"In this lecture, we focus on the dissolution of the monasteries in England from 1536-40, focusing in particular on: (i) the history of the dissolution of monasteries in England; (ii) the first systematic dissolution of the monasteries under Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in 1525; (iii) why Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries; (iv) the nature of Henry VIII’s religious views, including the influence of Erasmian theology; (v) the escalation of the dissolution of the monasteries and its legal basis; and (vi) resistance to the dissolution of the monasteries, including the monks of the London Charterhouse and the Brigittines of Xion, and the abbots of Glastonbury, Reading, and Colchester."

Henry VIII: Mind of a Tyrant, part 3

Henry VIII: Mind of a Tyrant, part 1.

David Starkey answering questions on the Royal Supremacy.

David Starkey, was Bloody Mary that bad?

ERASMUS, Desiderius. The Praise of Folie. Moriae Encomium A Book Made In Latine By That Great Clerke Erasmus Roterodame. Englisshed By Sir Thomas Chaloner, Knight. Anno M.D.XLIX. Published: [London: in the house of Thomas Berthelet, 1569 [recte 1549].

'Few English kings were assailed by as many rival claimants to their crown as Henry VII. Yet, as Nathen Amin describes, the man who had himself seized the throne against all odds was more than up to the challenge.'

'There have been many depictions of ANNE BOLEYN'S EXECUTION on screen, but how accurate are some of the best known portrayals of the Queen’s final minutes? In this week’s History Calling video, I’m going to pit Hollywood versus history by looking at three of the best known movies and TV shows about Anne’s life from recent years and comparing them to each other and the historical record to see who did it best. The video will ask how accurate was Wolf Hall, starring Claire Foy, The Other Boleyn Girl starring Natalie Portman and The Tudors, starring Natalie Dormer, when it came time to show how the death of Anne Boleyn played out. It will look at Anne Boleyn’s final speech on the scaffold on 19 May 1536, what she wore, her demeanour and how those around her acted. This is a six wives documentary with a difference, as we look at how arguably the most famous execution in history, of perhaps the most famous Queen of England has been portrayed through a medium which didn’t come into existence until nearly 300 years after the event.'

'Mary Tudor, the eldest daughter of King Henry VIII, had five stepmothers. What was her relationship with each of them like? Valerie Schutte examines the future Queen Mary I’s attitudes to the five wives – and her attempts to defend her own legitimacy…'

'Professor Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch discusses his landmark biography of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief minister and enforcer. Professor MacCulloch, a Wolfson Prize-winning historian, guides the audience through his new archival discoveries, and reveal an image of Cromwell which has never been seen before.

Rising from obscurity under Cardinal Wolsey, Cromwell oversaw the break with Rome, the fall of Anne Boleyn, and the Dissolution of the Monasteries. At the height of his power, he was Henry's Chancellor and Vicegerent in Spirituals – a layman in charge of the Henrician church. Cromwell's fall was as swift as his rise – attacked by his enemies and executed in 1540. Despite his notoriety, the subject of Mantel's "Wolf Hall" trilogy, recently played by Mark Rylance in a critically acclaimed TV adaptation, remains an elusive historical figure.'

Starkey on Elizabeth, part 3

Spartacus on the Pilgrimage of Grace.

Henry VIII: Mind of a Tyrant, part 4

Henry VIII: Mind of a Tyrant, part 2.

'England’s Catholic Reformation is the reformation that sixteenth-century England nearly had: a reformed and renewed English Catholic Church, its new schools and revived parishes matched with a firm smack of discipline.

It almost happened; its leading prophets – Cardinals Thomas Wolsey and Reginald Pole – both came close to being elected pope.

Instead, as these possibilities evaporated, they left behind them a toxic residue which has poisoned England’s relations with its neighbours down to the present.

A lecture by Alec Ryrie.'

Wolf Hall: the first part of Hilary Mantel's fictionalised biography of Thomas Cromwell.

'British art historian Waldemar Januszczak shows that Hans Holbein witnessed and recorded the most notorious era in British history. He painted most of the major characters of the 16th century Tudor Era, including the famous image of King Henry VIII. What unsettling secrets lay hidden in his famous paintings? What do his images reveal about Henry's relentless drive to control the English church?'

'Kings and Generals' historical animated documentary series on medieval history continues with a video on the process of Enclosure which started in England during the middle ages and continued well into the early modern period. The common lands were seized, which pushed the English peasants, who lost their lands, into the city. This created a large landowner class in England, which still controls most of the land.'

'A conversation with Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker in front of Hans Holbein the Younger, The Ambassadors, 1533, oil on oak (The National Gallery, London)'

'He was one of Queen Elizabeth I’s most renowned sailors, famed for his role in the English victory against the Spanish Armada attack of 1588 and knighted on his return from his epic circumnavigation of the globe. But Francis Drake also played a central role in the foundation of England’s involvement in the slave trade and was, says Professor Claire Jowitt, a murderer. How was Drake involved in the slave trade and why has this part of his life and career been largely overlooked?'

'Geoffrey Elton (1921 – 1994) was one of the great historians of the Tudor period. 'England Under the Tudors' is his major work and an outstanding history of a crucial and turbulent period in British and European history. Revised several times since its first publication in 1955 'England Under the Tudors' charts a historical period that witnessed monumental changes in religion, monarchy, and government – and one that continued to shape British history long after.

'England Under the Tudors' is now part of the celebrated Routledge Classics series. In this interview, historian Diarmaid MacCulloch tells us more about the book’s history and its continuing impact.'

'As part of 'The British Academy 10-Minute Talks' on YouTube, Revd Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch Kt FBA talks about how to understand Thomas Cromwell, even though so many of Cromwell's own letters have vanished from his vast surviving archive.'

The Parry Plot? From Elizabeth, the Golden Age.