Sarah is once again joined by guest Elizabeth Bonnemann—but for once NOT talking about Doctor Who! Join us as we delve into the medievalism of 1988 fantasy film Willow. Were there really possums in medieval Europe? Were criminals left to die in hanging cages? And did women like Bavmorda, Sorsha, and Elora reign as queens? Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Elizabeth on Twitter @lizziestrider and on Tumblr: https://shadow-academic.tumblr.com/ Rate, review, an...
Aug 22, 2022•1 hr 37 min
Damned former host Ollie returns to talk about a movie that is far better than it's reputation(or lack thereof) would suggest. Turns out if the devil wants your soul, you don't have a lot of options left!
Aug 06, 2022•1 hr 53 min
Sarah's mom, Beth Greenfeld, is back to talk about 1955 film The Court Jester! Join us as we delve into the history of fools and jesters, the political challenges of infant monarchs, and how this film has better-developed women characters than many movies released in the 21st-century. CW: Discussion of some potential issues of ableism in the film Learn more about the global history of jesters in Beatrice K. Otto’s Fools Are Everywhere: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/F/bo361539...
Jul 23, 2022•1 hr 54 min
Sarah and returning guest Morgan Morales explore intellectual culture and interreligious strife in 2009 film Agora! Join us as we delve into the lives of Jews, Christians, and polytheists in late ancient/early medieval Alexandria and explore the reality and legend of the life of Hypatia of Alexandria. CW for conversations about sexual assault, slavery, and anti-Semitism, all based on depictions within the film. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Morgan at @m...
Jul 11, 2022•2 hr 23 min
Media-eval ventures to Valholl as Sarah and returning guest Miti von Weissenberg tackle 2022 film The Northman! Join us as we explore masculinity, gender, slavery, race, and vengeance in the film and in the real Norse past. CW for discussion of sexual assault (which is not graphically depicted in the film but is thematically important) and for discussion of white nationalism (which is relevant to the audience response to the film and to attitudes toward the Vikings in general). Want to learn mor...
Jun 26, 2022•2 hr 59 min
Sarah and guest Peter Konieczny of medievalists.net delve into the layers of pre-modern history, late medieval historical fiction, and modern film in John Woo’s 2009 film Red Cliff. Join us as we get into interpretations of pre-modern history in China and the medieval novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. For more of Peter on Romance of the Three Kingdoms: https://www.medievalists.net/2018/10/which-translation-romance-three-kingdoms/ The works of Rafe de Crespigny, the leading English-language sc...
Jun 11, 2022•1 hr 33 min
Outlander. The movie. It's like Beowulf but there are aliens in it. This movie is actually pretty decent. We all want to talk about Jamie and Claire and how some herbs are better than others but we will leave that for another time. enjoy!
May 28, 2022•2 hr 6 min
Sarah and guest Miti von Weissenberg explore sanctity and voluntary poverty in 1989 film Francesco! Join us as we delve into the real lives of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi, the intertwined histories of the Franciscans and the Poor Clares, and the link between biopic and hagiography. Learn more about Miti’s research and teaching: https://www.xavier.edu/history-department/directory/marita-vonweissenberg Learn more about St. Francis of Assisi and his legacy: Francis of Assisi: Early Document...
May 14, 2022•2 hr 14 min
Sarah and guest Sara McDougall take on another of 2021’s highly anticipated medieval-inspired films: The Last Duel. Join us as we get into the myths and realities about medieval law and this fascinating 1386 trial, and our … struggles … with this film. TRIGGER WARNING: The film includes graphic depictions of sexual assault, which we critique in depth on the podcast. Read more from Sara on the Last Duel: https://slate.com/culture/2021/10/last-duel-movie-historical-accuracy.html https://slate.com/...
Apr 30, 2022•1 hr 18 min
Finally, Media-eval tackles perhaps the most central text of medieval-inspired fantasy: The Lord of the Rings. Join Sarah and fellow medieval historian Paul Freedman, for a wide-ranging discussion about medievalism, food, gender, race, and more in the books and films. Learn more about Paul and his work: https://history.yale.edu/people/paul-freedman Check out his article on food in The Lord of the Rings: https://raco.cat/index.php/ImagoTemporis/article/view/270936 Social Media: Twitter @mediaeval...
