Cesare Borgia in a Nutshell MadeGlobal’s History in a Nutshell Series aims to give readers a good grounding in a historical topic in a concise, easily digestible and accessible way. Cesare Borgia in a Nutshell outlines the life of one of history’s most controversial figures from his birth through to his murder in 1507 at the age of just 31. This book aims to expose the truth behind the age-old rumours of this ancient family and to shed light onto a fascinating period of history. Today on this bo...
Nov 18, 2016•9 min•Season 1Ep. 71
The Children's Crusade 1212In the summer of 1212 a French boy and a German boy had separate visions of freeing the Holy Land from the Muslims. Their quests included over 20,000 medieval children and is known as the Children's Crusade. Stephan of Cloyes, a French shepard boy, claimed Jesus told him to gather a group of children and free the Holy Land. That same year in Germany, Nicholas of Cologne, had his own idea to free the Holy Land of Muslims. The two boys enlisted the help of thousands of c...
Sep 07, 2016•16 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah from the Medieval Archives! No intro, no talking just Christmas music inspired by the Middle Ages! Have a safe holiday season and thank you for supporting the Medieval Archives Podcast. Please send any comments, suggestions or topic ideas to podcast@medievalarchives.com If you are enjoying the podcast please considering leaving a rating on iTunes. Rate the Medieval Archives Podcast now! Listen to the episode now http://www.medievalarchives.com/medievalpatron Ge...
Dec 22, 2015•51 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Happy Halloween! The Spanish Inquisition, started in 1478 by Ferdinand and Isabella, was used to rid Spain and the Spanish Territories of heretics. The Spanish Inquisition targeted Catholics who strayed from the Catholic teaches and expanded to Jews, Muslims and non-Catholic Christians. Being convicted by an Inquisition tribunal didn't also led to death, but it almost guaranteed torture. Torture to confess your sins, torture to renounce your evil ways or to name other heretics. Today on the Hall...
Oct 27, 2015•51 min•Season 1Ep. 69
During the first phase of the Hundred Years War a smaller war broke out in France, the Breton War of Succession. Wars of Succession always start the same way, a Nobleman dies without an heir. In this case it was the Duke of Brittany, John the Good, who died childless in 1341. Two men stepped up to claim the duchy and the Civil War raged for 23 years. But in the midst of it all a combat was held that's remembered for the Chivalry and Honor that was displayed by both sides. On 26 March 1351 60 kni...
Oct 14, 2015•17 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Women in the Middle Ages were docile, meek and subservient. Or at least that's what we were led to believe. But that isn't always the case. In previous lessons we looked at Black Agnes, the defender of Dunbar Castle and Melisende, the Queen of Jerusalem. Women like Joan of Arc, Isabella, the She-Wolf of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine are examples of powerful women in the Middle Ages. Today we are going to look at more women who broke the stereotype and proved to be strong, powerful leaders and ...
Jul 06, 2015•25 min•Season 1Ep. 67
The Battle of Sluys was the first major battle of the Hundred Years' War. There were a few battles before it but nothing that compared to the size and ramifications of Sluys. The Hundred Years' War was a series of wars between England's Plantagenet Dynasty and France's House of Valois and lasted 116 years! The main cause of the war was the rightful rulers of France. In 1328 King Edward III of England was the closest living mail heir to the French throne. However, when King Charles IV of France d...
Jun 23, 2015•16 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales toward the end of the 14th century. The tales are a story telling contest by a group of pilgrims traveling to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Today we are going to listen to The Pardoner's Tale, a tale of greed, treachery and betrayal. The Pardoner's Tale is about three young men who discover their friend has been killed. The men set out to avenge their friend and kill death, but quickly abandon their plans when they discover...
May 25, 2015•46 min•Season 1Ep. 65
While browsing a B. Dalton bookstore in 1987 I happened upon a book with a glowing sword on the cover. The description talked of Skull Bearers, trolls, dwarfs, elves and a powerful Sword of Shannara. I was sold! That summer I read the entire Original Shannara trilogy by Terry Brooks. Over the years I would continue to read any book with the name Terry Brooks across the front. The magic of his words, the castles and keeps, swords, heroes and villains captured my imagination and never let go. The ...
Mar 23, 2015•44 min•Season 1Ep. 64
This year marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. The medieval King responsible for the document is King John of England. He didn't create it, but it was his turbulent reign that caused the Barons to create the document. King John put his seal on it in June 1215 and then refused to abide by the Magna Carta forcing the Barons to revolt against their king. Their revolt, The First Barons' War or The Magna Carta Rebellion, lasted over two years and only ended with the death of King John. Tod...
