Podcasts about medieval

Archaeology can offer us new discoveries into the Tower of London's medieval past, as well as insights into the lives of the community that lived and worked there. In 2019, and in the summer of 2025, we undertook one of the most important excavations at the Tower for a generation, just outside the Chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula.   Now for the first time ever, we have detailed information about the ordinary people who lived, worshipped, and died at the Tower, but what more can we learn from these excavations? To find out more, we join Alfred Hawkins, Curator of Historic Buildings.  Read about the recent archaeological digs at the Tower of London in our blog posts:     Life, death and worship in the Tower of London, Part I | Historic Royal Palaces  Life, death and worship in the Tower of London, Part II | Historic Royal Palaces 

Who's the fairest of them all? And, more importantly, how did they get that way? This week, a new biography of Marilyn Monroe sends Danièle down the rabbit hole of medieval beauty, how it was achieved, and how it's still influencing beauty standards today.This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

It's the end of the year, so let's make some resolutions - to turn the world upside down! So we're taking inspiration from the Medieval festival known as the Feast of Fools. We talk about its origins, how it was celebrated, and why we should absolutely bring it back. Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of enslavement, sexuality, queerphobia, religious persecution, and racism.Housekeeping- Books: Check out our previous book recommendations, guests' books, and more at spiritspodcast.com/books- Call to Action: Send in those urban legend emails as you head home for the holidays!- Submit Your Urban Legends Audio: Call us! 617-420-2344Sponsors- Find Us Online- Website & Transcripts: spiritspodcast.com- Patreon: patreon.com/spiritspodcast- Merch: spiritspodcast.com/merch- Instagram: instagram.com/spiritspodcast- Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/spiritspodcast.com- Twitter: twitter.com/spiritspodcast- Tumblr: spiritspodcast.tumblr.comCast & Crew- Co-Hosts: Julia Schifini and Amanda McLoughlin- Editor: Bren Frederick- Music: Brandon Grugle, based on "Danger Storm" by Kevin MacLeod- Artwork: Allyson Wakeman- Multitude: multitude.productionsAbout UsSpirits is a boozy podcast about mythology, legends, and folklore. Every episode, co-hosts Julia and Amanda mix a drink and discuss a new story or character from a wide range of places, eras, and cultures. Learn brand-new stories and enjoy retellings of your favorite myths, served over ice every week, on Spirits.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Who was the worst Medieval monarch?Dr. Eleanor Janega teams up with the hosts of our sister podcast After Dark to delve into the lives of some of Europe's most notorious medieval monarchs..and rank them! From Pedro the Cruel of Portugal to Richard the Lionheart, and from Isabella the She Wolf of France to Vlad the Impaler, the team unravel their nefarious deeds and personal vendettas to decide who can be crowned as the worst monarch.MORERichard the LionheartListen on AppleListen on SpotifyQueen Isabella: She-Wolf of FranceListen on AppleListen on SpotifyThis episode was edited by Tim Artsall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. 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 for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alle Thyng Hath Tyme: Time and Medieval Life (Reaktion, 2023) recreates medieval people's experience of time: as continuous and discontinuous, linear and cyclical, embracing Creation and Judgement, shrinking to ‘atoms' or ‘droplets' and extending to the silent spaces of eternity. They might measure time by natural phenomena such as sunrise and sunset, the motion of the stars or the progress of the seasons, even as the late medieval invention of the mechanical clock was making time-reckoning more precise. Negotiating these mixed and competing systems, medieval people gained a nuanced and expansive sense of time that rewards attention today. Gillian Adler is Associate Professor of Literature and Esther Raushenbush Chair in Humanities at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She is the author of Chaucer and the Ethics of Time (2022) Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

This month, we're tracing the origins of medieval torture, separating myth from documented history, and examining how Vlad the Impaler earned his infamous reputation... one sharpened stake at a time.We're stepping back into a world where power was enforced through fear, justice was measured in pain, and punishment was designed not just to kill, but to be remembered. Medieval Europe was an age of castles and crusades, faith and fealty… and some of the most brutal torture tactics ever devised by human hands.From iron devices meant to terrify as much as they destroyed, to methods engineered for slow, public suffering, torture was both a tool of control and a warning to anyone who dared to disobey. And no figure embodies that legacy more than Vlad III of Wallachia, known to history as Vlad the Impaler.Want to hear other Patreon-exclusive episodes? Join us on Patreon!Be sure to subscribe on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and leave a review, or email us at unitedstatesofmurder@gmail.comFollow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠

