Hans Holbein: New Discoveries
Henry VIII’s commanding gaze, Thomas More’s intellect, Anne of Cleves’ cautious poise; Hans Holbein’s portraits didn’t just depict the Tudors, they defined them. His astonishing realism gave us not ju...
13 Nov 202556min
The Rise of St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul’s Cathedral still dominates the London skyline, defiant, majestic, timeless. Yet, its story begins in the ashes of the Great Fire of London out of which would rise Sir Christopher Wren’s maste...
10 Nov 202551min
What if Guy Fawkes had succeeded?
On 5 November 1605, Guy Fawkes became infamous not for what he achieved, but for what he failed to do: kill King James VI & I and bring down the British parliament. But what if the Gunpowder Plot had ...
6 Nov 202554min
King vs. Emperor: The Battle of Pavia, 1525
500 years ago, the fields outside Pavia in Italy became the stage for one of the most dramatic and decisive battles of the Renaissance. Francis I of France led his army into Italy, waiting for him was...
3 Nov 202555min
Diary of Samuel Pepys
Professor Suzannah Lipscomb unlocks the pages of one of the most extraordinary diaries ever written. Samuel Pepys chronicled his life in Restoration England — a world alive with plague, fire, war, the...
30 Okt 202547min
Jane Boleyn with Philippa Gregory
Jane Boleyn has long been called the most hated woman in Tudor history. Wife to Anne Boleyn's brother George, Jane served as lady-in-waiting to five of Henry VIII's six wives, and when Anne Boleyn fel...
27 Okt 202557min
When Europe met Islam
In the Early Modern period the boundaries between Christian and Islamic civilisations were far more porous than we imagine: Isaac Newton’s library included Arabic biographies of the Prophet Muhammad; ...
23 Okt 202550min
How to Stay Alive in Renaissance England
In 16th and 17th century England, the plague and pox, disease and injury were a daily presence. At at time when medicine was a complex interplay of tradition, faith and observation, survival depended ...
20 Okt 202555min
