This podcast will return in autumn 2021.

The Renaissance was a time of change: theologically, politically, socially, artistically. It was a time of great art, great poetry, and great architecture. In the stories we tell ourselves of this celebrated era, however, women are almost entirely absent. And yet, women were there throughout: from painters to patrons, diplomats to poets.

How did these women manage to forge independent lives at a time full of constraints? And why have their stories and achievements been lost from history? For, contrary to our contemporary assumptions, these women were respected and admired by their contemporaries for their artistic, political, and intellectual exploits. It was after their deaths that their achievements were downplayed, and their biographies often reduced to their relationships with men.

This podcast brings their achievements to light, exploring the lives and exploits of the Renaissance Women.