That Shakespeare Life
Hosted by Cassidy Cash, That Shakespeare Life takes you behind the curtain and into the real life of William Shakespeare.
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Father Christmas with Elizabeth Norton
12/19/2022
Father Christmas with Elizabeth Norton
It’s Christmastime again this year and our thoughts are full of sugar plums, candy canes, and hopefully some beautiful winter snow. Growing up children of the 20-21st century are very familiar with the concept of Father Christmas or Santa Claus as he’s become known today who brought gifts to good children each Christmas Eve. For William Shakespeare, however, the characters and particularly the understanding of Father Christmas would have been quite different. You see, William Shakespeare did not have Santa Claus and Father Christmas. There was one Christmas carol from the mid-15th century that described “Sir Christmas” that travelled around announcing the birth of Christ and offering drinks to passersby. There’s another record from the mid-15th century that describes a traditional Christmas battle between Christmas and Lent during which a parade of the months of the year culminates in the presentation of the King of Christmas riding a horse decorated with tinfoil. These 15th century images of Christmas and the personification of the season come well before Shakespeare’s lifetime and the strict idea we know as “Father Christmas” would not show up until after the Restoration in the mid-17th century. So what did England, and by proxy, Shakespeare, do to celebrate the holiday? Did Shakespeare have a Father Christmas? Here today to help us understand the holiday spirit and the role of characters like Father Christmas during Shakespeare’s lifetime is our guest and historian Elizabeth Norton.
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Nutmeg with Brigitte Webster
12/12/2022
Nutmeg with Brigitte Webster
Shakespeare mentions the spice of nutmeg in his plays three times, once in Henry V to comment on the color of nutmeg, once in Love’s Labour’s Lost to talk about a “gift nutmeg” which was a gift given at Christmas for the 16th century, and then again in The Winter’s Tale when the clown lists nutmeg as one of the spices he needs to make warden pies, along with mace, dates, prunes, and raisins. Nutmeg not being native to England, it was not only a valuable spice that made a great gift that was popular for major celebrations like Christmastime, but it was a huge part of international relations for England because during the 1600s was when the Dutch were committing all manner of atrocities against England (and indeed the world), to maintain a monopoly on this particular spice. Here today to share with us the history of nutmeg and some popular recipes that used it from Shakespeare’s lifetime is our friend, culinary historian, and returning guest to the show, Brigitte Webster.
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Eleanor of Aquitaine
12/05/2022
Eleanor of Aquitaine
In Shakespeare's play, King John, Eleanor of Aquitaine is portrayed as "Queen Elinor," who is decrepit and old, but strong willed and highly intelligent. For many Shakespeareans, the real history of this extraordinary woman is confined to this portrayal in Shakespeare's works. Our guest this week, Alison Weir, joins the show to introduce us to the real history of Eleanor of Aquitaine not only as we remember her today, but to share with us what Shakespeare would have known about her, as well as what it is important to know about her real life when encountering Shakespeare’s portrayal of her in his play.
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Sport fishing in Shakespeare's England
11/28/2022
Sport fishing in Shakespeare's England
William Shakespeare mentions fish over 70 times in his plays including certain kinds of fish like dwarfish, a finless fish, and even a dogfish. Types of fish, being a fishmonger, and applying all manner fish metaphors were a consistent theme in many of Shakespeare’s works, which lead me to wonder about the role of fishing and fish in Shakespeare’s lifetime for not only the individual who might have gone fishing for their food, but the role of commercial fishing in the economy of England during the 16-17th century. Here today to help us explore what kinds of fish were most popular, the representations of angling/fishing in print, and exactly how and where people would have caught fish for Shakespeare’s lifetime, is our guest and author of The Poetics of Angling in Early Modern England, Myra Wright.
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Squanto with David and Aaron Bradford
11/21/2022
Squanto with David and Aaron Bradford
One of the heroes of American history and the story of the survival of the English colonists at Plymouth in the mid 17th century is a man named Squanto. His given name was Tisquantum, but he came to be known as Squanto. He was a native American interpreter and guide for early English colonists. While little is known about his early life, some scholars believe that he was taken from home to England in 1605 by George Weymouth and returned to his native homeland with explorer John Smith in 1614–15. His almost decade long residence in London coincides with when Shakespeare was writing plays about shipwrecked colonists encountering native tribes on mysterious far away islands. Our friends, and previous guests to the show for Thanksgiving last year (see that episode here) are father and son history team, David and Aaron Bradford.
