HENRY VIII AND THE DEATH OF THE MONASTERIES
The End of the First National Welfare System
In less than fifty months, Henry VIII and his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, swept away the monasteries, which had been part of English life for nearly a thousand years. Why?
Most of us have seen monks in films, usually extending a pale hand over the head of the weeping heroine and telling her that she must ‘have faith’. Quite a few of us were taught by nuns. Nearly all of us have seen a ruined monastery, or at least a picture of one.
For a lot of people, that is about that – holy, if impractical, comfort from the males, severe, frigid discipline from the females, and a vague impression that things are not what they used to be.
Monks and nuns, by any standards, are an odd lot. So how did their monasteries and nunneries get there in the first place? What went on in them? And why are they not there now?
Number 1 of the Talking of History series by Berwick Coates.
See Talks Number 2 and 3 in the Talking of History series on Cardinal Wolsey and The Duke of Wellington.
Berwick Coates holds an honours degree in History from Cambridge University, and has been studying, teaching, writing, and talking about History for forty years. He has presented History to all abilities, all ages, and all walks of life.
He has published five books, and is working on a trilogy of historical novels about eleventh-century Normandy, as well as a historical whodunit about the Crusades.
‘After a lifetime spent getting people interested in History, it is my belief that there is no substitute for the spoken word. People like being talked to. And they like to know where they come from. History gives us our roots; without roots, nothing grows.'
‘It is also my belief that people will tackle the most complicated topics if those topics are presented with care, timing, sympathy, and humour. These talks may start with a light touch – even perhaps a superficial one – but that is only to get you on board. From then on, all I ask you to do is listen, and enjoy the ride.'
‘After many of my previous talks, people have come up to me and said, “I wish I had had History presented like this when I was at school.” Well, now is your chance to catch up.’
Clarence B. Carson
Peformed By : Mary Woods
Blackstone Audio Inc
Runtime : 12 hours 30 minutes
Categories : American Pre 1900 20th Century
$23.95
Carson's full-scale treatment of American history combines scholarly exactness with evocative passages that lead the listener to a clearer understanding of the factors which shaped this nation. More info...
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Liza Picard
Peformed By : Liza Picard
Orion Publishing Group
Runtime : 6 hours
Categories : British Pre 1900 Biographical Social & Economic Knowledge & Learning
$15.99
Like its popular and acclaimed predecessors, Restoration London and Dr Johnson's London, this fascinating evocation of Elizabethan... More info...
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Simon Winchester
Peformed By : Simon Winchester
Harper Collins US
Runtime : 12 hours
Categories : World Pre 1900
$39.95 $21.95
Dust swirled round the world for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of lght. The effects were felt as far away as France. More info...
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Berwick Coates
Peformed By : Berwick Coates
Berwick Coates
Runtime : 47 minutes
Categories : Pre 1900 British Politics Historical Biographical
$8.49
CARDINAL WOLSEY... The Last Great Medieval Minister...‘Built Hampton Court, didn`t he?’... More info...
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David McCullough
Peformed By : Edward Herrmann
Simon & Schuster
Runtime : 11 hours
Categories : American Pre 1900 Social & Economic
$35.00 $21.00
First published in 1972, The Great Bridge is the classic account of one of the greatest engineering feats of all time—the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. More info...
Written By : Pete McCarthy
Narrated By : Pete McCarthy
Hodder & Stoughton Audiobooks
Length : 2 hours
Type : Autobiography Biographical Travel
Price : $16.75
The audio of the million-selling book - Pete McCarthy's hilarious journey in search of his Irish roots.
McCarthy's tale of his hilarious trip around Ireland has gained thousands of fans all over the world.
Pete was born in Warrington to an Irish mother and an English father and spent happy summer holidays in Cork. Years later, reflecting on the many places he has visited as a travel broadcaster, Pete admits that he feels more at home in Ireland than anywhere. To find out whether this is due to rose-coloured spectacles or to a deeper tie with the country of his ancestors, Pete sets off on a trip around Ireland and discovers that it has changed in surprising ways.
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