

The Medieval Podcast
Medievalists.net
All about the Middle Ages from Medievalists.net. Join Danièle Cybulskie and her guests as they talk about the medieval world, from Byzantium to the Vikings.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 21, 2025 • 60min
Joan of Arc with Deborah McGrady
Maid, hero, heretic, saint - Joan of Arc is one of the most fascinating figures of the Middle Ages. This week, Danièle speaks with Deborah McGrady about Joan’s incredible life and death, her voice, and her complex and enduring legacy.You can enrol in Danièle's online course Calamity and Change: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Century at https://medievalstudies.thinkific.com/courses/calamity-and-change

Aug 14, 2025 • 43min
Medieval Love Letters with Ad Putter and Myra Stokes
The people of the Middle Ages were no strangers to Cupid’s arrows, and just like us, they loved a good love letter. But in a world where literacy rates were far below what they are today, who was writing their most heartfelt feelings down? And how do we know? This week, Danièle speaks with Myra Stokes and Ad Putter about where we find love letters, and the way people wrote and sent them, along with a couple of spicy – and hilarious – examples.You can enrol in Danièle's online course Calamity and Change: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Century at https://medievalstudies.thinkific.com/courses/calamity-and-change

Aug 7, 2025 • 48min
Marco Polo and his World with Sharon Kinoshita
He's one of the most popular figures in all of medieval history, and his book was a bestseller for literally centuries. So what do we know about the life and times of Marco Polo? This week, Danièle speaks with Sharon Kinoshita about why Marco travelled so far, what sort of detail he wanted to share with his readers, and what was going on in the world around him.You can support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalistsSign up to Calamity and Change: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Century at https://medievalstudies.thinkific.com/courses/calamity-and-change

Jul 24, 2025 • 48min
Episode 300!
This week, in celebration of Episode 300, Danièle answers your questions on everything from Hastings to hose, with a couple of surprises along the way.You can support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalistsAnd join on This is History's Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thisishistory and use the code 'glassking' to get 20% off your first month

Jul 17, 2025 • 44min
Vikings Behaving Reasonably with Robert Lively
If you asked the average person how Vikings solved their problems, they probably wouldn’t say through lawyers. And yet, early Scandinavian people were sticklers for due process. This week, Danièle speaks with Robert Lively about how a person became a Viking lawyer, what the process was for solving disputes, and how fixing bad behaviour worked in this shame-based culture.Listen to this podcast ad-free on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

Jul 10, 2025 • 50min
Elephants and Ivory with John Beusterien
Elephants were known throughout most of the medieval world, even if most people had never encountered one, themselves. In bestiaries, elephants are praised for their long memories, intelligence, and monogamy. And, of course, their ivory. This week, Danièle speaks with John Beusterien about elephants and ivory in medieval China and Spain, including how elephants were put into service, and how ivory was used and traded across the world.Listen to this podcast ad-free on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

Jul 3, 2025 • 57min
Royal Grief in Medieval Iberia with Nuria Silleras-Fernandez
For three medieval Iberian queens, grief - and the way they expressed it - had immense and far-reaching consequences. This week, Danièle speaks with Núria Silleras-Fernández about what grief and widowhood were "supposed" to look like, how grief and madness were thought to be intertwined with love, and how the grieving women in the famous Isabella the Catholic’s family shaped the history of Spain and Portugal.Listen to this podcast ad-free on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

Jun 26, 2025 • 55min
Mysterious Manuscripts with Garry Shaw
There are several famous examples of mysterious medieval writing, including the so-far unbreakable Voynich Manuscript. So, what secrets were medieval people trying to hide? And why? This week, Danièle speaks with Garry Shaw about who was encrypting their manuscripts, the codes they used, and the centuries of attempts to crack the Voynich Manuscript.You can support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

Jun 19, 2025 • 52min
Johannes Gutenberg with Eric White
There are a lot of gamechanging inventions that shifted the trajectory of the Middle Ages, but one machine managed to hit at just the right time and place to create a massive enterprise in medieval Europe, with consequences that touched the entire globe: Gutenberg's printing press. This week, Danièle speaks with Eric White about Johannes Gutenberg’s life, his early entrepreneurship, and the invention that changed the world.Support this podcast on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

Jun 12, 2025 • 56min
Inventing the Renaissance with Ada Palmer
Given that the term literally means “rebirth”, the Renaissance throws some not-so-subtle shade on the period that comes before it. So, where did the idea of the Renaissance actually come from? And was it truly a golden age? This week, Danièle speaks with Ada Palmer about Petrarch, Machiavelli, atheism, and how we should look at the period formerly known as the Renaissance.