In this episode learn about Halloween's spooky origins as Samhain, an October 31st Celtic harvest festival featuring all the scariest things: mischievous fairies, ghosts, and taxes! Then learn how All Saints Day and All Souls Day got moved to this time of the year fusing them inextricably with the Celtic traditions resulting in new rituals like wearing white bedsheets and calling yourself a ghost, trick-or-treating, and turnip -carving. Finally, learn how these traditions were exported into America and forever changed into the pumpkin-obsessed candy-filled 12 billion dollar holiday we know and love today.

Sources:

 https://time.com/5434659/halloween-pagan-origins-in-samhain/

https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/13things/7448.html

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/samhain

Marie is back! This episode discusses the origins of playing cards and tarot cards in the Middle Ages. We discuss the origins of suits, the games you could play and what they tell us about Medieval life.

Sources

A Cultural History of Tarot by Farley

Pleasure and Leisure in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age by Classen

Random Riches by Zollinger

Master of the Playing Cards | The Queen of Flowers | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)

We’re going on a bear hunt - Medieval manuscripts blog

ace | Etymology, origin and meaning of ace by etymonline

Karnöffel Game Rules - How to Play Karnöffel the Card Game

When looking at the Republics of medieval Italy it's always shocking to see on the map a northern central Italian country with Rome in it known as the Papal States. The Papal States were a territory under the direct control of the Pope for over a thousand years from AD 756 to 1870. In this episode, we look into why the Pope became a sovereign king over earthly territory, how he protected this land from Huns, Goths, Vandals, and Lombards, how the territories forced the Pope to crown 2 Roman Emperors in France 1000 years apart (Charlemagne and Napoleon), and how the territories eventually got reduced to just the Vatican Hill near Rome. Finally, we look at the modern state of Vatican City and compare it to its past iterations, as well as discuss how even though the Pope's earthly power has waned, his influence is more relevant than ever.

Sources for this episode:

https://www.britannica.com/place/Papal-States

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/pope-titles/1937813/

https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-a-bishop.html

https://religion.fandom.com/wiki/Papal_supremacy

In this episode we continue our series on the Italian City-States by discussing the ruler of the Papal States: The Pope. He is probably more famous for being the head of the Catholic church though, and so this episode focuses on the history of this position. We will look at where his authority derives from and how the early Bishops of Rome gained primacy over their peers: the Bishops of Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch. We will then discuss what the New Testament teaches about the leaders of Christianity and how those ideas evolved into the modern Pope. Lastly, we will cover the Pope's eight titles and what they all mean: the Bishop of Rome, the Vicar of Jesus Christ, the Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, the Primate of Italy, the Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, and the Sovereign of the State of Vatican City.

Next week, we will discuss the history of the Papal States and the Popes who ruled over them.

Sources for this episode are:

https://www.britannica.com/place/Papal-States

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/pope-titles/1937813/

https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-a-bishop.html

https://religion.fandom.com/wiki/Papal_supremacy

In this fourth episode in our series on the Italian City States of the high middle ages and Renaissance, we learn about Genoa. Genoa was a major maritime republic in the northwest of Italy that ran an empire from the 10th century to the 17th century that included territories across the Crimean coast, Anatolia, the Aegean sea, Corsica, Sardinia, and even Panama.

In this episode you'll learn about Genoa's contributions to western civilization including helping win the first crusade, creating the best crossbowmen on the continent, restoring Constantinople to the Byzantines, giving birth to Columbus, inventing jeans, and connecting the trade of the Levant to the markets of Europe. Learn about Genoa's fierce rivalries with Pisa and Venice, as well as its ruinous business partnerships with France and Spain.

Sources for this episode:

https://www.britannica.com/place/Genoa-Italy

https://www.historicmysteries.com/sacro-catino/

https://www.travelplan.it/genoa_guide_historical_buildings_monuments.htm

https://ageofempires.fandom.com/wiki/Genoese_Crossbowman

https://www.tasteatlas.com/genoa-salami

In this episode, we learn about how the Medici family came to power in Florence, and how their efforts gave a place to thrive for the geniuses who called Florence home. We will discuss some of these famous Florentines: including Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Amerigo Vespucci. But of course, that would be impossible without discussing the Medici family and its two most famous scions: Cosimo and Lorenzo, who will be the focus of this episode.

