Gone Medieval

Histories of India usually concern themselves with events and invasions in the subcontinent’s North, while the rest of India’s rich story is often reduced down to little more than dry footnotes. 

Now historian and Indian history podcast presenter Anirudh Kanisetti has brought to light the early medieval period in the Deccan Plateau - between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal - when the region was transformed by the Chalukya dynasty, shaping life in southern India for centuries.

In this edition of Gone Medieval, Dr. Cat Jarman is at the Jaipur Literature Festival where she meets Anirudh Kanisetti to find out why his work means the history of the subcontinent will never be seen in the same way again.

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The term “Middle Ages” is commonly used but really only applies to a Western European view of history. It was created at the beginning of the Early Modern period in England to categorise what had gone before.

The acclaimed historian Peter Frankopan is widening the geographic focus to understand the period in world history as a whole, and counter a Euro-centric perspective that has dominated and shaped our view of the past.

In this episode of Gone Medieval, Peter Frankopan joins Matt Lewis to explore where the real centre of global geography sat then, and why life on our own doorstep is important - but far from the whole story.

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The Northman now showing in UK cinemas is an action-filled epic that follows a young Viking prince on his quest to avenge his father's murder. Its director Robert Eggers has described it as the “most accurate Viking movie ever made." But what does "accuracy" mean for a historical blockbuster? And how is it achieved?

In this episode of Gone Medieval, Dr. Cat Jarman talks to Professor Neil Price, an archaeologist specialising in Viking Age Scandanavia. He was one of the historical advisors on The Northman and explains what they did to get the period just right for modern audiences.

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Easter today is marked by chocolate eggs and two Bank Holidays - in the Medieval world it had a deeply spiritual significance.

But it wasn’t without its share of celebration and merrymaking too.

In this episode, Matt Lewis explains the origins of many Easter traditions in the Medieval period, and how our ancestors knew how to fuse together religious worship with a bit of fun.

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Little has been known up until now about the involvement and power of women during the Crusader period. When Saladin's armies besieged Jerusalem in 1187, behind the city walls a last-ditch defense was being led by an unlikely trio - including Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem. She was the last of a line of formidable female rulers in the Crusader States of Outremer - a world where women conducted diplomatic negotiations, made military decisions, forged alliances, rebelled, and undertook architectural projects. In today's episode, Gone Medieval goes to India! Cat is on location at the Jaipur Literature Festival where she is joined by Katherine Pangonis, a historian and author specialising in the medieval world of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Together they explore some of the women who dared to rule.

Katherine Pangonis is the author of Queens of Jerusalem: The Women Who Dared to Rule, published by Orion Publishing Co.

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Genghis Khan is still considered one of the most famous and most feared warrior kings in history. But his name still divides opinion. To some, he was the ruthless conqueror of great civilisations, for others a hero who united nomadic tribes and created an enlightened empire. But who was the real Genghis Khan? In today's episode, Matt is joined by historian and author John Man who takes us through the rise, character, and conquests of Genghis, delving into the life of one of the most recognisable names of the Middle Ages.

John Man, author of Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection. Published by St Martins Pr (2005).

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1,900 miles west of South America and 1,250 miles from any other population centre, Easter Island - or Rapa Nui - is world famous for its monolithic stone statues. But new evidence indicates that the isle's infamous prehistoric 'societal collapse' may actually be a myth.

With the help of fresh techniques and research, Robert DiNapoli and his team from Binghamton University in the US have found that descendants of Polynesian seafarers who settled Easter Island in the 13th century continued to erect statues for at least 150 years past 1600 - the date long hailed as the start of societal collapse. In this episode Cat is joined by Robert DiNapoli to learn more about his remarkable findings.

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In 1216, at the adolescent age of nine, Henry became King Henry III of England. With his father, King John passing, right amid the First Barons’ War, Henry was left to inherit his mantle and all the chaos that came with it. But how did the young King rule the country? In this episode, Matt is joined by a leading authority on the history of Britain, David Carpenter, to delve into the first half of King Henry's reign.

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Several large kingdoms were formed in the Viking-Age period, the best known settlements being in Ireland and York. Dublin became a thriving hub for western Viking expansion and trade. New discoveries of silver and other items show that traded commodities traveled vast distances, but how interconnected were these towns? And how much were they a part of a greater Viking network? In this episode, Dr. Cat Jarman is joined by Dr. Tom Horne, author of 'A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain'.

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A gap in knowledge - both of stories and artefacts - provides a frustrating block when looking into the past. But, a new report, based on the use of statistics, is hoping to shine a light on some of these hidden mysteries. This week Matt is joined by Dr Katarzyna Anna Kapitan from the University of Oxford who talks Matt through her fascinating research, from finding out that medieval romance manuscripts were recycled into Bishop's mitres to the masses of Icelandic manuscripts discovered preserved across Europe.

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