Beste Medieval History Podcasts (2025)

1
Marcel Elias, "English Literature and the Crusades: Anxieties of Holy War, 1291-1453" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 26:09

11h ago26:09

26:09

The period from the Mamlūk reconquest of Acre (1291) to the Ottoman siege of Constantinople (1453) witnessed the production of a substantial corpus of Middle English crusade romances. In English Literature and the Crusades: Anxieties of Holy War, 1291–1453 (Cambridge University Press, 2024) Dr. Marcel Elias places these romances in dialogue with mu…

1
Isabel de Clare (d.1220) with Dr John Marshall 58:48

3d ago58:48

58:48

"I have no claim to anything here save through her". These are the reputed words of one of the most famous knights in English history, William Marshal, describing his wife Isabel, daughter of Aoife and Strongbow. In honour of St Valentine's Day Dr John Marshall (Lancaster University) gives us the full story of Isabel de Clare — a fascinating noblew…

1
152: Rufus's New Archbishop 51:19

5d ago51:19

51:19

SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 152: Rufus’s New Archbishop On his deathbed, William Rufus has a change of heart regarding England’s Church. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th century, including but not limited to the creati…

1
Jacqueline M. Burek, "Literary Variety and the Writing of History in Britain's Long Twelfth Century" (York Medieval Press, 2023) 54:33

11h ago54:33

54:33

Histories of Britain composed during the "twelfth-century renaissance" display a remarkable amount of literary variety (Latin varietas). Furthermore, British historians writing after the Norman Conquest often draw attention to the differing forms of their texts. But why would historians of this period associate literary variety with the work of his…

1
Adam Pennington, "Henry VIII and the Plantagenet Poles: The Rise and Fall of a Dynasty" (Pen and Sword History, 2024) 48:23

1d ago48:23

48:23

The story of King Henry VIII, a man who married six times only to execute two of those wives, is part of Great Britain’s national and international identity. Each year, millions of people walk around the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace and Hever Castle, plus many other historical sites, taking in and hoping to glean some sense of the man and …

1
Erika Graham-Goering et al., "Lordship and the Decentralised State in Late Medieval Europe" (Oxford UP, 2025) 48:00

2d ago48:00

48:00

Jana Byars talks to Erika Graham-Goering of the University of Oslo about Lordship and the Decentralized State in Late Medieval Europe (Oxford University Press, 2025), which was edited by Graham-Goering, Jim van der Meulen, and Frederik Buylaert. The origins of modern European states are often traced back to the expansion of royal and princely autho…

1
Josef Stern, "Maimonides' "Guide of the Perplexed" in Translation: A History from the Thirteenth Century to the Twentieth" (U Chicago Press, 2019) 40:39

7d ago40:39

40:39

There is a common misconception that the Jewish religion does not believe in an afterlife. While it’s true that Judaism is focused on actions, intentions and thoughts in this life, it also believes in an afterlife, and has a variety of points of view about what happens after death. Today’s guest, Professor Joseph Stern, will discuss Maimonides’ uni…

1
Bonus episode: Interpreting the 'Anglo-Norman' Invasion with Dr Colin Veach 24:09

9d ago24:09

24:09

As a follow up to our episode on the English Conquest with Dr Colin Veach (University of Hull) we examine the bias inherent in the contemporary sources, including the famous Laudabiliter papal bull, the works of Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis/Gerald de Barri) , and the 'Song of Dermot and the Earl'. We also discuss how historians can best app…

1
1169: The English Conquest of Ireland with Dr Colin Veach 54:22

17d ago54:22

54:22

Happy St Brigit's weekend! (For links to Brigit content see below). Instead of Brigit we were eager to release an episode we recorded just before Christmas with the brilliant Dr Colin Veach, from the University of Hull, on the English colonisation of Ireland, which may be known to some of you as the Anglo-Norman Invasion. Today’s episode mostly foc…

1
Adam Franklin-Lyons, "Shortage and Famine in the Late Medieval Crown of Aragon" (Penn State Press, 2022) 1:01:44

17d ago1:01:44

1:01:44

Adam Franklin-Lyons joins Jana Byars to talk about Shortage and Famine in the Late Medieval Crown of Aragon (Penn State Press, 2022). In the late fourteenth century, the medieval Crown of Aragon experienced a series of food crises that created conflict and led to widespread starvation. Adam Franklin-Lyons applies contemporary understandings of comp…