Beloved, As Christmas comes and goes, the world softens for a moment. The pace eases, the noise quietens, and something deeper becomes easier to hear.This season carries a powerful essential nature quality: returning to the foundation.Before goals. Before vision boards. Before the next becoming.Remember that at your core, there is an original design, steady, wise, and intact. Christmas offers a natural pause to reconnect with that inner architecture. The part of you that already knows who you are, how you function best, and what truly matters.So rather than pushing forward, this years' season is an invitation to come home. Home to your body. Home to your heart. Home to the intelligence that lives beneath effort and striving.From a divine nature and divine feminine perspective, alignment always begins here, in rest, resonance, and remembrance.As this year completes its cycle, my suggestion to you is to allow yourself to receive:• integration instead of urgency• clarity instead of pressure• nourishment instead of effortWhatever unfolded this year has shaped your field, refined your awareness, and strengthened your inner structure. Nothing has been wasted. Everything has informed your true essence.The Great Mother and Father that birthed your existence into form.As we know it takes two to make a baby, without that balance the offspring might be imbalanced. My wish for you is simple. May your foundation feel steady. May your hearts feel held and may your inner compass feel clear.RETURNING TO MOTHER | COMFORT & PEACE | FOR ALLI leave you with a remembrance of what was removed a long time ago in the name of power and control. The Holy Spirit is proven to be “female.” Make Gods in OUR image - was the foundation of the trinity of Elohim, Eshera and Yeshua. Mother, Father and Son/Daughter.The divine feminine - which is rising and bringing care, love and healing into our consciousness.The connection between Sophia theology and women's teaching authority is inseparable.Karen King, a professor of church history at Harvard Divinity School, suggests that the Nag Hammadi texts are not an aberration, but a window into a Christianity that flourished for the first two centuries.In this world, Sophia was a central theological concept, and women held significant positions of teaching authority.This was not a marginal movement; it thrived in major centers of thought like Alexandria, Rome, and Gaul.The texts preserve fierce debates, such as the Second Treatise of the Great Seth, which records a Christ figure ridiculing bishops who claim authority without knowing the truth.The Testimony of Truth directly attacks the institutional church, claiming its leaders possess the name of a dead man but lack the actual spirit of truth.These were not the writings of defeated heretics hiding in caves, but the arguments of sophisticated theologians claiming the institutional church had abandoned Christ in favor of political power.The historical pattern is clear: Sophia theology flourished wherever Christians had intellectual freedom and collapsed wherever bishops allied with imperial power.By the late 4th century, major centers of this tradition had been suppressed, and the texts survived only because monks buried them before the purges arrived.The Nag Hammadi discovery proved that an entire branch of Christianity was erased, not because it lost the theological argument, but because it lost a political war.The removal of Sophia was a metaphysical amputation that severed humanity from half of the divine image.For the first two centuries, women could look toward the heavens and see themselves reflected in Sophia, who was wisdom incarnate, present at creation, and a teacher of humanity.Her existence meant that femininity was ontologically divine, allowing women in these communities to teach, prophesy, and perform sacraments with divine authority.After the Council of Nicaea and the destruction of these texts, the reflection of the feminine divine disappeared.The Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—became conceptually MASCULINE, and the only remaining feminine figure was Mary, defined by her obedience and receptivity.If the divine image is exclusively masculine, then maleness is seen as godly, while women become derivative reflections or corrupted vessels.In the late 4th century, Augustine of Hippo codified this into doctrine, arguing that a woman is not the image of God by herself, but only when joined to a man.This theology shaped law, culture, and family structure, suggesting that female subordination was not social convention but a cosmic order.The slide toward devaluation reached a point where the Council of Macon in 585 CE debated whether women even possessed souls.Medieval theology continued this descent, with Thomas Aquinas characterizing women as “misbegotten males” and defective versions of the masculine ideal.These were not fringe ideas; they were the foundational doctrines of the intellectual authorities defining the Western Church for centuries.The practical consequences were catastrophic, as women were excluded from universities and prohibited from reading scripture in the vernacular.The witch trials of the early modern period eventually criminalized women's traditional knowledge of healing and midwifery, labeling it as a demonic theft of male authority.Beyond gender, the erasure of Sophia reshaped the human relationship with curiosity and wisdom.In the Sophia narratives, her defining characteristic is a desire to know and understand the depths of divine mystery.Though her desire led to error, that error was seen as correctable through knowledge, suggesting that seeking wisdom is better than blind obedience.In the post-Nicene narrative, however, Sophia's desire became the template for forbidden knowledge, and curiosity was reframed as the sin of pride.Independent thought became a rebellion, and education was placed under strict ecclesiastical control.The medieval church's multiple bans on the works of Aristotle and the trials of figures like Galileo were symptoms of this theological monopoly on truth.Even the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, which emerged as rebellions against this monopoly, largely excluded women from the new universities.The intellectual flowering of Europe happened in a world where half of humanity was still theologically barred from the pursuit of wisdom.Ultimately, Sophia represented a conviction that Western Spirituality desperately lacked: the belief that the pursuit of truth is a holy act of desire, not a sinful act of rebellion.IN CLOSING Thank you for walking this conscious path with me, for your trust, your openness, and your willingness to live in alignment with who you truly are.I look forward to guiding you into the next chapter, rooted, resourced, and ready.Love, KassandraThe Light Between is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelightbetween.substack.com/subscribe

Alle Thyng Hath Tyme: Time and Medieval Life (Reaktion, 2023) recreates medieval people's experience of time: as continuous and discontinuous, linear and cyclical, embracing Creation and Judgement, shrinking to ‘atoms' or ‘droplets' and extending to the silent spaces of eternity. They might measure time by natural phenomena such as sunrise and sunset, the motion of the stars or the progress of the seasons, even as the late medieval invention of the mechanical clock was making time-reckoning more precise. Negotiating these mixed and competing systems, medieval people gained a nuanced and expansive sense of time that rewards attention today. Gillian Adler is Assistant Professor of Literature and Esther Raushenbush Chair in Humanities at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She is the author of Chaucer and the Ethics of Time (2022) Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Alle Thyng Hath Tyme: Time and Medieval Life (Reaktion, 2023) recreates medieval people's experience of time: as continuous and discontinuous, linear and cyclical, embracing Creation and Judgement, shrinking to ‘atoms' or ‘droplets' and extending to the silent spaces of eternity. They might measure time by natural phenomena such as sunrise and sunset, the motion of the stars or the progress of the seasons, even as the late medieval invention of the mechanical clock was making time-reckoning more precise. Negotiating these mixed and competing systems, medieval people gained a nuanced and expansive sense of time that rewards attention today. Gillian Adler is Assistant Professor of Literature and Esther Raushenbush Chair in Humanities at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She is the author of Chaucer and the Ethics of Time (2022) Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

