In times of plenty, we stuff ourselves. When the food runs out, we're basically stuffed. How did people in medieval Britain share the riches from our fields, dairies, kitchens and seas? In this episode of Gone Medieval , Matt Lewis is joined by acclaimed food historian Pen Vogler, whose latest book Stuffed: A History of Good Food in Hard Times in Britain , places food at the centre of society, of upheavals and of the development of a nation. This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced b...
Dec 21, 2023•37 min•Ep. 275
Just like us, medieval people loved a bit of entertainment at Christmas. But what did they consider funny? How did humorous stories spread in a world where most people could neither read nor write? In this episode of Gone Medieval , Dr. Eleanor Janega finds out more from Kleio Pethainou, who specialises in medieval comedy and storytelling, and also offers an authentic and bizarre Christmas Day story from the middle ages. This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg. For more about Kleio Pethainou, ...
Dec 18, 2023•33 min•Ep. 274
Berengaria of Navarre is mainly remembered for just one thing: being a Queen of England who never set foot in England, at least not as Queen. But all that is about to change as Dr Gabrielle Storey's forthcoming biography of Berengaria is set to shed more light on this neglected, English Queen Consort. In this episode of Gone Medieval , Matt Lewis finds out more from Gabrielle about this fascinating woman. This episode was edited by Tean Stewart-Murray and produced by Rob Weinberg. Enjoy unlimite...
Dec 14, 2023•33 min•Ep. 273
In this episode of Gone Medieval, our co-hosts Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis get together to revive some of the Christmas traditions that were commonplace in the Middle Ages - from the literal origins of the Yule log to having a procession to celebrate finding a duck in a drain! So grab a festive drink and a mince pie because Matt and Eleanor are ready to get serious about the silly season. This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg. Enjoy unlimited access to award...
Dec 11, 2023•41 min•Ep. 272
In the ninth century, the Vikings earned a fearsome reputation by wreaking chaos on the coasts of western Europe. But what is perhaps less well known is that they also travelled eastwards. By sailing along the great rivers of north-eastern Europe, they reached Constantinople, the Caspian Sea and even Baghdad, the bustling heart of the mighty Islamic Abbasid Empire. In this episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis welcomes Dr. Cat Jarman back to the podcast to explore why Viking raiders traded the fr...
Dec 07, 2023•41 min•Ep. 271
In many parts of Europe, before Christmas comes, you have first to celebrate one of the medieval period's favourite saints - Saint Nicholas of Myra. It's his legend and celebration that eventually transformed into our own Santa Claus. St Nicolas’s commemoration was a great excuse for medieval people to let down their hair and celebrate while still in the much more sombre and reflective period of Advent. In this episode of Gone Medieval , Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by experiential archaeologist...
Dec 04, 2023•42 min•Ep. 270
May 1453 saw Constantinople under siege - the culmination of an age long struggle between Christianity and Islam for control of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Ottoman leader Mehmed II had dreamed of possessing the city since he was a boy, and now the shining light of Christian civilization, that had lasted 1100 years, fell into the hands of Ottomans. In this episode of Gone Medieval , Matt Lewis is joined by Prof. Marc David Baer to delve into this epochal moment in medieval history. This episod...
Nov 30, 2023•36 min•Ep. 269
The city of Constantinople, founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 324 AD, was a glittering jewel in the eastern Mediterranean for more than a thousand years. Its dazzling cathedrals, ambitious emperors and mixing pot culture were the stuff of legend throughout Christendom. But how did it come to tower over medieval Europe as one of the continent’s foremost cities? And why did it earn such a lofty reputation? In today’s episode of Gone Medieval, Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Bettany Hughes...
Nov 27, 2023•40 min•Ep. 268
The popular BBC television series Villages by the Sea explores coastal life through the centuries. Its presenter Ben Robinson is an archaeologist with the fantastic job of exploring lost villages and uncovering their secrets, including those that give an insight into medieval life on the coasts of Britain. In this episode of Gone Medieval , Matt Lewis is joined by Ben to talk about some of the series’ - and Britain’s - medieval highlights. This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg. Enjoy unlimit...
Nov 23, 2023•41 min•Ep. 267
Leprosy in the Middle Ages Medieval people were very concerned about how to deal with those in their midst who had leprosy, now called Hansen's disease. It's assumed today that sufferers were shunned from society, forced onto the margins, and generally hated. But in this episode of Gone Medieval , Dr. Eleanor Janega finds out from Professor Carole Rawcliffe about what was it really like to live with leprosy, both as a sufferer or as a member of the communities that needed to care for them. This ...
