HistoryExtra
type: channel
link: https://www.historyextra.com
description: The official website for BBC History Magazine
date: 2024-11-18T11:22:55.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Pigs in the medieval city
items: Stretched, crushed and impaled: 10 shocking torture methods from medieval history
items: HistoryExtra Academy video lecture: faith and worship in late-medieval England
items: The Decameron: sex, plague, and a medieval Love Island
items: Joan of Arc: life of the week
items: The Capetians: everything you wanted to know
items: Plague, leprosy & murder: unlocking the secrets of medieval bones
items: The medieval church: your guide to religion and worship in the Middle Ages
items: Eggs, bunnies and Jesus Christ: the history and origins of Easter
items: How naughty was the past? The hidden depths of the medieval church

Pigs in the medieval city
type: item
date: 2024-11-18T07:31:45.000Z
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Long reads (podcast series)
subject: Medieval Life and Death
description: Dolly Jørgensen considers why the pig was so vital to urban life in the Middle Ages
encoded: They killed children, exhumed dead bodies and caused an almighty stink. So why, asks this Long Read written by Dolly Jørgensen, were our medieval ancestors so dependent on the urban pig? HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the October 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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Stretched, crushed and impaled: 10 shocking torture methods from medieval history
type: item
date: 2024-09-11T13:39:48.000Z
creator: Lauren Good
subject: Medieval
subject: Period
subject: Medieval Life and Death
description: Medieval torturers knew what they were doing when it came to inflicting pain. In fact, their reputation has seen them credited over the centuries with devices that are more mythical than medieval. From the rack to the rat, discover the most gruesome torture methods…
encoded: So, you’re a person living in the medieval period and you find yourself on the wrong side of the law, or simply on the wrong side of the powerful. What worries you most: being locked up in a cell, being fined or being publicly humiliated in the stocks? Or none of the above. There are punishments that are far more troubling – with brutal and deadly consequences. During this period, an appalling assortment of torture methods and devices were used to punish, extract confessions (regardless of the truth) and, perhaps most importantly, instil fear. They inflicted unspeakable horrors on their victims, so much so that we still feel their legacy to this day. Yet, contrary to popular belief, these methods were not ubiquitous forms of punishment in the medieval period. "I think torture is much less prevalent than we so often believe," explains Dr Hannah Skoda, speaking on an episode of the HistoryExtra podcast. “There’s a really horrible phrase in the legal records where it says someone was ‘put to the question’, which means that they’re going to be tortured. But even there, there’s a strong sense that this was something problematic and to be avoided if possible.” What’s more, some of the most notorious devices known today were never used in the medieval period at all. Still, when torture was employed it would be horrific for those ‘put to the question’ as they were stretched, crushed, or impaled. Let’s explore 10 of the most infamous medieval torture methods… The rack Arguably the most infamous of them all, the rack was introduced to England in the 15th century by the Duke of Exeter. As Dr Hannah Skoda explains, he was the constable of the Tower of London so the device became known as “The Duke of Exeter’s Daughter”. Read more | The clever medieval trick that destroyed the last stand of stubborn paganism in Europe Victims were laid out on a rectangular frame and their wrists and ankles tied with ropes at the top and bottom. The ropes were attached to a mechanical crank, whic…

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HistoryExtra Academy video lecture: faith and worship in late-medieval England
type: item
date: 2024-07-29T11:14:32.000Z
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: HistoryExtra Academy late-medieval England course
subject: Medieval life
subject: Medieval Life and Death
description: In her first lecture Professor Hannah Skoda explains how religion sat at the heart of medieval life, and explores the cult of John Schorne, the humble Buckinghamshire rector credited with forcing the Devil inside a boot
encoded: View Green Video on the source website Explore more learning from week one of our course on late-medieval England Black Death facts: your guide to "the worst catastrophe in recorded history" – reading time 9 mins The winter storms that rocked medieval Europe – reading time 6 mins The medieval church calendar: a guide to the holy days – reading time 5 mins Podcast episode: Margery Kempe: medieval mystic – listening time 53 mins The medieval church: your guide to religion and worship in the Middle Ages – reading time 8 mins