** We are taking a week off and will be back January 16th!** Happy Stephen's Day and Happy New Year! I hope everyone is having a very lovely Christmas break. This week we are joined by the incredible Dr Sparky Booker, Assistant Professor in Medieval Irish History, Trinity College Dublin. Sparky enlightens us on the legal systems in force in 14th and 15th century Ireland, how to keep your land and why Elizabeth Le Veele married King of Leinster, Art McMurrough. She also discusses how the prevalence of intermarriage in the so-called 'four obedient shires' indicates that the English and Irish interacted far more peaceably and amicably than the often belligerent attitudes displayed toward the Irish in records from the colony would indicate, and that the attempts made by the Irish parliament to distance the English of Ireland from their Irish neighbours were largely unsuccessful.Suggested reading:Sparky Booker, Cultural Exchange and Identity in late medieval Ireland: the English and Irish of the Four Obedient Shires, Studies in Medieval Life and Thought Series (Cambridge, 2018)Sparky Booker, ‘Women and legal history: the case of late medieval English Ireland and the challenges of studying ‘women'', Irish Historical Studies, 46:170 (2022), pp 224-243Sparky Booker, ‘Intermarriage in fifteenth-century Ireland: the English and Irish in the ‘four obedient shires', Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 113c (2013), pp 219-250Sparky Booker, ‘Widowhood and attainder in medieval Ireland: the case of Margaret Nugent' in Deborah Youngs and Teresa Phipps (eds), Litigating women: gender and justice in Europe, c.1300-c.1800 (Abingdon, 2022), pp 81-98Ellis, Stephen G. (1998). Ireland in the Age of the Tudors, 1447-1603: English Expansion and the End of Gaelic Rule (2nd ed.). RoutledgeRegular episodes every two weeks (on a Friday)Email: medievalirishhistory@gmail.comProducer: Tiago Veloso SilvaSupported by the Dept of Early Irish, Maynooth University & Taighde Éireann/Research Ireland.Views expressed are the speakers' own.Logo design: Matheus de Paula CostaMusic: Lexin_Music

Alle Thyng Hath Tyme: Time and Medieval Life (Reaktion, 2023) recreates medieval people's experience of time: as continuous and discontinuous, linear and cyclical, embracing Creation and Judgement, shrinking to ‘atoms' or ‘droplets' and extending to the silent spaces of eternity. They might measure time by natural phenomena such as sunrise and sunset, the motion of the stars or the progress of the seasons, even as the late medieval invention of the mechanical clock was making time-reckoning more precise. Negotiating these mixed and competing systems, medieval people gained a nuanced and expansive sense of time that rewards attention today. Gillian Adler is Assistant Professor of Literature and Esther Raushenbush Chair in Humanities at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She is the author of Chaucer and the Ethics of Time (2022) Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

Alle Thyng Hath Tyme: Time and Medieval Life (Reaktion, 2023) recreates medieval people's experience of time: as continuous and discontinuous, linear and cyclical, embracing Creation and Judgement, shrinking to ‘atoms' or ‘droplets' and extending to the silent spaces of eternity. They might measure time by natural phenomena such as sunrise and sunset, the motion of the stars or the progress of the seasons, even as the late medieval invention of the mechanical clock was making time-reckoning more precise. Negotiating these mixed and competing systems, medieval people gained a nuanced and expansive sense of time that rewards attention today. Gillian Adler is Assistant Professor of Literature and Esther Raushenbush Chair in Humanities at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She is the author of Chaucer and the Ethics of Time (2022) Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

To celebrate Melvyn Bragg's 27 years presenting In Our Time, five well-known fans of the programme have chosen their favourite episodes. Author and columnist Caitlin Moran has picked the episode on the English medieval mystic Margery Kempe and recorded an introduction to it. Margery Kempe (1373-1438) produced an account of her extraordinary life in a book she dictated, "The Book of Margery Kempe." She went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, to Rome and Santiago de Compostela, purchasing indulgences on her way, met with the anchoress Julian of Norwich and is honoured by the Church of England each 9th November. She sometimes doubted the authenticity of her mystical conversations with God, as did the authorities who saw her devotional sobbing, wailing and convulsions as a sign of insanity and dissoluteness. Her Book was lost for centuries, before emerging in a private library in 1934.This In Our Time episode was first broadcast in June 2016. The image (above), of an unknown woman, comes from a pew at Margery Kempe's parish church, St Margaret's, Kings Lynn and dates from c1375.WithMiri Rubin Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at Queen Mary, University of LondonKatherine Lewis Senior Lecturer in History at the University of HuddersfieldAndAnthony Bale Professor of Medieval Studies at Birkbeck University of LondonProducer: Simon TillotsonReading list:John H. Arnold and Katherine J. Lewis (eds.), A Companion to the Book of Margery Kempe, (D. S. Brewer, 2010)Anthony Bale (trans.), The Book of Margery Kempe (Oxford University Press, 2015)Santha Bhattacharji, God is an Earthquake: The Spirituality of Margery Kempe (Darton, Longman and Todd, 1997)Anthony Goodman, Margery Kempe and her World (Longman, 2002)Karma Lochrie, Margery Kempe and the Translations of the Flesh (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991)Gail McMurray Gibson, The Theater of Devotion: East Anglian Drama and Society in the Late Middle Ages (University of Chicago Press, 1989)Lynn Staley, Margery Kempe's Dissenting Fictions (Pennsylvania State University Press, 1994)Jonathan Sumption, Pilgrimage: An Image of Mediaeval Religion (Faber & Faber, 2002)Brett Whalen, Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages: A Reader (University of Toronto Press, 2011)Barry Windeatt (ed.), The Book of Margery Kempe: Annotated Edition (D. S. Brewer, 2006)Barry Windeatt (ed.), The Book of Margery Kempe (Penguin Classics, 2000)Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Melvyn Bragg and expert guests explore the people, ideas, events and discoveries that have shaped our worldIn Our Time is a BBC Studios production

