From long-lost Viking ships to kings buried in unexpected places; from murders and power politics, to myths, religion, the lives of ordinary people: Gone Medieval is History Hit’s podcast dedicated to the middle ages, in Europe and far beyond.
New episodes every Tuesday and Friday.
A podcast by History Hit, the world's best history channel and creators of award-winning podcasts Dan Snow's History Hit, The Ancients, and Betwixt the Sheets.
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A plague of terrifying speed, mysterious symptoms and global reach, the Black Death transformed more than Europe alone. Matt Lewis is joined by Thomas Asbridge to chart the medieval spread, from Caffa’s siege lines to Cairo’s crowded streets, from brutal medical experiments to self-flagellating penitents and a medieval world shaken to its core. MORE How To Survive Plague and War in the Middle Ages Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Leprosy in the Middle Ages Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Gone...
Could a medieval church really protect a killer from the law? From the 40-day asylum of parish churches to the more permanent protections claimed by Westminster Abbey, sanctuary was never simply an escape route, it was a contested space where mercy and authority met. Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Professor Shannon McSheffrey to uncover the extraordinary history of a medieval institution that could save lives, provoke outrage and expose the uneasy balance between bloodshed, forgiveness and powe...
How could a love song become a political weapon? How were scandals, wars and crusades turned into some of the most influential poetry ever written? The songs of the troubadours - celebrities in their day - helped define the emotional landscape of the Middle Ages and left a legacy that still echoes through European literature. Matt Lewis is joined by Professor Linda M. Paterson to explore the poet-musicians who shaped medieval ideas of courtly love, chivalry, gender, power and performance. More: ...
Who survives when medieval deaths are turned into Top Trumps? In this riotous made up game of Foolish Fatalities, Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis rank the most ridiculous ends of the Middle Ages, from a latrine disaster and Henry I’s fatal fish, to a king laughing himself to death and a ghoulish deadly bite delivered by a severed head. Expect gore, gossip, and (at least) one unforgettable toilet death. MORE The White Ship Disaster Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify James II and the Deadly Black...
How did the Fatimids build one of Islam's most powerful medieval empires? What can the rise of this dynasty reveal about power, culture, tolerance, and women’s authority? Stretching across North Africa, Egypt, and parts of Sicily, Syria, Palestine and Arabia, the Fatimids created an empire renowned for prosperity, cultural brilliance and relative tolerance, one in which women were promoted to positions rarely seen elsewhere. Matt Lewis and Dr. Delia Cortese explore the Fatimid's remarkable origi...
Long-haired rulers, dynastic bloodshed, secret letters, and a kingdom built in the aftermath of empire; Dr. Eleanor Janega and Dr. James Palmer dive into the wild, Roman-adjacent world of the Merovingians. What made the first kings of France so unforgettable, and why were they later written out of the story? From myth to murder, this is the family that helped shape medieval France. MORE Why The Early Middle Ages Matter Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify The Destruction of Charlemagne's Legacy Lis...
Following the legendary Battle of Agincourt, Henry V embarked on a seven-year struggle marked by sieges and diplomacy. This discussion delves into his pragmatic return to England, the extensive preparations for subsequent campaigns, and his reliance on key lieutenants. Crucially, the episode highlights how profound French internal conflicts, exacerbated by assassinations, proved instrumental in Henry's territorial gains, ultimately leading to the Treaty of Troyes and his claim to the French throne before his untimely death.
What if one medieval woman could outwit emperors, shape popes, and force Henry IV to stand barefoot in the snow? Dr. Katherine Harvey joins Dr. Eleanor Janega to tell the astonishing story of Matilda of Canossa, the Iron Countess of Tuscany, whose fortress at Canossa became the stage for the famous Walk to Canossa. Discover her political brilliance, brutal family dramas, papal alliances, failed marriages, and the legacy that kept her name alive for centuries. MORE Medieval Italy Listen on Apple ...
What if the medieval world did not end with a bang, but with a messy argument over who gets to define history itself? Matt Lewis spars with Not Just The Tudors' host Professor Suzannah Lipscomb to spar over Gutenberg, the Reformation, witchcraft, plague, the Renaissance, and the Wars of the Roses to ask where medieval ends and early modern begins. The result is a lively, surprising fight over power, change, and the making of the modern world. MORE Why The Early Middle Ages Matter Listen on Apple...