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The Decameron: sex, plague, and a medieval Love Island
type: item
date: 2024-07-26T06:00:05.000Z
creator: Dr David Musgrove
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Medieval Life and Death
description: With the release of a new Netflix drama based on Boccaccio's The Decameron, Rebecca Bowen explains why this text was a medieval bestseller, which helped people come to terms with the horrors of the plague
encoded: 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

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Joan of Arc: life of the week
type: item
date: 2024-03-26T07:02:40.000Z
creator: Emily Briffett
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Life of the week (podcast series)
subject: Medieval Life and Death
description: Anne Curry traces the story of Joan of Arc, the medieval peasant girl who took war-torn France by storm
encoded: Joan of Arc has gone down in history as the virgin saviour of France – a patriotic martyr who was unjustly burnt at the stake at the hands of her Anglo-Burgundian opponents. But there's more to the story than that. Speaking to Emily Briffett, historian Anne Curry charts the extraordinary rise and fall of the young peasant girl from Domrémy, whose visions and prophecies brought her face to face with King Charles VII and led to her spiritual leadership over the armies of France before ending in her unfortunate demise.

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The Capetians: everything you wanted to know
type: item
date: 2024-03-17T07:19:07.000Z
creator: Emily Briffett
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Everything you wanted to know about history (podcast series)
subject: Medieval Life and Death
description: Justine Firnhaber-Baker answers listener questions on the long-standing and influential medieval French dynasty
encoded: How did the Capetian dynasty hold on to the French throne for such a long time during the Middle Ages? How did deep-seated religious beliefs shape their rule? And what was the ‘Capetian miracle’? Speaking to Emily Briffett, Justine Firnhaber-Baker answers listener questions on the influential French dynasty – from how they popularised the name 'Phillip' and the iconic fleur-de-lis, to their religiously-inspired 'royal touch'.

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Plague, leprosy & murder: unlocking the secrets of medieval bones
type: item
date: 2024-03-01T07:46:31.000Z
creator: Dr David Musgrove
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Medieval Life and Death
description: Broadcaster and academic Professor Alice Roberts explores what the study of human bones can tell us about disease and violence in medieval Britain
encoded: What secrets can medieval human remains unlock? With exciting new developments in the science of palaeopathology, researchers are able to glean much more from human bones than ever before. Speaking to David Musgrove, Professor Alice Roberts explores what the study of these bones can tell us about disease and violence in medieval Britain – considering how learning about historical diseases, like the Black Death and leprosy, can help us to understand and tackle modern diseases too. Alice Roberts is the author of Crypt: Life, death and disease in the Middle Ages (Simon & Schuster, 2024) Buy now on Bookshop.org Buy now on Amazon Buy now on Waterstones

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The medieval church: your guide to religion and worship in the Middle Ages
type: item
date: 2022-04-06T12:51:22.000Z
creator: Professor Nicholas Orme
subject: Medieval
subject: Period
subject: HistoryExtra Academy late-medieval England course
subject: Medieval life
subject: Medieval Life and Death
description: Professor Nicholas Orme answers key questions about religion and worship in the Middle Ages
encoded: Why was the Church so important in medieval England? The Church in the Middle Ages was more than just a way of connecting with God; it was a whole belief system. Christianity in medieval times didn’t just focus on people’s relationship with God. It also set out to explain history, science, ethics, how one should behave, and so on. Whole areas of study that we would now separate into science or sociology or politics, fell under religion in the medieval centuries. What’s more, the Church was responsible for many things which, nowadays, we would look to the government to care for, such as education, morality, and charity. The Church also had an important role in medieval life, which it has somewhat lost today. Nowadays, there are lots of different things you can be doing on a Sunday morning rather than attending church services. In a rural community of the Middle Ages, the local church would have been a major place to meet and socialise. Many churches developed social organisations of maidens (girls aged from 12 up to marriage), young men of similar ages, and married women or ‘wives’. So church was not just a place where people worshipped on a Sunday; it was a place where friendship groups could gather, too. Read more | What was life like for a medieval housewife? Where and how did the Church get its wealth? The Church was not a single body, so you cannot say that it was rich any more than you can say that British society today is rich. There were enormous variations of wealth within the Church and its various institutions. At one extreme, there were archbishops and bishops who received huge salaries, although they had to pay the costs of their administrations out of their own pockets. At the other end of the scale, poor chaplains and curates earned about £3–£5 a year, which wasn’t much different to the annual income of artisans and labourers. Monasteries, too, might be rich or barely able to survive. There were huge variations in wealth. Did you know? The Church was o…

