Series 2 Episode 5 - A Vengeful Archbishop (Transcript added).

About this episode

This episode discusses John Whitgift's role as Archbishop of Canterbury and his historical significance.

Episode Type • Season Episode Season • Episode Episode Number • Episode Title Artwork • John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1602. John Whitgift (c1530-1604) was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1567-1576. He became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1583. He attended Elizabeth I on her deathbed and crowned James I. Music (1) • Hela'r Dryw (Hunting the Wren). An Ancient Welsh folk song, sung by the band Fernhill. Hunting the Wren’ in Wales usually took place between the 6th of January and the 12th which was Twelfth Night. It was a custom connected with luck-visiting and formed part of the celebrations around the winter solstice. Music (2) • The Passionate Shepherd to His Love (1599). A pastoral poem from the English Renaissance (1599). Written by Christopher Marlowe (1485–1603). Marlowe composed the poem in iambic tetrameter (four feet of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable) in six stanzas, and each stanza is composed of two rhyming couplets; thus the first line of the poem reads: "Come live with me and be my love". Read by @thebardscz

People in this episode

Host: Shaughan Holt

Topics covered

• Archbishop of Canterbury
• John Whitgift
• Elizabeth I
• James I
• Welsh folk music
• English Renaissance poetry

Keywords

• John Whitgift
• Archbishop of Canterbury
• Elizabeth I
• James I
• Welsh folk song
• Christopher Marlowe
• Renaissance poetry

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Trinity College, Cambridge

Books & works: Hela'r Dryw (Hunting the Wren), The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

More episodes of The Rise of the Protestants

• (New, updated) History. Part 3 - 1066: The Fall of Anglo-Saxon England. (Transcript added). · June 10, 2026 · 32 min
• (New) Series 2 Episode 12 - Escape to the Low Countries: Richard Bernard, Thomas Helwys and the Gainsborough Congregation. · June 5, 2026 · 27 min
• Series 2 Episode 11 - Exiled Paths: Nonconformity and Dissent in Kent. (Transcript added). · May 11, 2026 · 20 min
• History. Part 2 - The Fall of the Anglo-Saxons. England’s fate turns on the wind and the sea. (Transcript added). · April 15, 2026 · 27 min
• Series 2 Episode 10 -The Congregations of Gainsborough and Scrooby. (Transcript added). · April 1, 2026 · 36 min
• Bonus Episode — The Appointment of Sarah Mullally (Transcript added) · March 30, 2026 · 6 min