Bedlam

In Our Time: History

03/17/16

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46m

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Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the early years of Bedlam, the name commonly used for the London hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem outside Bishopsgate, described in 1450 by the Lord Mayor of London as a place where may "be found many men that be fallen out of their wit. And full honestly they be kept in that place; and some be restored onto their wit and health again. And some be abiding therein for ever." As Bethlem, or Bedlam, it became a tourist attraction in the 17th Century at its new site in Moorfields and, for its relatively small size, made a significant impression on public attitudes to mental illness. The illustration, above, is from the eighth and final part of Hogarth's 'A Rake's Progress' (1732-3), where Bedlam is the last stage in the decline and fall of a young spendthrift,Tom Rakewell.

With

Hilary Marland Professor of History at the University of Warwick

Justin Champion Professor of the History of Early Modern Ideas at Royal Holloway, University of London and President of the Historical Association

And

Jonathan Andrews Reader in the History of Psychiatry at Newcastle University

Producer: Simon Tillotson.

Previous Episode

The Maya Civilization

March 10, 2016

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46m

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Maya Civilization, developed by the Maya people, which flourished in central America from around 250 AD in great cities such as Chichen Itza and Uxmal with advances in mathematics, architecture and astronomy. Long before the Spanish Conquest in the 16th Century, major cities had been abandoned for reasons unknown, although there are many theories including overpopulation and changing climate. The hundreds of Maya sites across Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico raise intriguing questions about one of the world's great pre-industrial civilizations.

With

Elizabeth Graham Professor of Mesoamerican Archaeology at University College London

Matthew Restall Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Latin American History and Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University

And

Benjamin Vis Eastern ARC Research Fellow in Digital Humanities at the University of Kent

Producer: Simon Tillotson.

Next Episode

Agrippina the Younger

March 31, 2016

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46m

Agrippina the Younger was one of the most notorious and influential of the Roman empresses in the 1st century AD. She was the sister of the Emperor Caligula, a wife of the Emperor Claudius and mother of the Emperor Nero. Through careful political manoeuvres, she acquired a dominant position for herself in Rome. In 39 AD she was exiled for allegedly participating in a plot against Caligula and later it was widely thought that she killed Claudius with poison. When Nero came to the throne, he was only 16 so Agrippina took on the role of regent until he began to exert his authority. After relations between Agrippina and Nero soured, he had her murdered.

With:

Catharine Edwards Professor of Classics and Ancient History at Birkbeck, University of London

Alice König Lecturer in Latin and Classical Studies at the University of St Andrews

Matthew Nicholls Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Reading

Producer: Victoria Brignell.