Episode 324 - Renaissance Medicine with Dr Alanna Skuse
Host Natalie Grueninger welcomes Dr Alanna Skuse to Talking Tudors to explore medicine in Renaissance England. They discuss humoral theory, the medical hierarchy of physicians, surgeons, apothecaries and midwives, and the lively marketplace of practitioners including itinerant bone-setters and domestic healers.
The episode highlights women’s roles in care, real patient cases, early regulation of medical practice, and Alanna’s book 'The Surgeon, The Midwife, The Quack' — practical insights into how people sought treatment and survived in the Renaissance.
NOT SHAKESPEARE LECTURES
https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/not-shakespeare-elizabethan-and-jacobean-popular-theatre
VISIT DR SKUSE'S WEBSITE
https://www.dralannaskuse.co.uk/
Find out more about your host at https://www.nataliegrueninger.com
Support Talking Tudors on Patreon!
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Episode 323 - The Brilliant Mind of Anna Maria van Schurman with Anne Larsen & Steve Maiullo
In this episode of Talking Tudors, host Natalie Grueninger is joined by Professor Anne Larson and Professor Steve Maiullo to explore the life, works, and legacy of Anna Maria van Schurman — a multilingual scholar, poet, and theological thinker famed across 17th‑century Europe.
The conversation covers her exceptional education, advocacy for women’s learning, influential correspondence with leading intellectuals, and her later spiritual choices, offering a concise portrait of a pioneering and controversial figure.
LINKS OF INTEREST
https://projectvox.library.duke.edu/
https://digital.lib.sfu.ca/new-narratives
BOOKS MENTIONED
Anna Maria van Schurman, 'The Star of Utrecht': The Educational Vision and Reception of a Savante by Anne Larsen.
'Letters and Poems to and from Her Mentor and Other Members of Her Circle', edited by Anne Larsen and Steve Maiullo.
'Whether a Christian Woman Should Be Educated and Other Writings from Her Intellectual Circle' by Joyce Irwin.
'Republic of Women' by Carol Pal.
CONNECT WITH NATALIE GRUENINGER!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-grueninger-b5899254
Learn more about today's sponsor: Simply Tudor Tours!
https://simplytudortours.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-anne-boleyn-giveaway-2026/
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Episode 322 - Newly Discovered Nicholas Hilliard Miniature with Emma Rutherford & Dr Elizabeth Goldring
Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Emma Rutherford and Dr Elizabeth Goldring about the freshly authenticated Nicholas Hilliard portrait miniature, likely depicting Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. The episode covers stylistic and technical evidence, costume comparisons, family provenance, and the discovery of a defaced playing card on the reverse.
Guests discuss the miniature’s emotional context, its possible ties to Shakespeare and the sonnets, and why this intimate find matters for Tudor art, patronage, and literary history.
VISIT THE LIMNER COMPANY https://www.portraitminiature.com/
LEARN MORE ABOUT DR ELIZABETH GOLDRING
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/centrestaff/elizabethgoldring/
Find out more about your host at https://www.nataliegrueninger.com
Support Talking Tudors on Patreon!
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Episode 321 - The Darker Side of Early Quakerism with Dr Erica Canela
Host Natalie Grueninger interviews Dr Erica Canela about her new book, 'Zealous: A Darker Side of the Early Quakers'. They explore how the English Civil Wars and the rise of print culture spawned a radical, disruptive Quaker movement led by George Fox, its beliefs in direct revelation and social equality, and the often violent reactions it provoked.
The episode traces the movement’s early urgency—marketplace preaching, unlawful meetings, arrests—and follows its later transformation into a disciplined, influential community known for pacifism, business integrity, and social reform.
VISIT DR CANELA'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE https://ericanela.co.uk/
TUDOR TAKEAWAY
'Thorns, Lust, and Glory: The Betrayal of Anne Boleyn' by Estelle Paranque
Find out more about your host at https://www.nataliegrueninger.com
Support Talking Tudors on Patreon!
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Episode 320 - Hauntings at Hampton Court Palace with Sarah Slater
Join Natalie Grueninger and expert guide Sarah Slater for a tour of Hampton Court Palace: its Tudor history, the spectacular Great Hall stained glass, and the spine-tingling ghost stories tied to Jane Seymour, Catherine Howard, Anne Boleyn and the Grey Lady, Dame Sybil Penn.
They discuss eyewitness accounts, a mysterious CCTV figure, EMF readings in the Haunted Gallery, and the palace’s long social and architectural past—plus book recommendations and ways to learn more.
LINKS MENTIONED https://britainsbestguides.org/ https://www.thehistoryguides.com/guides/
BOOKS MENTIONED
'The Palace' by Gareth Russell
'Private Lives of the Tudors' by Tracy Borman
'In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn' by Natalie Grueninger & Sarah Morris
'A Tudor Christmas' by Alison Weir & Siobhan'
'Hampton Court: A Social and Architectural History' by Simon Thurley
Find out more about your host at https://www.nataliegrueninger.com
Support Talking Tudors on Patreon!
Established in 2018, Talking Tudors is one of the longest-running and most popular independent interview podcasts about the Tudor era. It boasts an international listenership and has been downloaded in excess of 4 million times. In each episode, creator and host Natalie Grueninger speaks with esteemed historians and other experts about a wide range of subjects associated with Tudor England. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the Podbean app, or wherever you get your podcasts.