Portrait of King Henry VIII, Jane Seymour and Prince Edward. (Photo by Getty Images)

Tudor

This woodcut from 1521 depicts Martin Luther on his way to Worms, laying down his sword and opening the Bible in prayer as Christ descends to comfort him. The scene reflects Protestant legend surrounding Luther’s defiance before the Diet of Worms, where he refused to renounce his writings.

Why did Martin Luther condemn the “hordes of peasants” fighting the war he helped inspire?

This detailed portrait captures a high-ranking woman of the Tudor court, her rich attire and elaborate jewellery reflecting the wealth and status of England’s ruling elite.

This unassuming accessory gave the poor of Tudor England a vital way to survive

A depiction of an ensign and drummer recalls the German Peasants’ War of 1525, when rural rebels rose against feudal oppression.

In 1525, an army of revolting peasants seemed unstoppable – but a brutal end was on the horizon

William Shakespeare: life of the week.

Episode 7Tudor love and sex: inside the 16th-century bedroom.

Episode 4Tudor childhood: what were children's lives like in the 16th century?.

Episode 6Keeping clean in the 16th-century: how often did ordinary Tudors wash?.

Episode 5What did ordinary Tudors eat?.

A painting showing a man dressed in armour, with a blue and red flag over him, riding a white horse amongst a busy battlefield

5 things you (probably) didn't know about the Tudors.

Tudor life with Ruth Goodman.

A detail of a depiction of a lavish pageant staged in Paris in 1514 celebrated the royal entry of Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII, on her marriage to King Louis XII of France.

Tudor England had no standing army, but this humble hobby kept its people ready for war

A collaged picture shows a marble statue of Elizabeth I wearing a large crown on the left, and a portrait of King James I, dressed in a red and white robe and crown on the right

The lie of succession: did James I steal Elizabeth I's crown?.

Isabel Allende and Inés Suárez

My history heroIsabel Allende chooses Inés Suárez.

A painting shows a topless woman sitting up in bed, holding her hand against the face of the man leaning over her

What did the Tudors think was ‘good’ sex? These tips and tricks were key to relationships in the 16th century

Episode 2Tudor religion: what did people believe?.

Episode 1What did Tudor people do for fun?.

Episode 3Tudor work: what jobs did people do?.

Ask the Tudor expert! Join our live Q&A with historian Ruth Goodman.

Margaret Tudor: life of the week.

Breaking news! How stories spread in early modern Europe.

This print depicts men gathered in a Tudor alehouse, a lively hub of social life where people met to drink, gossip and discuss events. Alehouses were central to everyday life in 16th-century England.

For ordinary Tudors, death lurked around every corner with these surprising ways to die

Woodcut of a man swimming in a river, while another man stands on the bank

The most common accidental way to die in Tudor England reveals surprising truths about daily life

Deadly bellringing and fatal bacon: grisly accidental Tudor deaths.

From fatal foliage to the perils of ploughing: the Tudor calendar of death.

Two green hearts are sideways, facing each other. In each there is an image: one has a painting of Elizabeth I and the other has a painting of the Duke of Anjou

The Virgin Queen? Elizabeth I's forbidden love.

Two men dressed in Tudor clothes stand next to one another against a green curtain backdrop. Between them are several items, including a globe, a hymnbook and a lute

Tudors in turmoil: deciphering Hans Holbein’s masterwork The Ambassadors.

What happened in Shakespeare's "lost years"?.

The rise of James VI & I: when Britain went global.

A hand holding a knife with a rose blooming from the handle

‘She didn’t cry’: how this Tudor woman’s lack of emotion condemned her to death

The great siege of Malta: Knights Hospitaller vs the Ottoman empire.