#93 "Art of Courtly Love, Medieval Surgery, Falconry in the Vineyards"

Candace Night
Our exclusive interview with Candice Night, who with her husband and magical partner Ritchie Blackmoor makes chart-topping renaissance-inspired music that inspires and delights audiences the world over.

Gentleman's Guide to Courtly Love
We reveal the secrets that will make you irrestible to the ladies of the court. As the twelfth-century author Andreas Capellanus wrote, "The easy attainment of love makes it of little value; difficulty of attainment makes it prized." We present an overview of the history of courtly love, as well as the necessary guidelines for practicing the art of courtly love at your next faire - or even in the comfort of your own castle.

The Stigma of Being Left-Handed
Modern science cannot precisely describe what causes humans preferentially to use one hand over the other, or why human populations are biased toward right-handed use rather than left-handed use. Yet the fact remains that in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, to be left-handed was not a good thing. We ponder the question of how this came to pass.

Ancient Art of Falconry Used to Protect Vineyards
The words "dragon" and "Merlin" might bring to mind medieval romances and tales about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, but the words have a completly different connotation at harvest time in the vineyards of California. We reveal how winemakers have turned to the ancient art of falconry to protect their grape crops from huge flocks of scavenging starlings.

Medieval Surgery
Most people imagine medieval surgery as a bloody saw in the grip of a man educated by a book written a millenium before by Galen, who drew his ideas about anatomy from dissecting pigs. We take a closer look at early surgical practice, and discover some surprising facts.