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Eggs, bunnies and Jesus Christ: the history and origins of Easter
type: item
date: 2022-04-02T08:30:00.000Z
subject: General ancient history
subject: Medieval
subject: Period
subject: Roman
subject: Victorian
subject: Family and parenting
subject: Medieval Life and Death
description: How does Easter relate to Jesus? Where does the word ‘Easter’ come from? And when did we start eating Easter eggs? Historian Emma J Wells explores the origins of this springtime celebration…
encoded: Easter was originally a celebration of Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of sex, fertility, war, and religiously-sanctioned prostitutes, right? Wrong. Well, bunnies and eggs can’t possibly have anything to do with this most holy festival commemorating Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, then. Actually… they do. Like its festive and spooky cousins, Christmas and Halloween, Easter evolved over centuries, blending Christian and non-Christian elements together. Hence the origins of the springtime celebration are far more complicated than you might expect, due in part to misconceptions which continue to circulate. So, let’s put the bunnies, eggs and all other frivolities in one basket in search of an explanation. This, in a nut-, or should I say, eggshell, is how the festival of Easter evolved… Where does the word ‘Easter’ come from? The term seemingly derives from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, Eostre, who was celebrated as she escaped Winter’s harsh clutches. But Eostre wasn’t quite the pagan deity who, we are commonly told, transformed a bird into an egg-laying hare companion, e.g. the forerunner to the Easter bunny. In fact, the only actual surviving mention of Eostre comes from 8th-century monk the Venerable Bede, whose writings suggest the English people called the fourth month Eosturmonath or Eostre-Month (marking the spring equinox) after the goddess, and feasts were celebrated in her honour. Where did the Anglo-Saxons come from? The Northumbrian monk clearly had some influence, as the name stuck – at least in the English-speaking world. Many cultures, however, refer to the season by terms translated from ‘Pesach’ (Hebrew) or ‘Passover’: the Jewish celebration of the liberation of the Children of Israel from Egypt by Moses as told in the book of Exodus. Passover was celebrated on the first full moon after the vernal (spring) equinox, therefore on the 14th day of the seventh Hebrew month of Nisan. The Christian calendar was also constructed around Passover…

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How naughty was the past? The hidden depths of the medieval church
type: item
date: 2021-08-11T14:00:20.000Z
subject: Medieval
subject: Period
subject: Medieval life
subject: Medieval Life and Death
description: Hidden messages and tongue-in-cheek depictions were widespread throughout medieval churches. But was the medieval world simply rife with satire or did these etchings and carvings hold deeper meanings? Here, Dr Emma J Wells from the University of York explores seven of the most curious examples
encoded: Monkeying around In the north nave aisle of York Minster is the famous Pilgrimage Window (dated c1330). The window is named after the depiction of the crucifixion in its main lights, which is sited above male and female pilgrims flanking St Peter. St Peter is portrayed not only with his usual attribute of the key [of heaven] but also by the less familiar image of a church held within his hand – very fitting considering he was the patron saint of the cathedral. Structured much like an illuminated manuscript page, the most intriguing element of the window’s composition is the amusing animal imagery in the lower margins. Among these scenes is a funeral procession of monkeys with a bell-ringer; cross-bearer; four pall-bearers carrying a bier to which another monkey clings and a monkey doctor examines his sick ape patient; while along the vertical borders are further squirrels and monkeys, some investigating urine flasks. There is also a fox preaching to a cock; a parody of a hunt with a stag chasing a hound; a fox stealing a goose pursued by a woman, while an archer and other animals complete the border scene. But, as Bernard of Clairvaux asked in 1125, “to what purpose are those unclean apes?” And how should they be ‘read’? Animals in medieval art need to be seen within their wider context, instead of ascribing each single motif with a meaning. Not only in stained glass, but more commonly in manuscripts, borders were decorated with exotic animals, grotesque hybrids, animals mimicking humans, humans in animal form, and mythical creatures performing lewd and humorous antics. In fact, animals are used throughout medieval art as iconographical representations or portraying allegorical qualities. Many, including lions, were used because of their proximity to people. This could be due to their bestial human nature. An example of this can be found within the presbytery of Exeter Cathedral where a 14th-century roof boss depicts a lion standing on his rear legs, twisting his he…

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