Ep.22 - Head To Toe - Legs
Join us as we explore the history of medicine, from head to toe! This time: the leg.
In this episode we explore the history of the leg.
There’s a lot of fashion in this episode, from the use of flannel shirts to cure gout to the erotically charged nature of the pale calfskin trousers of Tudor men. We even delve into how one man’s leg injury caused a black velvet slipper craze.
We also explore the history of amputation – from the prejudices of Victorian society against the use of prostheses to the battlefield capture of the cork leg of a Mexican general.
Credits
Researcher and presenter: Laura Burgess has been a volunteer with RCPE Heritage since 2021 after completing her MA in History from UNC Charlotte.
Editor and producer: Sarah E Hayward completed her PhD in Museums and Heritage Studies at Kingston University London in 2023. She has been a volunteer with RCPE Heritage since 2021. She has a passion for archival research and she loves to explore creative ways to assemble and share the hidden stories she uncovers.
Researcher and presenter: Olivia Howarth is a volunteer with RCPE Heritage, a recently qualified archivist, heritage enthusiast and self-proclaimed lifetime nerd with an interest in medical history.
Historical clip: A leg to stand on. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Source: Wellcome Collection.
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