Gone Medieval

By History Hit

What's Gone Medieval about?

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.

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Gone Medieval episodes:

04.26.2024
The Witan: England's First Parliament?
Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, was a great king who united what was once a collection of petty Anglo-Saxon kingdoms into one vast English domains. Having brought together rival polities with a history of fractious relations into a unified...
04.23.2024
Medieval Italy
The huge peninsula of what we today call Italy saw waves of invasions and sweeping changes over the course of the Medieval period, with huge differences between, say, Milan in the north stretching to Sicily in the south. They...
04.19.2024
How the Plantagenets Built England
Six Plantagenet kings ruled between 1199 and 1399 - two centuries that witnessed civil war, deposition, the murder of kings and the ruthless execution of rebel lords. There was also international warfare, a devastating national pandemic, economic crisis and...
04.16.2024
Rise of Wessex
In Gone Medieval’s special series exploring some of Anglo-Saxon Britain’s most influential kingdoms, we reach Wessex - the last kingdom left to stand against the Great Heathen Army. Under the command of Alfred the Great, Wessex achieved what no other kingdom...
04.11.2024
Rise of Mercia
In Gone Medieval’s special series examining some of Anglo-Saxon Britain’s most significant kingdoms, we arrive at the kingdom of Mercia, which once enjoyed supremacy over not only Wessex but all of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. At its peak, Mercia controlled what...
04.09.2024
Life on Crusade
Accounts of the Crusades were usually commissioned by wealthy and influential people about themselves, to make their piety and righteousness known to others. But what about the less glamorous people who went on Crusades? And what was life like when they...
04.05.2024
The Dynasty that Made Medieval France
From Hugh Capet to Eleanor of Aquitaine, the Capetian dynasty considered itself divinely chosen to fulfil a great destiny. From an insecure foothold around Paris, the Capetians built a nation that stretched from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and from the...
04.02.2024
Rise of Northumbria
In a time of in-fighting and tribal warfare, what did it take to form the politically dominant, culturally rich and geographically vast kingdoms that led to the creation of England? This month, over four episodes of Gone Medieval, we explore the...
03.29.2024
What is a Pilgrimage?
In medieval times, Britain was criss-crossed by pilgrim routes, that took in such world-famous sites as Canterbury and Lindisfarne as well as out-of-the-way locations along paths not so widely travelled. But why did people undergo pilgrimage? What were its benefits?...
03.26.2024
Medieval Sex Work
Prostitutes were everywhere in the streets and neighbourhoods of medieval cities. In one and the same building, there might be a school upstairs, while downstairs prostitutes plied their nefarious trade. But how did such a situation come to pass? And...
03.22.2024
King Henry II
One of the pivotal figures in Medieval history, King Henry II centralised royal power, instituted legal reforms and established common law. His marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine expanded his influence, as he became the ruler of a far-reaching European empire. But...
03.19.2024
The Power of Medieval Icons
In the Middle Ages, how did art - particularly Christian icons - serve to connect humanity with heavenly realms? How did such images spread from the Eastern Roman Empire to the rest of Europe? What did they represent and how...
03.15.2024
Peasants' Revolt
The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 was a public rebellion that sent revolutionary ripples across the entire medieval world. In a new video series for History Hit, Matt Lewis has been looking beyond the ancient propaganda to reveal the previously unknown stories...
03.12.2024
Real Medieval Women with Philippa Gregory
When we think about women in the Middle Ages, we know about Eleanor of Aquitaine or Hildegard of Bingen, but we are a lot less likely to think about the alewives plying their trade in cities, or the noble ladies...
03.08.2024
Medieval Origins of Italian Food
For a thousand years, Italy’s cities have been magnets for everything that makes for great eating: ingredients, talent, money and power. Italian food is city food, and telling its story means telling the story of the Italians as a people...
03.05.2024
St. Thurstan: York's Rebel Archbishop
One of Medieval England’s most influential figures, Thurstan was the Archbishop of York from 1114 to 1140 who fought attempts by the Archbishop of Canterbury to assert his primacy over York. Eventually, Thurstan was consecrated by the Pope instead. Now...
03.01.2024
Medieval Ireland: Death & Politics
Court records of naked, murderous monks, tavern brawls, robberies gone wrong, tragic accidents and criminal gangs reveal how the English in medieval Ireland governed and politicised death. In this episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis meets Dr. Joanna MacGugan, whose research...
02.27.2024
The Real Braveheart
This episode contains strong language, graphic scenes of torture and sexual content The chances are, when we think of William Wallace, we think of Mel Gibson in Braveheart, charging down a hill in a kilt with his face painted...
02.23.2024
How to Cook Like a Medieval Chef
Preparing, serving and sharing food has always played a critical role in human history. But what did people in the Middle Ages like to eat and what did their food say about their social status? What was the haute cuisine...
02.20.2024
Sweyn Forkbeard: First Viking King of England
Sweyn Forkbeard was the first Viking King of England, however you'd be forgiven for potentially forgetting who he was given he was only King for five short weeks, being declared King on Christmas Day 1013, and ruling till his death...