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Gresham College with Valerie Shrimplin
11/14/2022
Gresham College with Valerie Shrimplin
Thomas Gresham served as Royal Agent to the King t in England under Edward VI, Henry VIII, Mary, and Elizabeth I. A hugely influential man of his time, Thomas Gresham’s legacy continues today at Gresham College, the university he founded in 1597 when William Shakespeare was 33 years old. Competing with the likes of Oxford and Cambridge at the time, Gresham College was unique not only because universities themselves were a new concept in England, but because Gresham College chose to teach students in English, whereas Latin was the accepted language of universities at the time. Here to share with us how Gresham College was founded, and what the first classes were like there, is our guest and professor at Gresham College, Valerie Shrimplin.
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Cesarean Section with Mary Fissell
11/07/2022
Cesarean Section with Mary Fissell
Famously in Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, the title character becomes convinced he cannot be killed because the witches tell him he cannot be killed a man “of a woman born.” It is only when it is too late that Macbeth learns his nemesis, Macduff, was “from his mother’s womb untimely ripped”, in reference to a cesarean surgery, that Macbeth learns of his ultimate fate. Shakespeare’s inclusion of cesarean section in his play comes at a time when medical science and religious doctrine were questioning the viability of this procedure in a heated public debate. In 1581, French surgeon Francois Roussett published “The Hysterotomotokie or Caesarian Birth” which argued women should have cesarean as a viable option for birth during difficult deliveries. His publication caused quite a stir in medical society, with surgeons across Europe speaking out publicly to condemn the very suggestion. The heated conversation traveled all the way to England where a man contemporary to William Shakespeare, named Simon Forman, would write about cesarean sections in his publication “Matrix and the Pain Thereof.” True to form, it seems William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, was full of poignant and extremely timely cultural references to a huge political debate that was happening right when the play was written. Here today to help us understand the history of cesarean sections during Shakespeare’s lifetime and exactly how controversial it might have been to include cesarean sections in his play, is our guest, professor of the history of medicine and author of “Women, Health, and Healing in Early Modern Europe”, Mary Fissel.
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Pirates and Privateers with James Seth
10/31/2022
Pirates and Privateers with James Seth
From 1560 until her death in 1603, Queen Elizabeth employed a group of privateers to raid, pillage, and rob ships that were acting against English interests. This group of private sailors known as sea dogs included famous naval explorers like Sir Francis Drake who circumnavigated the world, and Sir Walter Raleigh who founded the colony of Roanoke and went looking for El Dorado, the city of gold. Reports of the sea dogs and other fantastic tales of naval adventures were cataloged in 16-17th century travel diaries along with the writings of professional travel writers, all of whom sent amazing stories of wild exploits back to England where playwrights like William Shakespeare were ready to include them on stage. Our guest this week, James Seth, is the author of Maritime Musicians and Performers on Early Modern English Voyages. James joins us today to share the history of Elizabeth’s sea dogs, the musical entertainment that would have been available while traveling at sea, and exactly what real life maritime stories inspired characters from Shakespeare’s plays.
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Pumpkins and The Great Pompion
10/24/2022
Pumpkins and The Great Pompion
In November of 1621, English colonists celebrated what’s known today in the US as The First Thanksgiving. Indian natives and English colonists gathered around a celebration of their first successful harvest in a new land. The bounty that this feast enjoyed included one of the staple foods of Thanksgiving that’s become almost ubiquitous with Fall itself, and that’s the pumpkin. Referred to as “pumpion” in Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor, and as “pompion” in Love’s Labour’s Lost, this little squash may not have been used as a jack-o-lantern for Shakespeare’s lifetime but the pumpkin nonetheless has a role to play in the life of William Shakespeare. Our guest this week is an expert in the history of pumpkins and the author of Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon. This week we welcome Cindy Ott to the show to share with us the 16-17th century history of the pumpkin.
