This week we examine the tale of Elizabeth Barton- holy woman, prophetess, political demagogue and the figure who openly defied Henry VIII over his desire to marry Anne Boleyn. But her story is one which drops us into a world of religious fervour, popular discontent, and public humiliation, as her extraordinary tale reveals the unspoken opposition and helplessness to what the king was doing…

Cover contains a detail from ‘Portrait of a Lady’ by Rogier van der Weyden, c.1460, often erroneously said to be a portrait of Elizabeth Barton.