Nov 20, 2023•30 min•Ep. 266
For more than 500 years, history has judged that the Princes in the Tower were murdered on the orders of their uncle Richard III. Until now there has been very little proof - it is quite simply history’s greatest cold case. But this episode of Gone Medieval reveals new and compelling evidence about what happened to King Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York in 1483. Philippa Langley - best known for her role in finding and exhuming the remains of Richard III in 2012 - talks to Gone Medi...
Nov 16, 2023•49 min•Ep. 265
Burma – now Myanmar – was once a superpower playing a pivotal role at the crossroads of Asia. Located in one of the richest areas on the planet, it produced luxury goods, mediated trade and cultivated fantastic religious and urban landscapes, unlike anywhere else in the world. In today’s episode, Dr. Eleanor Janega visits a new exhibition at the British Museum with curator Dr. Alexandra Green to explore how Burma in the Middle Ages became a fertile ground for diverse cultures to flourish. This e...
Nov 13, 2023•33 min•Ep. 264
From the fields of Norfolk to the royal court - via city commerce, local government, liberal education and numerous wedding bells - the Boleyns were just one of many newly prosperous and ambitious families seeking to make the best of a world that was being changed through famine, plague, revolt and civil war – but also opportunity. But while the Boleyns’ new-found wealth delivered power and status, they still lived in a violent world and life could be precarious. In this episode of Gone Medieval...
Nov 09, 2023•40 min•Ep. 263
Denmark's King Harald Bluetooth was among the first Scandinavian rulers to officially embrace Christianity in the early 10th century. Norway followed later that century while Sweden's conversion occurred gradually in the following century. But contrary to the common narrative of Europe's military and religious conquest and colonisation of the region, what if rather than acting as passive recipients, Scandinavians converted to Christianity because it was in individual chieftains' political, econo...
Nov 06, 2023•34 min•Ep. 262
Olivia Swarthout prowls the web for little-seen snippets of medieval art and life, sharing it via the Weird Medieval Guys Twitter and instagram accounts, and podcast. Her new book, Weird Medieval Guys: How to Live, Laugh, Love (and Die) in Dark Times is a handy guide offering time-tested solutions for all of life's biggest problems, from becoming an irresistible suitor even though you can't joust to surviving encounters with rabbits and dragons In this episode of Gone Medieval , Matt Lewis meets...
Nov 02, 2023•29 min•Ep. 261
Wales has a wealth of ghost stories, including fantastical animals, flickering death omens and unseen things that go bump in the night. Whether these tales are based on true events, or are the creations of active imaginations, is known only to those who have experienced them – but what is certain is that their power to delight and scare us remains undimmed. In this episode of Gone Medieval, Dr. Eleanor Janega meets renowned folklorists Delyth Badder and Mark Norman - host of the Folklore Podcast...
Oct 30, 2023•38 min•Ep. 260
The Knights Templar have an enduring reputation―but not one they would recognise. Originally established in the twelfth century to protect pilgrims, the Order is remembered today for heresy, fanaticism, and even satanism. But the Templars were in fact dedicated peace-mongers at home, influencing royal strategy and policy, creating financial structures, and brokering international peace treaties. In this episode of Gone Medieval , Matt Lewis talks to Dr. Steve Tibble, author of Templars: The Knig...
Oct 26, 2023•36 min•Ep. 259
Overseeing a rich and diverse kingdom, Ethiopia’s medieval monarchs consolidated their power by claiming descent from the Biblical King Solomon. But why did they pursue long-distance diplomatic contacts with Latin Europe? In this episode of Gone Medieval , Dr. Eleanor Janega meets award-winning historian Dr. Verena Krebs , who challenges the conventional narratives of African-European relations, arguing that African exploration of Europe was driven by aesthetic curiosity rather than military ven...
Oct 23, 2023•38 min•Ep. 258
For the last several decades, Jonathan, Lord Sumption - former senior judge and medieval historian - has been crafting a monumental, five-volume history of the Hundred Years War, widely considered to be the definitive account of the conflict. The final volume, titled Triumph and Illusion, has recently been published. It tells the story of the collapse of the English dream of conquest and features such protagonists as Henry VI, Charles VII of France and the extraordinary Joan of Arc. In this epis...
Oct 19, 2023•40 min•Ep. 257
On this special edition of Gone Medieval , Dr. Eleanor Janega pays a visit to our sister podcast Betwixt the Sheets to be the guest of its presenter Dr. Kate Lister. Eleanor of Aquitaine - probably the most powerful and wealthy woman in medieval Europe - needs little introduction to Gone Medieval listeners. But how true is what we know about her? Rumours abounded in her own time, and to this day, about Eleanor’s private life. Did she really have a love affair with her own uncle? What was her rel...
