The Decameron: sex, plague, and a medieval Love Island
HistoryExtra podcast
07/25/24
•45m
About
Comments
Featured In
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
Previous Episode
Toilets through time | 1. Roman latrines
July 24, 2024
•35m
What was it like to do your business in a Roman communal toilet? In the first episode of our new mini-series, Toilets Through Time, David Musgrove begins his journey through the bathrooms of British history in the Roman era, with historian Dr Hannah Platts. They discuss dubious ancient ablutions, the confronting experience of sitting alongside your neighbours on the toilet, and why one gladiator reportedly stuck a toilet sponge down his own throat.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Next Episode
Black Death: everything you wanted to know
July 26, 2024
•43m
Earlier this week, new comedy drama The Decameron dropped on Netflix. Based on a set of 14th-century tales by Giovanni Boccaccio, it follows the raucous exploits of a group of medieval Italian nobles, after they flee to the hills to escape the Black Death. Boccaccio's text is one of the key sources we have on the plague pandemic that ravaged Europe in the 1340s, so with the release of the new series, we're bringing you an archive episode all about the Black Death. Speaking to David Musgrove back in 2021, historian John Hatcher answers your questions on the pandemic.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
If you like this episode you’ll love
Promoted