Course: Discover the Hidden History of York

From around the second half of the fourteenth century to the middle of the sixteenth century, York regularly hosted the Corpus Christi Play. More commonly known today as the ‘Mystery …

Historians have different theories about the origins of the Corpus Christi Play. In this video, Dr Tim Wingard explains the two main theories and how researchers can reach different answers …

The story of Joan of Leeds is one of the most colourful examples of apostasy in York’s history. In this video, Dr Marianne Wilson explores the history of Joan and …

The priory from which Joan of Leeds had fled, Clementhorpe Nunnery, was the only religious community for women in the immediate vicinity of York during the Middle Ages. (The Bar …

Immigration was more common in late medieval England than many people expect. In this video, Dr Tim Wingard introduces the context of immigration in England and how medieval historians use …

In the middle of the fifteenth century, around 1.6% of York’s population was born outside of England. These immigrants came from many different places and worked in a variety of …

When a monk or a nun left their religious house without explicit permission, this was called ‘apostasy’. In this video, Dr Sethina Watson explains how the laws of the medieval …

Below are summaries of causes from the York Church courts which can give us an idea about what types of actions and behaviours constituted crimes according to the Church. Defamation …

In this video, Dr Marianne Wilson explains the background to the poem, ‘An Exhortation to the Nobles and Commons of the North’, which was written by a Dominican friar, John …

The biography written by Margaret Clitherow’s chaplain, John Mush, is a key source for her life and the way in which her memory has been preserved. In this video Professor …

Cause Papers are the papers from individual causes or cases that were heard in ecclesiastical courts throughout the diocese of York. Gary Brannan introduces the Cause Papers collection, held at …

In the medieval and early modern periods, the Church courts had control over a wide variety of matters that affected the everyday lives of ordinary people, not only issues relating …

Introducing Margaret Clitherow Religious change was an important cause of religious crime in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Margaret Clitherow is famous for being nicknamed the ‘pearl of York’ because …

Margaret Clitherow refused to conform to the Protestant religious settlement and, over a period of years, received a range of punishments. Dr Rachel Delman highlights the ways in which Margaret …

The Break with Rome Until the sixteenth century, Catholicism had been the established religion in England for centuries, under the leadership of the Pope in Rome. In 1527 Henry VIII …