The Canterbury Fails
David Coley and Matt Hussey
Reading marginal, minor, and absolutely unread Old and Middle English poetry, paired with a thematically appropriate cocktail.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 19, 2024 • 46min
The Juggler and the Baron's Daughter: Dicey Magic Seduction and a Citrusy Gin Bomb
A Middle English ballad about a sketchy juggler with bad intent and a potent bittersweet and floral ringer.
Sep 27, 2024 • 45min
Old English Saint Pantaleon: Dumb Ways to Die
An inventive and violent life of a kid doctor with the citrusy and herbal Milk of a Lion.
Sep 14, 2024 • 53min
How the Plague Was Ceased at Rome: Shoddy Sticky Bun and Fungal Bourbon
Lydgate's anti-Plague miracle poem with pestiferous angels paired with a medieval medicine-infused citrus bomb.
May 30, 2024 • 1h 8min
Kalamazoo Fails II
A live and in-person episode recorded in Kalamazoo Michigan at the International Congress on Medieval Studies featuring Usha Vishnuvajjala, Marty Schichtman, Laurie Finke, S.C. Kaplan, Sarah Baechle, Erin Sweany, and Dana Oswald. Decapitated wolves! Penis pilgrimage! Terrible romance! Fun was had by all.
Apr 5, 2024 • 53min
Capture of the Five Boroughs: Political Lackeyism (or how to kiss Edmund's heroic ass)
A mediocre and short (thankfully) Old English encomium for Edmund that confuses Danes and Vikings paired with a rich and potent New York transplant cocktail. And David got one of those cherries he likes.
Mar 22, 2024 • 48min
Feast of Tottenham: Impossible Food in a Bad Parody
A barrage of nonsense luxury food items coupled with a surrealist filmic stiff drink.
Mar 10, 2024 • 56min
Wulfstan On Isaiah's Visions: David and Matt Wander East Van Breweries
A very special episode we like to call Canterbury Fails Ales Trails: a pilgrimage to several imbiberies punctuated with discussion of a bilingual apocalypto-prophetic wake-up call to the the English who are clearly eyebrow-deep in dissolution (much like the hosts).
Feb 16, 2024 • 51min
Bird with Four Feathers: Flimsy Penitential Allegory and Repugnant HubbaBubba Juice
A Middle English bird cries out for mercy, while we suck down the WORST potpourri vanilla chemical peach asscrap
Feb 3, 2024 • 55min
Old English Hexameron: Creation and Libation!
Ælfric lays out the first six days of creation--ecotheory, gender, epistemology (according to Coley)--and we have a stunning cocktail and IPA chaser.
Jan 20, 2024 • 55min
Jack and his Stepdame: Explosive Farts and Compulsive Dancing
A comic almost-fabliau about a boy, three wishes, and apocalyptic flatulence, with a layered cocktail that hides the darkness in the light.
