Entirely Unofficial Rest is History Catalogue and Interrogator

Early Modern & Renaissance

118 Episodes 20 Series 128 Figures 67 Events 299 Books 233 Authors

Covering roughly the 15th through 18th centuries, this collection examines religious, political, imperial, and cultural transformations of the Renaissance and early modern world. Series include American Crusades (Christianity’s influence on American foreign policy and warfare from the colonial era onward), Amsterdam (the city’s rise from a fishing village to a financial hub), Aztec Epic (Hernán Cortés’s expedition and the fall of the Aztecs), Charles I: Trial and Execution (causes and consequences of regicide), and Christopher Columbus (origins and Atlantic voyages). Episodes address public debate and coffee-house culture, Magna Carta, Elizabeth I’s early reign, Ireland and Cromwell, and oddities such as Hwang Jini. Figures and events discussed include Ignatius of Loyola, Anne Boleyn, Mehmed II, William III, Sack of Antwerp, Sack of Texcoco, encomienda, Great Trier witch trials, and works like The Embarrassment of Riches and Stations of the Sun.

Timeline Subway

Episodes Series Figures Events Books Authors

Episodes by year

Showing 12 of 118

2025

12 episodes

Mary, Queen of Scots: The Royal Rivals (Part 2)

Mary, Queen of Scots · Part 2

This episode traces Mary Stuart's transformation from a five-year-old Scottish queen-in-exile to a glamorous figure at …

Mary, Queen of Scots: The Battle for Scotland (Part 3)

Mary, Queen of Scots · Part 3

The hosts discuss the early Scottish reign of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, focusing on her 1561 return from France and …

Mary, Queen of Scots: Murder Most Foul (Part 4)

Mary, Queen of Scots · Part 4

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace the volatile politics of Mary Stuart’s mid-1560s reign, focusing on her m…

Mary, Queen of Scots: The Mystery of the Exploding Mansion (Part 5)

Mary, Queen of Scots · Part 5

This episode of The Rest Is History examines the murder of Lord Darnley (10 February 1567) and the political fallout fo…

Mary, Queen of Scots: Downfall (Part 6)

Mary, Queen of Scots · Part 6

This episode examines the collapse of Mary, Queen of Scots' rule in Scotland after the murder of her husband, Lord Darn…

Mary, Queen of Scots: Birth of a Legend (Part 1)

Mary, Queen of Scots · Part 1

This episode launches a multi-part series on Mary, Queen of Scots. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook open with a dramat…

RIHC: Historical Unicorns, Renaissance Italy, and Animal Diplomacy

Medici · Part 5

In this bonus episode tied to the Medici series Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook recount the remarkable story of the M…

The Medici: Masters of Florence (Part 1)

Medici · Part 1

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook introduce a multi-episode series on the Medici, beginning with Cosimo de' Medic…

The Medici: Curse of the Mad Monk (Part 3)

Medici · Part 3

The episode examines late 15th-century Florence, focusing on Lorenzo de' Medici's rule and the rise of Girolamo Savonar…

The Medici: The Bonfire of the Vanities (Part 4)

Medici · Part 4

This episode of The Rest Is History continues the hosts' ongoing Medici series, focusing on Girolamo Savonarola’s rise …

The Medici: Lorenzo the Magnificent (Part 2)

Medici · Part 2

This episode examines Lorenzo de' Medici's rise and the Pazzi Conspiracy. After outlining Lorenzo's family background, …

RIHC: Famous Traitors, The Renaissance, and Post-War Revolutions

This bonus episode features hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discussing recent and upcoming series work (Medici,…

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Series in this era

20 series

Aztec epic

8 episodes Aired: 2023-11-06

Great World Cup Saga

8 episodes Aired: 2022-11-28 – 2022-12-17

Mary, Queen of Scots

7 episodes Aired: 2025-07-20 – 2025-07-30

Life and times of Martin Luther

6 episodes Aired: 2024-03-06 – 2024-03-25

Medici

5 episodes Aired: 2025-06-08 – 2025-06-17

Christopher Columbus

4 episodes Aired: 2023-02-20

Elizabeth I (November 2025)

4 episodes Aired: 2025-11-10

12 (or 13) Days of Christmas

3 episodes Aired: 2021-12-25

Amsterdam

2 episodes Aired: 2023-07-17

Charles I: Trial and Execution

2 episodes Aired: 2022-01-27

Historical figures

128 tagged

Elizabeth I of England

29 episodes

Henry VIII of England

25 episodes

Charles I of England

21 episodes

Charles II of England (Charles Stuart)

19 episodes

Oliver Cromwell

19 episodes

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

18 episodes

Hernán Cortés

17 episodes

Mary, Queen of Scots

17 episodes

James VI and I of Scotland and England

16 episodes

Mary I of England

16 episodes

Historical events

67 tagged

English Civil War (1642–1651)

22 episodes

Execution of Charles I (1649, England)

16 episodes

Restoration of the Stuart monarchy (1660)

14 episodes

Protestant Reformation (16th century)

13 episodes

English Reformation (16th century England)

11 episodes

Glorious Revolution

11 episodes

Christopher Columbus's first voyage / European landfall (1492)

8 episodes

Conquest of Granada (1492)

8 episodes

Counter-Reformation / Thirty Years' War (1618–1648)

8 episodes

Columbian Exchange (post-1492 transatlantic exchange)

7 episodes

Books

299 tagged

Dominion

Author: Tom Holland

10 episodes

Diary of a Nobody / Diary of Samuel Pepys consolidation (Pepys kept as separate canonical)

Author: Samuel Pepys

4 episodes

Adventure in Time, the Fall of the Aztecs

Author: Dominic Sandbrook

3 episodes

God's Englishman

Author: Christopher Hill

3 episodes

Heart of Darkness

Author: Joseph Conrad

3 episodes

Paradise Lost

Author: John Milton

3 episodes

Rivers of Gold

Author: Hugh Thomas

3 episodes

The Canterbury Tales

Author: Geoffrey Chaucer

3 episodes

95 Theses (Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences)

Author: Martin Luther

2 episodes

Acts of the Apostle s

Author: Traditional Attribution or Various

2 episodes

Authors

233 tagged

Tom Holland

14 episodes

Dominic Sandbrook

9 episodes

Hugh Thomas

6 episodes

Traditional Attribution or Various

6 episodes

Samuel Pepys

4 episodes

William Shakespeare

4 episodes

Christopher Hill

3 episodes

Geoffrey Chaucer

3 episodes

John Guy

3 episodes

John Knox

3 episodes