Gone Medieval

Alfred the Great (r. 871-899) is without a doubt one of the best-known and most admired kings of early medieval England. We know quite a lot about his life, not least because he had a biography written about himself while he was still alive. However, we know very little about what happened to his remains after he died. The search for King Alfred's remains has involved some highly dubious antiquarians and quite a bit of detective work. Now, modern methods may have made a breakthrough. In this episode Cat discusses what may have become of Alfred's bones with Dr Katie Tucker, the osteoarchaeologist who has led a new search for the tomb of Alfred the Great.

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Valentine's Day has become a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and love across the world. With the oldest surviving Valentine's letter confessing undying love being over 500 years old, we take a look at some extraordinary Valentine stories. In this special episode of Gone Medieval, Matt and Cat join forces! From Viking age romance, revenge, arson, and even bribery. Matt and Cat compete for the best medieval Valentine's saga. Do you have any Medieval love stories you would like to share with us? 

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Justice; the principle that people receive that which they deserve. But what did this mean for women when dealing with Medieval Law? In today's episode of Gone Medieval, Cat is joined by historian and author Teresa Phipps as we draw upon legal records. Examining women's involvement in crime and the legal system. How were women represented in late-medieval England?

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During the early hours of February 13 1322, disaster struck at the vast cathedral on the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire, known now as the Ship of the Fens. At around three or four in the morning, the building's huge central tower collapsed with a mighty crash, falling where the monks had only recently been celebrating mass.

As this year marks the 700th anniversary of the disaster–and it's the reason for the unusual replacement tower seen at Ely today–for this episode, Matt sits down with art and architectural historian Dr James Alexander Cameron to find out more about the night disaster struck at one of Britain's best-loved cathedrals.

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To mark the US release of our very own Dr Cat Jarman’s incredible book River Kings: A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads, sit back and relax as she takes us a whistle-stop tour of her captivating Sunday Times bestseller.

From Sweden to Ukraine and from London to Constantinople, the Vikings certainly got about! But how much of a link was there between the western and eastern Viking worlds? By joining the dots of fascinating new archaeological evidence, pioneering research and reassessments of traditional sources, Dr Cat reveals that many of the stories we are traditionally told about the Viking Age might not quite be as true as they seem.

Order Dr Cat's book today: https://www.amazon.co.uk/River-Kings-Times-Book-Year/dp/0008353115/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

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The Middle Ages were a period of exploration in medicine, but it didn't come without risk. The lack of understanding when it came to sanitation and cleanliness resulted in disaster and even death for many. But how far have we come? In this episode, Matt is joined by author Juliana Cummings who specialises in Tudor and medieval history. We delve into the myths and misconceptions around medieval medicine, exploring this period of medical learning. From physicians to barber-surgeons, we gain a better understanding of how they approached healing.

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While Braveheart isn't known for its historical accuracy - there is one surprising fact it gets dramatically wrong. In the medieval period, the large formidable horses often depicted riding into battle were actually no bigger than a modern day pony. This week Cat is joined by Oliver Creighton and Alan Outram from the University of Exeter to discuss their new, fascinating findings into this topic. Working along side other research teams, they have been able to extract and analyse DNA from horse skeletons at over 171 different archaeological sites to bring a new light onto medieval warhorses.

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If you travelled back in time to the Medieval period this very second, do you think you would survive? The short answer is probably not. If you weren't wearing a hat, wore glasses on the street, or even laced your corset in the wrong way, things would go south for you very quickly. Luckily, this week Matt is joined by Toni Mount, author of the book 'How to Survive in Medieval England' who provides an insight on what it would take to avoid beatings, homelessness, and hunger in Medieval times.

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If you've watched a film or TV show about vikings recently, you may well have noticed a distinctive hairstyle featuring an undercut and a ponytail. But is this actually a realistic depiction? And, do we really know much about viking hair at all?

Luckily, we certainly know a lot about viking grooming, not least because Norsemen were said to be popular with Anglo-Saxon women thanks to their (relative) cleanliness! What we know about viking hair, hygiene and grooming can actually tell us a lot about the Viking age as a whole. Alas in this episode, Cat sits down with Dr Steve Ashby, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of York, to find out more about this hairy subject.

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Knights in their armour is one of the most enduring images of the Middle Ages, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind and a role that many of us would have played at as children.

Yet surprisingly, there are no surviving examples of English armour from this period that we know of in the world. So how do we know what armour English knights donned on the battlefield? In this episode, Matt is joined by Toby Capwell, Curator of Arms and Armour at the Wallace Collection, who has used alternative sources of evidence to help reveal the lost world of Medieval English steel.

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