Sources

Florence | Italy, History, Geography, & Culture | Britannica

History of Florence and Of the Affairs Of Italy, by Niccolo Machiavelli (gutenberg.org)

Medici Bank - Wikipedia

House of Medici - Wikipedia

In this episode you will learn about a Roman fort that turned into a retirement community for veterans of the legions. They moved out of the mountains and into the valley, establishing a key trading hub that became the gateway to northern Italy. For this reason, the city was quarreled over by the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines. Eventually, their fighting reduced the city to rubble. Fortunately, visionary and faithful leaders like Charlemagne, Hugh the Great, and Contessa Matilda would see to it that Florence rise again. It would become the capital of Tuscany, and it would become the Pope's choice city to oversee his banks. Florence would then become the mint for the world's monetary standard: the gold florin. In this time of prosperity, Florence decided to give power to its people and guilds. They established a unique democracy with incredibly short terms of service for government officers. Immediately, the nobles and external powers such as the Pope and the Holy Roman Empire sought to take advantage of the little democracy. Yet, the people of Florence continually succeeded in fighting to preserve the fledgling institution. The one thing their democracy could not survive, however, was internal division. In this episode we will discuss the sorry state of their democracy when they exiled Dante Alighieri, one of their greatest citizens. In spite of the wickedness of this act, it actually galvanized Dante to process how this could happen to him, inspiring him to write one of the greatest poems ever created: the Divine Comedy. The success of this poem gave rise to the Florentine dialect, resulting in all of Italy speaking in the Florentine way. Even today, modern Italian is derived from Florentine.

In this short episode, we take a quick look into what was up with the Republic of Venice: a free market merchant-run nation that lasted for over 1100 years. We talk about its industries, innovations, and institutions to figure out what made this unique place tick. First episode in a series on medieval Italian city-states.

Sources Referenced:

Italy - The Republic of Venice | Britannica

https://www.venicebyvenetians.com/brief-history-venice/

https://www.furniturelibrary.com/mirror-glass-darkly/

In this episode, Doug discusses the history and rules of chariot racing in ancient Rome and how it carried over to the Byzantines. He will discuss the various strategies and teams that developed, as well as some notable racers and horses. He concludes with an assessment of how wealthy winners could become vs how deadly the races were, including, sometimes, for the spectators.

Sources

Chariot racing | History, Rules, & Facts | Britannica

saymedia.com (history.com)

meaning and origin of the phrase ‘bread and circuses’ – word histories

Chariot Racing in Ancient Rome - World History Encyclopedia

Blue versus Green: Rocking the Byzantine Empire | History| Smithsonian Magazine

Chariot Racing In The Roman Empire: Speed, Fame, and Politics (thecollector.com)

In this episode we will dive into what life was like for a medieval Benedictine monk. We will talk about the vows they made and the codes they abode by like the Vows of Stability, Conversion, Obedience, Chastity, Poverty, and Silence. We will also discuss their daily schedule including what they did for prayers and work. We will learn about the different occupations monks found themselves in such as farmers, cheesemakers, brewers, butchers, builders, bookbinders, scribes, historians, and teachers. Last of all, we will discuss the discoveries monks made in their various occupations and in their spare time such as creating the field of genetics and paleography; breeding a new type of bee; and inventing the motor, the steam engine, and tennis.

Sources for this episode:

The Daily Life of Medieval Monks - World History Encyclopedia

Medieval Monks: The Life and Times of God’s Men in Robes | Ancient Origins (ancient-origins.net)

The Rule - Friends of Saint Benedict (benedictfriend.org)

Benedictine Vows – Saint Martin's Abbey (stmartinsabbey.org)