02.15.2024
Medieval Mass Murdering Monk: Malmesbury Abbey
Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire was an institution of national significance from the late seventh century until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. It was home to eminent writers and had strong royal connections. It housed the tomb of Æthelstan, first...
02.12.2024
Medieval Apocalypse
In the early 12th century, when England was suffering wave after wave of Viking invasions, many wondered how God could allow their kingdom to be ravaged by pagans? The Archbishop of York Wulfstan had an answer: the apocalypse was coming....
02.08.2024
Justinian: Greatest Byzantine Emperor?
The Eastern Roman Emperor from 527 to 565, Justinian was a ruler who infused even the most mundane tasks with spiritual and religious significance. The challenges he faced - climate change, battles over culture and identity, the first recorded global pandemic...
02.05.2024
How Everyday People Built Medieval Japan
When it comes to Japan in the Middle Ages, we think mostly of stories of the Shogun, samurai and ninjas. But for a society dominated by the court and military elite, much was dependent on the labour of skilled people. In this...
02.01.2024
Geoffrey Chaucer: Father of English Literature
Geoffrey Chaucer is perhaps medieval England’s most famous writer and poet. Now a new exhibition at the Bodleian Library in Oxford is setting out to give him greater breadth and depth than just The Canterbury Tales. To talk more about the...
01.29.2024
The Black Death
By the time the Black Death subsided, between 75 and 200 million people in Afro-Eurasia were dead, entire towns and cities had collapsed, and the earth’s temperature cooled. In today’s episode of Gone Medieval, guardDr Eleanor Janega speaks to Professor Philip...
01.25.2024
Battle of Hastings
Over the previous three episodes in our special series, Gone Medieval has taken a close look at the three main contenders for the throne of England in 1066. From Harold Godwinson who sat on it, to Harold Hardrada who might...
01.22.2024
William the Conqueror
When his cousin King Edward the Confessor died childless, Duke William of Normandy saw the throne of England as his birthright. But one man stood in his way, Harold Godwinson, whom Edward had named as king on his deathbed. In the...
01.18.2024
Harald Hardrada
In the second of Gone Medieval’s series looking at the road to the Battle of Hastings, Matt Lewis focuses on another claimant to the English throne. Harald Hardrada was a legendary Viking warrior who sought to rebuild the North Sea...
01.15.2024
King Arthur's Sex Life
The stories of King Arthur are among the great legends of British history. But behind the romance, chivalry and sorcery of it all, there were some pretty sexy shenanigans going on, at least in the early to mid-Medieval versions of...
01.11.2024
Medieval Anatomy
How did medieval surgeons, doctors and monks understand the inner workings of the human body? Who performed the first scientific human dissections? How did artists depict human anatomy? In this episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis finds out more from Dr....
01.08.2024
Harold Godwinson
All this month on Gone Medieval, Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis uncover the stories of the protagonists and events that led up to the Battle of Hastings. There’s Harold Godwinson, the Anglo Saxon Lord who became the king of...
01.04.2024
Tower of London: Most Infamous Prisoners
From William Wallace and King Henry VI, to Anne Boleyn and Sir Walter Raleigh, London's iconic Tower of London has held some of history's most notorious figures over its 1000 year history. Host of Gone Medieval podcast Matt Lewis joins...
01.01.2024
How To Keep Fit in the Middle Ages
If your new year's resolutions include getting more exercise, drinking less, or eating well, you might be surprised to know that medieval people were every bit as interested as we are in becoming, being and staying healthy. In this episode of...
12.28.2023
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc is a name that’s instantly recognisable to most people. A controversial figure in her own day, she has remained so ever since, often being adopted as a talisman of French nationalism. But how much do we really know—or understand—about...
12.25.2023
The Rise of Christianity
In the fourth century AD, the Christian faith exploded out of Palestine, overwhelming the paganism of Rome, converting the Emperor Constantine in the process. Almost a thousand years later, all of Europe was controlled by Christian rulers, and the religion...
12.21.2023
What Food Did Medieval People Eat?
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...
12.18.2023
Medieval Humour at Christmas
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...
12.14.2023
Richard I's Consort: Berengaria of Navarre
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...
12.11.2023
5 Medieval Christmas Traditions
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...
12.07.2023
Vikings in Medieval Baghdad
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...
12.04.2023
Medieval Origins of Santa Claus: St. Nicholas
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...
11.30.2023
The Fall of Constantinople
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...
11.27.2023
The Rise of Constantinople with Bettany Hughes
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...
11.23.2023
Life on the Medieval Coast
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...
11.20.2023
Leprosy in the Middle Ages
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...
11.16.2023
Princes in the Tower: New Evidence Revealed
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...
11.13.2023
Burma: Medieval Superpower
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,...
11.09.2023
The Medieval Boleyns
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...
11.06.2023
How The Vikings Turned Christian?
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...

