logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2023
28 m

Cabbage, Surnames and Dungeons

BBC RADIO SCOTLAND
About this episode

Susan Morrison explores cabbage - no, not the stuff that used to bulk out the school dinners, but a mysteriously legal perk they used to carve out of the rag trade. Fashion historian Dr Jade Halbert of Leeds University has the goods on Scotland’s surprising contribution to cabbage history. A bit of sly cabbaging might get you a cheap designer wedding dress, but would a Scottish bride have changed her name in times gone by? Dr Rebecca Mason has the answers and they might surprise you. Scottish traditions were different - find out why. And what does a real dungeon look like? Susan and Dr Katy Jack get medieval.

Up next
Jan 2024
Introducing House of the Lion: A Blood Soaked Throne
Susan Morrison and Len Pennie explore what it takes to be King in medieval Scotland, where ruthlessness and brutality where qualities at the top of the job description. 
2m 34s
Jun 2023
Delivering Babies, Hunting Jacobites
Aberdeen is soon getting the Baird Family hospital for Maternity, Neonatal and Reproductive Medicine - but who were the Baird family and why is it named after them? Dr Alison McCall clues in Susan Morrison on Sir Dugald, his wife, Lady May Baird, son Professor David and daughter ... Show More
27m 59s
Feb 2023
War Wounds and Electricity
Bee keeping, basket weaving - if you lost limbs in WW1, you might need to retrain for a job, Louise Bell of Leeds University tells Susan Morrison about the Erskine Hospital and a Gordon Highlander who wanted to go there. Servicemen of an earlier age might find care more rough and ... Show More
28 m
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2023
Cabbage
tail spinning
58m 1s
Apr 2023
Victorian Wardrobe Secrets
<p>If someone from the future looked inside your wardrobe, what could they find out about your life? That you like going out to parties? Maybe your work uniform is in there? Or perhaps there is still evidence of fashion trends of yore, like the oh-so-low rise jeans of the early n ... Show More
32m 43s
May 2021
49. Food Glorious Food
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook tuck into the history of British food with author Pen Vogler. They debate the origins of curry and debate our obsession with beef. Plus, they discuss a curious historical obsession with cooking pigs and chickens, stitched together. Learn more abo ... Show More
46m 4s
Feb 2024
Ploughman's for the people: a culinary history of Britain
Did you know that the seemingly bucolic Ploughman's lunch actually came about because of a marketing ploy? Or that turnips were once thought to be an aphrodisiac? Pen Vogler takes Lauren Good on a culinary journey through Britain's history, exploring moments when food was at the ... Show More
27m 21s
Nov 2021
Open Water
tail spinning
10m 29s
Aug 2025
Medieval Beauty Standards with Kate Lister
How did the 14th-century Black Death influenced fashion trends? And were medieval bald men considered 'hot' because their hair burned off due to their masculinity?From clear skin and youthful appearance to the controversial make-up practices of the period Dr. Eleanor Janega and D ... Show More
43m 58s
Dec 2024
Medieval Burials
<p>What can medieval burial practices reveal about societal values and beliefs? Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by biological anthropologist Dr. Jo Buckberry, to explore this question.</p><br><p>They discuss the secrets behind Sutton Hoo's majestic burial mounds, the intriguing pres ... Show More
51m 34s
Apr 2021
Why is it said that babies are born in cabbages?
This curious myth that boys are born in cabbages and little girls in roses has not only one but two claimed origins. Here they are. The first of the two theories, claims that since ancient times, cabbage has been a symbol of fertility. This can probably be explained by its form a ... Show More
1m 39s
Jun 2024
Jadeite Cabbage (Classic)
<p>This tiny stone cabbage has a big backstory stretching from the rich, treasure-laden halls of Beijing’s Forbidden City...through a harrowing wartime escape...to its prized place at the National palace museum in Taipei, Taiwan.</p><p><strong>READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: </strong><a ... Show More
14m 21s
Apr 2024
Viking Royalty: Nicknames, Love Poems & Victorian Myths
<p>We think we know the Vikings, but how well do we <em>really</em> know them?</p><br><p>From the insignia we think they wear, to the names they call themselves and the way they spoke to each other, there's a lot to uncover.</p><br><p>Joining Kate today is Dr. Caitlin Ellis, hist ... Show More
40m 34s