Mar 16, 2015•48 min•Season 1Ep. 63
We are two weeks away from the beginning of the Richard III re-interment ceremonies. Leicester will be packed with dignitaries, tourist and medievalists to witness the final procession of Richard from Leiscester to Bosworth and back. On the last episode we talked to David Monteith, the Dean of Leicester Cathedral about the Cathedral and the re-interment process. Today on the Medieval Archives. Podcast we talk to author and historian Kristie Dean about her new book, The World of Richard III. The ...
Mar 09, 2015•25 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Three years ago archaeologists began a dig to discover the lost remains of King Richard III. Unbelievably they found his remains the very first day! It took over a week of careful excavation to uncover and exhume his bones. The bones were sent to the University of Leicester for analysis. After months of testing and DNA analysis the University confirmed on 04 February 2013 that the remains found in the Leicester car park were indeed Richard III. The discovery brought up another battle...where to ...
Feb 23, 2015•35 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Season 3 Premiere! What's in store for Ragnar and company this year? A trip to Wessex, raids, glory? All that and more! Find out on another great episode of Vikings. On this episode of The Vikings Podcast we'll review and recap the Season 3 premiere episode, Mercenary. Then we'll look at the history presented in the show and see how it compares to actual history. Mercenary Ragnar and Lagertha's fleets depart Kattegat once more for Wessex but this time they bring settlers. King Ecbert hosts the V...
Feb 23, 2015•28 min•Season 3Ep. 301
Six hundred years ago Anti-Pope John XXIII called the Council of Constance. It was an ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church and began in November 1414. The main purpose of the Council was to end the Western Schism. In 1414 three Popes ruled the Catholic Church, Anti-Popes John XXIII and Benedict XIII and Pope Gregory XII. There were two other issues the Council addressed as well. The heretics John Wyclif and Jan Hus and the Lithuania-Teutonic Knight conflict. The Council of ...
Nov 26, 2014•29 min•Season 1Ep. 60
Journalist and author Ian Macgill found his writing passion traveling through the jungles of South America. As a young man Ian was awarded the Winston Churchill fellowship and traveled through South America studying ancient sites. His adventures in South America would make a great book as well! After his travels he returned to Britain and began his career as a journalist. Ian now owns and operates the Grapevine Magazine in Sheffeld, England. Most recently Ian authored the book The Rhyme of King ...
Nov 11, 2014•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Gilles de Rais, an esteemed knight and the Marshall of France, who fought alongside Joan of Arc. Then he turned to the occult and tried to deal with the devil. Gilles isn't remembered as a hero of France, instead he is remembered as a gruesome child murderer. On today's episode we are going to look at Gilles de Rais, a knight who fought alongside Joan of Arc and was her trusted adviser. He was granted the title of Marshal of France by King Charles VII for his loyalty and military victories. But ...
Oct 29, 2014•38 min•Season 1Ep. 58
I wanted to get out a quick update to let you know about the VIKINGS Season 2 Blu-ray giveaway! It's easy to enter and you could take home a great prize! Head over to http://www.medievalarchives.com/vikingsgiveaway to enter the contest. One lucky player will win a copy of VIKINGS Season 2 on Blu-ray Listen to the episode now The Blu-Ray version includes all 10 original episodes plus: 10 extended and unrated episodes (same episodes as the original with added scenes and no TV rating) “The Viking S...
Oct 24, 2014•5 min•Season 2Ep. 212
Award-winning journalist, best selling author and Historian Dan Jones joins the Medieval Archives Podcast to talk all things Plantagenets! His first book on the subject The Plantagents: The Kings Who made England covers the first two centuries of Plantagenet Kings from Henry II to Richard II. In his latest book Wars of the Roses(Hollow Crown, UK Title), Dan chronicles the last century of the Plantagenet dynasty and the Wars of the Roses. He sets the stage with Henry V, takes readers through the ...
Oct 14, 2014•54 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Jan Hus was a Czech or more accurately for his time, a Bohemian priest, philosopher and religious reformer who shock up the catholic church in the 15th century. We'll look at his life, his ideas about religion and the catholic church and the wars fought in his name. I have shelves and shelves of medieval history books and almost all of them handle the history of Jan Hus and the Hussite Wars the same way...briefly. Most give the subject one or two paragraphs and nothing more. On today's episode w...
Sep 29, 2014•45 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Few authors can capture the atmosphere of the middle ages as well as Bernard Cornwell. A master storyteller Bernard has written over 50 books! I first discovered Bernard Cornwell in the early 2000s when I was browsing at a local bookstore. A book titled The Archer's Tale caught my attention and the main character was an archer fighting in the Hundred Years' War. SOLD! Now I own all Bernard Cornwell's books and anxiously await the newest installment in the Saxon Series, The Empty Throne! Bernard ...
