Villains and Virgins History Podcast
Recent Episodes
Norman Sicily EP 1: When the Vikings Invaded Italy
The Vikings terrorised coastal Europe in their longboats, plundering and killing as they went. Some of them were offered a deal: they could accept land and settle in France, in exchange for defending the area from other raiders. These...
The Peasant’ War Part 2: Bloodbath
The Peasants’ War was the largest peasant uprising prior to the French Revolution. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary people organise a labour strike and dare to demand a measure of fairness. They use the ideas of Martin Luther and...
The Peasants’ War Part 1: Before the Bloodbath
This is the story of the biggest peasant uprising prior to the French Revolution. Inspired by the writing of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, it was a shocking challenge to the social order. Serfs occupied castles, executed nobles,...
The Reformation Episode 5: Wars of Religion
The Wars of Religion are the bloody outcome of the religious fracturing of Europe. They reshaped political identity and redefined the balance of power among countries. But what actually happened and why does it matter? This episode is a...
The Reformation: EP 4- England Kills a King
In this episode we watch England execute a king. This is the strange tale of how England became a Protestant country, and why the Church of England is the way it is. Along the way we watch militant Scottish...
The Reformation Episode 3: John Calvin and Theocracy
John Calvin is one of the major figures of the Protestant Reformation, famous for his doctrine of pre-destination. This episode covers his time in Geneva, and how he turned that city into a grim and terrifying experiment in theocracy....
The Reformation Episode 2: Martin Luther, The Man Who Split Europe
In this episode we cover the unlikely journey of one young man from earnest Augustinian monk to rebel reformer. Martin Luther ignited a firestorm of existing anti-clerical sentiment across Europe, with results that would change Europe and the Western...
The Reformation Episode 1: John Wycliffe and the Middle Ages
What is the Protestant Reformation and why does it matter? To begin to understand how thoroughly it has shaped Western Europe and North America we must travel back in time to see the world as it was before the...
Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 5- Christopher Columbus and 1492
1492 was a year that changed everything. In Castile, it was the end of the Reconquista, as Isabella and Ferdinand ended a decade long war with a triumphant ride through the streets of Granada. It was also the year...
Ferdinand and Isabella: EP4- The Spanish Inquisition
You have probably heard of the Spanish Inquisition, even if only from a certain Monty Python sketch. The truth about why it was started and for what purpose will probably surprise you. In this episode we take a close...
Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 3- Slavery, Slaughter and Stake-burning in the Reconquista
In this episode, our plucky and determined heroine discovers the mantle of religious warfare. Isabella and Ferdinand respond to an attack on a Castilian city from Moorish forces. This becomes the first skirmish in a “Holy War” against Muslims...
Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 2- Queen at Last
After a high risk secret marriage to Prince Ferdinand of Aragon, Isabella finds there is no easy path to gaining the crown of Castile. An evil uncle, a civil war, and a heroic Portuguese flag bearer appear in this...
Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 1- The Crown of Castile
Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain are figures you may have heard of in passing, as the sponsors of Christopher Columbus. The fact that Isabella’s name is remembered in the same breath with Ferdinand’s is remarkable in an age when...
Operation Pied Piper: England’s Darkest Hour
The remarkable story of the mass evacuation of Britain’s children in the darkest days of WWII. Britain, under Winston Churchill, faces aerial assault and imminent collapse. The Blitz puts unprecedented pressure on everyday people. This is a moment when...
Henry VIII: Ep 5- A Tale of Two Queens
Henry VIII is dead, but he leaves behind an England that is forever changed by his Church of England legacy. Two of his daughters, from very different mothers, will inherit the throne. These two queens, Mary Tudor and Elizabeth...
Henry VIII: Ep 4- Fast and Furious, the Wives Edition
After the execution of Anne Boleyn, what is next for Henry VIII and for England? A terrible jousting accident changes the king, and may be a hidden factor in his increasing ruthlessness. The future of England and its religion...
Henry VIII: Ep 3- Off with her head!
This episode covers the sordid and sickeningly fast story of Anne Boleyn’s fall from grace. It has rumor, scandal, and a completely hilarious introduction to the codpiece. This is also the moment that Henry VIII begins to resemble the...
Henry VIII: EP 2- Queen of Scandal
The woman who is blamed for turning Henry VIII from a most Catholic king into the one who separated Tudor England from the Catholic Church was a dark eyed stunner named Anne Boleyn. This is the story of how...
Henry VIII: The Accidental King
You may think you know all about Henry VIII, but the version of his life that gets passed around focuses on an obese maniac who married and divorced or beheaded quite a number of women. There is much more...
Normans in Sicily EP 2: Roger II
Roger II inherits his father’s position as ruler of Sicily and begins to take over parts of Southern Italy as well. Along the way a daring plan leads Norman knights out of a desperate situation, and a Crusader king...