Rude Tudors

Everyone loves the true crime genre, right? Get a load of the Renaissance’s answer to Orange is the New Black with the latest episode of Rude Tudors, hosted by literary historian Liz Rodriguez and comic actress Nicole Keating. In this episode, find out about John Clavell, the 17th-century highway robber who escaped punishment and execution only to see the error of his ways just in time for a book deal. Get advice straight from the source about how to avoid being robbed, and how to fight back if it does happen. Questions answered in this episode include... Who was John Clavell? How can you spot a highwayman? What are some ways to avoid being robbed?  Listen to this irreverent mash-up of English history and modern pop culture. Contact at RudeTudors.com, Facebook, Twitter

In this Game of Thrones-inspired episode, literary historian Liz Rodriguez and comic actress Nicole Keating get to the bottom of Renaissance stereotypes about widows. Learn about the merry widow who pulls fart-related pranks, the pitiful widow who sues for her livelihood, and the murderous widow who schemes to poison the husband of her friend. Questions answered in this episode include... What were dominant stereotypes about unmarried widows? How did these stereotypes play out in the records and literature of the period? Were English widows the original sexy lady cougars? Listen to this irreverent mash-up of history and pop culture. Contact us at RudeTudors.com, Facebook, Twitter.

When crying “God for Harry, England, and Saint George,” do you know the story of the saint Shakespeare invokes? In this episode, literary historian Liz Rodriguez and comic actress Nicole Keating get to the bottom of the many stories revolving around the patron saint of England. Though often depicted as a knight in shining armor who slayed a dragon to rescue a princess, there’s more to George’s sainthood than meets the eye. Questions answered in this episode include: What are St. George’s connections to the Middle East? How did torture, conversion, and the Crusades figure into his legend? What is England’s special connection to the saint? Learn about religion, myth-making, and saintly celebration with the Rude Tudors. Contact at RudeTudors.com, Facebook, Twitter, and RudeTudors@gmail.com.

Game of Thrones watchers all saw the resurrection of Jon Snow coming. But what about actual history? In this episode, literary historian Liz Rodriguez and comic actress Nicole Keating discuss three accounts from the Renaissance English archives in which people somehow come back from death. Learn about the rejuvenation of 116-year-old John McClane, the haunting of a poorly buried sailor, and the incomplete hanging of miscarried mother. Questions answered in this episode include: Why would people return from death? How were these pseudo zombies explained? What beliefs underlay accepting these miracles as true? Join this irreverent mashup of history, politics, and popular culture. Contact us on Facebook, Twitter, RudeTudors.com, and RudeTudors@gmail.com  

What do cuckoldry and Beyoncé have in common? Find out in this episode of Rude Tudors, hosted by literary historian Liz Rodriguez and comic actress Nicole Keating. The figure of the horned man whose wife has cheated on him is common in Renaissance English literature, especially the works of Shakespeare. But at a time when women were expected to be utterly chaste, their husbands wore the mark of their wives' infidelity. Questions answered in this episode: What are cuckolds and why are they named as such? Why are horns the mark of a betrayed husband? What are some reasons for the ubiquity of the cuckold trope? Why don’t women ever wear horns as the objects of infidelity? Join this raunchy jaunt through the time of Elizabeth I and learn about the underside of the history of marriage, fidelity, and sexuality. Contact us on Facebook, Twitter, RudeTudors.com, and RudeTudors@gmail.com

In Renaissance England, leprosy went by a multitude of names: king's evil, green sickness, the Lep. Literary historian Liz Rodriguez and comic actress Nicole Keating get itchy in this episode and discuss a supposed cure for the dreaded skin disease. Just a few pence could buy you a handful of pills that would cure Renaissance greyscale better than any witch in Game of Thrones, along with whatever else ailed you. Was this the work of an apothecary turned snake oil salesman? What did this remedy have in common with infomercials, cleanses, and other modern blights on our society? And what did testimonials for this homeopathic therapy sound like in the past? Contact us on Facebook, Twitter, RudeTudors.com, and RudeTudors@gmail.com

Just when things started to feel familiar in the Renaissance, this episode comes along to shock you out of it. Explore the brutal yet educational world of blood sports in early modern English history. Using a variety of animals to bait each other was a popular pastime that also made its way to country manors, royal courts, and even the playhouses of Shakespeare's London.  In this episode, find out the answers to the following questions:  What were Renaissance blood sports? Who went to see them and where? What were cultural attitudes toward this popular form of entertainment? How do theater and blood sports occupy similar cultural positions? Join literary historian Liz Rodriguez and comic actress Nicole Keating as they interrogate the complicated history of blood sports. Contact us on Facebook, Twitter, RudeTudors.com, and RudeTudors@gmail.com

Have you heard of Grace O'Malley, the Irish pirate queen? Though ignored by chronicles and official histories, O'Malley's legend lives on poems, music, and romance novels. As the only woman on record as having a leadership role with her clan in 16th-century Gaelic Ireland, O'Malley's history jumps out of the shadows as this episode explores this important figure during a time of serious political upheaval. Though vilified by the English as manly, O'Malley defied gender roles and expectations as she defended her piracy and and fought for her family's ancestral lands. In doing so, she courted the understanding and favor of Queen Elizabeth herself. Join literary historian Liz Rodriguez and comic actress Nicole Keating as they get to the root of the following questions: What was the state of Ireland during the time that O'Malley lived? How was she able to become a leader in her clan and on her ships? What kinds of capers & hijinks did she get involved in? Contact us on Facebook, Twitter, RudeTudors.com, and

