Bonfires of paperwork have accompanied human upheaval for centuries, eradicating, making space for rewriting. Imagine standing in the centre of Paris as revolutionaries sweep away the old ways along with the ashes of centuries of records and memories.

Matt Lewis is joined by Professor Robert Bartlett to consider how much of what we might have known about the past has been consumed by the fires of revolution and war, and how close we were to losing every word of Beowulf.

Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis and edited by Ella Blaxill. The producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

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