Footnoting History

(Host: Kristin) In 1676, the Marquise de Brinvilliers stood trial in Paris for poisoning. It was a shocking revelation – and result – and, as it turned out, only the beginning of a much larger scandal known as the Affair of the Poisons. Learn about the scandal that rocked Paris on this episode of Footnoting History! For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com

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

(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

(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: 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) 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: Lucy) Seasonal eating and regional eating were the variables responsible for the most widespread differences in what people ate, although then as now, wealth and class played a significant role in what was available to and prized by diners. Contrary to Hollywood myth, though, sad gruel was not the norm. This episode explores cooking, eating, and thinking about food in medieval Europe. For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com

(Host: Kristin) Medieval clothing was much more than simply a way to keep warm and decent: it was a statement about social class, wealth, and increasingly personal taste. Clothing meant something – and what people wore could change with a mood or the day or the family they were born into. Find out what medieval people were wearing, this week on Footnoting History! For further reading suggestions and more, please visit: https://www.footnotinghistory.com