How did the alphabet we use today take shape?

Matt Lewis welcomes Danny Bate to explore how the medieval period shaped the alphabet we use today. They discuss the transformation of Egyptian hieroglyphs, the significant impact of the Norman Conquest of 1066, and the eventual disappearance of medieval letters like thorn (þ) and ash (æ). This is a journey across millennia from the adaptability of letters during the fall of Rome to innovations in medieval script and chaotic English rules.

MORE

Medieval Writers, Extraordinary Women

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

The Origins of English

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit to watch the new Medieval Rebels series plus hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Tippett

The AI-powered Podcast Player