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Coffee and Tea for Shakespeare's Lifetime
10/17/2022
Coffee and Tea for Shakespeare's Lifetime
Coffee, tea, and chocolate may be regular items in the daily lives of the English today, but for Shakespeare these items were not on the everyday menu. In fact, drinking coffee or tea was seen with much superstition and hesitancy. While Shakespeare does mention “one poor penny worth of sugar-candy” in Henry V, he would not have been talking about chocolate. Confections like chocolate and drinking tea, along with coffee houses, would not become normal in England until after Shakespeare died in 1616. However, what we can see about these items in Shakespeare’s lifetime is the process of caffeine arriving in England. It is during Shakespeare’s lifetime that coffee, tea, and chocolate was this exotic sample of foreign lands being brough to Europe by various explorers and trading companies. Here today to share with us the history of coffee, tea, and chocolate and where they were at on their journey from obscurity to popular everyday kitchen staple is our guest, Elisa Tersigni.
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Waffles and Waffle Irons in 16th Century England
10/13/2022
Waffles and Waffle Irons in 16th Century England
In William Shakespeare’s Henry V Part II, Scene 3, Pistol uses the phrase “men’s faiths are wafer-cakes.” Wafer cakes were thin baked breads that would eventually become what we know today as waffles. During the Renaissance and Middle Ages, specialty iron tongs were used to bake wafers that were served as a final blessing after the Eucharist in churches. The art of making waffles was so popular in the Netherlands that when the Pilgrims, who had spent some time in Holland, set sail for North America in 1621, it is believed that some of the Dutch who went with them took these wafer cakes on board. While waffles may not have been a staple breakfast food for Shakespeare’s lifetime, it turns out the bard not only had waffles but they came in a surprising variety of shapes and recipes. Here today to share with us the Shakespearean history of wafer cakes and waffles is our guest and expert food historian, Sam Bilton.
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English Accents with Valerie Fridland
10/03/2022
English Accents with Valerie Fridland
One of the most common issues with Shakespare’s plays is understanding the language. He used not only words that have fallen out of fashion for today’s English language, but the pronunciation and even colloquial expressions, cultural references, and some jokes we find in the plays are all so far removed from the way we talk today that it can be hard to understand what’s going on, especially if you’re just trying to read the plays instead of seeing them performed. At least in the theater you have context clues to help you. If you are also someone who finds Shakespeare’s language hard to follow, then not only are you in good company, but this is the episode for you. It’s true that Shakespeare’s language is difficult, and it turns out the history of linguistics and the development of the English language can explain why. During Shakespeare’s lifetime is when English went through a major change called the Great Vowel Shift, and was being influenced by key events going on at the time. Here today to share with us how languages grow, and explain some of the phrases, words, and even pronunciation that was unique to English for Shakespeare’s lifetime, is our guest and professor of linguistics in the English department at University of Nevada, Reno, Valerie Fridland.
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Acrobats and Tumblers with Clare McManus
09/26/2022
Acrobats and Tumblers with Clare McManus
In Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost, he writes about a tumbler wearing colours in their hoop. This reference is to a specific act of theater performance called tumbling. If you’ve already studied the all-male stage we know Shakespeare had at his theater, you may be tempted to think that tumblers were men. However, as the research of the project Engendering the Stage aims to bring to light, historical records for Shakespeare’s lifetime show that in terms of the theatre industry as a whole for the late 16th and early 17th century, theater performance was far from all male. In fact, women were not only prominent players in public performance, but they weren’t entirely excluded on the basis of religion and morality, either, because we have records of distinguished women from one of the strictest religious sects in England, the Puritans, acting on stage in full costume. To help us unpack this conundrum and explore this world of the travelling street performers where elaborate and complicated feats of acrobatics, tight-rope walking, tumbling and even trapeze acts would have taken place using women at center stage, we welcome author of Women on the Renaissance Stage and contributor to the Engendering the Stage project, Professor Clare McManus.