1
151: Rufus & The Northern Border 33:35

20d ago33:35

33:35

This episode outlines one of William Rufus’s most enduring contributions to England’s long and storied past: the border with the kingdom’s northern neighbor, Scotland. SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 151: Rufus & The Northern Border Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying sto…

1
Bianca M. Lopez, "Queen of Sorrows: Plague, Piety, and Power in Late Medieval Italy" (Cornell UP, 2024) 53:52

26d ago53:52

53:52

Queen of Sorrows: Plague, Piety, and Power in Late Medieval Italy (Cornell University Press, 2024) by Dr. Bianca Lopez takes an original approach to both late-medieval Italian history and the history of Christianity, using quantitative and qualitative analyses of a remarkable archive of 1,904 testaments to determine patterns in giving to the Virgin…

1
Fashion and clothing with Mairéad Finnegan 34:32

1M ago34:32

34:32

In this episode, Niamh Wycherley interviews Mairéad Finnegan, a PhD researcher in Maynooth University, about dress, clothing and fashion in late medieval Ireland (12th to 16th centuries). Mairéad brilliantly paints a vivid picture of how a medieval Irish person would express their ethnic identity, status, gender or community through their clothes a…

1
Alec Goldstein, "Maimonides on the Book of Exodus" (Kodesh Press, 2019) 37:06

1M ago37:06

37:06

Today I talked to Alec Goldstein about Maimonides on the Book of Exodus (Kodesh Press, 2019). Rabbi Moses son of Maimon, known in Hebrew as Rambam and in English as Maimonides, is one of Judaism’s most influential and enduring figures. His works have shaped Jewish thought for centuries, combining legal precision, philosophical brilliance, and profo…

1
Yehudah Cohn, trans., "Mine Is The Golden Tongue: The Hebrew Sonnets Of Immanuel Of Rome" (Centro Primo Levi, 2023) 1:12:17

1M ago1:12:17

1:12:17

Mine Is The Golden Tongue: The Hebrew Sonnets Of Immanuel Of Rome (Centro Primo Levi, 2023) contains the first known sonnets written in Hebrew. Their author is Immanuel of Rome, an intensely studied yet little-known 14th-century poet, who adapted the quantitative meter of Arabic and Hebrew poetry from al-Andalous to the syllabic meter of romance po…

1
Anthony Bale, "A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages: The World Through Medieval Eyes" (Norton, 2024) 38:15

1M ago38:15

38:15

A captivating journey of the expansive world of medieval travel, from London to Constantinople to the court of China and beyond. Europeans of the Middle Ages were the first to use travel guides to orient their wanderings, as they moved through a world punctuated with miraculous wonders and beguiling encounters. In this vivid and alluring history, m…

1
150: A Brother Rejected 57:58

1M ago57:58

57:58

SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 150: A Brother Rejected This episode spans the entire duchy of Normandy, from one end to the other, and, symbolically, is the first shot in a decade-long struggle between the brothers that will see but one winner when it’s all said and done. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per…

1
Alastair Gornall, "Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270" (UCL Press, 2020) 56:07

1M ago56:07

56:07

Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270 (UCL Press, 2020) is the first intellectual history of premodern Sri Lanka’s most culturally productive period. This era of reform (1157–1270) shaped the nature of Theravada Buddhism both in Sri Lanka and also Southeast Asia and even today continues to define monastic i…

1
St Columbanus and the Merovingians with Dr Alexander O'Hara 52:32

1M ago52:32

52:32

Happy New Year! To soothe fragile minds after the Christmas break we are easing you in to 2025 with St Columbanus part 2 — a further, more relaxed, reflection, on the career and legacy of Irish monastic founder Columbanus with Dr Alexander O'Hara. Do listen to our previous episode from November 22nd first if you get the chance. In this episode, we …

1
149: The Price of Rebellion 1:00:35

2M ago1:00:35

1:00:35

SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 149: The Price of Rebellion Examples need to be made and people need to be paid after Odo’s rebellion against King William II of England. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th century, including …

1
Hartley Lachter, "Kabbalah and Catastrophe: Historical Memory in Premodern Jewish Mysticism" (Stanford UP, 2024) 45:29

2M ago45:29

45:29

While premodern kabbalistic texts were not chronicles of historical events, they provided elaborate models for understanding the secret divine plan guiding human affairs. Hartley Lachter analyzes innovative kabbalistic doctrines, such as the idea of reincarnation and the notion of multiple successive universes, through which Jewish mystics sought t…

