This self-guided short course provides an introduction to European witchcraft history from the fifteenth century to the present. Using a range of primary sources, the course explores important themes and questions relating to witchcraft history, examining how witchcraft has been imagined and understood at different times and in different places, and why...

The Reformations, both Protestant and Catholic, have long been told as stories of men. But women were central to the transformations that took place in Europe and beyond. What was life like for them in this turbulent period? How did their actions and ideas shape Christianity and influence societies around the world? ...

For European states in the early modern era the Ottoman empire represented a huge trading bloc, stretching at its height from Hungary in the west to Iran in the east, from Ukraine in the north to Egypt in the south, and along the southern shores of the Mediterranean to the...

This is the story of the Venice Ghetto, the corner of the city where Jews were exiled; free to walk the streets by day, locked behind gates and walls at night. Yet, gates and walls notwithstanding, from its establishment in 1516 until the fall of Venice in 1798, the ghetto...

The Medlicott Medal is awarded annually for outstanding services and contributions to history. This year the Medal went to renowned historian and author Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch who is currently Professor of the Church at Oxford. His 2008 book History of Christianity: the first three thousand years is the leading authority on the history...

In this podcast Professor Alison Rowlands of the University of Essex looks at the role and significance of magic in early modern German popular culture, the impact of the Reformation on this culture, the witch persecutions that took place across Germany and how these varied regionally and, finally, how interpretations...

In this podcast Professor Eve Rosenhaft of the University of Liverpool looks at the history, diversity and development of the Romani community across Europe. She examines the role and influence of the Romani as part of European culture and history, the historic challenges they have faced and the rise of...

In this podcast Dr Stuart Carroll looks back at Europe’s wars of religion - the most prolonged of these being the French Wars of Religion. He examines their outbreak, why they lasted so long, why they were so violent and their long-term impact.

In this podcast Professor Alison Rowlands of the University of Essex delves into the witch trials and witchcraft of the early modern period. She examines the sources historians use for this time period, and how they differ between regions, from the continent to England and the colonies. Rowlands distinguishes the stereotypes of witches...

In this podcast Dr Anne Murphy of the University of Hertfordshire looks at the early origins of the European financial markets from the Italian Renaissance to the present day. Dr Murphy also provides a useful introduction to finance, the stock market and the bond market.

In this podcast Dr Glyn Redworth looks at the reign of Charles V of Spain.

In this podcast Professor Beat Kumin of Warwick University gives you an overview of the impact of the Reformation, discusses the social and cultural implications of the Reformation, talks about some of the debates among historians about the reformation and looks at the impact the Reformation had on European foreign...

In this podcast Dr Francois Soyer looks at Phillip II's reign, how his government worked, the emergence of a new social class in Spain, the problems with personal rule: inefficiency, corruption and unrealistic expectations and Hapsburg rule under Phillip, bureaucracy and the growth of modern government.

In this podcast Dr Henry Cohn of Warwick University takes you through the importance of relations with the state for the survival and growth of Protestantism, division and the Peasants War, the rise of state control over the Church, the response of the Emperor and the limitations of imperial power,...

In this podcast Dr Penny Roberts of Warwick University takes you through the other key contributors to the international appeal of the reform movement aside from Calvin or Luther: Zwingli , Bullinger, Theodore Bezer, Martin Bucer and also radicals, rebels and resistance: the Huguenots, the Dutch rebellion, the Anabaptists and...

In this podcast Dr Glyn Redworth examines the cultural differences and differences of ambition of Ferdinand and Isabella, their marriage as a personal union as opposed to political union, what happened after the death of Queen Isabella in 1504 and motives for unification.

In this podcast Professor Peter Marshall of Warwick University takes you through the importance of Martin Luther to the Protestant Reformation, the implications of Luther's teachings, how Luther's teachings were interpreted and mis-interpreted, the need for support from the political authorities, internal protestant disputes, the rise of Calvin and a...

In this podcast Professor Peter Marshall of Warwick University takes you through the causes of the Reformation, explanations of why this Reformation was successful, the importance of technological developments to the Reformation and why a de-centralised Germany proved fertile grounds for the development of the Reformation.

What was the long term impact of the Spanish Golden Age? How have interpretations of this period changed over time?

In this podcast Dr Glyn Redworth looks at the impact of Spain relations with its neighbours, foreign perspectives of Spain; the black legend of Spain, ideological differences and ideological prejudice.