History Extra podcast

Caroline Elkins explains how the British empire was sustained by violence for more than 200 years

In the final episode of our series on the Black Death, Professor Mark Bailey and Dr Claire Kennan discuss the medieval pandemic’s dramatic social, political and economic impact. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, they use England as a case study to explore how it restructured society, with effects that were felt for hundreds of years.

The primary sources quoted in this series are mainly taken from:

The Black Death, translated and edited by Rosemary Horrox (1994)

The Black Death, The Great Mortality of 1348-1350: A Brief History with Documents, John Arberth (2005)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ronald Hutton discusses four female pagan deities that loomed large in the medieval imagination

Kersten Hall uncovers the dramatic story of insulin, from its discovery to its invaluable role in tackling diabetes today

Marking the 125th anniversary of the publication of Dracula, Roger Luckhurst explores the enduring appeal of Bram Stoker’s vampire thriller

Owen Davies answers your top questions about the history of witchcraft – from torture and trials to beliefs about magical powers

Alice Roberts reveals how new scientific techniques can shed light on life in Britain between the first and tenth centuries AD

The arrival of a terrifying pandemic made medieval people increasingly preoccupied with death, sin and the afterlife. In this episode, Ellie Cawthorne speaks to Helen Carr about spiritual responses to the Black Death, from special prayers to self-flagellation.

The primary sources quoted in this series are mainly taken from:

The Black Death, translated and edited by Rosemary Horrox (1994)

The Black Death, The Great Mortality of 1348-1350: A Brief History with Documents, John Arberth (2005)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Military historian Antony Beevor discusses his new book Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921

Annabel Abbs discusses the first modern cookery writer Eliza Acton, the subject of her new novel The Language of Food