1
Theresa Flanigan, "The Ponte Vecchio: Architecture, Politics, and Civic Identity in Late Medieval Florence" (Brepols, 2024) 49:43

2M ago49:43

49:43

Famous today for the shops lining its sloped street, the Ponte Vecchio is the last premodern bridge spanning the Arno River at Florence and one of the few remaining examples of the once more prevalent urbanized bridge type. Drawing from early Florentine chronicles and previously unpublished archival documents, The Ponte Vecchio: Architecture, Polit…

1
Law and Society with Prof. Liam Breatnach 58:45

2M ago58:45

58:45

Happy Christmas everyone! In today's episode, Professor Liam Breatnach (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), one of Ireland's leading experts on the Old/Middle Irish language, medieval Irish law (so-called Brehon Law), poets and the Irish language, explains what the law tracts can tell us about medieval Irish society, the intellectual networks a…

1
148: The Green Tree Prophecy, Part 2 49:01

2M ago49:01

49:01

The Rebellion of 1088 was a markedly important moment in English history in which the fate of the kingdom — the promise all of those glorious centuries to come — hung in the balance. Would the battered and beaten English choose to remain rebellious against the sons of The Conqueror, or would they choose a new path forward? SEASON 7: Miniseries: A T…

1
147: The Green Tree Prophecy, Part 1 44:02

2M ago44:02

44:02

As Edward the Confessor lay dying, he sprang from a deep sleep and told of a dream he had involving a green tree. Could he have glimpsed a prophecy of the future of England? And would that prophecy come to fruition in the earliest days of the reign of King William II Rufus? SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 147: The Green Tree …

1
David J. Collins, SJ, "Disenchanting Albert the Great: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Magician" (Penn State UP, 2024) 1:07:26

2M ago1:07:26

1:07:26

David J Collins, SJ joins Jana Byars to talk about Disenchanting Albert the Great: the Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Magician (Penn State Press, 2024). Albert the Great (1200–1280) was a prominent Dominican friar, a leading philosopher, and the teacher of Thomas Aquinas. He also endorsed the use of magic. Controversial though that stance would h…

1
Herald van der Linde, "Majapahit: Intrigue, Betrayal and War in Indonesia's Greatest Empire" (Monsoon Books, 2024) 47:39

2M ago47:39

47:39

Majapahit was Indonesia, and Southeast Asia’s, largest empire. Centered on the island of Java, Majapahit commanded loyalty from vassals across the archipelago: on Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, and even the Malay Peninsula, including a tiny village called Tumasik–known today as Singapore. The empire lasted for around 230 years, from its founding in 129…

1
146: Inheritance & Division 1:04:58

2M ago1:04:58

1:04:58

SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 146: Inheritance & Division England, 1087: William the Conqueror was dead. His sons, Robert Curthose, William Rufus, and Henry Beauclerc were left to clean up the mess. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far throu…

1
Shannon Gayk, "Apocalyptic Ecologies: From Creation to Doom in Middle English Literature" (U Chicago Press, 2024) 54:58

2M ago54:58

54:58

Shannon Gayk joins Jana Byars to discuss her new book. Apocalyptic Ecologies: From Creation to Doom in Medieval English Literature (University of Chicago Press, 2024) is a meditative reflection on what medieval disaster writing can teach us about how to respond to the climate emergency. When a series of ecological disasters swept medieval England, …

1
The Material World of Medieval Ireland with Dr Sharon Greene 56:39

2M ago56:39

56:39

Today, Dr Sharon Greene tells us how archaeologists explore how people lived in the past, what they believed and so on through the material remains they left behind. This can sometimes confirm or deny what the written records tell us – but most often it adds another layer to our understanding medieval Ireland. We chat about disciplinary challenges,…

1
145: The Next Turn of the Wheel 50:50

3M ago50:50

50:50

Fortune’s Wheel is embarking on a new chapter in our shared medieval history. Thank you for listening and thank you for your support. SEASON 7: Drums of War EPISODE 145: The Next Turn of the Wheel Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th century, includ…

