98. April Fool’s Episode: Debunking the Chastity Belt

The early 15th century manual of military technology, *Bellifortis*, contains a passage on the chastity belt, and this illuminating sketch of what one would look like. So! Obviously the chastity belt existed then, and probably centuries earlier, since the crusader knights had to lock their women up ! Except, no. The chastity belt here is an hilarious joke. Really hilarious. No, really.

There were not, in the Middle Ages, any chastity belts. They did not exist. Really, they didn’t. They show up later, when enlighted ages say that they were used in the Middle Ages. Then, enlightened ages invented them, and now you can buy them on Amazon. Michelle explains how we know they didn’t exist, and how they got invented, and why the later ages that invented them said the Middle Ages did it. Anne, on the other hand, had a lot of fun researching the state of chastity belts now. Oh, and that hacking episode. Pro tip: don’t attach your private parts to the internet.

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One thought on “98. April Fool’s Episode: Debunking the Chastity Belt”

I’m sorry to jump all over this featured episode, but I have exciting news about the 1978 miniseries THE DEVIL’S CROWN.

Last summer, I told you how to gain access to an audio recording of the show, but today, I can do you one better:

Here is where you can watch all thirteen episodes, in full, of THE DEVIL’S CROWN. I have seen it a couple of times already, but maybe it’s time for a rewatch, starting with episode one, “If All The World Were Mine.”

https://m.ok.ru/dk?st.cmd=movieLayer&st.discId=1782377220651&st.retLoc=default&st.discType=MOVIE&st.mvId=1782377220651&st.stpos=rec_9&_prevCmd=movieLayer&tkn=6884#lst%23

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