Who were the Italian sailors who stole the bones of St Nicolas from his church in Turkey in 1087? How was the mythology of St Nicolas combined with Germanic pagan stories of Odin riding a white horse accompanied by ravens? How did polar-mania and Coca Cola advertising transform Dutch traditions around St Nicolas into the Santa Claus we know today? William and Anita are joined once again by Sam Dalrymple to discuss his original research on the epic Heist of St Nicolas… Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com  For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com. Email: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EVEN MORE about this episode!Step into the magic of Christmas with psychic and medical intuitive Julie Ryan and renowned historian Dr. Gerry Bowler as they uncover the hidden spiritual origins and captivating history behind the world's most beloved holiday. From ancient winter rituals and medieval nativity traditions to the evolution of Santa Claus himself, this episode reveals the powerful symbols—angels, light, miracles, and more—that have shaped Christmas across centuries. If you've ever wondered why we celebrate the way we do—or simply want to feel the wonder of the season on a deeper level—this enchanting Christmas special is the perfect holiday treat. Guest Biography:Dr. Gerry Bowler, a historian from Saskatoon with degrees from the University of Saskatchewan and a Ph.D. from King's College London, has spent his career exploring the intersection of religion and popular culture after beginning as a scholar of Medieval and Early-Modern Europe. His wide-ranging work spans studies on The Simpsons, Aristotle and professional wrestling, Wayne Gretzky, and Bloody Mary, though he is best known for his extensive research on the history of Christmas. The author of numerous books—including The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, Santa Claus: A Biography, God and The Simpsons, and Christmas in the Crosshairs—Gerry has also contributed countless articles, encyclopedia entries, op-eds, and edited volumes, with his works translated into multiple languages worldwide. When not writing or teaching, he serves as a Senior Fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, where he humorously “shakes a fist at modern society and tells it to get off his lawn.”Episode Chapters:01:04 Exploring Christmas Traditions with Dr. Gerry Bowler02:13 Medieval Beliefs and Christmas04:25 The Emotional Impact of Christmas08:36 The Evolution of Christmas Traditions11:00 The Role of St. Nicholas and the Reformation14:03 The Reinvention of Christmas in the 19th Century19:09 Personal Reflections on Christmas21:41 Blending Winter Rituals with Christian Traditions24:39 The Star of Bethlehem and the Wise Men29:05 Christmas Markets and Modern Celebrations30:39 Canadian Christmas Inventions32:49 The Evolution of Santa Claus35:48 Rudolph and Commercialism37:26 Nativity Scenes and Their History41:11 Angels in Christmas Lore43:49 Symbolism of Light in Christmas48:11 Midnight Mass and Traditions49:55 Magical Christmas Superstitions51:40 Personal Reflections on Christmas➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan YouTube➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan Español YouTube➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan Português YouTube➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan Deutsch YouTube➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan Français YouTube✏️Ask Julie a Question!

If there's one thing we can say about 2025 it's that it was certainly full of surprises. From political bridge-burning to bridge-building, to the destruction and the restoration of priceless artifacts, there was never a dull moment this year. This week, in keeping with tradition, Danièle speaks with Peter Konieczny, editor of Medievalists.net, about the good, the bad, and the ugly of 2025.

It's Christmas Day in 1066, and a new king is to be crowned. There will be all sorts of festive events: arrows in the eye, fires outside the church, and just a little holiday looting too. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my Patreon is here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. I'm on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@a-devon.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and I have some things on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Redbubble⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sources: Guy Bishop of Amiens. The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio. Edited and translated by Frank Barlow. Oxford University Press, 1999. Lawson, M.K. The Battle of Hastings 1066. Tempus, 2002. Orderic Vitalis. The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, Volume 1. Translated by Thomas Forester. H.G. Bohn, 1853. William of Poitiers. The Deeds of William. Oxford University Press, 1998. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did medieval peasants celebrate the holidays? Were they having more fun than we do? We'll talk to Bobbi Sutherland, an Associate Professor of History at the University of Dayton

* Do you make sure your kids are always occupied? We'll talk with Margaret Murray, a professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, about how boredom can actually be good for children. * How did medieval peasants celebrate the holidays? Were they having more fun than we do? We'll talk to Bobbi Sutherland, a professor of history

Ever wondered what the "dark ages" were? how the middles ages viewed animals? whether ghost hunting meant what it means now? and just why do both the guest and host loathe a certain red haired Tudor...

