Shakespeare uses the word “spectacles” 8 times across his works, and talks about glass eyes in King Lear. In A Winter’s Tale Leontes is talking with Camillo when he indicates Camillo should have seen something clearly because of the thickness of his eye glass. It makes sense to think that people in the 16-17th century would have suffered from near sighted ness or farsighted ness and other opthamlogic disorders, but what does the historical record show about how these sight related issues were dealt with in Shakespeare’s lifetime? Were there glasses that people wore on their face, and if so, who was making them, and out of what? To help us explore the history of eye glasses, spectacles, and the science of improving your vision forShakespeare’s lifetime, we are talking today with Dr. Neil Handley who is not only a historian of eye ware specifically, but serves as Curator of the British Optical Association Museum at theCollege of Optometrists in London.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sign Language and Deaf Culture in 16th Century England
Anne Hathaway, her life and her legacy
Roderigo Lopez and Jews in 16th Century England
The Story of Shakespeare's Birthplace
Uncovering the Stage Boards Shakespeare Walked Upon
Alarum and Parley: Military Sounds in Stage Directions
Robert Armin and Will Kemp, Fools of Shakespeare
Bible Translations in Shakespeare's Lifetime
What is Wattle and Daub, anyway?
The Battle of Lepanto, 1571
The Real Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn Compared to All is True
16th Century Romance Fiction
Declension of Pronouns with David Crystal
The Life of Mary Frith, known as Moll Cutpurse
16th Century Plague, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Microbiology
Reporting on Scottish News in England
Childbirth, Midwives, and Pregnancy in the 16-17th Century
The Marian Civil War
What Would We Have Seen at a Country House Entertainment?
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Irish Songs with Ken Murray
History Obscura
Historycal: Words that Shaped the World
The Rest Is History
Lore