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  • The Black Death and the Birth of the English Apothecary

    The Black Death and the Birth of the English Apothecary
    2026/07/21
    Before the Black Death, English medicine was a mix of folk remedies and monastic care. The plague shattered that world, creating a void that a new kind of practitioner rushed to fill: the apothecary. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the pandemic birthed a profession. They follow John le Spicer, a pepperer who began stocking exotic drugs from the East—opium, myrrh, and theriac, the legendary antidote. They trace the founding of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries in 1617, but start with the key moment in 1349 when the Crown first regulated apothecaries separately from grocers. Along the way, they discuss the Ordinance of Physicians and Apothecaries (1423), the shift from monastic infirmaries to urban shops, and how the plague made medicine a trade. The episode also explores the role of women like Margery Hore, who practiced as an apothecary in London. A story of crisis, opportunity, and the birth of modern pharmacy. #BlackDeath #Apothecary #MedievalMedicine #JohnLeSpicer #Theriac #Mithridatium #WorshipfulSocietyOfApothecaries #GuildOfPepperers #OrdinanceOfPhysicians #Plague #MedievalTrade #PharmacyHistory #MargeryHore #LondonHistory #14thCentury #HistoryOfMedicine #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 分
  • The Black Death and the Adoption of the Chimney

    The Black Death and the Adoption of the Chimney
    2026/07/21
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the Black Death reshaped English domestic architecture, focusing on the adoption of the chimney. Before the plague, most homes were smoky hall houses with central hearths. After the labor shortage and rising wages, peasants could afford better housing. Lucas explains the shift from cruck-framed Wealden hall houses to chimney-equipped homes, the role of the Statute of Labourers in driving innovation, and the rise of the bressummer. They also touch on the first brick chimneys and the impact on daily life, including the end of the louver. This episode builds on earlier discussions of manor courts and peasant revolts to show how even the way people kept warm changed after 1348. #BlackDeath #Chimney #WealdenHallHouse #CruckFrame #Bressummer #Hearth #MedievalArchitecture #StatuteOfLabourers #PeasantRevolt #14thCentury #EnglishHistory #DomesticArchitecture #SmokeBay #Louver #Housing #PostPlague #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    5 分
  • The Black Death and the Birth of the English Apothecary

    The Black Death and the Birth of the English Apothecary
    2026/07/20
    In this episode of The Black Death: The Pandemic That Rebuilt Europe, Lucas and Luna explore how the plague transformed medicine from a monastic art into a regulated trade. They focus on the rise of the apothecary — the medieval pharmacist — who emerged to meet the desperate demand for remedies against the pestilence. We meet figures like John le Spicer, the first recorded English apothecary in London, and examine the 1349 Ordinance of Physicians and Apothecaries, which tried to control prices and quality. We also look at the guild of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, founded later but rooted in this crisis. Lucas explains how the shortage of trained physicians after the plague opened the door for apothecaries, who blended herb lore, imported spices, and astrological timing. The episode also touches on the controversy over foreign competition, especially from Italian merchants selling costly treacle. A vivid picture of a world where rosemary, pepper, and gold leaf sat alongside leeches and prayers. #BlackDeath #Apothecary #MedievalMedicine #JohnLeSpicer #OrdinanceOfPhysicians #WorshipfulSocietyOfApothecaries #HerbLore #Treacle #LondonHistory #Guilds #Pharmacopoeia #MiasmaTheory #PlagueRemedies #SpiceTrade #14thCentury #HistoryOfMedicine #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 分
  • The Black Death and the Rise of the English Misericord

    The Black Death and the Rise of the English Misericord
    2026/07/20
    In the aftermath of the Black Death, England's parish churches underwent a remarkable transformation. With populations decimated and surviving laborers demanding higher wages, church construction boomed as a form of thanksgiving and competition. One of the most curious legacies of this era is the misericord—a hinged wooden seat on choir stalls that allowed monks and priests to rest during long services. These seats, carved with scenes from everyday life, folklore, and satire, offer a unique window into medieval English society after the plague. This episode explores the origins of the misericord in continental Europe, its spread to England in the 13th century, and its explosion in popularity after the Black Death. We visit specific examples at Exeter Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral, and the parish church of St. Mary's in Bishops Stortford, discussing how the carvings reflect the social upheavals of the time—including the Peasants' Revolt and the decline of the manorial system. Lucas and Luna also examine the artistry of the 'misericord carvers,' often anonymous, and how their work captured the anxieties and humor of a society in flux. The episode argues that these hidden treasures are as revealing as any written record about how ordinary people processed the trauma of the plague. #BlackDeath #Misericord #MedievalEngland #ChurchHistory #ExeterCathedral #LincolnCathedral #BishopsStortford #PeasantsRevolt #GothicArt #Woodcarving #MedievalArt #ReligiousHistory #14thCentury #ChoirStalls #MedievalSatire #PandemicLegacy #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 分
  • The Black Death and the Peasant Revolt of 1381