Come closer, warm yourself by the fire, and don't look too closely at the shadows playing at the edges of the room. Dr. Eleanor Janega explores eerie medieval ghost tales with Dr. Michael Carter, of knights with blood-stained souls and transforming ravens, fleeing monks and night walkers.Together they explore how winter hauntings reflected beliefs about ghosts, purgatory, and prayers for the dead, and why such stories, later revived by M.R. James, still captivate us today.MOREThe Haunting Medieval World of M.R.JamesListen on AppleListen on SpotifySupernatural Medieval IrelandListen on AppleListen on SpotifyGone Medieval is presented by Dr Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Max Carrey, 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 podcast.Sign up to History Hit to watch Eleanor's new documentary on Medieval Midwinter Ghosts, plus hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marcellinus and Peter died in the early 4th century, but the saints would still be active and on the move in the 9th. This is about their journey. It is also about Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, the man who wrote about that journey and set it into motion. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my Patreon is here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. I'm on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@a-devon.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and I have some things on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Redbubble⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sources: Charlemagne's Courtier: The Complete Einhard. Edited and translated by Paul Edward Dutton. University of Toronto Press, 1998. Charlemagne and Louis the Pious. Lives by Einhard, Notker, Ermoldus, Thegan, and the Astronomer. Translated with introductions and annotations by Thomas F.X. Noble. Penn State Press, 2009. Medieval Travel and Travellers: A Reader. Edited by John F. Romano. University of Toronto Press, 2020. A Short Reader of Medieval Saints. Edited by Mary-Ann Stouck. University of Toronto Press, 2009. Einhard. The History of the Translation of the Blessed Martyrs of Christ, Marcellinus and Peter. Harvard University Press, 1926. Lapidge, Michael. The Roman Martyrs: Introduction, Translations, and Commentary. Oxford University Press, 2018. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome, friend, to the Three Ravens Christmas Feast - we're still at 'Meal Prep' stage, but come inside and warm up by the fire!To begin our six episode Yuletude binge in style we're going to head to the kitchens deep beneath Three Ravens HQ to have a chat with Dr Neil Buttery, the award-winning food historian and host of the British Food History Podcast.Because what should be included in a traditional English Christmas lunch? As Neil explains, it's not straightforward to work it out, and along the way we discuss why Mince Pies used to have meat in them, what prompted Medieval and Tudor monarchs to start baking absolutely everything in pastry, the surprisingly late arrival of the potato on English dinner plates, and much more besides!We really hope you enjoy the chat, that you find your bedchamber comfortable, and be sure to meet us in the library tomorrow when we will be chatting all about folk and Christmas music with the amazingly cool British indie band Lunatraktors - who will be sharing five of their versions of traditional seasonal songs!With our Ghost Story for Christmas Eve to follow on Wednesday, we then have a triple serving of episodes coming out on Christmas morning, featuring:Dr Sarah Clegg, author of The Dead of Winter: The Demons, Witches and Ghosts of ChristmasTaffy Thomas MBE, author of Midwinter Folk Tales and the UK's first Storyteller LaureateTony Walker, author of Christmas Ghost Stories and host of The Classic Ghost Stories podcastPlus a new Christmas song from us!We promise spooky and heartwarming tales, weird Christmas history, Ben prancing about in jingly shoes, lots of surprises, and... well, just be sure to wear something loose-fitting, as there will be plenty to go round.Oh, and don't mind the spectral hands floating about the place.They're a gift from Baba Yaga...Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcastREGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURProud members of the Dark Cast Network.Visit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We increasingly encounter medieval books as digital facsimiles—zooming in on high-resolution images, clicking through virtual pages, or engaging with interactive displays. But what actually happens when a parchment manuscript is translated into a digital object? How does this change affect our understanding of cultural heritage? In The Digital Medieval Manuscript: Material Approaches to Digital Codicology (Brill, 2025), Suzette van Haaren explores the digital medieval manuscript as a unique cultural artifact, not just a copy of its physical counterpart. Through three case studies, van Haaren reveals how digital manuscripts function in libraries, museums, and scholarship today. Blending manuscript studies with digital humanities, this book offers a fresh materialist approach to the discourse surrounding the digitisation of cultural heritage and provides a nuanced view of how it shapes the way we perceive, handle, and preserve medieval manuscripts in an increasingly digital world. This episode makes reference to other scholars in the field of digital codicology, several of whom have spoken about this work on New Books Network. Listen to Bridget Whearty speak about Digital Codicology: Medieval Books and Modern Labor; Michelle R. Warren speak about Holy Digital Grail: A Medieval Book on the Internet; and Astrid J. Smith speak about Transmediation and the Archive: Decoding Objects in the Digital Age. Van Haaren also mentions the work of composer Mark Dyer, specifically the Scribe project. Digitised manuscripts discussed in this interview include the Bury Bible, Der naturen bloeme, and the prayer book of Mary of Guelders. Images from Der naturen bloeme are also available on Wikimedia Commons. Suzette van Haaren is a postdoc in the CRC Virtuelle Lebenswelten at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Her research reflects on the impact of the increasing digitisation (and virtualisation) of historical heritage. She is interested in the Middle Ages in contemporary media contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Dive into Christmas true crime, Santa Claus history, and holiday folklore with the real medieval relic heist that helped shape the legend of Santa. In 1087, sailors from Bari, Italy break into the tomb of St. Nicholas in Myra (modern Turkey)—and the world's most famous Christmas icon gets a disturbingly real origin story.Inside the candlelit crypt, witnesses claim the tomb is flooded with mysterious liquid—the “manna” of St. Nicholas—and the thieves interpret it as a sign the saint approves. But back on shore, the people of Myra collapse into grief and fury, pleading for even a single fragment. And when the relics reach Bari, the celebration turns volatile: church power struggles, blood spilled in the saint's name, and a brand-new basilica built to lock the prize in place.Then the rivalry escalates. Venice returns to Myra and scoops up what Bari left behind—tiny fragments, crushed pieces, a second claim to the same saint. Centuries later, science steps into the story: anatomical studies, missing bones, and the unsettling realization that Santa's “origin story” includes grave-robbing, propaganda, and a relic war that rewrote Europe's holiday traditions.Inside this episode:The 1087 relic heist: how Bari's sailors infiltrate Myra and break into the tomb“Furta sacra”: the medieval logic that framed theft as holy rescueThe grief of Myra: a town begging for any piece of their protectorBari's power play: riots, control of the relics, and a basilica built for a stolen saintBari vs. Venice: the second “collection” of bones and a centuries-long relic rivalryMiracles and manna: the eerie liquid linked to St. Nicholas and why skeptics argue backThe Santa connection: how this crime helped carry St. Nicholas into Western Europe's Christmas traditionWe're telling that story tonight.

This week, Mark is joined by Dr. Jacqueline Murray, accomplished medieval historian from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Murray, who was recently elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (Canada's highest award for academics), joins to talk about how Christmas traditions can be traced directly back to Medieval times, but not through the lens we view it nowadays.  Mark then talks about Donald Trump's address and how that can be used as a bellwether for 2026. Guest: Dr. Jacqueline Murray

Dawn takes us down the road of medieval verbal jousting. Princess Kate is trying to talk Fergie out of getting back with Andrew. Google announced the top-trending Christmas cookie for 2025. David Harbour pulled out of a Stranger Things event. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Porpoises, beaver tails, boar's head and puffins are just some of the exquisite dishes on medieval tables during the festive season. In this episode, food historian Annie Gray joins Dan in his kitchen to cook up some delicious Christmas fare from ages past. They make wassail - an ancient alcoholic punch - and mince meat pies as they talk about the Pagan rituals, Medieval feasts and Victorian traditions that dictate what we put on our Christmas dinner tables.You can make these festive delicacies at home as you listen! Find the easy-to-follow traditional recipes Dan and Annie used here: Annie's book is called 'At Christmas We Feast'Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal PatmoreDid you know you can watch this episode on YouTube? Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He's a hero. He's an outlaw. And it turns out he's also Christmastime favourite. Given his many incarnations, from a foxy cartoon heartthrob, to the gruff and grizzled Hugh Jackman that previewed this week, it's hard not to fall in love with some version or other of Robin Hood. And as we'll find out in this episode, even jolly old Saint Nick just happens to be a fan. This week, Danièle speaks with Alexander L. Kaufman about how Robin Hood's legend evolved over time, his transformation into a pantomime favourite, and that time Robin robbed Santa Claus himself.Support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