What's Gone Medieval about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Gone Medieval episodes:

The Witan: England's First Parliament?

Medieval Italy

How the Plantagenets Built England

Rise of Wessex

Rise of Mercia

Life on Crusade

The Dynasty that Made Medieval France

Rise of Northumbria

What is a Pilgrimage?

Medieval Sex Work

King Henry II

The Power of Medieval Icons

Peasants' Revolt

Real Medieval Women with Philippa Gregory

Medieval Origins of Italian Food

St. Thurstan: York's Rebel Archbishop

Medieval Ireland: Death & Politics

The Real Braveheart

How to Cook Like a Medieval Chef

Sweyn Forkbeard: First Viking King of England

Medieval Mass Murdering Monk: Malmesbury Abbey

Medieval Apocalypse

Justinian: Greatest Byzantine Emperor?

How Everyday People Built Medieval Japan

Geoffrey Chaucer: Father of English Literature

The Black Death

Battle of Hastings

William the Conqueror

Harald Hardrada

King Arthur's Sex Life

Medieval Anatomy

Harold Godwinson

Tower of London: Most Infamous Prisoners

How To Keep Fit in the Middle Ages

Joan of Arc

The Rise of Christianity

What Food Did Medieval People Eat?

Medieval Humour at Christmas

Richard I's Consort: Berengaria of Navarre

5 Medieval Christmas Traditions

Vikings in Medieval Baghdad

Medieval Origins of Santa Claus: St. Nicholas

The Fall of Constantinople

The Rise of Constantinople with Bettany Hughes

Life on the Medieval Coast

Leprosy in the Middle Ages

Princes in the Tower: New Evidence Revealed

Burma: Medieval Superpower

The Medieval Boleyns

How The Vikings Turned Christian?