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

2024

10 episodes

The Habsburgs: Secrets of a Dynasty

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook interview Archduke Eduard (Edward) Habsburg, Hungary's ambassador to the Holy See, ab…

RIHC: Medieval Martians, Samurai, and Mythical Mysteries

In this Rest Is History weekly bonus episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook chat informally about recent and upcomin…

Luther: The Revolution Begins (Part 2)

Life and times of Martin Luther · Part 2

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace Martin Luther's transformation from a troubled student to an Augustinian monk a…

Luther: The Man Who Changed the World (Part 1)

Life and times of Martin Luther · Part 1

This episode is an introductory survey of Martin Luther and the wider Reformation, led by hosts Tom Holland and Dominic…

Luther: A World Torn Apart (Part 5)

Life and times of Martin Luther · Part 5

This episode (part five of the Martin Luther series) examines the ferment of 1524–1525, tracing how Luther’s theologica…

Luther: Showdown with the Emperor (Part 4)

Life and times of Martin Luther

This episode recounts Martin Luther's dramatic summons to the Diet of Worms (April 1521), his confrontation with imperi…

Luther: The Battle Against Satan (Part 3)

Life and times of Martin Luther · Part 3

This episode (episode three of a series on Martin Luther) traces Luther’s escalation from disputant to revolutionary re…

RIHC: Henry VIII, Thatcherism and Roman Counterfactuals

Life and times of Martin Luther

This bonus Q&A episode of The Rest Is History has hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook answering listener questions …

RHIC: Henry VIII, Thatcherism and Roman Counterfactuals

This bonus episode is a wide-ranging Q&A between hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook. They open by discussing their…

The Man in the Iron Mask

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the long-running mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask. They review conte…

2023

2 episodes

The Mystery of the Pregnant Pope

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the legend of Pope Joan — a purported female pope said to have reigned …

RIHC: History’s Top Lads, Ancient Slavery and Aztec Gold

In this special bonus episode recorded in New Zealand, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook chat informally from Lake Roto…

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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