Not Just the Tudors

In the aftermath of the Civil War, a remote corner of Essex witnessed the most brutally devastating witch-hunt in English history. A dangerous maverick Matthew Hopkins, 'the Witchfinder General', hunted down vulnerable people across East Anglia, exploiting the anxiety and lawlessness of the times. Between 1645 and 1647

The names that spring first to mind in the Reformation of Christianity tend always to be male. But women were central to these extraordinary transformations in religious life in Europe and around the globe. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Professor Merry Wiesner-Hanks, who has uncovered the stories of h

Join Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Professor Ronald Hutton as they explore the evolving definitions of witches, the global spread of witch beliefs, and their impact during the 16th and 17th century witch trials in Europe. As part of our month-long series on witchcraft, we delve into the role of magic in different cul

A pyrotechnic dragon roared flames into the river Thames during the coronation week of Elizabeth of York in 1487.  These explosive displays were employed as a sign of might and majesty throughout the reign of Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I was the first English monarch to establish their own fire master.  By the time of t

In 1609, some 80 people were executed for witchcraft in France's Basque region. It inspired a final push to eradicate witches by the Spanish Inquisition across the border. One of the judges, Pierre de Lancre, published a sensationalist book which has been the source of every subsequent account. But newly discovered evi

In the 1640s, Black communities existed in London and in most of England's port cities, communities from which men would fight and die throughout the English Civil War. There's still little evidence of the lives of these individuals. So what do we know of the Black men who took up arms during the Civil War? On which si