1
Denys Turner, "Dante the Theologian" (Cambridge UP, 2022) 1:23:09

3M ago1:23:09

1:23:09

An understanding of Dante the theologian as distinct from Dante the poet has been neglected in an appreciation of Dante's work as a whole. That is the starting-point of Dante the Theologian (Cambridge UP, 2022). In giving theology fresh centrality, the author argues that theologians themselves should find, when they turn to Dante Alighieri, a compe…

1
James Mallinson, "The Dattatreyayogasastra" (Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient, 2024) 1:11:08

3M ago1:11:08

1:11:08

This book introduces, edits and translates the Dattātreyayogaśātra, a Sanskrit text on yoga composed in about 1200 CE in South India. It teaches four types of yoga practice but devotes the majority of its 193 verses to haṭhayoga, which it divides into two varieties, one which consists of the eight auxiliaries first taught by Patañjali and one which…

1
Phillip Lieberman, "The Fate of the Jews in the Early Islamic Near East: Tracing the Demographic Shift from East to West" (Cambridge UP, 2022) 1:28:30

3M ago1:28:30

1:28:30

In The Fate of the Jews in the Early Islamic Near East: Tracing the Demographic Shift from East to West (Cambridge UP, 2022), Phillip Lieberman revisits one of the foundational narratives of medieval Jewish history--that the rise of Islam led the Jews of Babylonia, the largest Jewish community prior to the rise of Islam, to abandon a livelihood bas…

1
Leila K. Norako, "Monstrous Fantasies: England's Crusading Imaginary and the Romance of Recovery, 1300-1500" (Cornell UP, 2024) 1:27:32

3M ago1:27:32

1:27:32

Monstrous Fantasies: England's Crusading Imaginary and the Romance of Recovery, 1300-1500 (Cornell University Press, 2024) by Dr. Leila Norako asks why medieval romances reimagining the crusades ending in a Christian victory circulated in England with such abundance after the 1291 Muslim reconquest of Acre, the last of the Latin crusader states in …

1
St Columbanus with Dr Alexander O'Hara 54:27

3M ago54:27

54:27

Happy anniversary to St Columbanus, famous as a monastic founder, and a symbol of a united Europe, who is remembered as having died on Nov 23rd in the year 615! (Happy birthday also to Dr O'Hara's wife! More info in episode). Columbanus aficionado Dr Alexander O'Hara brings us through Columbanus' auspicious beginnings as a handsome aristocrat in Le…

1
144: An Example For All 57:27

3M ago57:27

57:27

SEASON 6 FINALE!!! Dilexi iustitiam et odivi iniquitatem, propterea morior in exilio. I hope you are sitting down for this one. I have one more bit of news to share with you all. The question is…how will the Countess take the news? SEASON 6: The Other Norman Conquest EPISODE 144: An Example For All Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar …

1
Lisa Nielson, "Music and Musicians in the Medieval Islamicate World: A Social History" (Bloomsbury, 2021) 1:54:16

3M ago1:54:16

1:54:16

During the early medieval Islamicate period (800–1400 CE), discourses concerned with music and musicians were wide-ranging and contentious, and expressed in works on music theory and philosophy as well as literature and poetry. But in spite of attempts by influential scholars and political leaders to limit or control musical expression, music and s…

1
Medieval Irish Manuscripts with Dr Chantal Kobel 56:07

3M ago56:07

56:07

In this episode, we are joined by Dr Chantal Kobel (Department of Early Irish, Maynooth University) to chat all about medieval Irish manuscripts (literally documents written by hand) and the various specialists skills and tools needed to read these precious historical sources. From palaeography (the study of old handwriting and writing systems) to …

1
Filippo Gianferrari, "Dante's Education: Latin Schoolbooks and Vernacular Poetics" (Oxford UP, 2024) 51:29

3M ago51:29

51:29

In fourteenth-century Italy, literacy became accessible to a significantly larger portion of the lay population (allegedly between 60 and 80 percent in Florence) and provided a crucial means for the vernacularization and secularization of learning, and for the democratization of citizenship. In Dante's Education: Latin Schoolbooks and Vernacular Po…

1
Hannah Weaver, "Experimental Histories: Interpolation and the Medieval British Past" (Cornell UP, 2024) 53:49

3M ago53:49

53:49

In Experimental Histories: Interpolation and the Medieval British Past (Cornell University Press, 2024), Dr. Hannah Weaver examines the mediaeval practice of interpolation—inserting material from one text into another—which is often categorised as being a problematic, inauthentic phenomenon akin to forgery and pseudepigraphy. Instead, Weaver promot…

