The Medieval Podcast

Medievalists.net
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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Jun 5, 2025 • 57min

Saint Thomas Becket with Michael Staunton

It's one of the most notorious political assassinations in history: the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. The story of two friends who became bitter enemies in a struggle between church and state that drew in some of the most powerful people from all over medieval Europe. So, how did a pretty ordinary kid from London end up as England’s most famous saint? This week, Danièle speaks with Michael Staunton about Thomas’ rapid rise to the highest positions in England, his epic feud with Henry II - including what part Henry might have played in Thomas’ martyrdom - and the aftermath of the infamous murder in the cathedral.You can support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists
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May 29, 2025 • 48min

Medieval Infancy with Julie Singer

One of the most celebrated moments in childhood is when a person utters their very first words, stepping over a brand new threshold of communication. And from that moment on, all bets are off. This week, Danièle speaks with Julie Singer about what medieval people thought about infancy in general, how literary children could be vehicles for truth and justice, and how even in the Middle Ages kids were known to say the darnedest things.Help support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists
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May 22, 2025 • 44min

Prester John with Chris Taylor

A mysterious figure ruling at the fringes of the known world, Prester John might be the most famous person you've never heard of. Like a medieval Carmen Sandiego, Prester John was a man people searched the globe for, from Ethiopia, to Tibet, to the New World, never quite catching up to him in the end. So, who was Prester John and why were medieval people so keen to find him? This week, Danièle speaks with Chris Taylor about where the legend comes from, how it may have had a disastrous effect on the fifth crusade, and what Prester John has to do with the Fantastic Four.Support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

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