Apr 16, 2022•1 hr 19 min
Sarah and fellow medieval historian - and expert on nuns - Annalena Müller discuss Paul Verhoeven’s 2021 film Benedetta. Join us as we tackle what the film got right, what it got wrong, and what it tells us about sensationalism, religion, and sex - medieval and modern. CW: The film includes some scenes which raise issues of abuse and consent within a relationship, which we discuss. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!
Apr 02, 2022•1 hr 58 min
Sarah and music historian Charles Hughes tackle the medieval trend that swept the nation in April 202: bardcore. Join us as we explore bardcore in the context of musical nostalgia, plague and pandemic, and the real medieval troubadour tradition. Social Media: Find Charles on Twitter: @CharlesLHughes2 Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!
Mar 19, 2022•1 hr 45 min
Sarah and fellow medievalist Lucy Barnhouse delve into the medievalism of Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe and its 1997 BBC/A&E miniseries adaptation. Join us as we explore one of the few representations of medieval Jews, as well as questions about witchcraft, Saxon-Norman conflict, and how the Knights Templar were not in fact the Inquisition. Social Media: Hear more from Lucy on Footnoting History: https://www.footnotinghistory.com/home/category/lucy; on Twitter @HistoryFootnote Find Lucy on Twitter:...
Mar 06, 2022•2 hr 16 min
Media-eval’s resident Doctor Who expert Elizabeth Bonnemann returns to discuss 1989 serial Battlefield. Join Sarah and Elizabeth as we meet the 7th Doctor and best-ever companion Ace and grapple with how the series handles Arthuriana-meets-aliens. Social Media: Find Elizabeth on Twitter: @lizziestrider Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!
Feb 19, 2022•1 hr 45 min
Ever want to listen to two fans of a book series recap a show and get increasingly annoyed/joyous and sometimes angry as they do it? Well now you can! Join us for 3 hours of talk about the first season of the Wheel of Time tv show on Amazon Prime. What did it get right? What did it get wrong? We talk about it all!
Feb 07, 2022•2 hr 57 min
Sarah and guest Molly Likovich get into CW’s Reign, aka Gossip Girl meets 16th-century France. Join us as we talk about some of the strangest choices made in a historical adaptation—from the invented illegitimate son of the King of France to the Forever 21-inspired costumes—as well as the real stories of Mary, Queen of Scots, François II, and Catherine de’Medici. CW: Discussions of sexual assault Social Media: Find Molly on Twitter: @magicalmolly Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail...
Jan 22, 2022•2 hr 11 min
TikTok celebrity and fellow medievalist Mireille Pardon is back to talk with Sarah about medieval misinformation and conspiracy theories on TikTok as we do a deep dive into Momllennial’s “Rome didn’t exist” theory. Join us for an extended debunking and a foray into the wide array of sources historians use to study the medieval past! Book Recommendation: The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000, by Chris Wickham Social Media: Find Mireille on TikTok and Twitter: @pardon_mi Twi...
Jan 08, 2022•1 hr 16 min
It's Christmas so we decided to talk about the most Christmas-y of all movies- The Green Knight. We talk about pretension, confusion and whether Barry Keoghan is attractive or not. Its a long episode but then again, its a movie that lasts for several years, or feels like it does at least!
Dec 24, 2021•2 hr 27 min
This is the one where Sarah gets unreasonably infuriated about the Magna Carta and Anglo-American exceptionalism - but also gets the chance to talk about King John’s troubles with Pope Innocent III. Elizabeth Bonnemann is back to talk Doctor Who serial “The King’s Demons,” where two Time Lords battle it out over (allegedly) the future of democracy in England, 1215. Social Media: Find Elizabeth on Twitter: @lizziestrider Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subs...
Dec 11, 2021•1 hr 42 min
Media-eval ventures into the Discworld! Sarah and guest Bridget Kennedy discuss two of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels, Wyrd Sisters and Small Gods. Join us as we get into the Inquisition, witch persecution, and medievalism in the Discworld series. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!
