Greg Jenner

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And I'd just like to say a huge thank you to our guest.

In History Corner, we had the incredible Dr Hannah Terisingham-Robbins from the University of Nottingham.

Thank you, Hannah.

Thank you.

And in Comedy Corner, we had our leading lady, Desiree Birch.

And to you lovely listener, join me next time as we launch our comeback tour for another forgotten historical star.

But for now, I'm off to go and get my dad to renegotiate my BBC contract.

Bye!

Hello and welcome to You're Dead to Me, the Radio 4 comedy podcast that takes history seriously. My name's Greg Jenner. I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster. And today we're putting on our plague masks and rummaging in our doctor's bags as we head back to 16th century England to learn all about Renaissance-era medicine.

Ja to help us, we are joined by not one, but two esteemed doctors. In History Corner, she's an associate professor in the Department of English Literature at the University of Reading, where her research focuses on medicine and the body from the 16th to 18th centuries. And luckily for us, she's also the author of the fantastic new book, The Surgeon, the Midwife and the Quack, How to Stay Alive in Renaissance England. It's Dr. Alana Skoos. Welcome, Alana. Hello, nice to be here.

Lovely to have you here. And in Comedy Corner, she's a comedian, actor and writer. You might have seen her on all the TV, on Live at the Apollo, QI, Pointless and Have I Got News For You. Maybe you've caught her live shows or heard her on Radio 4's The News Quiz, but you'll definitely remember her from our show, episodes of Chungi Sao and Marco Polo, of course. It's Dr. Ria Lina. Welcome, Dr. Ria. Thank you so much. I rarely use that title, so it's nice to use it.

Sinä olet sellainen suomalainen komediakirja, jolla ihmiset eivät tiedä tätä. Sinulla on Ph.D. virologiassa. Minulla on Ph.D. virologiassa. Se on minun erityinen. Klasiikki komediin. Se ei tullut paljon, erityisesti ensimmäisen päivänä. Jos olet koulutettu sääntöjä, niin modernissa lääkärissä olet melko ystävällinen. Tiedätko historiaa lääkäristä?

Hyvä, hyvä. Esimerkiksi 16-luvun ajan. Olen asunut täällä viisi minuuttia miettimällä, onko se 1500-luvun tai 1700-luvun? Koska se on aina yksi numero. Se on 1500-luvun. 1500-luvun. No, minun pitäisi kysyä sinulle, onko renaissance-eraa Englannin tarkoitus sinulle?

Tämä on se, johon minulla on kokeilua, mitä sinut, meidän kaunis kuuntelija, voi tietää tänään. Ja kiitos Shakespearein sopimuksiin ja monien hienojen ja mahtavia sopimuksia, joita olet nähnyt, sekä pop-kulttuurin ja Tudorin ja Stuartin kanssa. Sinulla on todennäköisesti jotain tunnetta, mitä elämä oli renaissance-eraa-Englantissa. Mutta mitä seurauksia ja terveydenhuoltoa erityisesti? No, ehkä, kuten minä, sinä ajattelet vain klasikki-sceneä Blackadderissa, jossa kaikkiin kuuluvan on leikkiä. Mutta mitä renaissance-Englantissa visitiin doktorin oikein?

Was there more to it than plague masks? Did they use plague masks? And what about those leeches? Were they true? Oh, and who on earth was the stroker? Let's find out. Ria, when we say Renaissance England, you're thinking post-Italian France. In your head you've got a lovely image of Michelangelo.

Kaikki turtut tekevät heidän asioitaan. Ehdottomasti. Puhumme tässä renaissancea, joka tulee Englannissa myöhemmin kuin Italiassa ja Fransissa. Se on Tudorin ja Stuartin aikoja, 16- ja 17-luvun aikoja. Onko tässä jotain yhdessä eurooppalaisen ja englannin lääkärin yhdessä?

Especially after that conversation, yellow bile. So we've honed our sense of humours, lol. Now let's look at the various medical professions in Renaissance England, because there's not just one type of healthcare worker. As today, there are multiple professions. Alana, can we start with the obvious ones, what we would call physicians, which I assume means doctor, but maybe it doesn't? It pretty much does. So the physicians are doctors, but not all doctors are physicians.