Villains and Virgins History Podcast

Mar 03 2025 39 ep. 61 mins 84

Villains and Virgins History Podcast artwork

A history podcast with a focus on violence, religion, and gripping stories, created by Eva Schubert, history nerd, college instructor, and jazz aficionado.

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Norman Sicily EP 1: When the Vikings Invaded Italy

Mar 03 2025 73 mins

The Vikings terrorised coastal Europe in their longboats, plundering and killing as they went. Some of them were offered a deal: they could accept land and settle in France, in exchange for defending the area from other raiders. These Vikings became known as Normans, and while the name changed, the game remained the same. They begin arriving in Italy, and soon become the most covet

The Peasant' War Part 2: Bloodbath

Jan 14 2025 72 mins

The Peasants' War was the largest peasant uprising prior to the French Revolution. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary people organise a labour strike and dare to demand a measure of fairness. They use the ideas of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation to do it. Luther wants nothing to do with the rebels, and supports the German nobles in killing these "mad dogs". The heavy ca

The Peasants' War Part 1: Before the Bloodbath

Dec 26 2024 87 mins

This is the story of the biggest peasant uprising prior to the French Revolution. Inspired by the writing of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, it was a shocking challenge to the social order. Serfs occupied castles, executed nobles, and plundered monasteries. Events that lasted less than a year would result in thousands of peasant deaths, and change the direction of the

The Reformation Episode 5: Wars of Religion

Aug 26 2024 103 mins

The Wars of Religion are the bloody outcome of the religious fracturing of Europe. They reshaped political identity and redefined the balance of power among countries. But what actually happened and why does it matter? This episode is a wild ride through three different countries, as scheming French cardinals send funds to Protestant rebels abroad, and the king of Spain institutes

The Reformation: EP 4- England Kills a King

Jul 02 2024 84 mins

In this episode we watch England execute a king. This is the strange tale of how England became a Protestant country, and why the Church of England is the way it is. Along the way we watch militant Scottish Reformers challenge the power of the monarch, and uncover the roots of the Covenanters and Presbyterian churches. The episode culminates in the English Civil War, as competing v

The Reformation Episode 3: John Calvin and Theocracy

Jan 18 2024 66 mins

John Calvin is one of the major figures of the Protestant Reformation, famous for his doctrine of pre-destination. This episode covers his time in Geneva, and how he turned that city into a grim and terrifying experiment in theocracy. It is also the story of Protestants burning a heretic at the stake, in a bizarre moment of borrowing the very punishments that had been used to suppr

Reformation Episode 2: Martin Luther, The Man Who Split Europe

Oct 24 2023 99 mins

In this episode we cover the unlikely journey of one young man from earnest Augustinian monk to rebel reformer. Martin Luther ignited a firestorm of existing anti-clerical sentiment across Europe, with results that would change Europe and the Western Christian Church forever.

The Reformation Episode 1: John Wycliffe and the Middle Ages

Jul 10 2023 86 mins

What is the Protestant Reformation and why does it matter? To begin to understand how thoroughly it has shaped Western Europe and North America we must travel back in time to see the world as it was before the Reformation. This episode is all about the Middle Ages, when an emperor braved the Alps in winter to appeal to a Pope, and thousands of people in Southern France were slaught

Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 5- Christopher Columbus and 1492

Jan 11 2023 59 mins

1492 was a year that changed everything. In Castile, it was the end of the Reconquista, as Isabella and Ferdinand ended a decade long war with a triumphant ride through the streets of Granada. It was also the year they signed the Alhambra Decree, which banished all Jews from Castile, and it was the beginning of the end of Moorish presence as well. The connection between these two e

Ferdinand and Isabelle: EP4- The Spanish Inquisition

Dec 18 2022 85 mins

You have probably heard of the Spanish Inquisition, even if only from a certain Monty Python sketch. The truth about why it was started and for what purpose will probably surprise you. In this episode we take a close look at the episodes in Spanish history that prepared the way for the Inquisition. We also examine how it operated, what forms of torture were used, and who it targete