Gone Medieval

1066 was far more than the Battle of Hastings. Follow Harold Godwinson from victory over a Viking invasion at Stamford Bridge to a desperate stand against William’s Norman army. Explore rival claims to the crown, shield walls versus cavalry, battlefield deception, London’s resistance, and a coronation interrupted by flames.

Eleanor Godfrey, a historic-weaving specialist; Ailsa Holland, a poet and medievalist; and Becca Smith, a community arts director, reveal how Macclesfield created its own Bayeux-inspired tapestry. Explore royal heritage, lost buildings, Cheshire archers, medieval dye gardens, historic looms, and the painstaking Bayeux stitch. A vivid journey through women’s textile labor, industrial change, and the power of community craft.

Did Shakespeare shape the way we remember England's Plantagenet kings more than history itself? How much of his plays Richard II and Richard III are fact, fiction, or Tudor propaganda?Professor Emma Smith joins Matt Lewis to separate the history from drama, and discover how Shakespeare balanced historical truth, theatrical brilliance and the political realities of writing under Elizabeth I, to create plays that still shape our understanding of medieval English history today.MORE:The Bishop who Took Down Richard IIListen on AppleListen on SpotifyRichard IIIListen on AppleListen on SpotifyGone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Aliza Dams, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcastHistory Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™WATCH Matt and Eleanor's new documentary The Rise of the Plantagenets on History Hit TV! Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS early access ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma Smith, Oxford Professor of Shakespeare Studies, explores how Shakespeare reinvented Henry IV and Henry V. They discuss the fictional rebel Prince Hal, the transformation of Oldcastle into Falstaff, Hotspur’s doomed chivalry, and the mythmaking behind Agincourt. From the tennis balls to the “Band of Brothers” speech, Shakespeare’s medieval England emerges as thrilling drama shaped by Elizabethan politics.

How closely does Paul Greengrass’s The Uprising capture the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381? Matt Lewis and Eleanor Janega examine the crisis behind the uprising, the poll tax, John Ball, Richard II, and the rebels’ destruction of records. They also assess the film’s visuals, performances, historical liberties, and modern relevance.

Stephen Hopkins, a medieval literature and theology scholar at the University of Virginia, explores how hell was imagined across the Middle Ages. They discuss apocryphal visions, Dante’s synthesis of underworld traditions, Christ’s harrowing of hell, and Welsh and Irish stories of judgment, revenge, repentance, and possible salvation. Medieval hell proves less fixed than endlessly reinvented.

Amy Jeffs, an art historian, writer, and illustrator, explores Arthurian legend’s strangest roots. Discover the first surviving sword-in-the-stone story, forgotten Welsh tales, Merlin’s subversive magic, and Arthur’s fairy upbringing. The conversation also uncovers Bronze Age blades, Galgano’s rival sword legend, Excalibur’s earlier history, and the macabre giant Ritho.

Tom Birkett, Professor of Old English and Old Norse at University College Cork and a runology scholar, reveals the everyday history of runes. Discover their origins, Roman influences and Viking-age transformations. From memorial stones and inheritance claims to Bergen’s love notes, business messages, curses and graffiti, runes capture medieval life far beyond magical stereotypes.

Aleks Pluskowski, a medieval archaeologist specializing in the Baltic and crusading, explores the 1410 Battle of Grunwald. Discover the Teutonic Knights’ clash with the Polish-Lithuanian alliance, the famous two-sword taunt, battlefield feints, and the Order’s catastrophic defeat. The discussion also examines the battle’s sources, political aftermath, and enduring national legacy.

Přemysl Otakar I rises from overlooked prince to architect of a powerful Bohemian kingdom. His path is packed with rival brothers, imperial intrigue, battlefield reversals, a scandalous divorce, and shifting alliances. Discover how the Golden Bull of Sicily secured hereditary kingship, strengthened Bohemian autonomy, and transformed generations of dynastic chaos into lasting stability.