What could drive a pope to put a corpse on trial? In 897, Rome staged one of the Middle Ages’ strangest spectacles: the Cadaver Synod, where Pope Stephen VI exhumed his predecessor and put his body on trial. Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Jessica Wärnberg to unpack the violent politics behind the outrage, the rival factions at stake, and why this gruesome event still fascinates today. MORE Conclave: Picking Popes Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Listen on Apple L...
How did a widowed mother transform loss, politics and misogyny into one of the most accomplished literary careers in medieval history? From the Parisian court to contemporaneously telling the story of Joan of Arc, Christine de Pizan was Europe’s first professional woman writer and publisher. Matt Lewis is joined by Katherine Pangonis to explore her extraordinary life and uncover the story of one of history's most formidable writers. MORE Trial of Joan of Arc Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Jul...
Did Constantinople’s fall in 1453 end the Byzantine Empire as neatly as we think? Dr. Eleanor Janega and Dr. Laura Bolick unpack the Empire's dramatic final years and reveal a story far more complex than simple decline. Through the lives of Isidore of Kiev and Bessarion, they explore desperate diplomacy, church union, Ottoman expansion, and the political gambles behind the demise of Constantinople. MORE The Rise of Constantinople with Bettany Hughes Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify The Fall of ...
This episode challenges the traditional view of Offa, King of the Mercians, as merely a tyrant and builder of a dyke. Professor Rory Naismith discusses Offa's significant contributions to establishing Mercia as a dominant force in southern Britain, pioneering new models of kingship, and skillfully using statecraft like coinage. The conversation delves into his contested legacy, complex relationships with neighbors and the Church, and his enduring, albeit evolving, influence on English history.
Who would pick a fight with the Pope?? Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega dive into the explosive clash between Pope Boniface VIII and Philip IV of France, a head of state who dared to challenge papal power. From taxes and excommunication to arrest and humiliation, this is a gripping story of ambition, authority, and the Avignon Papacy. MORE Pope Vs. Emperor: An 11th Century Crisis Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Holy Roman Empire Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Gone Medieval is presented by ...
Dr. Heather Blurton joins Matt Lewis to dissect the legends of Richard the Lionheart, from his family's myth-laden history and his personal reputation as a warrior-poet to his role in the Robin Hood tales and the fantastical "Richard Curdeon" romance. The discussion delves into how medieval chroniclers, later novelists like Sir Walter Scott, and even modern video games have shaped and reinterpreted Richard's image, revealing more about the societies telling the stories than the king himself. The episode also touches on the nature of medieval history writing and how Richard remains an adaptable cultural symbol.
What's the best cure for a hangover? What's the most effective way to curse your enemies? How do you keep demonic powers at bay? The medieval Celtic world was filled with magic which became absorbed and restructured within a Christian worldview, as saints, prayers, and sacred objects replaced earlier supernatural beings, incantations, charms and talismans. Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Brigid Ehrmantraut to find out how people in the medieval Celtic world coherently integrated magic into t...
What makes an Archbishop one of the most hated figures in British history? And does Thomas Arundel truly deserve to be branded the greatest villain of 15th-century Britain? Matt Lewis and Professor Chris Given-Wilson explore the life, power, and legacy of a man whose influence reached deep into the politics, religion, and royal struggles of late medieval England, and ask whether he was truly a villain or a far more complex figure than history has remembered. MORE: Richard II vs. Henry IV Listen ...
"Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?!" These words supposedly uttered by a King over 800 years ago set in motion a chain of gruesome events, and sparked cult-like devotion across the world. Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis consider Becket's meteoric rise in status to becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury, his increasingly fractious relationship with King Henry II, the vicious murder itself and finally, how the cult of St Thomas of Canterbury spread across the European continent. But how...
Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega dive into the chaos of the late Middle Ages; from the Great Famine and the Little Ice Age to plague, peasant revolts, papal schism and deposed kings, they explore how the 14th and 15th centuries rocked Europe’s political, social and religious foundations. Along the way, they ask what really separates the “high” from the “late” Middle Ages, how far disasters undermined faith in monarchy and the Church, and whether these tidy labels make sense once you look beyond...
What if the most powerful warlords in medieval Europe were women? From wine country to empire, Burgundy’s Duchesses brokered marriages, bullied rivals, made kings and emperors, and ruled vast lands in their own right. Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Susan Abernethy to uncover the formidable women behind one of Europe’s wealthiest, most sophisticated courts. MORE The Two Hundred Years War Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify The Real Eleanor of Aquitaine Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Gone Medieva...