While we modern folks have a generally clear distinction between law as in descriptive laws of nature and law as in ethical or civil commandments, these Medieval philosophers saw these as very much related if not actually the same thing, given that humans can ignore the dictates of their nature, i.e. reason, whereas the rest of nature just proceeds according to natural law, which for these theologians means God's dictates. So what actually is the relation, in general, between law and reason? Our text includes Aquinas' presentation of this issue and his near-contemporary Duns Scotus' commentary on it. Read along with us. You can choose to watch this on video. To get future parts, subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dawn time-traveled via YouTube back to medieval times. Harry and Meghan are producing a documentary about Girl Scout cookies. Are Andrew and Fergie getting back together? We take an international trip for Food Porn Friday. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 18 of the Pop Apocalypse, we welcome theologian, author, and Episcopal priest, Cynthia Bourgeault. Cynthia is the author of numerous books, including Eye of the Heart: A Spiritual Journey into the Imaginal Realm and The Heart of Centering Prayer: Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice. Her work brings the Christian contemplative and wisdom traditions, ‘The Work' of GI Gurdjieff, and the philosophy of Henry Corbin into a lived mystical theology. Over the course of the episode, we discuss Cynthia's religious upbringing and early mystical awakening, her academic training in Medieval sacred drama, and how she came to the priesthood. Then we do a deep dive into Bourgeault's relationship to the practice and theory of The Work and how she came to integrate them with the Christian wisdom tradition. As the interview comes to a close, we discuss the benefits of life as a hermit, the impact of the Gospel of Thomas, and how contemplative Christianity speaks to the spiritual concerns of so many in the early 21st century. BIO Cynthia Bourgeault is a modern-day mystic, Episcopal priest, writer, and internationally known retreat leader. She divides her time between solitude and sailing the waters around her seaside hermitage in Maine and a demanding schedule traveling globally to teach and spread the recovery of the Christian contemplative and Wisdom paths.

Love him or hate him, it's hard to take one step into the medieval world without running into the larger-than-life figure of Richard the Lionheart. Rebel, crusader, prisoner, castle-builder Richard is one of the most colourful and quotable kings of the Middle Ages. This week, Danièle speaks with Heather Blurton about how Richard's contemporaries saw him, the wild stories told about him in the later Middle Ages, and why we still just can't get enough of this controversial king.You can support this podcast at https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

A thesis on the human voice Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special Christmas episode of Hidden Wisdom, Meghan is joined by scholar and author Donna Nielsen for a breathtaking exploration of Mother Mary's true identity, her lineage, her temple upbringing, and the ancient traditions that honor her far beyond the biblical text.Drawing from Christian apocrypha, Islamic scripture, German folktales, early temple traditions, Renaissance iconography, and Middle Eastern lineage records, Donna reveals a side of Mary rarely talked about. This is a beautiful, expansive, and deeply reverent journey into Mary's life and mission—the perfect Christmas episode for anyone wanting deeper spiritual understanding.Timestamps 00:00–04:00 | Introduction 04:00–06:00 | Protestant vs. Catholic Mary 06:00–13:00 | How stories honor real people without always being factual 13:00–16:00 | Maternal lineage 16:00–27:00 | Prophecy of the tree, branch, flower, and fruit of light 27:00–29:00 | Story of Anna and Joachim  29:00–32:00 | Early childhood portrayals of Mary 32:00–35:00 | Temple customs, Mary's purity traditions, and symbolic upbringing 35:00–38:00 | Presentation of Mary at the temple: Christian and Muslim narratives 38:00–40:00 | Mary's weaving 40:00–43:00 | Annunciation symbolism 43:00–46:00 | Women at wells 46:00–48:00 | Mary entering the Holy of Holies 48:00–50:00 | Oldest image of Mary 50:00–53:00 | Mary in Islam 53:00–56:00 | Islamic art and symbolism 56:00–59:00 | Mary the New Eve  59:00–01:03:00 | Nativity traditions 01:03:00–01:06:00 | The three Marys 01:06:00–01:10:00 | Dormition, Assumption, and ancient beliefs about Mary's death 01:10:00–01:12:00 | Mary in Latter-day Saint tradition and limited portrayal 01:12:00–01:16:00 | Mary as the Virgin in the Book of Mormon 01:16:00–01:19:00 | Virgin: meanings beyond sexuality  01:19:00–01:23:00 | Colors, flowers, fruits, and symbolic art of Mary 01:23:00–01:28:00 | Shell and pearl symbolism 01:28:00–01:32:00 | Medieval chants and Mary's collaborative role with Christ 01:32:00–End | Closing symbolism: milk, blood, tears, and divine compassionAdditional Resources: The Protoevangelium of James - Reading by Meghan FarnerHoly Child Jesus by Donna NielsenLearn more at donna-connections.blogspot.com Thank you for listening to Hidden Wisdom! For more classes, writings, and upcoming events, visit meghanfarner.com. ✨ New Class Now Open: The Language of Heaven: Basic Symbols Discover the foundational symbols of divine communication and deepen your spiritual understanding for FREE! Register here! If this episode brought value to your life, please consider: Donating through Venmo: @Meghan-Farner Subscribing to stay updated Sharing it with someone who would love it Leaving a comment or review to help others find the show Connecting and exploring more resources at meghanfarner.com Thank you for being a part of the Hidden Wisdom community!

