Not Just the Tudors

For the Tudors and Elizabethans, a beard denoted masculinity while beardlessness indicated boyhood or effeminacy. How a man wore his beard - or not - said a lot about his power and position in society...

2 Aug 202136min

Though she is relatively unknown outside of Mexico, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz - poet, playwright and nun - is an icon and national hero in her homeland. She even features on the 200 peso banknote. In ...

29 Jul 202141min

Catherine Howard was Queen Consort - and fifth wife - to Henry VIII for just 16 months before he had her executed for treason for committing adultery. Since Victorian times, historians have labelled h...

26 Jul 202152min

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 ...

22 Jul 202148min

The relationship between Elizabeth I and Catherine de' Medici - the two most powerful Queens of their time - is one of the most intriguing and captivating stories of the 16th century. In this edition ...

19 Jul 202146min

In this edition of Not Just The Tudors, Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Hannah Dawson, editor of The Penguin Book of Feminist Writing who draws upon poems, novels and memoirs to show that even in Tudor tim...

15 Jul 202138min

In the 16th and 17th centuries and beyond, certain sexual acts were made capital crimes in England, France and other countries. The offence of "sodomy" embraced a wide range of acts including rape, ch...

12 Jul 202154min

The Story of the Death of Anne Boleyn is a long narrative poem written by the secretary to the French ambassador in London within two weeks of the Queen's execution. It was intended as a diplomatic di...

8 Jul 202141min