    The Black Death and the Peasant Revolt of 1381
    2026/07/19
    In 1381, England exploded. The Peasants' Revolt wasn't a random riot—it was the direct consequence of the demographic and economic upheaval caused by the Black Death thirty years earlier. With half the population dead, labourers had new bargaining power, and Parliament's response—the Statute of Labourers, poll taxes, and sumptuary laws—created a pressure cooker that finally burst. In this episode, Lucas and Luna follow the revolt from its spark in Essex and Kent to the dramatic confrontation between the 14-year-old King Richard II and the rebel leader Wat Tyler at Smithfield. We meet John Ball, the radical priest whose sermon 'When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?' captured a generation's rage. We trace how the revolt shaped the English legal system, from the destruction of manorial records to the king's broken promises. And we ask: was the revolt a failure, or did it quietly secure the freedoms the rebels demanded? Plus, a brief look at how listener support keeps these conversations ad-free. #PeasantsRevolt #WatTyler #JohnBall #RichardII #PollTax #StatuteOfLabourers #BlackDeath #1381 #MileEnd #Smithfield #Essex #Kent #MedievalEngland #History #FexingoHistory #Rebellion #Feudalism #SocialHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 分
  • The Black Death and the First English Public Health Act

    The Black Death and the First English Public Health Act
    2026/07/19
    In 1348, as the Black Death swept into London, the city's aldermen faced a crisis not just of bodies but of waste. Streets were choked with offal, animal carcasses, and human filth. In response, the city enacted what many consider England's first public health ordinance: a ban on dumping rubbish into the Thames, Fleet River, and Walbrook, with fines for violators. This episode traces the origins of that law, the role of miasma theory, and the appointment of rakers and scavengers to clean the streets. We meet the mayor of London, Sir John Lovekyn, and the aldermen who tried to impose order. We also explore how the plague fueled a broader shift in urban sanitation, from the city's conduits and latrines to the first paved streets. A story of crisis, stench, and the birth of public health. #BlackDeath #PublicHealth #London #MiasmaTheory #SirJohnLovekyn #Thames #Walbrook #FleetRiver #MedievalSanitation #Aldermen #Rakers #Scavengers #Plague #1348 #History #FexingoHistory #UrbanHistory #PublicHealthAct Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 分
  • The Black Death and the Plague Doctor's Origins

    The Black Death and the Plague Doctor's Origins
    2026/07/18
    In Episode 163 of The Black Death: The Pandemic That Rebuilt Europe, Lucas and Luna explore the surprising history of the plague doctor. Far from the beaked mask we all imagine, the first plague doctors were ordinary physicians who stayed in cities during the epidemic. We trace the evolution from the iconic 17th-century costume—designed by Charles de L'Orme in 1619—back to the 14th-century physicians of Avignon and Montpellier. Discover how the plague doctors' leather robe, waxed coat, and "bec" mask (stuffed with aromatic herbs) were based on miasma theory, not science. We also meet Dr. Johannes Jacobi, who wrote the first plague treatise in 1373, and discuss Guy de Chauliac, a papal physician who survived the Black Death and described its symptoms in detail. Learn why plague doctors were often the last resort and how their role shifted from healer to public health recorder. This episode covers the real history behind the iconic image, from the streets of medieval Europe to the end of the Great Plague of London. #PlagueDoctor #BlackDeath #History #FexingoHistory #MiasmaTheory #CharlesDeLOrme #GuyDeChauliac #JohannesJacobi #Avignon #Montpellier #GreatPlagueOfLondon #MedievalMedicine #PlagueCostume #17thCentury #PandemicHistory #PlagueTreatise #PapalPhysician #HerbalRemedies Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    5 分
  • The Black Death and the Rise of the English Chimney

    The Black Death and the Rise of the English Chimney
    2026/07/18
    In the aftermath of the Black Death, as England rebuilt, a quiet revolution transformed the home itself: the chimney. Before the plague, most English houses—from peasant cots to manor halls—were built around a central hearth, with smoke escaping through a louver or simply the thatch. But in the late 14th century, fueled by labor shortages and rising expectations, chimneys began to appear. Lucas and Luna explore the archaeology of the Wealden hall house, the technical innovations like the bressummer and the cruck frame, and the social shifts that made a warm, smoke-free room a symbol of status. They discuss how the Statute of Labourers and the redistribution of wealth after the plague allowed even modest households to invest in new building technologies. Drawing on surviving examples like the Old House in Cuckfield and documentary evidence from manor court rolls, this episode traces how a simple architectural feature—the chimney—reshaped family life, hygiene, and the very idea of private space in medieval England. #BlackDeath #MedievalEngland #Chimney #WealdenHallHouse #CruckFrame #Bressummer #StatuteOfLabourers #HearthTax #Cuckfield #OldHouse #MedievalArchitecture #PostPlague #EnglishHome #SmokeBay #CentralHearth #HousingHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 分