Oct 16, 2023•38 min•Ep. 256
In the year 493, the leader of a vast confederation of Gothic warriors personally cut down Odoacer, the man famous for deposing the last Roman emperor in 476. That leader became Theoderic the Great, a warrior-king who ushered in decades of peace and stability in Italy as king of Goths and Romans. Theoderic transformed his roving “warrior nation” from the periphery of the Roman world into a standing army that protected his taxpaying Roman subjects with the support of the Roman elite. He not only ...
Oct 12, 2023•31 min•Ep. 255
The University of Vienna is one of the oldest in the world. Founded by Rudolph IV Habsburg in 1365, it has been teaching students for centuries. But what can Vienna’s story tell us about the origins of medieval universities and what medieval people were actually taught? In this episode of Gone Medieval, Dr Eleanor Janega visits Vienna to explore the university archives with Dr Nina Knieling. Together they discuss what it took to found a university in the Middle Ages and discover that medieval st...
Oct 09, 2023•41 min•Ep. 254
Bede, whose name towers over early medieval English literature, is often referred to as the “father of English history.” He calculated the first tide-tables, played a role in the creation of the Lindisfarne Gospels, wrote the earliest extant Old English poetry and did the earliest translation of part of the Bible into English. Despite never leaving Northumbria, he also wrote a guide to the Holy Land. In this episode of Gone Medieval , Matt Lewis finds out everything you need to know about the Ve...
Oct 05, 2023•48 min•Ep. 253
How did an obscure Swiss family grow in power to gain control of the Holy Roman Empire in the 15th century? How did they manage to then take in a large part of Europe stretching from Hungary to Spain, and from the Far East to the New World? In this episode of Gone Medieval , Dr. Eleanor Janega meets Professor Martyn Rady to find out the reasons for the Habsburg’s incredible endurance, founded in the belief that they were destined to rule the world as defenders of the Roman Catholic Church, guara...
Oct 02, 2023•40 min•Ep. 252
In 1642, a Parliamentarian army smashed up Winchester Cathedral, including ten beautiful, 7th century mortuary chests, that housed the mortal remains of West Saxon kings, saints and bishops. In 2014, a team of forensic archaeologists, using the latest scientific methods, attempted to identify the contents, finding an elaborate jumble of bones, and making some surprising discoveries. In this episode, Matt Lewis catches up with Gone Medieval 's former co-host Dr. Cat Jarman to talk about her new b...
Sep 28, 2023•25 min•Ep. 251
Dr. Eleanor Janega continues Gone Medieval ’s special series exploring Medieval Queens with a look at Margaret of Anjou, who rose to become a figurehead, and even a military leader, when her husband King Henry VI suffered bouts of mental illness. She became one of the principal figures in the Wars of the Roses and at times personally led the Lancastrian faction, being praised for “her valiant courage and undaunted spirit.” Eleanor explores Margaret’s remarkable life and influence with medieval s...
Sep 25, 2023•35 min•Ep. 250
Matt Lewis continues Gone Medieval ’s special series showcasing Medieval Queens with a look at Emma of Normandy, the Norman-born noblewoman who became the English, Danish, and Norwegian Queen through her marriages to Æthelred the Unready and the Danish King Cnut the Great. After Cnut's death, Emma continued to play an active role in politics during the reigns of her sons by each husband, Edward the Confessor and Harthacnut. Matt finds out more about Emma from historian Elizabeth Norton, author o...
Sep 21, 2023•38 min•Ep. 249
Voltaire famously wrote that the "The Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.” But Dr. Eleanor Janega believes that literally everything about Voltaire’s statement is wrong - in the medieval context. In this explainer episode of Gone Medieval , Eleanor attempts to describe this important and powerful entity that lasted for around 800 years, stretching from Sicily to the North Sea, from Burgundy to Poland, which was home to some of the wealthiest and most important cities ...
Sep 18, 2023•32 min•Ep. 248
Where is the grave of King Arthur? What was the worst year in human history? Who were the most fractious royal siblings? What were the origins of humble pie? Which monsters pre-occupied Medieval minds? In this episode, Gone Medieval ’s co-hosts Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega delve into some of the big Medieval questions, obscure facts and bizarre stories featured in History Hit Miscellany , our fascinating and entertaining new book published this month. The History Hit Miscellany is published...
Sep 15, 2023•40 min•Ep. 247
Dr. Eleanor Janega continues Gone Medieval ’s special series of podcasts about Medieval Queens with a look at Queen Anne of Bohemia, the first wife of England’s King Richard II. Eleanor is joined by Kristen Gaiman, lecturer at the University of Toledo, Ohio, to find out about Anne’s influence on English culture, how queens could work to mitigate the worst excesses of kings, and what childlessness meant in a royal context. This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg. Dis...
Sep 12, 2023•38 min•Ep. 246
