Singing in the News in Tudor and Stuart England

The simplicity of Tudor and Stuart ballads made them accessible to all and an important resource for influencing public attitudes. In the absence of newspapers, these memorable songs used rhyme and melody to spread news. This talk will include live musical examples to demonstrate how the performance of ballads enabled debate about current affairs, despite restrictions on free speech.

Dr Jenni Hyde is a Fellow of the Historical Association and teaches in the history department at Lancaster University. A former music teacher, she is particularly interested in the ways that popular songs both reflected and shaped ordinary people’s views of social, political and religious change. She is the author of Singing the News: Ballads in Mid-Tudor England and John Balshaw’s Jigge: Revelry and Royalism in Restoration Lancashire. See her performing on her YouTube channel.

£5, £7 with museum admission. Book now!