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Sweetbreads with Neil Buttery
09/19/2022
Sweetbreads with Neil Buttery
When I’m not recording That Shakespeare Life, I’m usually researching for DIY History, my YouTube channel where I look into games, recipes, and crafts for Shakespeare’s lifetime that you can do at home. In preparing a new episode, I was going through Hugh Plat's Good Housewives Jewel, a cookbook that was written in 1596-1597. One recipe that caught my eye called for "sweet bread." I ambitiously decided to try and make this recipe, thinking I would be diving into a cake, or perhaps some version of loaf bread. However, as I started to research the ingredients, I was surprised to discover this "sweet bread" wasn't bread at all but instead “sweet bread” was actually the 16th century phrase for the pancreas of a cow. Discovering that sweet bread was not at all a bread, but instead an organ meat, was the moment I decided we definitely needed to know more about this surprising food, and to do that, we needed to bring in an expert, which is why I reached out to our friend and returning guest to That Shakespeare Life, expert food historian, Neil Buttery,Neil joins us today to share the history and a few recipes for how to cook 16th century sweet bread.
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Susanna's Garden with Ailsa Grant Ferguson
09/12/2022
Susanna's Garden with Ailsa Grant Ferguson
When you visit Stratford Upon Avon, you can stop in and see a place called Hall’s Croft. It is right down the road from Shakespeare’s Birthplace and is the house where William Shakespeare’s oldest daughter, Susanna, lived with her husband, John Hall. John Hall was a physician in Stratford Upon Avon, and is thought to have influenced, if not outright advised, Shakespeare on the many uses of medicinal plants we see come up in his plays. A new study being led by our guest this week, Ailsa Grant Ferguson, not only aims to shed light on the kinds of plants that might have been used there at Hall’s Croft, but looks to literally re-plant them. In a project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, partnering with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in collaboration with the University of Brighton, Susanna’s Garden project will plant a sensory, wellbeing garden based on the plants used for women’s health by John Hall and probably Susanna in Stratford Upon Avon that includes the same plants Ailsa’s research reveals would have been used there by the Hall family to treat family and friends in the bard’s hometown. The exciting thing about this garden is not only the opportunity to see historic plants come literally back to life, but as Ailsa Grant Ferguson joins us today to share, this garden research project specifically explores Susanna’s role in medical care as she worked alongside her husband as a healer.
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Armadillos with Peter Mason
09/05/2022
Armadillos with Peter Mason
Armadillos are a fascinating animal, and for the 16th century they were an object of luxury. Many members of the nobility in 16th century England made a hobby out of collecting wild and exotic specimens of animals that were being discovered and brought to Europe by explorers, travelers, and naturalists who were keen to record all the world’s animals. One animal that was new to Shakespeare’s England during his lifetime was the armadillo. One prime example of the armadillo in the culture of the 16th century is the armadillo featured in a piece of embroidery by Mary Queen of Scots. Our guest this week, Peter Mason, writes about this specific armadillo in his article, Mary’s Armadillo for New World Objects of Knowledge: A Cabinet of Curiosities. Peter joins us this week to share the history of the armadillo, where it came from originally, how it arrived in Europe, and the many difference variances from scales to fur that encompass the depictions of the armadillo we find from Shakespeare’s lifetime.
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Curse Words with John Spurr
08/29/2022
Curse Words with John Spurr
Forsooth and by the saints, we are exploring curse words today from Shakespeare’s lifetime. The changeover from Catholic to Protestant England may have changed the way people worshipped but it didn’t change the strongly religious influence of the English language, including their swear words. Today our guest, John Spurr joins us to help us expolre all the expressions of emphasis, oath, and cursing that appear in Shakespeare’s plays so that we can understand the history behind why they are there, what they mean, and what kinds of words were considered bad language for Shakespeare’s lifetime.
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Fireworks with Simon Werrett
08/22/2022
Fireworks with Simon Werrett
The technology of explosions to celebrate or mark an occasion of jubilation that we know today as fireworks was a new thing for Shakespeare’s lifetime. Shakespeare mentions the word “firework” only twice in his works, once in relation to a fight in Henry VIII and another time in relation to a show or pageant in Love’s Labour’s Lost. Our guest this week, Simon Werrett is the author of a book on the history and science behind fireworks and he joins us today to share exactly how they worked for Shakepeare’s lifetime, which celebrations were held using fireworks, and what the people of 16th century England thought about this wild and exotic light display.
