Eyam, The Plague Village (Pandemic Super Special)

In 1665, the tiny English town of Eyam was beset by the same plague that was affecting London. Under the guidance of the town’s reverend, the villagers agreed to quarantine themselves in order to protect nearby villages. After fourteen months, all but 83 of the town’s 344 residents had died. References:

Eyam Historic Plague Village (the town’s current website): http://www.eyamvillage.org.uk

Did this sleepy village stop the Great Plague? (BBC)

Plague-Infested Village Self-Quarantined to Stop the Plague of 1666 (Interesting Engineeering)

Eyam plague: The village of the damned (BBC News)

Eyam Plague Village Museum – Eyam, England (Atlas Obscura)

The Black Death and the Great Plague: a comparison (Teachit History)

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Charles II de Valois And The Pillow Fight Of Death (Pandemic Super Special)

Charles II de Valois (1522-1545) was the third son of the French King Francis I. He died very young from an entirely preventable and ridiculous pillow fight related situation in the middle of a plague-ridden town. 

References: 

Francis I: The Maker of Modern France by Leonie Frieda

Charles II de Valois, Duke of Orleans (Wikipedia)

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7: Juana I of Castile

Juana I of Castile (1479-1555) was the third child of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. She’s remembered now for being “Juana La Loca/Juana The Mad” but, in fact, that reputation was just part of a larger scheme that found her caught between her ambitious and terrible husband and her ambitious and terrible father.

References:

Sister Queens: The Noble, Tragic Lives of Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox

Juana I: Legitimacy and Conflict in Sixteenth-Century Castile by Gillian B. Fleming

Other stuff:

History writing: annfosterwriter.com

Recommended books: bookshop.org/lists/vulgar-history-recommends

Patreon: patreon.com/annfosterwriter

Merch: teespring.com/stores/vulgarhistory

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Joan Of England: The Princess And The Plague (Pandemic Super Special)

Joan of England (1335-1348) was the first known English person to die of the bubonic plague. She set out with a massive entourage from England to Castile to meet her betrothed, didn’t listen to warnings in Bordeaux about the plague, and then lived through a horror movie of mass death. If you find this sort of story interesting right now, here you go! If you don’t want to hear about lots of people dying through exposure to a gruesome disease, YOU DON’T HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS. 

References: 

Joan of England (Wikipedia)

The black death and Joan of England (History of Royal Women)

Joan of England & the Black Death (Rebecca Starr)

On This Day: Death of Joan of England (Creative Historian)

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6: Isabella I of Castile

Isabella I of Castile (1451-1504) was one of the most significant figures in world history. We continue this season’s theme of Women Leaders In History And The Men Who Whined About Them with the Isabella’s journey from little girl trapped in a ghost castle to teenage war mediator to PR stunt inventor to genocidal dictator! This is a heavy one, so get ready.

References:

Isabella of Castile: Europe’s First Great Queen by Giles Tremlett

Isabella: The Warrior Queen by Kirstin Downey

Other stuff:

Patreon: patreon.com/annfosterwriter

Merch: teespring.com/stores/vulgarhistory

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5: Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda (1102 – 1167) was the daughter, wife, and mother of Kings. She also should have been England’s first crowned female monarch, but the patriarchy got in the way. She also once escaped by camouflaging herself in white cloaks in the snow!! A true legend.

Referenced in this episode:

Matilda: Empress, Warrior, Queen by Catherine Hanley

She-Wolves by Helen Castor

Other stuff:

History writing: annfosterwriter.com

Recommended books: bookshop.org/lists/vulgar-history-recommends

Patreon: patreon.com/annfosterwriter

Merch: teespring.com/stores/vulgarhistory

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4: Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians

Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians was a significant figure in English history. Not only did she repel Viking invaders through the clever use of BOILING BEER and BEES, she also worked alongside her brother Edward to see through their father’s goal of a united England. Also: BEES.

References:

Founder, Fighter, Saxon Queen: Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians by Margaret C. Jones

Æthelflæd: Lady of the Mercians by Tim Clarkson

Æthelflæd: England’s Forgotten Founder (A Ladybird Expert Book) by Tom Holland

Other stuff:

Patreon: patreon.com/annfosterwriter

Merch: teespring.com/stores/vulgarhistory

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3: Boudica, Queen of the Iceni

Boudica was Queen of the Iceni, a Celtic tribe during the Roman conquest of Britain. She led a rebellion of united tribes against their Roman invaders, leaving a path of death and bloodshed in her wake. 

Referenced in this episode:

Boudica: Warrior Woman of the Roman Empire by Caitlin C. Gillespie

Other stuff:

History writing: annfosterwriter.com

Recommended books: bookshop.org/lists/vulgar-history-recommends

Patreon: patreon.com/annfosterwriter

Merch: teespring.com/stores/vulgarhistory

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2: Agrippina the Younger

Julia Agrippina Augusta, aka Agrippina Minor aka Agrippina the Younger, was a completely badass woman in ancient Rome. She leveraged her power as first the sister of the Emperor, then the wife of the Emperor, then the mother of the Emperor (three separate Emperors) to break new ground for Roman women. She also murdered a lot of people. Her placement on the Scandilicious Scale may SURPRISE YOU 

Referenced in this episode:

Agrippina: The Most Extraordinary Woman of the Roman World by Emma Southon

Other stuff:

Patreon: patreon.com/annfosterwriter

Merch: teespring.com/stores/vulgarhistory

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1: Cleopatra VII

As the first part of our new series “Women Leaders And The Men Who Whined About Them,” we take it all the way back to the first century BCE and the legendary Egyptian Pharaoh Cleopatra VII. Growing up amid non-stop familial murder, she cannily usurped control of the kingdom from her relatives and teamed up with Rome. But where will she wind up on the Scandalicious Scale?? 

Referenced in this episode: 

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

Other stuff:

Patreon: patreon.com/annfosterwriter

Merch: teespring.com/stores/vulgarhistory

Vulgar History is a participant in the Audible Creators Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Audible.com

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