The Life of Beatrice de Planissoles

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In the mountains of fourteenth-century Southern France lived a woman named Beatrice de Planissoles, whose story remained largely unknown until the mid-20th century. In this episode, we will explore her remarkable life--her sexual affair with the town priest, her relationships with her neighbors, the contraceptive device she wore, the contents of her purse, her abuse at the hands of powerful men, and her trial for heresy--and how it changed the study of medieval history.

Podcaster: Nathan

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Further Reading

Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie,  Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error, Trans. Barbara Bray, Random House, (1979).

​Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, A History of Women in the West: Silences of the Middle Ages, Vol. 2., Belknap Press, (1992).

​Selections from the Inquisitorial Register of Jacques Fournier, including Beatrice's trial.

​Music: "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin Macleod (www.incompetech.com)