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Fireworks with Simon Werrett
08/22/2022
Fireworks with Simon Werrett
The technology of explosions to celebrate or mark an occasion of jubilation that we know today as fireworks was a new thing for Shakespeare’s lifetime. Shakespeare mentions the word “firework” only twice in his works, once in relation to a fight in Henry VIII and another time in relation to a show or pageant in Love’s Labour’s Lost. Our guest this week, Simon Werrett is the author of a book on the history and science behind fireworks and he joins us today to share exactly how they worked for Shakepeare’s lifetime, which celebrations were held using fireworks, and what the people of 16th century England thought about this wild and exotic light display.
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Dragons with Carolyne Larrington
08/15/2022
Dragons with Carolyne Larrington
When William Shakespeare talks about dragons in his plays, he mentions these creatures as fire-breathing, flying, cave dwelling, night stalking, fearsome fighters in over 20 references across his works. In today’s interview we are going to explore the real history of dragons in Shakespeare’s lifetime by asking whether there were real creatures that could have been defined as dragons, similar to how Rhinoceros and Narwhal were called "unicorns." Here to share with us the popular legends about dragons and the place of these creatures in the general pop culture mindset of the Elizabethan Era is our guest and author of Dragons and their Origins for English Heritage, Carolyne Larrington.
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Hobby Horses with Natalia Pikli
08/08/2022
Hobby Horses with Natalia Pikli
When you hear the term “hobby horse” you may be tempted to recall images of toy wooden horses that children laugh and play on. For Shakespeare’s lifetime, however, this term refers to a particular kind of dance that featured in popular celebrations like May Day and Morris dances. The hobby horse dance was a characterized and often costumed representation of a person riding a horse, and it was a staple feature of these celebratory dances. Our guest this week has written extensively about the history of the hobby horse and where they would have appeared in Shakespeare’s lifetime. We are delighted to welcome Professor at Eotvos Lorand University of Budapest and the author of Shakespeare’s Hobby-Horse and Early Modern Popular Culture, Dr. Natalia Pikli.
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Infant Formula in the 16th Century
08/01/2022
Infant Formula in the 16th Century
Commercial baby formula wouldn’t hit the mass market until the 1800s, but Shakespeare’s lifetime still had to deal with babies who needed to eat but were unable, for a variety of reasons, to nurse and drink breastmilk. Here this week to help us take a look at baby formula, baby bottles, and the role of wet nurses in Shakespeare’s lifetime is our guest and author of multiple articles on the history of baby formula, Carla Cevasco.
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King John with Ralph Turner
07/25/2022
King John with Ralph Turner
While King John isn’t one of the more popular Shakespeare plays performed by companies today, taking a look back at monarchs of the past was a favorite pastime for Elizabethan England. To better understand the real history behind Shakespeare’s version of this famous monarch, we’ve invited our guest and author of the book King John for The Medieval World, Ralph Turner here today to share with us the context of King John’s life, impact on the legacy of England, and exactly what led to him being so villainized for centuries to come.
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Bears of 1608 with Callan Davies
07/18/2022
Bears of 1608 with Callan Davies
An anonymous dairy was written in 1608 cataloging the keeping of bears for the sport of bear baiting in England. Our guest today calls this diary the “Bearward Diary of 1608” and the term “bearward” is used to describe individuals whose job it was to take care of or travel with a bear (or in the case of this diary, multiple bears), for the purpose of putting on bearbaiting shows around England.The diary is a fascinating glimpse into the history of bearbaiting and the logistics behind finding, showing, and traveling with, bears in the 17th century, To help us explore the diary in more detail and understand some of the history it reveals about bears in Shakespeare’s lifetime is our guest and contributor to the Box Office Bears project, Callan Davies.
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Conrad Gessner with Dan Hooley
07/11/2022
Conrad Gessner with Dan Hooley
The true example of a Renaissance Man, or a person who is great with many talents or areas of knowledge, Conrad Gessner joins the ranks of herbalists like William Turner and John Gerard as not only influences on Shakespeare, but examples of the influence of Renaissance thought on life in Elizabethan England. Gessner’s works were printed prolifically and consumed regularly in England, most likely by Shakespeare himself. Having completed over 70 publications in his lifetime, Conrad Gessner is a powerhouse of information and his surviving works provide vital links to the mindset and understanding of the world from the Renaissance. Here today to share with us what Conrad Gessner was like, the works he completed, and exactly how it is we are supposed to spell his name, is our guest Dan Hooley.