Sep 16, 2014•35 min•Season 1Ep. 55
In June 1314 Scotland faced off against England in a battle that would be remembered through the ages. Outnumbered more than 2-1 the Scots banded together to fight the mighty English. The Battle of Bannockburn started out with an epic confrontation between King Robert the Bruce and the English knight Henry de Bohun. The outcome of that single combat would foretell the outcome of the battle. Bannockburn defined a man and a country and in its wake Scotland would remain a free and independent natio...
Jun 24, 2014•32 min•Season 1Ep. 54
For everyone living today the Kingdom of Scotland has been apart of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. But the two kingdoms weren't always united. In fact they have only been unified for 300 years. Prior to the 1707 Treaty of Union, Scotland was an independent nation. Travel back even farther, to the late 13th, early 14th century England led by Edward I, the 'Hammer of the Scots' was trying to bring Scotland under control. What Edward didn't count on was a group of Scots, noble and common, ste...
Jun 19, 2014•33 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Defender of the City of God is a new book by award winning author Sharan Newman. It examines the First Crusade, the Crusader state of Jerusalem and Queen Melisande. Sharan also writes fiction novels based in the Middle Ages, including a series of Medieval mysteries. In this lesson we talk with Sharan about her background, her books, both fiction and non-fiction, her writing style and her love of the Middle Ages. Defender of the City of God: Jerusalem sits at the crossroads of three continents an...
May 14, 2014•40 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Jacques de Molay the 23rd and final Grand Master of The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, better know as The Knights Templar. The Knights Templar formed in 1119 and quickly rose in power and wealth. With help from the church they were able to amass a fortune in money and property. They were fierce warriors of God that set out to protect the Holy Land and Christian pilgrims. Lead by Jacques de Molay in the late 13th Century the Knights Templar were the wealthiest instituti...
Mar 19, 2014•37 min•Season 1Ep. 51
In the Middle Ages torture was used for a variety of reasons, to gain information, to purify heretics and to punish criminals. In this lesson of the Medieval Archives Podcast we are going to explore medieval torture and the devices used by medieval torturers. Devices of pain, torment and mutilation used by the Church to punish heretics and blasphemers. You'll even find out which Pope issued a papal bull condoning the use of torture! Join us on the dark side of the Middle Ages as we explore Medie...
Feb 25, 2014•30 min•Season 1Ep. 50
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was the most powerful Crusader State in the Middle Ages. Melisende, the daughter of King Baldwin II, would rule Jerusalem after the death of her father. A power struggle with her husband, Fulk V, led to a divided Kingdom. Finally in 1143 she became the sole ruler of Jerusalem, but still faced concerns of the Muslims invading and her son Baldwin III coming of age. Queen Melisende would rule Jerusalem for 22 years defending the Crusader states against Muslim attacks and su...
Feb 11, 2014•31 min•Season 1Ep. 49
03 February 2014 marks the 1,000th anniversary of the death of King Sweyn Forkbeard. Once Forkbeard became the King of Denmark and Norway he started raiding England. After the English massacred thousands of Danes on St. Brice's Day Forkbeard increased his raids until he was able to overthrow the sitting King. Sweyn would never have a chance to rule England, he died shortly after becoming King. Some say he was killed by the ghost of St. Edmund! His reign was short, in fact he holds the record for...
Feb 03, 2014•28 min•Season 1Ep. 48
January 2014 marks the 1,200th anniversary of the death of Charlemagne. He started his reign at the age of 26 as the King of the Franks. By the time of his death in 814 he was the Holy Roman Emperor and ruled the majority of continental Europe. Join us today as we examine the life of Charlemagne. We'll look at his military exploits, how he was able to grow his empire and become the first Holy Roman Emperor. Charlemagne's greatness didn't end on the battlefield. He set out to reform education, re...
Jan 27, 2014•43 min•Season 1Ep. 47
For 4000 years China has been an innovative society, starting with the Great Wall and the Grand Canal. In the Middle Ages China invented item after item that revolutionized the world for centuries to come. Some of them we still use today! Things that we take for granted; paper money, kites, folding umbrellas and playing cards, just to name a few. Join us as we examine the inventions from Medieval China that changed history! We'll look at inventions in agriculture, navigation, communication and w...
Jan 20, 2014•42 min•Season 1Ep. 46
2013 is coming to a close. That means it's time for a year in review wrap up of the year's medieval events and we have a special guest, Peter from Medievalists.net! We discuss 10 of the top medieval stories of 2013. You can find the write up for the Top 10 Stories on Medievalists.net (http://www.medievalists.net/2013/12/26/top-10-medieval-news-stories-of-2013/) Listen to the episode now Got questions? Want to leave a comment? Send an email to podcast@medievalarchives.com and let me know what you...
Dec 26, 2013•41 min•Season 1Ep. 45
