Regular episode • Series 1 • Episode 12 • Series 1 Episode 12 - The Protestant Crusade in Holland. (Transcript added).

Series 1 • Episode 12 • The Protestant Crusade in Holland

The artwork is "The Ratification of the Peace of Münster".

Painted in 1648, by Gerard ter Borch, 1617 to 1681.

It depicts the treaty between Spain and the Dutch Republic, signed in the town hall of Münster, Westphalia on 15 May 1648.

The music is Ave Verum Corpus – Composed by William Byrd and performed by The Sixteen.

William Byrd, circa 1540 to 4 July 1623, was an English Renaissance composer.

Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continent.

He is often considered as one of England's most important composers of early music.

Byrd wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard and consort music.

He produced sacred music for Anglican services, but during the 1570s became a recusant Catholic, writing Catholic sacred music, later in his life

Regular episode • Season 1 • Episode 11 • Series 1 Episode 11 - Reformation, without Tarrying for Any. (Transcript added).

The artwork is a commemorative stone located in the churchyard of St. Giles in Northampton, part of a memorial dedicated to Robert Browne.

The music performed is "This Is the Record of John," arranged by Nico Muhly and played by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

This verse anthem was composed by Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625) and is an Anglican-style piece that draws inspiration from a passage in the Gospel of John from the Geneva Bible. When sung, the lyrics are taken from the Gospel of John in the Geneva Bible, and the composition reflects the distinctive Anglican style that was prevalent during that time.

In late 1581, Robert Browne's congregation, known as the Brownists, was compelled to relocate to Middelburg in Zeeland. Middelburg, a medieval walled city in the Zeeland province of southwest Holland, was a refuge for fleeing Puritans.

After unsuccessful attempts to reform the English Church in Middelburg, Browne shifted his focus to the stronghold of Presbyterianism in Edinburgh, Scotland. While Scottish Presbyterians may have agreed with him theologically, they did not share his views on church organisation.

Upon returning to England, Browne had to confront the consequences of his actions again. Robert Browne was an active Separatist from 1579 to 1585, after which he returned to the Church of England.

Following Browne's compliance in 1587, the Brownist movement revived in London. Henry Barrow and John Greenwood led this revival, both of whom were arrested and placed in custody. While imprisoned, they secretly authored numerous books on Brownist theology and engaged in passionate polemics against perceived societal injustices.

In the early 17th century, John Robinson and John Smyth established religious communities in northern England known as Brownist congregations.

Regular episode • Season 1 • Episode 10 • Series 1 Episode 10 - Norwich, Robert Browne & Congregationalism. (Transcript added).

The artwork is The St Andrew's and Blackfriars' Halls, together with their crypt and cloister, and is known collectively as The Halls Norwich.

Grade 1 listed they form the most complete medieval friary complex still surviving in England.

The first piece of music is Greensleeves, a traditional English folk song.

Its roots can be traced back to a broadsheet ballad, officially registered by Richard Jones with the London Stationers' Company in September 1580.

The second music played at the end is The Old Hundred, a hymn melody from the second edition of the Genevan Psalter. It is credited to L. Bourgeous (1510-1561).

This tune is frequently used to accompany the lyrics that commence with "All People That on Earth Do Dwell," a version that originated in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter of 1561 and which is attributed to the Scottish clergyman William Kethe.

Although the melody was initially associated with Psalm 134 in the Genevan Psalter, it acquired its current name from its connection to the 100th Psalm, as translated by William Kethe and titled "All People that on Earth do Dwell."

The melody is also employed with other lyrics, including commonly sung praises and German Lutheran chorales. Johann Sebastian Bach utilized this melody in his chorale cantata "Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir", Lord God, we all praise you.

The city of Norwich played a crucial role in the emergence of Congregationalism, and Robert Browne would experience a defining moment in his career, during his visit to this ancient city. Unaware of the chaos looming on the horizon, Browne continued to focus on delivering his separatist sermons in the Bury Saint Edmund area.

The clergy began to express their concerns to the Bishop about Browne's unauthorised preaching, and its impact on their congregations. Browne was charged with preaching without a licence, a bold act that defied established conventions. This incident marked the beginning of Browne's thirty-two imprisonments.

While in Norwich, Browne attempted to establish a Congregational Church, likely influenced by local Dutch woolworkers who held Anabaptist beliefs. In 1581, he established the first Congregational Church in England, close to the cathedral and the bishop's palace.