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Talk title: Who is Dr Bendo? The Earl of Rochester and the History of a Lie

Abstract:

In 1676, John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, famously set up shop in Tower Street in central London, elaborately disguised as a mountebank doctor. During this masquerade, Rochester supposedly invented his own language, hired actors, and sold all manner of cures to his unsuspecting customers. The tale is representative, for academics and popular history alike, of Rochester’s libertine excess and theatrical flair. The only problem is…. it probably didn’t happen. This talk will revisit this notorious incident, demonstrating the ways in which it has been misunderstood, embellished, and transformed over several centuries, and what this process can tell us about how we mediate histories of uncertainty. Drawing on contemporary sources, literary treatments, and the long afterlife of this anecdote in historical writing, this talk will follow this outrageous sham from Rochester’s alleged ‘performance’ to the 20thcentury, exploring broader questions about our historical gullibility – particularly when we want to believe that something is true.

Hybrid seminar: Please for the meeting link in case you want to attend online.