219 Cloth of Gold

It is in the reign of Henry VIII that we first hear of the 'masque' - entertainment that drew from Mummers, Mystery plays, and 'disguisings'. We talk about Anne and Mary Boleyn's education - and Shakespeare and the word 'bump'<hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted o ... Show More

Henry had shown a hint of the man he would become in 1510 by the execution of Empson and Dudley. In 1521, the Duke of Buckingham was in his sights, as Europe's Universal Peace sank beneath the waves.<hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='colo ... Show More

The diplomacy of the early 1520s culminated at Pavia, with the ruin of French hopes - and also English as Hapsburg for a while reigned supreme. Domestic politics saw Wolsey discredited for the first time, and the Boleyns arrive at court.<hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em; ... Show More

The Norman Conquest of 1066, culminating in the legendary Battle of Hastings, is perhaps the greatest turning point in the history of the English nation. It was a year that changed the fate of England forever, forging empires, and settling continents. And yet, despite its infamy ... Show More

1066, a date which lives in infamy in many a school child’s history test. For in that year England saw 4 Kings, and two bitter enemies battle for the throne. The ultimate victor would change the course history. The new series King and Conqueror dramatizes this pivotal rivalry wit ... Show More

Why is 1066 the most important year in English history? Who were the three main candidates vying for the English throne on the eve of Edward the Confessor’s death? And how did the coronation of one of them on the 14th of October 1066 trigger one of the most famous invasions of al ... Show More

What sparks a nation to turn against its own king? Professor Suzannah Lipscomb dives into the turbulent and transformative decade that witnessed the English Civil Wars — a bloody clash that claimed nearly 185,000 lives and reshaped the very soul of Britain. From the power struggl ... Show More

William the Conqueror has been dead for nearly a thousand years, and he never set foot in Ireland—so how did he end up at the centre of a modern Irish culture war? With Normandy gearing up for “The Year of the Norman” in 2027, a celebration of William’s legacy has sparked fierce ... Show More

Ask any British school child for a significant date in history, and they’ll likely offer 1066 - the year of William the Conqueror’s Norman invasion of England. But William was just one prominent Norman figure, and 1066 was a single chapter in a much larger story. Settling in nort ... Show More

<p>Henry VIII was termed "by the Grace of God, King of England, France and Ireland.”&nbsp; Ireland was England’s oldest colony.&nbsp; But what bloody events and brutal actions led to the English conquest of Ireland?&nbsp; How did the relationship between the two countries change ... Show More

Dr. Eleanor Janega unravels the blood-soaked aftermath of the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest of England. Joined by Professor Levi Roach, Eleanor delves into the harrowing campaign, known as the Harrying of the North, where William the Conqueror brutally suppressed the ... Show More

What happened in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings? What horrors did William the Conqueror have to inflict upon his Anglo Saxon subjects in order to consolidate his new realm? And, what role did castles, the Harrowing of the North, and the Doomsday Book play in the creation ... Show More

Following the bloody St Brice’s Day Massacre, of the 13th of November 1002, which saw King Æthelred brutally exterminating the Danes from England, the Vikings were hungry for revenge. None more so than the terrifying Scandinavian King, Sweyn Forkbeard. Having capitalised on his f ... Show More