Dick Whittington: from medieval merchant to panto hero
HistoryExtra podcast
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Is There a Pantomime?
The myth, the pantomime myth, has him offering his cats to rid ships of rats. He traded with Venetians, Florentines and Milanese throughout his life. So it's an important allegory, and if it's a means to introduce children to medieval history that's fantastic. But what happens is that he dies in 1423 but within 15 years we're already hearing of him.
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