What did medieval physicians prescribe for stomach ache? Could weasels' testicles really help you conceive? In this Long Read. written by James Freeman, we delve into the sources to find eight curious cures from the Middle Ages. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today's feature originally appeared in the November 2025 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Archival collections are political spaces: the decisions that govern whose histories are preserved, when, and by whom are not neutral. They reflect the communities that make them. For most of western history queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people were excluded from such communities. Premodern trans experiences went largely unreported and reconstructing such histories relies on the piecing together of ephemeral glimpses. Literary scholars developed tactics and tools to read through the traces, with hugely generative results that highlight the richness of non-normative premodern genders. But how do we move beyond the limits of the trace to uncover a more expansive history of premodern gender non-conformity? In Trans Histories of the Medieval Book: An Experiment in Bibliography (Arc Humanities Press, 2025), J.D. Sargan takes a methodological approach to that question. Sargan explores how experiment in applying trans approaches to the study of the premodern book offers alternatives both for trans histories and for book historical methods. J. D. Sargan is a book historian. He was educated at Queen Mary University of London and the University of Oxford. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the University of Georgia and teaches a course in Queer Bibliographies for California Rare Book School. He researches the social dynamics of book use.  Jen Hoyer is Technical Services and Electronic Resources Librarian at CUNY New York City College of Technology. She is co-author of What Primary Sources Teach: Lessons for Every Classroom (2022) and The Social Movement Archive (2021), and co-editor of Armed By Design: Posters and Publications of Cuba's Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America (2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Archival collections are political spaces: the decisions that govern whose histories are preserved, when, and by whom are not neutral. They reflect the communities that make them. For most of western history queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people were excluded from such communities. Premodern trans experiences went largely unreported and reconstructing such histories relies on the piecing together of ephemeral glimpses. Literary scholars developed tactics and tools to read through the traces, with hugely generative results that highlight the richness of non-normative premodern genders. But how do we move beyond the limits of the trace to uncover a more expansive history of premodern gender non-conformity? In Trans Histories of the Medieval Book: An Experiment in Bibliography (Arc Humanities Press, 2025), J.D. Sargan takes a methodological approach to that question. Sargan explores how experiment in applying trans approaches to the study of the premodern book offers alternatives both for trans histories and for book historical methods. J. D. Sargan is a book historian. He was educated at Queen Mary University of London and the University of Oxford. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the University of Georgia and teaches a course in Queer Bibliographies for California Rare Book School. He researches the social dynamics of book use.  Jen Hoyer is Technical Services and Electronic Resources Librarian at CUNY New York City College of Technology. She is co-author of What Primary Sources Teach: Lessons for Every Classroom (2022) and The Social Movement Archive (2021), and co-editor of Armed By Design: Posters and Publications of Cuba's Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America (2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

As articulated by the Medieval theologian and monk St. Bernard of Clairvaux

When they gazed at the moon, medieval people around the globe saw an object that was at once powerful and fragile, distant and intimate—and sometimes all this at once. The moon could convey love, beauty, and gentleness; but it could also be about pain, hatred, and violence. In its circularity the moon was associated with fullness and fertility. Yet in its crescent and other shifting forms, the moon could seem broken, even wounded.  In this beautifully illustrated history The Medieval Moon: A History of Haunting and Blessing (Yale UP, 2025), Ayoush Lazikani reveals the many ways medieval people felt and wrote about the moon. Ranging across the world, from China to South America, Korea to Wales, Lazikani explores how different cultures interacted with the moon. From the idea that the Black Death was caused by a lunar eclipse to the wealth of Persian love poetry inspired by the moon's beauty, this is a truly global account of our closest celestial neighbour. Ayoush Lazikani is a lecturer at the University of Oxford. A specialist in medieval literature, she is the author of Cultivating the Heart and Emotion in Christian and Islamic Contemplative Texts, 1100–1250, and an associate editor for the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Medieval Women's Writing in the Global Middle Ages. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

When they gazed at the moon, medieval people around the globe saw an object that was at once powerful and fragile, distant and intimate—and sometimes all this at once. The moon could convey love, beauty, and gentleness; but it could also be about pain, hatred, and violence. In its circularity the moon was associated with fullness and fertility. Yet in its crescent and other shifting forms, the moon could seem broken, even wounded.  In this beautifully illustrated history The Medieval Moon: A History of Haunting and Blessing (Yale UP, 2025), Ayoush Lazikani reveals the many ways medieval people felt and wrote about the moon. Ranging across the world, from China to South America, Korea to Wales, Lazikani explores how different cultures interacted with the moon. From the idea that the Black Death was caused by a lunar eclipse to the wealth of Persian love poetry inspired by the moon's beauty, this is a truly global account of our closest celestial neighbour. Ayoush Lazikani is a lecturer at the University of Oxford. A specialist in medieval literature, she is the author of Cultivating the Heart and Emotion in Christian and Islamic Contemplative Texts, 1100–1250, and an associate editor for the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Medieval Women's Writing in the Global Middle Ages. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

When they gazed at the moon, medieval people around the globe saw an object that was at once powerful and fragile, distant and intimate—and sometimes all this at once. The moon could convey love, beauty, and gentleness; but it could also be about pain, hatred, and violence. In its circularity the moon was associated with fullness and fertility. Yet in its crescent and other shifting forms, the moon could seem broken, even wounded.  In this beautifully illustrated history The Medieval Moon: A History of Haunting and Blessing (Yale UP, 2025), Ayoush Lazikani reveals the many ways medieval people felt and wrote about the moon. Ranging across the world, from China to South America, Korea to Wales, Lazikani explores how different cultures interacted with the moon. From the idea that the Black Death was caused by a lunar eclipse to the wealth of Persian love poetry inspired by the moon's beauty, this is a truly global account of our closest celestial neighbour. Ayoush Lazikani is a lecturer at the University of Oxford. A specialist in medieval literature, she is the author of Cultivating the Heart and Emotion in Christian and Islamic Contemplative Texts, 1100–1250, and an associate editor for the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Medieval Women's Writing in the Global Middle Ages. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

