Medieval Midwives Beyond Myths

(Hosts: Christine, Lucy, Kristin) Celebrate the end of 2025 with our annual selection of historical stories about the holiday season!  

(Host: Kristin) You know it and love it, but did you realize who was responsible for bringing macaroni and cheese into your life? Learn about James Hemings, the enslaved man who traveled to France and trained in French cuisine, this week on Footnoting History!  For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com

(Host: Samantha) In 1847, the idea that a woman could be a medical doctor was absurd. Some thought it couldn’t be done. Others accepted the premise that a woman could learn to be a physician, but suggested such a woman would need to disguise herself as a man and go study far away where no one would recognize her – France, perhaps. But for Elizabeth Blackwell that defeated the purpose. Her goal was to prove that a woman could do anything a man could do. And once she got her medical degree, she set to work helping other women, starting with her sister Emily, follow in her footsteps.    For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com

(Hosts: Christine, Lucy, Sam, and Kristin)  ​It's the spookiest time of the year and we are here with your annual dose of historical Halloween tales!   For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com

(Host: Lucy) Giant turkey legs, fried food, implausible costumes… and counterculture? This episode explores the roots of Renaissance Faires in the US, and how this originally hippie-centric phenomenon was linked to other forms of medievalism in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Communes, folk music, particolored tights, and a reimagined past turn out to be more closely linked than you might imagine. This episode also examines how Ren Faires have evolved and continued to thrive, and why you still — if you’re lucky — might hear Steeleye Span covers at your nearest one.   For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com

(Host: Kristin)  In 1612, nine-year-old Jennet Devize accused her mother in court of witchcraft. Her testimony led  to the conviction of 11 people, 10 of whom were sent to the gallows. Find out about the most famous witchcraft event in English history that you may never have heard about in this episode of Footnoting History!   For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com

(Host: Samantha)  Games are amazing. They teach us how to engage with the world through play. They’ve also been used to train some of the greatest military minds. Chess is notoriously the game of the aristocracy, used to teach strategy and forward thinking. In the 19th century, a Prussian father and son, George Leopold von Reisswitz and Georg Heinrich Rudolf Johann von Reisswitz, brought strategic gaming to a whole new level with profound results.   For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com    

(Host: Christine) One of Napoleon Bonaparte’s favorite methods of expanding control was to place his siblings in positions of power. Here, Christine takes a look at the lives of Napoleon’s three dynamic sisters (Elisa, Pauline, and Caroline), their rise to imperial prominence, and how they were impacted by the fall of their brother. For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com

(Host: Christine) In the 13th century, nobleman Simon de Montfort led an infamous and bloody rebellion against his brother-in-law, King Henry III of England. Simon’s fight against royal power (and controversial life!) caused him to be a focus of one of Footnoting History’s earliest episodes. Now, over a decade later, we are revisiting his story for listeners both new and old –and incorporating more details, newer research, and better audio performance.    For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com

(Host: Samantha)  Ladies, do you ever feel frustrated by the lack of pockets in your clothes? Gentlemen, have you ever heard a woman friend complain about her pockets or been asked to stow a phone or a wallet for a companion? This phenomenon isn’t new. Since the introduction of the three-piece suit in the seventeenth century, men have had a near monopoly on pockets. Tune in this week to learn more about the origin of the pocket in western dress and to consider why women’s pocket game is so limited. For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com