Renaissance women were expected to remain silent, obedient, and chaste. But not everyone follows the rules. In this episode, literary historian Liz Rodriguez and comic actress Nicole Keating discuss court records describing violent crimes committed by women in Scotland between 1490 and 1560. Find out the answers to these questions: Why would Scottish women get violent? What forms would their violence take? What punishments were enacted against violent women? From mudslinging and hat-snatching to blunt force trauma with iron tongs, the weapons these women used were domestic, readily available, and expertly wielded. Tune in and find out about the gendered dynamics of violence. Contact us on Facebook, Twitter, RudeTudors.com, and RudeTudors@gmail.com

Have you ever been made an April fool? In this episode, literary historian Liz Rodriguez and comic actress Nicole Keating get to the bottom of this folk holiday and its origins in Renaissance France. Find out the answers to... Where does celebration of April 1 as April Fools’ Day come from? What’s the purpose & significance of celebration? What kinds of pranks have been pulled in history, and why? Get duped by the white lions of the Tower of London and tales of statues descending from their pedestals in this prank-filled episode. Contact us on Facebook, Twitter, RudeTudors.com, and RudeTudors@gmail.com

Before tobacco was known for dangerous carcinogens, it was believed to be a mystical, medicinal plant sent either from God or the devil himself. In this episode, literary historian Liz Rodriguez and comic actress Nicole Keating uncover the first English encounters with the New World plant in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Find out... When did tobacco come to England? What were its initial social and political associations? How did writers use it polemically & poetically? Follow/contact us on Facebook, Twitter, RudeTudors.com, & RudeTudors@gmail.com

Everyone knows that St. Patrick was a major snake charmer. But what other miracles did he perform? Beginning immediately after his christening, Patrick performed numerous miracles, from defeating levitating wizards to zapping flood waters away with lightning from his fingers. Learn along with Renaissance scholar Liz Rodriguez and comedic actress Nicole Keating as they explore the history of Ireland's patron saint.

Faking demonic possession was easier than you might think. In this episode, Renaissance scholar Liz Rodriguez and nerdy laywoman Nicole Keating explore the signs and symptoms of devilish possession laid out in religious history, the New Testament, and early modern pamphlets. Whether Catholic or Puritan, Satan was a problem for everyone, tempting minds even if he wasn't possessing bodies. From physical manifestations like swelling and stiffness to mysterious lumps roving through the body, the visuals associated with demonic possession were creepy as hell. Find out how some people could have simulated these signs of distress and why they were both doubted and believed.

Othello wasn't England's only black friend. In this episode, Renaissance scholar Liz Rodriguez and nerdy laywoman Nicole Keating explore the everyday lives of black people living in London. From making shovels to playing the trumpet to managing brothels, the black inhabitants of London lived varied lives. Find out about an interesting cross section of a population that numbered in the hundreds.

Woo your Valentine with something special from this very special episode of smutty poetry from the archives. Renaissance scholar Liz Rodriguez and nerdy laywoman Nicole Keating discuss erudite, erotic, and a bit icky, poetry from Tudor, Stuart, and Caroline England. From Cavalier verse and aristocratic bawdry to the naughty lines that schoolboys passed underneath their desks, this episode has it all.

Who loves talking historical smack? In this episode, English Renaissance scholar Liz Rodriguez and nerdy laywoman Nicole Keating discuss libellous poetry. The Tudors and Stuarts had a knack for writing poems for every occasion, like acute political jealousy or petty neighborhood quarrels. Hear some examples from this raunchy jaunt through the archive available by earlystuartlibels.net! And check out their review of a production of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure by London's Cheek By Jowl & Moscow's Pushkin Theater at the top of the show.

What do science, embroidery, and Mary Queen of Scots have in common? Find out in the latest episode of Rude Tudors! Mary had a knack for replicating images of American wildlife in her detailed embroidery. Where did Mary find her sources? How familiar was she with the flora and fauna of the Americas? And what the heck is a sou?

What do women, illness, and visions of Henry VIII's place in hell have in common? Religious mysticism, of course! In this episode, Liz and Nicole discuss the long history of female visionaries in medieval and Renaissance English history. Find out about how Elizabeth Barton, whose belly/womb was thought to speak with the voice of God, ran afoul of a religion and a kingdom.

  Ever wonder what ends up on Rude Tudors' cutting room floor? Find out in this bonus episode of finely curated clips. Will they make sense out of context? Should Natalie Dormer have been cast as Daenerys in Game of Thrones? And just how much time does it take Obama to poop? Knowledge abounds in this weirder-than-usual episode. Also, mark your calendars because Rude Tudors is back on Friday, January 22 with all new, historical/hysterical episodes.

How did people celebrate Christmas before internet shopping? In this episode, Liz and Nicole talk about Renaissance gift-giving traditions, Twelfth Night celebrations, the Russian ambassador's Christmas visit to England, rent hens, conspicuously gold decorations, and much more!  rudetudors.com Twitter Facebook