Does Richard the Lionheart, the hero of Robin Hood, live up to the legend? On the battlefield yes, but as a king, not exactly. We look at the larger-than-life leader of the Third Crusade in this podcast. Like this podcast? Click here to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes TRANSCRIPT Click here to download the […]

Godfrey of Boullion, a commander of the First Crusade, was immortalized for being the first knight to enter Jerusalem. To arrive at this point he led thousands of soldiers on an expensive and dangerous adventure across a continent. How did he do it? Like this podcast? Click here to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes TRANSCRIPT […]

Today we look at the life of Peter the Hermit, the rag-tag leader of the first crusading force (whom many said resembled the donkey he rode), and one that would meet its complete slaughter at the hands of the Seljuk Turks. Like this podcast? Click here to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes TRANSCRIPT Click […]

Today special guest Tim O’Neill,  medievalist and Quora’s resident historian, explains that the idea that millions of women died in the medieval period (500-1500 A.D.) from witch burnings due to superstition and is incorrect. Witch burnings did happen, but at a time and for reasons that we wouldn’t expect. If you would like to see Tim’s […]

Today special guest Tim O’Neill,  medievalist and Quora’s resident historian, explains that in the medieval period (500-1500 A.D.), rather than being the Dark Ages, was a time of great technological advancement. If you appreciate the printing press, clocks, eye glass, or modern agriculture, then you have the Middle Ages to thank. If you would like to […]

Today special guest Tim O’Neill,  medievalist and Quora’s resident historian, explains that no educated person thought the earth was flat in the Middle Ages in the first of a three-part series on common knowledge about medieval history that is incorrect. If you would like to see Tim’s book review website Armarium Magnum, you can check it […]

When did ancients stop believing in Greek gods and goddesses? Was it Constantine’s conversion to Christianity? Zeus no longer sending down thunderbolts? Dionysus no longer providing his wine? Find out here, and learn that it probably took much longer than you think. Like this podcast? Click here to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes TRANSCRIPT […]

This podcast looks at the life of George Psalamanazar: The French youth who managed to convince England he was from Taiwan, and that all the natives were sun-worshipping cannibals who followed a strange calendar and lived underground. How did he managed to fool all of society? Did he know a trick that we can still […]

How did a man who stole the identity of the 16th c. Frenchman Martin Guerre manage to fool his neighbors, family, and even wife into believing he was the long-lost man for three years? Was he a master con artists or did he prey on the village’s suspension of disbelief? This podcast is Part 1 […]

In this episode of the History in Five Minutes Podcast we look at the lost art of memorization. Boys in ancient Greece memorized Homer’s The Odyssey and the Iliad, medieval monks committed dozens of sermons to memory, and Augustine could fire off Cicero without breaking a sweat. Were all people in the ancient world like […]