Matt Lewis and guest Dr Eleanor Barraclough as they dive into the turbulent world of late 10th-century Scandinavia and the extraordinary life of Olaf Tryggvason. Exiled, enslaved, raider, and eventually king of Norway, Olaf was a force of nature in an age of shifting loyalties, pagan beliefs, and rising Christianity. From Kievan Rus to the British Isles, this episode traces his violent rise and his brutal drive to convert Norway and beyond.

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Erik Bloodaxe

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Leif Erikson

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Norse Mythology: How to Reach Valhalla

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Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS early access ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How was folklore woven into the everyday life of medieval Icelanders? How did they make sense of the darkness of their world?

During Iceland's endless nights, tales of trolls, ghosts, elves, hidden people and restless spirits were far more than entertainment: they explained an unpredictable existence, preserved history, and warned against unseen dangers.

Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Dagrún Ósk Jónsdóttir, to explore the extraordinary legends and oral traditions that continue to shape Icelandic culture today.

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Norse Mythology: Creation Myths

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Welsh Folk Tales

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Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if “High King” in medieval Ireland was less a fixed office than a fiercely contested prize, won through ritual, lineage, and force? On the Hill of Tara, a would-be ruler climbs toward the Stone of Destiny, hoping for the legendary cry that marks him as chosen.

Matt Lewis and Dr Seán Ó Hoireabhárd explore a world of multiple kings, turn-taking dynasties, cattle raiding, and shifting power between church, Norse settlers, and Irish rivals. Along the way, they reveal how Tara, Brian Boru, and the Uí Néill shaped Ireland’s tangled medieval politics.

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Castles and the Conquest of Ireland

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A Complete History of Medieval Ireland

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Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Robin McConnell. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

Watch Matt and Eleanor's new documentary The Rise of the Plantagenets on History Hit. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What was life really like for working peasant women in the Middle Ages? How did family, marriage, work and social class shape their choices, joys and struggles?

Taking a break from the usual queens, noblewomen and saints of the Medieval period, Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Catherine Hanley to explore the unsung experiences of mothers and daughters, wives, widows and women workers across medieval society.

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The Anarchy: Disruptive Women

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How to Survive the 14th Century

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Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Jangea. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

Watch Eleanor and Matt's new documentary The Rise of the Plantagenets with a History Hit subscription. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS early-access ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it take to face a Danish invasion and fight for a kingdom in just 222 days?

In 1016, England is at war as Edmund Ironside meets Cnut for a crown on the line. Matt Lewis and Dr David McDermott trace a young warrior king who fought six battles, won his name for speed and strength, and held the field at Sherston, Brentford, and beyond.

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Æthelstan: First King of the English

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King Cnut & the End of the Viking Age

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Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did an empress become the most dangerous claimant to the English throne?

From the Battle of Lincoln to her legendary escape from Oxford Castle, Matilda was a formidable political actor whose legacy shaped the Plantagenet dynasty.

Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Professor Elisabeth van Houts to explore Matilda’s imperial upbringing, her contested claim after Henry I’s death, the infamous White Ship disaster, and the brutal civil war known as the Anarchy.

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The Anarchy: Disruptive Women

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How to be a Medieval Teenager

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Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

Watch Eleanor and Matt's new documentary The Rise of the Plantagenets with a History Hit subscription. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS Early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1302, an army of Flemish townsmen achieved the impossible. At the Battle of the Golden Spurs, infantry armed with pikes and determination crushed the mounted knights of Kingdom of France in one of the greatest military upsets of the Middle Ages.

Matt Lewis is joined by Danièle Cybulski to uncover the truth behind this classic David v Goliath story. Why did France invade Flanders? How did ordinary craftsmen defeat Europe's most feared cavalry? And did this famous victory change the course of medieval warfare?

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Deadly Rivalry: Armagnac v Burgundy

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The Women Who Ruled Medieval Burgundy

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Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Tim Arstall, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

Watch Matt and Eleanor's new documentary The Rise of the Plantagenets only on History Hit TV with a subscription. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why did a young Roman nobleman reject status and education for a life of prayer, solitude and discipline?

St Benedict’s quiet choices would go on to shape the future of Western civilisation. His is a story of medieval Christianity, monastic life, hospitality, order, prayer and work — and of a different kind of greatness.

Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Tim Larsen to explore the extraordinary life and legacy of St Benedict, founder of Western monasticism and patron saint of Europe.

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St. Christopher & Summertime Saints

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St. Francis & the First Nativity Play

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Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Was King Stephen a weak ruler who plunged England into chaos, or an unlucky monarch trapped by impossible circumstances? How did one disputed succession unleash nearly two decades of civil war, betrayal and brutality, which inspired George R. R. Martin's House of the Dragon?

Matt Lewis and Professor Carl Watkins explore the troubled reign of the king whose seizure of the throne in 1135 helped ignite the devastating conflict remembered as The Anarchy.

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Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior

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The Anarchy: Disruptive Women

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Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What starts as a shocking street murder in Paris turns into one of the most vicious civil wars in medieval Europe?

Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Professor Justine Firnhaber-Baker to unravel the blood-soaked conflict between Burgundy and the Armagnacs, a struggle triggered by assassination, fuelled by propaganda, and made more dangerous by a mad king, a divided court and a war-torn France.

They explore the brutal killing of Louis of Orleans, John the Fearless’s rise as a populist strongman, the shocking revenge killings that followed, and how all of it opened the door for Henry V and Agincourt.

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Battle of Agincourt

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 Joan of Arc

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Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit to watch Eleanor's documentary on Joan of Arc as well as hundreds of hours of original films, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.