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Medieval Pleasures, Part 1: Sex

There's no such thing as the Dark Ages • 34m
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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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