Renaissance English History Podcast: A Show About the Tudors

Late February was one of the hardest times of year in Tudor England. Food stores were running low, the weather was damp and cold, and spring still felt far away. But in the middle of that hungry season came Shrovetide, a brief burst of pancakes, games, and noise before the long fast of Lent began.

In this video, we spend a day inside a Tudor household at the end of winter. From thin pottage and smoky hearths to Shrove Tuesday pancakes and rough village football, this is what the season actually looked like for ordinary people.

We’ll follow the rhythm from the final feast of Shrovetide into the quiet first days of Lent, when the tables grew plainer and the long wait for spring began.

If you’d like to experience this season in a more reflective way, you can join The Tudor Spring: A 40-Day Sanctuary, a gentle, history-based journey through Lent with daily stories, music, and reflections:https://heatherteysko.thrivecart.com/the-tudor-spring-a-40-day-sanctuary/

#TudorHistory #Shrovetide #DailyLifeHistory #Lent #SocialHistory
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What if Mary I had listened to her people instead of her heart?

When Mary Tudor took the throne in 1553, she was a survivor who had beaten the odds. But she was also a woman in a hurry. She needed an heir, she needed to secure the Catholic faith, and she needed a husband. In our timeline, she chose Philip of Spain, a decision that brought Wyatt’s Rebellion, the loss of Calais, and the nickname "Bloody Mary."

But it didn't have to be that way.

In today’s episode, we’re diving into a fascinating "sliding doors" moment in Tudor history. We explore what would have happened if Mary had chosen the handsome, erratic, and purely English Edward Courtenay instead.

We’re breaking down the ramifications of that one choice:


Why the Spanish match was so loathed by the English public.


How the survival of Lady Jane Grey and the freedom of Princess Elizabeth hinged on this wedding.


The economic "miracle" of a timeline where England never loses Calais.


Whether a secure, "English" Mary would have ever become the "Bloody" queen we remember today.

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Arbella Stuart was born with royal blood, raised under watch, and treated as a possible queen her entire life. She never claimed the throne, but her lineage made her dangerous simply by existing.

In this episode, we follow Arbella from her childhood under Bess of Hardwick to her secret marriage to William Seymour, and the dramatic 1611 escape attempt that ended in pursuit, capture, and imprisonment in the Tower of London.

It’s the story of a woman who spent her life waiting for permission, and what happened when she finally stopped.
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If you’ve ever visited a Tudor palace in winter and wondered why it feels so cold inside, the answer is simple: it always was.

In this episode, I explore how people in Tudor England actually stayed warm indoors. Not central heating, not roaring fires in every room, but a daily system built around one hearth, heavy clothing, hot food, shared warmth, and carefully managed routines.

We’ll look at fireplaces and fuel, why most rooms were never heated at all, how beds were warmed instead of bedrooms, and how people wrote, read, and worked with numb fingers in firelit rooms. From foot warmers taken to church to warming pans slipped between the sheets, heat in the Tudor world was local, temporary, and precious.

Understanding how the Tudors dealt with cold changes how we think about daily life, privacy, sleep, work, and even learning in the sixteenth century. Warmth wasn’t ambient. It was something you had to make, protect, and share.

This is the everyday reality of living in cold stone houses, with one fire, long winters, and no escape from the chill.
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In November 1605, the Gunpowder Plot came terrifyingly close to reshaping England’s future. This episode explores what would have happened if Parliament had actually exploded - killing the king, his ministers, and much of the political class in a single moment.

Rather than retelling the familiar story, this video focuses on the aftermath that never came to pass: the succession crisis, the fate of Princess Elizabeth, the absence of a functioning government, and the realities the conspirators failed to anticipate.

We then return to what did happen, how the plot unraveled, how the conspirators were hunted down, and how the trials and executions turned a failed conspiracy into a permanent political myth.

On a different note... VDay merch at TudorFair.com!
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