Episode 151: Sick to Death

During the reign of Henry VIII, medical books and herbals proved to be some of the most popular publications in England. The people of England wanted medical books that they could read in the own language. The largely unregulated medical marketplace meant that people often had to find a way to treat diseases on their own. In this episode, we explore the nature and terminology of disease in early Tudor England, and we examine the many illnesses that plagued the people of England, including Henry VIII and his family. We also examine how the diagnosis and treatment of disease took the first steps toward a modern scientific approach during this period.

TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 151

5 thoughts on “Episode 151: Sick to Death

  1. I went to school in South London in the 1980s, and “flob” was a noun and verb. It was a spit ball with a high mucous content that you could only really produce when you had a cold. Flobbing was expelling the ball, normally as far as possible. I had completely forgotten the word, as it was very much playground slang, until hearing flobbage in this episode. My wife, from Middlesbrough on the North East coast of England, also used the word at school, but my son, currently at school in Gloucestershire, has never heard of it.

  2. Pingback: The History of English Podcast – PGA Gameday

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.