Episode 324 - Renaissance Medicine with Dr Alanna Skuse

Talking Tudors

Natalie Grueninger

History

4.7 • 967 Ratings

🗓️ 28 November 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Host Natalie Grueninger welcomes Dr Alanna Skuse to Talking Tudors to explore medicine in Renaissance England. They discuss humoral theory, the medical hierarchy of physicians, surgeons, apothecaries and midwives, and the lively marketplace of practitioners including itinerant bone-setters and domestic healers. The episode highlights women’s roles in care, real patient cases, early regulation of medical practice, and Alanna’s book 'The Surgeon, The Midwife, The Quack' — practical insights into how people sought treatment and survived in the Renaissance. NOT SHAKESPEARE LECTURES https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/not-shakespeare-elizabethan-and-jacobean-popular-theatre VISIT DR SKUSE'S WEBSITE https://www.dralannaskuse.co.uk/ Find out more about your host at https://www.nataliegrueninger.com Support Talking Tudors on Patreon!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Talking Tudors, a fortnightly podcast about the ever fascinating Tudor dynasty.
0:07.3	My name is Natalie Gruniger, and I'll be your host and guide on this journey through 16th century England.
0:14.0	Are you ready to step through the veil of time into the dazzling and dangerous world of the Tudor Court?
0:20.2	Without further ado, it's time to talk Tudors. Hello, everyone. Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of Talking Tudors.
1:01.6	I'm your host, Natalie Gruniger.
1:03.4	Thank you so much for joining me today.
1:05.4	I'd like to begin by acknowledging and thanking the generous listeners who continue to support Talking Tudors on Patreon and extend
1:12.6	a heartfelt thank you to everyone who's taken the time to rate and review the show. As an independent
1:18.0	podcaster, this means a lot to me. If you love the podcast and you never miss an episode,
1:23.4	please consider joining the Talking Tudors Patreon community. Visit patreon.com forward slash talking tutors for more information.
1:31.1	Once you sign up, you'll have access to exclusive posts, additional monthly live talks,
1:35.5	a member-only book club, patron-only monthly giveaways to name just a few of the rewards.
1:40.7	Talking Tudor's Patreon membership would also make the perfect gift for the history lover in your life.
1:46.5	Create your gift at patreon.com forward slash talking tutors forward slash gift.
1:52.6	You can also join the Talking Tudors channel membership on YouTube to get access to loyalty badges and custom emojis, as well as early access to all new videos. Now, on to today's
2:02.2	episode. I'm thrilled to welcome Dr. Alana Scus to the show to talk about Renaissance medicine.
2:08.1	Alana is a lecturer in early literature at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.
2:13.0	She's published academic work on the history of cancer, disability and surgery and self-injury in Renaissance
2:19.1	literature. The Surgeon, the Midwife, The Quack, is her first trade book. Let's dive straight
2:24.3	into our conversation. Welcome to talking to you to Salana. How are you? I'm good, thank you.
2:30.0	Thanks for having me. Yes, it's lovely to have you on the show. And I thought we could start
2:34.5	with you just saying hello to all our listeners and viewers and just telling us a little bit about
	...

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