Ever watch a movie or a TV show supposedly set in the Middle Ages - or inspired by the Middle Ages - and wonder if things were really like that? This episode might help a bit! It is a companion to the Accessible Medievalist’s #MedievalSoMuchMore BINGO Card, a handy guide when checking out any new medieval-esque media. 

Episode Content Warning: discussions of rape, various forms of prejudice, reference to torture.

Want more? Take a look at Why Study the Middle Ages? (ARC Humanities, 2022).

Bibliography:

Kennedy, Kathleen E. “Everyday Life in Late Medieval England.” Open Access Companion to the Canterbury Tales, 2017. https://opencanterburytales.dsl.lsu.edu/refeverydaylife/, accessed January 27, 2026. 

The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America. Edited by Brian P. Levack. Oxford, 2013.

Sturtevant, Paul B. “Was Sexual Abuse Normal in the Middle Ages?” The Public Medievalist, May 28, 2015. https://publicmedievalist.com/got-rape-and-middle-ages/, accessed February 13, 2026.

Tracy, Kisha. Why Study the Middle Ages? ARC Humanities, 2022.

Tracy, Larissa, host. “Talking about Medieval Torture.” Medieval Mischief and Mayhem. August 29, 2025. https://youtu.be/ntSlQdb2kIc?si=pkmyaJCJF2EpxS_x, accessed February 13, 2026.

Mentioned in Episode:
Open Access Companion to the Canterbury Tales
Medieval Mischief and Mayhem, Dr. Larissa Tracy
The Public Medievalist

Credits: 

Music - Medieval Theme 01 by Strobotone is licensed under a Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

Sound - Back of Hall during Bingo by IESP; License: Attribution 3.0

Clip - Monty Python and the Holy Grail from MovieSounds