What happens when a kidnapped teenager returns to the land of his captors to change it forever? Dr Eleanor Janega and James Hawes romp through medieval Ireland, as St Patrick’s mission unfolds against an Ireland of raiding Vikings, clashing warlords and coastal towns under siege, culminating in the thunderous showdown at the Battle of Clontarf. Dive into an age of monasteries, longships and Gaelic resilience to unpick a thousand years of Irish history. MORE Castle and Conquests of Ireland Listen...
What if one of the most famous stories in English history never happened? What if King Harold did not march his exhausted troops 200 miles before the Battle of Hastings? Matt Lewis is joined by Professor Tom Licence whose explosive research argues that King Harold’s legendary march never happened, revealing a far more sophisticated Anglo-Saxon military strategy than always thought. So how did Harold get to Hastings? And how does this discovery change our understanding of the Norman Conquest? MOR...
What happens when Vikings stop raiding and start laying siege to a mighty rock fortress on the Clyde? Matt Lewis is joined by Todd Ferguson to uncover the four-month Viking siege of Dumbarton in 870, exploring why this Brittonic stronghold mattered so much, how its fall reshaped Strathclyde, and how these events fed into the long, messy road towards a more unified Scotland MORE The Viking Great Army in Britain Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify What Caused the Viking Age? Listen on Apple Listen o...
What if everything you think you know about medieval Croatia is wrong? Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Professor Florin Curta to uncover how Dalmatia’s coastal cities defied “Dark Age” collapse, why Slavic identity may have been a political invention, and how frontiers became homelands in a zone contested by Franks, Byzantines, Venetians and Hungarians. Discover the extraordinary archives, churches and cultures that made medieval Croatia uniquely complex. MORE The Hussite Wars: Crusades Against B...
Matt Lewis and Nicholas Morton uncover how the unstoppable Mongol Empire, despite its might, was ultimately halted by the Mamluk Sultan Qutuz in 1260, leading to the gradual demise of the Crusader States. The episode delves into the complex geopolitical landscape of the Near East, King Louis IX's ill-fated Seventh Crusade, and the Mamluks' ascent to power. Finally, with Eleanor Janega, they discuss the broad and contested legacies of crusading, from the formation of modern states and economic shifts to its controversial modern interpretations.
Crusading in the 13th century was brutal, chaotic and transformative. Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by historian Dr. Tom Smith to uncover failed campaigns, papal ambition, the sack of Constantinople, and Frederick II’s extraordinary treaty for Jerusalem. Expect extraordinary battles, medieval flamethrowers, nunchucks and too much French wine – revealing a crusading movement tearing itself apart. MORE Emperor Frederick II: The Scourge of the Papacy Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify The Rise of Con...
How did Islam first take root on Iranian soil? What did medieval Iran - or Persia - look like before and afterwards? How do those early encounters still echo through Iranian society today? The roots of the present-day tensions in Iran are much deeper than just the last 47 years following the Islamic Revolution. To understand more, Matt Lewis is joined by Dr. Khodadad Rezakhani. MORE Medieval Europe's Encounter with Islam Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Prophet Muhammad Listen on Apple Listen o...
Today we dive into the Second and Third Crusades with major players Eleanor of Aquitaine, Saladin and the bold entrance of Richard the Lionheart. Matt Lewis is joined by Dr Natasha Hodgson to trace the twelfth century struggle for the Holy Land. They explore the wildly successful campaigns and disastrous battles such as the Field of Blood, royal marital struggles and pilgrims dragged into fighting with no more than a pot on their heads. MORE The Hospitallers: Warrior Monks Listen on Apple Listen...
In 1095, Pope Urban II’s fiery sermon lit the fuse for a so‑called holy war in the Holy Land. In the first episode of a new series, Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis unpack the First Crusades, when this Christian armies fought against Muslim lords for possession of the arid deserts of the Holy Land. What spurred thousands upon thousands of medieval Christians, noble and poor alike, to abandon their homes and risk their lives? Find out how this blood-soaked epic reshaped the medieval world. MORE ...
Scotland’s history is filled with war, betrayal, political intrigue. At the heart of it were powerful Queens; from saintly rulers to strategic alliances, the women behind the throne were anything but passive. Matt Lewis is joined by historian Sharon Bennett Connolly to explore the remarkable life of Saint Margaret of Scotland, the political challenges faced by Queen Margaret of England, and the resilience of Elizabeth de Burgh, second wife of Robert the Bruce, who played a pivotal role in Scotla...
