Tudor Poet Anne Askew: Heretic or Martyr?

Born in 1521, Anne Askew was condemned as a heretic for her radical Protestantism beliefs during the reign of Henry VIII. Tortured and executed after the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1537, she was also one of the earliest known women poets to compose in the English language. Uniquely, her surviving first-person account of her ordeal and her beliefs led her to being proclaimed as a Protestant martyr. 

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Jennifer Richards, to explore Anne Askew’s life and literary legacy.

For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie, the Editor and Producer was Rob Weinberg. Anne Askew’s words are read by Sarah Percival.

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