1
143: Hic Terror Mundi, Guiscardo 41:05

4M ago41:05

41:05

Hic Terror Mundi, Guiscardo. It’s one of the most powerful epitaphs in world history. SEASON 6: The Other Norman Conquest EPISODE 143: Hic Terror Mundi, Guiscardo Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th century, including but not limited to the creatio…

1
Nicholas Spencer, "Magisteria: The Entangled Histories of Science & Religion" (Oneworld, 2024) 55:32

4M ago55:32

55:32

Most things you 'know' about science and religion are myths or half-truths that grew up in the last years of the nineteenth century and remain widespread today. The true history of science and religion is a human one. It's about the role of religion in inspiring, and strangling, science before the scientific revolution. It's about the sincere but e…

1
Georgia Henley, "Reimagining the Past in the Borderlands of Medieval England and Wales" (Oxford UP, 2024) 45:42

4M ago45:42

45:42

Challenging the standard view that England emerged as a dominant power and Wales faded into obscurity after Edward I's conquest in 1282, Reimagining the Past in the Borderlands of Medieval England and Wales (Oxford University Press, 2024) by Dr. Georgia Henley considers how Welsh (and British) history became an enduringly potent instrument of polit…

1
Subhashini Kaligotla, "Shiva's Waterfront Temples: Architects and Their Audiences in Medieval India" (Yale UP, 2022) 31:55

4M ago31:55

31:55

The vibrant red sandstone temples of India's Deccan Plateau, such as the Pattadakal temple cluster, have attracted visitors since the eighth century or earlier. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the coronation place of the Chalukya dynasty, Pattadakal and its neighboring sites are of major historical importance. In Shiva's Waterfront Temples: Archit…

1
Bihani Sarkar, "Classical Sanskrit Tragedy: The Concept of Suffering and Pathos in Medieval India" (I. B. Tauris, 2021) 1:24:55

4M ago1:24:55

1:24:55

It is often assumed that classical Sanskrit poetry and drama lack a concern with the tragic. However, as Bihani Sarkar makes clear in Classical Sanskrit Tragedy: The Concept of Suffering and Pathos in Medieval India (I. B. Tauris, 2021), this is far from the case. In the first study of tragedy in classical Sanskrit literature, Sarkar draws on a wid…

1
142: The Norman Sack of Rome 39:40

4M ago39:40

39:40

One of the most devastating events in the Middle Ages occurs on this episode. The fact that it isn’t talked about more is, frankly, criminal. And of all of our protagonists and antagonists in this season of the podcast, you may be surprised who it affects the most. SEASON 6: The Other Norman Conquest EPISODE 142: The Norman Sack of Rome Members-Onl…

1
Dennis Wuerthner, "Poems and Stories for Overcoming Idleness: P’ahan chip by Yi Illo" (U Hawaii Press, 2024) 1:37:55

4M ago1:37:55

1:37:55

Dr. Dennis Wuerthner’s Poems and Stories for Overcoming Idleness: P’ahan chip by Yi Illo (U Hawaii Press, 2024) is the first complete English translation of one of the oldest extant Korean source materials. The scholar, Yi Illo (1152–1220), filled this collection with poetry by himself and diverse writers, ranging from Chinese master poets and Kory…

1
Toni Alimi, "Slaves of God: Augustine and Other Romans on Religion and Politics" (Princeton UP, 2024) 1:06:58

4M ago1:06:58

1:06:58

Augustine believed that slavery is permissible, but to understand why, we must situate him in his late antique Roman intellectual context. Slaves of God: Augustine and Other Romans on Religion and Politics (Princeton UP, 2024) provides a major reassessment of this monumental figure in the Western religious and political tradition, tracing the remar…

1
Sharon Kinoshita, "Marco Polo and His World" (Reaktion Books, 2024) 48:23

4M ago48:23

48:23

Sharon Kinoshita talks with Jana Byars about her new book, Marco Polo and His World (Reaktion Press, 2024). A lavishly illustrated tour of the famed adventurer's globetrotting travels, written by a celebrated translator of Polo's writings. At the age of seventeen, Marco Polo left his Venetian home on a continent-spanning adventure that lasted for n…

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Medieval History Podcasts

Podcasts, die es wert sind, gehört zu werden

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