Versailles: Science & Splendour

Not Just the Tudors

History Hit

History

4.8 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 13 February 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The opulent halls of 17th and 18th-century Versailles were not just filled with dazzlingly dressed courtiers and royal intrigue. They also positively buzzed with scientific discovery and innovation, making the French royal court a crossroads of science and power.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb visits a fascinating exhibition at London's Science Museum which peels back the gilded layers of the famous palace to reveal its lesser-known role as a hotbed of scientific thinking. Along the way, she hears about innovative and dangerous new surgeries, sees the Sun King's actual pet rhinoceros as well as the world's most famous watch, designed for Marie Antoinette.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Professor Susanna Lipscomb.
0:02.4	If you'd like not just the Tudors ad-free to get early access and bonus episodes,
0:08.4	sign up to History Hit.
0:09.9	With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries,
0:15.2	including my own, on Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, Brilliant Rivals.
0:19.3	And enjoy a new release every week.
0:22.0	Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com forward slash subscribe.
0:27.6	Hello, I'm Professor Susanna Lipscomb and welcome to not just the Tudors from History Hit,
0:33.3	the podcast in which we explore everything from Anne Boleyn to the Aztecs,
0:37.7	from Holbein to the Huguenots, from Shakespeare to Samarise.
0:43.1	Relieved by regular doses of murder, espionage and witchcraft.
0:47.6	Not in other words just the Tudors, but most definitely also the Tudors.
1:03.3	I've come to the Science Museum in South Kensington in London to experience an exhibition that's whisking visitors back in time
1:06.9	to the glittering world of the Sun King's Palace at Versailles.
1:11.5	The opulent halls of Versailles were not just filled with dazzlingly dressed courtiers and royal intrigue.
1:18.6	They positively buzzed with scientific discovery and innovation.
1:24.1	The exhibition, titled Versailles Science and Splendor, which runs until April 2025,
1:30.8	heals back the gilded layers of the famous palace to reveal its lesser-known role as a powerhouse of 17th and 18th century scientific thinking.
1:40.3	There are more than 100 treasures on view that showcase Versailles as a fascinating crossroads of science and power.
1:48.0	There's Louis 15th's actual rhinoceros.
1:50.4	Yes, you heard me right.
1:51.8	An incredibly detailed map of the moon, as well as the world's most famous watch,
	...

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