The East Anglian witch hunt under Matthew Hopkins, self-appointed Witchfinder General, has garnered a great deal of popular and historical interest over the years. An image has developed of a zealous, misogynistic young man serving crazed 'justice' against supposed witches, whipping up panic and turning neighbours against each other in...

This self-guided short course provides an introduction to European witchcraft history from the fifteenth century to the present. Using a range of primary sources, the course explores important themes and questions relating to witchcraft history, examining how witchcraft has been imagined and understood at different times and in different places, and why...

The Reformations, both Protestant and Catholic, have long been told as stories of men. But women were central to the transformations that took place in Europe and beyond. What was life like for them in this turbulent period? How did their actions and ideas shape Christianity and influence societies around the world? ...

Oliver Cromwell’s death in 1658 sparked a period of unrivalled turmoil and confusion in English history. In less than two years, there were close to ten changes of government; rival armies of Englishmen faced each other across the Scottish border; and the Long Parliament was finally dissolved after two decades.  Why...

To mark the anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s first folio in 1623–24, our 2024 winter webinar series focused on ‘The history that Shakespeare gave us’. The representation of the past in Shakespeare’s plays has shaped many people’s understanding of history. In this webinar series, leading academics explore the history that is...

In this Virtual Branch talk Professor Emma Smith provides a preview of her current research, which explores the lives and cultural undercurrents of Elizabethan England. What was influencing their cultural tastes and how much of it was new, or had it all been seen before? Emma Smith is Professor of Shakespeare...

During his lifetime, Henry VIII journeyed throughout his kingdom in what are known as royal 'progresses'. In this webinar, Anthony Musson will share research from the AHRC-funded 'Henry on Tour' project which seeks to reassess these progresses by exploring archival sources, archaeology, music and material culture. In addition to contributing...

In this episode, Dr Hailwood investigates what the relationship between villagers might have been like four centuries ago. There can be a tendency to romanticise the ‘close-knit’ communities of a past age, but through a case study of a pub crawl in a Somerset village we come to see that...

In this episode, Dr Hailwood (University of Bristol) examines whether rural villages were really as cut off from the outside world as is often assumed. The evidence of court records not only shows that people often travelled quite far as part of their work, but also that surprisingly high levels...

In this episode, Dr Hailwood (University of Bristol) uses witness statements from court records to reconstruct a ‘typical’ working day for 17th century villagers. Contrary to our expectations that men toiled in the fields all day whilst women were occupied with work around the home, the evidence reveals that both...

In this episode, Dr Hailwood (University of Bristol) asks whether everyday life in English villages 400 years ago was really as uncomfortable and harsh as we generally tend to think. Not everybody died young, and although ‘creature comforts’ were not up to modern standards there is plenty of evidence that...

The Dudleys thrived at the court of Henry VII, but were sacrificed to the popularity of Henry VIII. Rising to prominence in the reign of Edward VI, the Dudleys lost it all by advancing Jane Grey to the throne over Mary I. That was until the reign of Elizabeth I,...

In Tudor England, artworks were often described as ‘lively’. What did this mean in a culture where naturalism was an alien concept? And in a time of religious upheaval, when the misuse of images might lure the soul to hell, how could liveliness be a good thing? In this talk...

The Medlicott Medal is awarded annually for outstanding services and contributions to history. This year the Medal went to renowned historian and author Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch who is currently Professor of the Church at Oxford. His 2008 book History of Christianity: the first three thousand years is the leading authority on the history...

In this podcast Professor Tim Hitchcock of the University of Sussex discusses LGBTQ+ history in Britain during the Early Modern period. Dr Hitchcock examines legal changes brought in by the Tudors, the development of Molly houses, subsequent persecution and hetero-sexism and the construction of some LGBTQ+ identities.

In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students examine the English Civil War, including looking at the religious, political, social, and economic causes of the Civil War; the Scottish and Irish dimensions to the conflict; the role of the New Model Army in...

In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students examine the origins, course and outcome of the Lincolnshire Rising and the Pilgrimage of Grace, the largest popular uprising in Tudor England. The playlist also includes a two-part case study looking at the fortunes of...

In this podcast Professor Alison Rowlands of the University of Essex delves into the witch trials and witchcraft of the early modern period. She examines the sources historians use for this time period, and how they differ between regions, from the continent to England and the colonies. Rowlands distinguishes the stereotypes of witches...

In this podcast Professor Elaine Chalus of the University of Liverpool looks at women's involvement in 18th century elections in the UK. This podcast was funded by the Age of Revolution education legacy project and recorded with the help of Megan King, Student Ambassador at the University of Kent.  

Dr Tracy Borman gave the following keynote speech at the HA Annual Conference on 19 May 2018. Elizabeth I is often portrayed as a ruthless ‘man’s woman’, who derided her own sex – ‘I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman’ – and loved to flirt...