Medieval Europe's Biggest Sex Scandal
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
07/31/26
•41m
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This is the wild story of a 12th century French philosopher, Abelard, who fell in love with his student, Heloise.
There are a lot of problematic issues going on. Not least their age gap, the resulting power dynamic, and, oh yes—Abelard was castrated.
So why does this love story endure?
Joining Kate today is the fantastic Dr Eleanor Janega, historian, author and co-host of our sister podcast Gone Medieval.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
This episode was edited by Natasha Hughes. 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.
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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 Coco Chanel
July 28
•46m
You know her from the perfume, the little black dress, the double C bag clasp, but who was the woman, Coco Chanel? What even was her real name?
From her origin story, through her inspirations and affairs, to her connections to the Nazi party - today we find out more about Chanel.
Kate is joined by NYT columnist Rhonda Garelick, author of 'Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History' and founding director at Hofstra's Institute for Public Humanities and the Arts.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
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.
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 Lives of the Samurai
August 4
•44m
The samurai are some of the most mythologised people in history, so let's do some myth busting!
Kate is joined by Joe Nickols, who co-curated the British Museum's samurai exhibition, to dive into the real lives of the samurai. How much fighting did they actually do? Could women be samurais? And what did they use for lube?
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. 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.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
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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