Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life, times and influence of Eleanor of Aquitaine (c1122-1204) who was one of the most powerful women in Twelfth Century Europe, possibly in the entire Middle Ages. She inherited land from the Loire down to the Pyrenees, about a third of modern France. She married first the King of France, Louis VII, joining him on the Second Crusade. She became stronger still after their marriage was annulled, as her next husband, Henry Plantagenet became Henry II of England. Two of their sons, Richard and John, became kings and she ruled for them when they were abroad. By her death in her eighties, Eleanor had children and grandchildren in power across western Europe. This led to competing claims of inheritance and, for much of the next 250 years, the Plantagenet and French kings battled over Eleanor's land.WithLindy Grant
Professor of Medieval History at the University of ReadingNicholas Vincent
Professor of Medieval History at the University of East AngliaAndJulie Barrau
University Lecturer in British Medieval History at the University of CambridgeProducer: Simon Tillotson.
Kultur & Gesellschaft
In Our Time: History Folgen
Historical themes, events and key individuals from Akhenaten to Xenophon.
Folgen von In Our Time: History
228 Folgen
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Folge vom 28.01.2016Eleanor of Aquitaine
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Folge vom 21.01.2016Thomas Paine's Common SenseMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss Thomas Paine and his pamphlet "Common Sense" which was published in Philadelphia in January 1776 and promoted the argument for American independence from Britain. Addressed to The Inhabitants of America, it sold one hundred and fifty thousand copies in the first few months and is said, proportionately, to be the best-selling book in American history. Paine had arrived from England barely a year before. He vigorously attacked monarchy generally and George the Third in particular. He argued the colonies should abandon all hope of resolving their dispute with Britain and declare independence immediately. Many Americans were scandalised. More were inspired and, for Paine's vision of America's independent future, he has been called a Founding Father of the United States.With Kathleen Burk Professor Emerita of Modern and Contemporary History at University College LondonNicholas Guyatt University Lecturer in American History at the University of CambridgeAndPeter Thompson Associate Professor of American History at the University of Oxford and Fellow of St Cross CollegeProducer: Simon Tillotson.
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Folge vom 26.11.2015The Salem Witch TrialsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the outbreak of witch trials in Massachusetts in 1692-3, centred on Salem, which led to the execution of twenty people, with more dying in prison before or after trial. Some were men, including Giles Corey who died after being pressed with heavy rocks, but the majority were women. At its peak, around 150 people were suspected of witchcraft, including the wife of the governor who had established the trials. Many of the claims of witchcraft arose from personal rivalries in an area known for unrest, but were examined and upheld by the courts at a time of mass hysteria, belief in the devil, fear of attack by Native Americans and religious divisions.With Susan Castillo-Street Harriet Beecher Stowe Professor Emerita of American Studies at King's College LondonSimon Middleton Senior Lecturer in American History at the University of SheffieldAnd Marion Gibson Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at Exeter University, Penryn Campus.Producer: Simon Tillotson.
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Folge vom 12.11.2015The Battle of LepantoMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss The Battle of Lepanto, 1571, the last great sea battle between galleys, in which the Catholic fleet of the Holy League of principally Venice, Spain, the Papal States, Malta, Genoa, and Savoy defeated the Ottoman forces of Selim II. When much of Europe was divided over the Reformation, this was the first major victory of a Christian force over a Turkish fleet. The battle followed the Ottoman invasion of Venetian Cyprus and decades in which the Venetians had been trying to stop the broader westward expansion of the Ottomans into the Mediterranean. The outcome had a great impact on morale in Europe and Pope Pius V established a feast day of Our Lady of Victory. Some historians call it the most significant sea battle since Actium (31 BC). However, the Ottomans viewed the loss as less significant than their victory in Cyprus and, within two years, the Holy League had broken up.WithDiarmaid MacCulloch Professor of the History of the Church at the University of OxfordKate Fleet Director of the Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies and Fellow of Newnham College, University of CambridgeAndNoel Malcolm A Senior Research Fellow in History at All Soul's College, University of Oxford Producer: Simon Tillotson.