All Talk 44 - Medieval Health and Safety

DR. NOSTRUM

No, but we were talking about that because of Jew skin...

HUTCHBACK

Jew skin rugs.

DR. NOSTRUM

No, that was from something as well. Oh yeah, stuff off floors, that's it. Stuff off floors; Jews.. No, well, another thing about Jews, not that, er,

HUTCHBACK

Not that I'm racist.

DR. NOSTRUM

Not that I care. Um, I often thought that, um, Medieval Health and Safety, involved – cause you know we carry heavy things about?

HUTCHBACK

Yeah

DR. NOSTRUM

And I bust things, but, I don't think there was health and safety, but if there was, I reckon you had to put a Jew and a Black at the front of anything heavy that you were carrying downhill, or wherever, you know, in areas of danger...

HUTCHBACK

Jews, Blacks or Irish.

DR. NOSTRUM

Were there Irish, even in Medieval times?

HUTCHBACK

Well, they were Celtic perhaps.

DR. NOSTRUM

But that's probably what it was. The English would be at the back, whipping them – did they whip people then?

HUTCHBACK

I'm sure they did.

DR. NOSTRUM

There's no pictures of it. There's lots of pictures of Egyptians whipping.

HUTCHBACK

Yeah, that's cause they had slaves.

DR. NOSTRUM

What, didn't we have slaves?

HUTCHBACK

No, we didn't have slaves...

HUTCHBACK

What, not till late, very late on?

HUTCHBACK

Yeah. It's funny that. All those years...

DR. NOSTRUM

Well, how did we control all the people before?

HUTCHBACK

Well they were serfs weren't they?

DR. NOSTRUM

But we didn't have whips!

HUTCHBACK

No, they didn't need whips.

DR. NOSTRUM

B.. oh, arrows.

HUTCHBACK

Yeah, they had men on horses with bows.

DR. NOSTRUM

Bows. So actually they completely bypassed whips in England.

HUTCHBACK

Yeah, they went straight to arrows.

DR. NOSTRUM

Arrows. Yeah.

HUTCHBACK

Swords as well.

DR. NOSTRUM

Well arrows, I guess, were like swords from a distance.

HUTCHBACK

Not as effective at killing someone. You know, you'd probably survive an arrow, unless it went in somewhere vital.

DR. NOSTRUM

I don't know, you know, a bit of wood, stone, metal, whatever – get infected, very nasty - without a doctor to put it right. Just like today.