159 - Life, death and sex in the middle ...

We speak with Margherita Berti, founder of Italian Matters, an online Italian language school that helps adult learners build confidence and make consistent progress in Italian through a practical, structured approach. In this conversation, she shares effective learning strategie ... Show More

Just a quick message to let you know that the podcast may be slowing down a bit over the next month or so as i am studying for the exam to become a recognised Italian tour guide.Also to give you a little hint for an upcoming surprise... 

In this episode of A History of Italy, we explore the extraordinary life of Isabella d’Este, one of the most influential women of the Italian Renaissance and arguably the closest thing the 15th and 16th centuries had to a modern celebrity influencer.Born into the powerful House o ... Show More

<p>Despite being a key part of society and everyday life, medieval sexuality was probably left out of your history lessons at school. But how much do we really know about these very private aspects of life in the Middle Ages? Dr Cat Jarman is joined by historian Dr Eleanor Janega ... Show More

Warning: this episode contains explicit language.Medieval people weren’t prudish—far from it. Dan is joined by medieval historian Dr Eleanor Janega to explore sex, marriage, and desire in the Middle Ages. They delve into the beliefs around sodomy as “non-procreative sex”; pilgrim ... Show More

How would a medieval woman achieve a Brazilian bikini line? Why can’t you trust a nun in the night time? And what were women doing at Medieval universities? Kate is joined for the THIRD time by Eleanor Janega to talk about how women were expected to be in the medieval era, and ho ... Show More

<p>The simplicity of life back then is appealing today, as long as you don’t mind Church hegemony, the occasional plague, trial by gossip — and the lack of ibuprofen. (Part two of a three-part series, “<a href="https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/cradle-to-grave/">Cradle to Grav ... Show More

From medieval d*ck pics to sex with monks, how did people in medieval times think about sex and sexuality?It was a period that spanned roughly 1,000 years and even though views on sex were largely shaped by the dominant Christian faith, whether this filtered down to every day exp ... Show More

<p>Prostitutes were everywhere in the streets and neighbourhoods of medieval cities. In one and the same building, there might be a school upstairs, while downstairs prostitutes plied their nefarious trade. But how did such a situation come to pass? And how could such a world exi ... Show More

*WARNING this episode includes explicit language and adult themes*What were your medieval ancestors getting up to in the bedroom? Join sex historian Kate Lister, Betwixt the Sheets, to find out.Medievalist and George Michael super-fan Dr Eleanor Janega is on the podcast to chat a ... Show More

<p>Sex. It’s everyone’s favourite subject. But has it been that way since the Middle Ages? The repressive instincts of some medieval churchmen meant that the way that ordinary people experienced and enjoyed sex in medieval Europe was very different to how it is today. But despite ... Show More

What was it like to be a peasant in the Middle Ages? Did they live well, with access to sufficient food, water and shelter, or were their lives characterised by poverty, pain and hard labour? Did they wash regularly, what did they do for fun, and could they better themselves in s ... Show More

What chores did medieval women have to get through each day? How could plucking your eyebrows in the Middle Ages land you in hell? And why did people believe that older women’s looks could kill? In our latest “Everything you wanted to know” episode, medievalist Dr Eleanor Janega ... Show More