The Black Death | 1. Introduction

What can Charlie Chaplin's life tell us about the experiences of poor working-class people in 19th- and early 20th-century London? Quite a lot, it turns out. Speaking to Charlotte Vosper, author and historian Jacqueline Riding reveals the world of poverty, tragedy and joy that pl ...  Show more

Have women been relegated to the footnotes of French history? Katherine Pangonis – whose latest book is A History of France in 21 Women – tells Charlotte Vosper about why their stories have been pushed to the sidelines, and highlights some of the pioneering personalities who dese ...  Show more

The epidemic known as the Black Death struck Europe in 1347 and completely upended medieval society. It's been estimated that roughly half of the European population was killed by this gruesome disease. Despite huge advances in our understanding of this epidemic debate still rema ...  Show more

In October 1347, a ghostly fleet of trading ships docks at a port in Sicily. The crew members – dead already, or well on their way – bear bubonic plague. The ‘Great Pestilence’ will ravage the populations of three continents over the next decade. What changes to society will resu ...  Show more

Between 75 million and 200 million people died in the Black Death, or Plague, which caused social, economic and religious upheavals that had a profound effect on the course of European history. How did the Black Death come about? How did if affect particular populations? For how ...  Show more

The Black Death was the most fatal pandemic in recorded human history, decimating a late Medieval world unaided by the germ theory of disease. In this episode of Stuff to Blow your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the ways that religion responded to the plague and the effects these e ...  Show more