Reporting on Scottish News in England

01/22/24 • 49 min

Mary Queen of Scots and her son, James VI of Scotland, brought an urgency to England for sharing news about what was happening in Scotland. From 1580 onwards, the same years Shakespeare was writing about Scotland in plays like Henry VI Part 1 and later Macbeth, which features Scotland prominently, the rate of news about events in Scotland being published in England skyrocketed. This increase can be attributed to an expansion in news publications over a broader landscape, but events involving Mary Queen of Scots and her son future James VI, including rumors that Elizabeth I of England wanted to kidnap the baby James and England sending an army to Scotland, all added fuel to the fire of political relationships between the two countries that was written about furiously in this period. Shakespeare’s works reflect this cultural moment when we see Lepidus in Antony and Cleopatra is saying, “Here’s more news” from Act I Scene 4, in the early 1600s, along with over 300 additional references to “new” in Shakespeare’s plays. Here with us today to share with us what news stories were the biggest headlines for this period, as well as what the surviving printed works of news tell us about the relationship between Scotland and England for the late 16th and early 17th century is our guest and author of “Newes from Scotland” in England, 1559–1602 for the Huntington Library Quarterly, Amy Blakeway. Get bonus episodes on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Childbirth, Midwives, and Pregnancy in the 16-17th Century

“Pregnant” is a word Shakespeare uses in his plays, but it always appears in connection with ideas, grief, or even trauma, but never as a word to describe a woman that is carrying an unborn baby. Instead, whenever a woman is carrying a child in her uterus in Shakespeare’s works, the phrase used is “with child.” This divergence between Shakespeare’s language and how we are accustomed to using the word “pregnant” today is just one way Shakespeare’s plays help shed light on the surprising world of pregnancy and childbirth for Shakespeare’s lifetime. During the 16-17th century, there were many unusual beliefs about how a woman could become pregnant, the right way to prepare for giving birth, and details on the process of labor. Here today to help us explore the history of pregnancy, childbirth, and midwives from Shakespeare’s lifetime are our guests, Michelle Ephraim and Caroline Bicks. Get bonus episodes on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

16th Century Plague, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Microbiology

Plague is the horrible sickness that reoccurs throughout the life of William Shakespeare, and many listeners will know that plague is to blame for several closings of playhouses around London throughout the 16-17th century. However, what does that word mean, precisely? What symptoms did people have when afflicted with plague, and how was it transmitted from person to person? The play Romeo and Juliet offers some evidence of plague responses when we see the messenger detained by confinement in a plague house, but our guest this week shares that there were some much more surprising—and dangerous--- remedies utilized in cities like London, including canon fire, to try and prevent spread of plague. To better understand what plague is, how it was treated in the 16-17th century, what the medical community understood (and didn’t) about microorganisms, and why in the world shooting off canons in the city was considered an essential part of plague prevention, we have invited our guest, and author of “Medicine and Society in Early Modern Europe” for Cambridge University Press, Dr. Mary Lindemann to the show today, to answer these questions. Get bonus episodes on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.