492. The War on Beards: From Peter the Great to John Lennon (Part 2)
“I like an Englishman to look like an Englishman, and beards are foreign and breed vermin. Also depend upon it, they will lead to filthy habits.” Europe has had a love-hate relationship with facial h...
9 Sep 202451min
491. History's Greatest Beards: From Egyptian Queens to Medieval Conquerors (Part 1)
What did Marcus Aurelius, Jesus, and Ragnar Lothbrok all have in common? Apart from their notorious and symbolic deaths, all three men boasted luscious beards. Throughout history, beards have posed qu...
8 Sep 202446min
490. Hundred Years' War: England Triumphant (Part 4)
St Crispin’s day, 1415: Henry V stands victorious, after a tremendous defeat of the French forces at the Battle of Agincourt. He is just about to make a historic speech which will be retold by Shakesp...
4 Sep 202455min
489. Hundred Years' War: Bloodbath at Agincourt (Part 3)
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”. The Battle of Agincourt in 1415 endures as perhaps the most totemic battle in the whole of English history. Thanks in part to Shakespeare’s masterful Henr...
1 Sep 202454min
488. Hundred Years' War: The Road to Agincourt (Part 2)
On the 11th of August 1415, King Henry V of England - an austere, pious, thoughtful and terrifying warlord in only his late-twenties - set sail for France. He embarked in the largest ship ever built o...
28 Aug 202451min
487. Hundred Years' War: Henry V’s Invasion of France (Part 1)
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends. Once more, we'll close the wall up with our English dead […] And upon this charge, cry God for Harry, England and St. George!” Such was Henry V’s call to arms...
25 Aug 202456min
486. Henry IV: Warrior Princes and Fat Knights (Part 2)
The year is 1403, and the Usurper King, Henry IV, faces a seemingly insurmountable challenge to his rule. He has been brought the news that his old friend, Harry “Hotspur” Percy, has betrayed him, and...
21 Aug 202457min
485. Henry IV: The Usurper King (Part 1)
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown…” Henry IV has been portrayed as both a shadowy, obscure figure, and a strong king who was loved by his people. Prior to ascending the throne, Henry, the son ...
18 Aug 20241h 4min
