How Filthy was the Renaissance?
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
01/23/26
•41m
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The Renaissance, a period of transformation in art, learning, philosophy and science that brought us Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello (the artists, not the turtles). This era of the Early Modern period seems to have been tinted with reds and golds, it all sounds very classy ... but how filthy was it?
Kate is joined once again by Dr Julia Martins to explore how Early Modern people washed, how they got rid of their waste, and how dangerous some of their methods were.
Julia can be found at juliamartins.co.uk
This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.
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.
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 Syphilis Explosion of the American Civil War
January 20
•39m
It's been estimated that between eight and twelve percent of soldiers contracted a venereal disease during the American Civil War. What on earth were they up to?
Kathryn Olivarius is a Professor at Stanford. She joins Kate to discuss syphilis, why it spread so far during the war and how it's impact continued after the war ended.
Kathryn is the author of 'Necropolis: Disease, Power, and Capitalism in the Cotton Kingdom'.
This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.
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.
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
The Most Notorious Sex Worker of 18th Century Dublin
January 27
•44m
Dublin in the 18th century was a wealthy colonial capitol, but only for a select few.
Amongst this hugely divided and politically charged world was the infamous sex worker Peg Plunkett, who counted some of society's most well to-do as her clients.
What was life like for most people in the Empire's 'second city' at this time? Did she really flirt with royalty? And what scandals did she get wrapped up in?
Joining Kate today is historian, author and co-host of our sister podcast After Dark, Anthony Delaney, to help us get to know this fascinating woman.
This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.
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.
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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