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How did Shakespeare Sleep? With Sasha Handley
07/04/2022
How did Shakespeare Sleep? With Sasha Handley
Shakespeare mentions sleep in his plays over 380 times, and the word bed over 540 times! His works mentions Truckle beds, as well as the famous Great Bed of Ware, but when it comes to the bard himself, what did he sleep on? Here this week to help us explore beds in Tudor England as well as pajamas, bedtime rituals, and the materials used to make bed sheets is our guest and author of Sleep in Early Modern England, Sasha Handley.
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Did Women Act on Stage? With Pamela Brown
06/27/2022
Did Women Act on Stage? With Pamela Brown
One of the most accepted statements you’re liable to find about Elizabethan theater online today is that playing companies were all male companies. The idea of a woman on stage is considered forbidden, or not allowed. However, our guest today, Pamela Brown, has recently published a book called The Diva’s Gift to the Shakespearean Stage where she presents evidence that women did participate in performances on stage during Shakespeare’s lifetime. Her work challenges what I know I thought I knew about Shakespearean theater, and I’m delighted to have her here today to help clarify this part of Shakespeare’s history for you, too.
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Catherine de Medici with Estelle Paranque
06/20/2022
Catherine de Medici with Estelle Paranque
Married to Henry Valois, Catherine de Medici held considerable power and influence over the Valois Dynasty of France and was beloved of the Medici Dynasty in Italy. The year William Shakepseare was born, in 1564, Catherine de Medici offered her son, Charles IX, as a husband for Elizabeth I, and would go on to offer her other two sons, Francis and Henry, to Elizabeth I as well in a decades long effort to secure a political alliance through marriage with England. Staunchly opposed to marriage on the whole, Elizabeth I never did accept Catherine’s sons as husbands, but the interactions and rivalry between these two powerful women was a mainstay over England for the formative years in Shakespeare’s lifetime. Here today to help us explore the life of Catherine de Medici is our guest, historian, and author of the her latest book about Catherine de Medici called Blood, Fire, and Gold: The Story of Elizabeth I of England and Catherine de Medici , Dr. Estelle Paranque.
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Maps with Peter Barber
06/13/2022
Maps with Peter Barber
Transoceanic travel was a staple of European endeavors for the 16-17th century, with both Elizabeth I and James I spending massive amounts of money and effort to work with trading companies and explorers who traveled to other continents for trade, commerce, and colonization during Shakespeare’s lifetime. In order to reach these new and exotic places, as well as to be able to return again after the new places had been found, the sailors and explorers relied mainly on navigation by the stars and the wind to get to their destination. However, this time in history is when printed maps and manuscript charts started to be used as a fall back for navigation, and in some cases for political propaganda. It was the maps of John Smith that the Pilgrims consulted to get to the New World, and when Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe in the 16th century, a hand illustrated map of his journey was created in the 1570s. Shakespeare references a “map of the world” in Henry V, and a “map of ports, piers, and roads” in Merchant of Venice, along with 14 other references to maps and “mappery” in his plays. Here this week to help us understand how mapmaking worked for Shakespeare’s lifetime, exactly who it was that were employed as cartographers, and whether or not the maps sailors relied upon were accurate, is our guest and former Head of Map Collections at the British Library, Peter Barber.
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The First English Lottery with Elizabeth Norton
06/06/2022
The First English Lottery with Elizabeth Norton
William Shakespeare uses the word “lottery” in his plays 8 times, often referring to a reward that comes after taking a gamble. While we may be familiar with lotteries like the Powerball or Publishing Clearinghouse here in the United States, a ticket based lottery where people could pay money for a chance to win big was brand new for England in Shakespeare’s lifetime. The first time England had seen a real lottery, was the first national lottery in 1567, instituted by Elizabeth I, when Shakespeare was just 3 years old. Here today to share with us how this lottery worked, who bought tickets, and who ultimately won it, is our guest, Elizabeth Norton.
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