Could You Survive Medieval Childbirth?
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
06/03/25
•37m
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Childbirth isn't for the faint-hearted at the best of times, let alone in the medieval period.
What was a birthing room like at this time in history? Who would have been in there helping bring a new baby into the world? And how suspicious were the church of these all-women spaces?
Joining Kate today is the always-fabulous Eleanor Janega, co-host of our sister podcast Gone Medieval, to take us back to this time and place.
This episode was edited by Tom Delargy. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
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All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
The Truth About The Minotaur
May 30, 2025
•30m
Deep in an Ancient Greek labyrinth lurks the half bull half man monster: the Minotaur.
What did this wild myth about a woman having a baby with a bull have to say about how humans understood our taboo desires? How did they even make it happen? And what happened when you found him in the labyrinth?
Joining Kate today is historian and author, Jasmine Elmer, to help us get to the bottom of this myth and find out the truth behind the Minotaur.
This episode was edited by Tom Delargy. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
Sex Work in Ancient Rome
June 6, 2025
•43m
What did it look like inside a Roman brothel? Who was the sex worker involved in a murder plot to kill an Emperor? And why was the Pope getting sex workers to race chariots?!
In this first episode of our brand new limited-series on sex work through history, Kate is joined by Professor Anise Strong, who takes us back to meet some of the amazing sex workers from Ancient Rome, including one who was involved in a murder plot to kill Emperor Commodus.
This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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