Nov 27, 2021•1 hr 19 min
Is it a Lady? Is she a hawk? Why not both? A hawk, a wolf, and a bishop meet in a medieval Italian city—and Sarah is joined by living history reenactor Ari Ryan Ailin, aka “The Turnip of Terror,” to discuss 1985 film Ladyhawke. Join us as we get into synth scores, strange helmets, possibly stranger bishops’ croziers, French presence in late medieval Sicily, and what Caroline Walker Bynum has called the “werewolf Renaissance of the 12th century.” Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media....
Nov 15, 2021•2 hr 27 min
Red, Black, and Periwinkle Deaths! Digressions Galore! Upside-down crosses! David Baxter of Thank You Five Podcast joins Sarah to discuss Vincent Price film The Masque of the Red Death (1964). Celebrate Halloween with us as we get into medieval horror, plague, and the real history of Satanism. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find David’s podcast Thank You Five on Twitter @thankyoufivepod Please rate, review, and subscribe!
Oct 31, 2021•2 hr 31 min
What if a movie was about two men falling in love and restoring each others honor? It would be called The Eagle and of all the movies that fail the Ifft Decker test, it would fail it the most.
Oct 18, 2021•1 hr 47 min
Medieval art historian Maeve Doyle returns to talk with Sarah about The Secret of Kells (2009), a gorgeous reimagining of the creation of the Book of Kells. Join us to learn about medieval visual culture, book production, and the real medieval origins of the film’s heroic cat Pangur Ban. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Producer Carmen, Sarah’s own heroic cat companion. She will be very much missed. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Maeve on Twitt...
Oct 02, 2021•1 hr 48 min
Medieval Iberia September on Media-eval continues! Want to hear what two historians of medieval Barcelona think about Netflix miniseries Cathedral of the Sea? Join Sarah and fellow medieval historian Marie Kelleher as we delve into the Jewish community of Barcelona, host desecration, and legal history - and remind listeners once again that the ius primae noctis wasn’t a real thing. CW: The series includes graphic representations of brutality (especially against women) and rape. We engage in crit...
Sep 18, 2021•2 hr 9 min
This September, universities are back up and running - and Media-eval will be featuring conversations between specialists of the medieval Iberian Peninsula! In this episode, Sarah and fellow medieval historian Dana Wessell Lightfoot explore interfaith contact and conflict in The Lions of al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay, a novel set in a world inspired by medieval al-Andalus. Join us as we delve into the real-life inspirations for characters and the question of convivencia in the medieval Iberian Pe...
Sep 04, 2021•1 hr 39 min
Sarah and guest Rachel Aanstad (Twelfth Night Podcast) tackle another example of Disney medievalism - 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Join us as we get into medievalism in architecture, religious references, and the history of the wicked stepmother. CW: Discussions of ableist, racist/anti-Semitic, and misogynist tropes Book Recommendation: Christians Klapisch-Zuber, Women, Family, and Ritual in Renaissance Italy: https://bookshop.org/books/women-family-and-ritual-in-renaissance-italy/...
Aug 21, 2021•1 hr 54 min
With help from guest Erica Desautels, Sarah argues a) that The Little Mermaid DEFINITELY takes place in the late 17th century and is therefore a legitimate subject for this podcast and b) that it is clearly the best Disney movie. Join Sarah and Erica as we get into fish consumption, French cooking, costumes and material culture, and why contracts mattered in the medieval Mediterranean. Want to learn more about medieval contracts and notarial culture? Check out: Daniel Lord Smail, Imaginary Carto...
Aug 08, 2021•2 hr
Sarah is joined by fellow medievalist Marita (Miti) von Weissenberg to discuss the encounters between Vikings and indigenous peoples as seen in Pathfinder (2007). We delve into white savior narratives, trading vs. raiding, and, of course, shirtless Karl Urban. Thanks to our guest’s expertise, we have an excellent array of recommendations! Primary Texts: The Vinland Sagas, trans. Keneva Kunz, intro. and notes by Gísli Digurdsson. New York: Penguin Books, 2008 Tim Frandy, Translation of Inari Sámi...
Jul 24, 2021•2 hr 10 min
Sarah tricked Ollie into playing a video game and watching a movie. He then forgot he doesn't host the podcast anymore. Together they discuss the search for the "Apple of Eden" and whether or not a secret order can be secret if they keep announcing themselves to the world. P.S Ollie swears quite badly while talking about Columbus
Jul 10, 2021•2 hr 30 min
