Get ready to indulge in some Medieval Pleasures. In this three-part series, historian Dr Eleanor Janega (@Going Medieval) takes us on a journey into the sumptuous world of Sex, Booze and Sport throughout the Medieval period.
Warning: contains very strong language and sexual content.
Part I: Sex
In this episode, Eleanor and Dr Kate Lister (@whoresofyore) take to the streets of York to uncover the sex lives of folks living here over 500 years ago. Armed with Medieval chat-up lines they attempt to woo a suitor while revealing the hidden ribald meanings behind some common words and phrases, giving an insight into the diverse, bold and unabashed sexual appetites of Medieval people and the role the church had in controlling the sex lives of worshippers.
And at the Tower of London Eleanor explores courtly love and how the royal bedchamber was a very crowded place, particularly when a regal marriage was consummated. She also investigates the complicated rules governing the sex trade in the capital, where almost anything goes as long as it happens in the approved red light district.
Come with Eleanor as she ventures into the heady world of medieval pleasure...
And if you want to know more about what went on in medieval bedrooms and beyond, check out Kate Lister's fascinating new Betwixt the Sheets podcast on History Hit. You can even hear her discussing it with Eleanor Janega: https://pod.fo/e/11b847 They chat all things aphrodisiacs, sex diaries and religious rules, as well as bizarre fertility treatments involving actual fish in places they should never go. *WARNING this episode includes explicit language and adult themes*
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Medieval Pleasures, Part 2: Booze
Episode Two: Booze
Alcohol was an essential part of medieval life. In one of London’s oldest pubs, Ye Old Mitre, Eleanor discovers the origins of the humble pub with beer expert Pete Brown, and dispels the many myths surrounding the drinking habits of the people who drank here centuries ago
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Medieval Pleasures, Part 3: Sport
Eleanor ventures into the Royal Armouries tiltyard, where seasoned jouster Andy Deane, and his opponent Andrew Balmforth, face off in an adrenaline fuelled jousting tournament - and you're invited!
We discover the harsh realities of this sport that's synonymous with the Middle Ages, and learn ab...
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Ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night! Dr Eleanor Janega delves into the medieval phantasmic to find out what their restless dead can tell us about the worries of the living. Because if we want to understand what makes another society tick, it helps to take a look at what makes them...
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