The Decameron: sex, plague, and a medieval Love Island

The Decameron: sex, plague, and a medieval Love Island

What would you do if your home town was ravaged by plague? Would you lock your doors and hide? Run for the hills? Or accept that the end was nigh and party? Boccaccio's The Decameron - a medieval bestseller written during the Black Death - considers all these options. With the launch of a new Netflix series based on the pivotal work, David Musgrove chats to historian Rebecca Bowen to find out more – and uncover why its author thought that risqué stories could help people come to terms with the horror of the plague. You can hear our podcast on medieval keep fit here: https://link.chtbl.com/-YbeDr31 The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(2557)

The battle of the Arctic: the overlooked crucible of WW2

The battle of the Arctic: the overlooked crucible of WW2

The US and UK supplied the USSR with vast amounts of military materiel during the Second World War via the Arctic convoys. In this episode, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore speaks to David Musgrove about the imp...

5 Apr 37min

How the Vikings pushed Anglo-Saxon England to the brink

How the Vikings pushed Anglo-Saxon England to the brink

During the latter decades of the ninth century, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms faced an existential threat as Viking forces launched an assault on a scale never seen before. In this first episode of our fou...

4 Apr 38min

How to stay healthy in the Middle Ages

How to stay healthy in the Middle Ages

In reality, were medieval people dirty and covered in mud? What did they think were the healthiest things to eat? And how often did they think they should be having sex? Speaking to Charlotte Vosper, ...

2 Apr 36min

Europe's Muslim history

Europe's Muslim history

From the magnificence of the Alhambra to the forgotten resting places of the Prophet Muhammad’s own relatives, Islam has long been a part of Europe’s history. Danny Bird speaks to Tharik Hussain about...

31 Mar 41min

Attila the Hun: life of the week

Attila the Hun: life of the week

Few historical figures have reputations quite as diabolical as that of Attila the Hun. This nomadic leader pitched up on the edge of the Roman empire in the fifth century AD, and spread terror and cha...

30 Mar 35min

Captured by Barbary corsairs: an Englishwoman's extraordinary tale

Captured by Barbary corsairs: an Englishwoman's extraordinary tale

In 1756, Elizabeth Marsh set sail from Gibraltar to Britain with the intention of meeting her fiancé. Instead, she was captured by Barbary corsairs – effectively pirates operating from north Africa, c...

29 Mar 33min

Was Elizabeth I's reign really a 'golden age'?

Was Elizabeth I's reign really a 'golden age'?

As Elizabeth I entered the final chapter of her reign, questions of ageing, succession, and legacy loomed large. In this final episode of our four-part Sunday Series on the Tudor monarch, Rachel Dinni...

29 Mar 28min

Spy, hero, rebel, traitor: the story of Roger Casement

Spy, hero, rebel, traitor: the story of Roger Casement

Rory Carroll unpacks the dramatic final years of Roger Casement – an Irish diplomat and nationalist whose tangled legacy includes heroism, betrayal, and personal scandal. Carroll tells Elinor Evans ab...

27 Mar 40min

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