When they gazed at the moon, medieval people around the globe saw an object that was at once powerful and fragile, distant and intimate—and sometimes all this at once. The moon could convey love, beauty, and gentleness; but it could also be about pain, hatred, and violence. In its circularity the moon was associated with fullness and fertility. Yet in its crescent and other shifting forms, the moon could seem broken, even wounded.  In this beautifully illustrated history The Medieval Moon: A History of Haunting and Blessing (Yale UP, 2025), Ayoush Lazikani reveals the many ways medieval people felt and wrote about the moon. Ranging across the world, from China to South America, Korea to Wales, Lazikani explores how different cultures interacted with the moon. From the idea that the Black Death was caused by a lunar eclipse to the wealth of Persian love poetry inspired by the moon's beauty, this is a truly global account of our closest celestial neighbour. Ayoush Lazikani is a lecturer at the University of Oxford. A specialist in medieval literature, she is the author of Cultivating the Heart and Emotion in Christian and Islamic Contemplative Texts, 1100–1250, and an associate editor for the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Medieval Women's Writing in the Global Middle Ages. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

When they gazed at the moon, medieval people around the globe saw an object that was at once powerful and fragile, distant and intimate—and sometimes all this at once. The moon could convey love, beauty, and gentleness; but it could also be about pain, hatred, and violence. In its circularity the moon was associated with fullness and fertility. Yet in its crescent and other shifting forms, the moon could seem broken, even wounded.  In this beautifully illustrated history The Medieval Moon: A History of Haunting and Blessing (Yale UP, 2025), Ayoush Lazikani reveals the many ways medieval people felt and wrote about the moon. Ranging across the world, from China to South America, Korea to Wales, Lazikani explores how different cultures interacted with the moon. From the idea that the Black Death was caused by a lunar eclipse to the wealth of Persian love poetry inspired by the moon's beauty, this is a truly global account of our closest celestial neighbour. Ayoush Lazikani is a lecturer at the University of Oxford. A specialist in medieval literature, she is the author of Cultivating the Heart and Emotion in Christian and Islamic Contemplative Texts, 1100–1250, and an associate editor for the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Medieval Women's Writing in the Global Middle Ages. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

Linktree: ⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠Analytic Dreamz reacts to the long-awaited Total War: MEDIEVAL III Announce Trailer in this in-depth segment of Notorious Mass Effect. Breaking down every frame of Creative Assembly's cinematic reveal, Analytic Dreamz analyzes the return to medieval warfare, new faction reveals, upgraded siege mechanics, and the stunning visual leap powered by the latest WARSCAPE engine. From the gritty battlefield realism to potential dynasty systems and multiplayer evolution, this segment covers what Total War: MEDIEVAL III means for strategy fans in 2025 and beyond. Hosted by Analytic Dreamz.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We've all heard the tales of witches using "eye of newt" in their potions, but did you know that amphibians (frogs in particular) were actually a common ingredient in medieval curatives? Medieval medicine was in fact rife with recipes that used frogs (in part or whole) as cures, charms, and treatments for a long list of ailments.  And, in addition to their medical usage, frogs were also used as characters in medieval fables that depicted them as everything from heroes to villainsTo help us understand frogs in the medieval world,  week I am honored to be joined by medievalist and librarian, Greti Dinkova-Bruun. In this episode, we discuss her recent article, The Medieval Frog in Medical Recipes and Fable Narratives. We talk about historical context, and many of the specifics behind the usage of frogs in both medicine and literatureGreti Dinkova-Bruun's article The Medieval Frog in Medical Recipes and Fable Narratives, is published in the latest issue of Mediaeval Studies, To read the article, visit:https://www.academia.edu/130177325/_The_Medieval_Frog_in_Medical_Recipes_and_Fable_Narratives_Mediaeval_Studies_85_2023_139_162https://pims.ca/news-item/medieval-frog/Broaden your knowledge of herpetology online or in person at the Amphibian Foundation. Register now at www.amphibianfoundation.org and use code AMPHIBICAST at checkout for 10% off This episode is sponsored by Gray Ghost Creationshttps://www.etsy.com/shop/GrayGhostCreationsExo Terra is our sponsor this week. For all your amphibian needs visit: Exo-terra.com or visit your local dealer and follow @exoterrausa on social media. NEHERP is our sponsor this week For your bioactive vivarium needs visit: https://www.neherpetoculture.com/

Picture masked figures appearing at your door on a dark winter's evening, their faces hidden behind soot and disguise, ready to perform ancient rituals of death and resurrection. This is mumming, a tradition stretching back centuries. From medieval Europe to its journey across the Atlantic to its dramatic transformation in modern Philadelphia, this episode brings you the story of Christmas mumming and how folk traditions are constantly remade.Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netBluesky/enchantedpodcast.net

In the last twenty years, the shadowy Assassins of the medieval Middle East have seen a serious resurgence in popularity. And yet, like so many medieval people and groups, it's still hard to tell the legend from the reality - and that's just the way the Assassins wanted it. This week, Danièle speaks with Steve Tibble about who the Assassins were, what tactics they used in the Middle Ages, and what this legendary order stood for.You can support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

Let's sink into slumber with this dreamy description of life in medieval France circa 1220. This time, the background of the barony in question and the somewhat circuitous route of acquisition by its ruling family. Spoiler alert, not wandering off for years on a crusade seems to help with the whole "keeping your property" thing.   Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW   Read "Life on a Medieval Barony" at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46455   Music: "Dream Colours," by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY, https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com   If you'd like to suggest a copyright-free reading for soft-spoken relaxation to help you overcome insomnia, anxiety and other sleep issues, connect on our website, https://www.boringbookspod.com.