?

The Renaissance: not such a golden age?

From Michelangelo's David and Machiavelli's The Prince to the plays of Shakespeare, the Renaissance produced some of history's most astounding works of culture, art and innovation. But can focusing on these glittering creations obscure the messy and often violent reality of actually living through the era? Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, Ada Palmer highlights the complexities of this so-called 'golden age' – including corrupt popes, devastating plagues and why Michelangelo hated painting. (Ad) Ada Palmer is the author of Inventing the Renaissance: Myths of a Golden Age (Bloomsbury, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Finventing-the-renaissance%2Fada-palmer%2F9781035910120. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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A new take on the battle of Hastings

A new take on the battle of Hastings

It's long been assumed that King Harold's English army arrived tired and in disarray at the battle of Hastings, having had to march over 200 miles from fighting the battle of Stamford Bridge. Tom Lice...

7 Huhti 33min

Mrs Beeton: life of the week

Mrs Beeton: life of the week

Mrs Beeton is a name synonymous with 19th-century domesticity – most notably in connection with the iconic Book of Household Management. But who was the real woman behind the name? Emily Briffett is j...

6 Huhti 37min

The battle of the Arctic: the overlooked crucible of WW2

The battle of the Arctic: the overlooked crucible of WW2

The US and UK supplied the USSR with vast amounts of military materiel during the Second World War via the Arctic convoys. In this episode, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore speaks to David Musgrove about the imp...

5 Huhti 37min

How the Vikings pushed Anglo-Saxon England to the brink

How the Vikings pushed Anglo-Saxon England to the brink

During the latter decades of the ninth century, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms faced an existential threat as Viking forces launched an assault on a scale never seen before. In this first episode of our fou...

4 Huhti 38min

How to stay healthy in the Middle Ages

How to stay healthy in the Middle Ages

In reality, were medieval people dirty and covered in mud? What did they think were the healthiest things to eat? And how often did they think they should be having sex? Speaking to Charlotte Vosper, ...

2 Huhti 36min

Europe's Muslim history

Europe's Muslim history

From the magnificence of the Alhambra to the forgotten resting places of the Prophet Muhammad’s own relatives, Islam has long been a part of Europe’s history. Danny Bird speaks to Tharik Hussain about...

31 Maalis 41min

Attila the Hun: life of the week

Attila the Hun: life of the week

Few historical figures have reputations quite as diabolical as that of Attila the Hun. This nomadic leader pitched up on the edge of the Roman empire in the fifth century AD, and spread terror and cha...

30 Maalis 35min

Captured by Barbary corsairs: an Englishwoman's extraordinary tale

Captured by Barbary corsairs: an Englishwoman's extraordinary tale

In 1756, Elizabeth Marsh set sail from Gibraltar to Britain with the intention of meeting her fiancé. Instead, she was captured by Barbary corsairs – effectively pirates operating from north Africa, c...

29 Maalis 33min

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