‘Szadvar Castle – its Foes and its Friends’ is a documentary of the medieval Szadvar Castle in the north of Hungary and The Friends of Szadvar, a brilliant group of volunteers who were founded to save Szadvar Castle from being forgotten.  Together they research, excavate and conserve the castle, making it more accessible to the general public.

 Karen Culver, alumna of CEU Cultural Heritage Studies Programme talks to volunteer and professional archaeologists involved in The Friends of Szadvar during their regular excavation & conservation week in August 2020.  The Friends tell the history of the castle, how a volunteer-based heritage association works, and why they feel it is important for volunteers to ‘adopt’ a castle.  They also describe many of the exciting archaeological finds made during the week-long excavation.  The programme includes music by the medieval band Hollóének Hungarica.

This episode is a special, one-hour-long documentary style episode of Past Perfect!, CEU Medieval Radio’s show on medieval and early modern history and culture. The discussions are made with the aim to popularize medieval and early modern studies with the help of experts such as early musicians, historians, philologists and archeologists.

This episode was recorded in August 2020.

Martin tells us about his studies of the Taborites, a radical faction of the Hussite revolution, who transitioned from the passive escapist apocalyptic thought into a revolutionary activist mode. They participated in what they perceived as the Apocalypse through violence, seeing themselves as agents that have to participate in the cleansing of the world. They went to the fortified town of Tabor, they became militarized and were very important for the Hussites and what became known as the Hussite wars.  

Martin has studied sermons, theological debates, polemics and letters that the leaders of the Taborite movement have sent to their followers. He traced the neoplatonic philosophical background of the Taborites, which came out of university circles, was translated into vernacular and mixed with the apocalyptic thoughts. He also tells us of his involvement with the Centre for Medieval Studies in Prague participating in a research group focusing on conflict in Central Europe in the Late Middle Ages. 

In the second half of the interview, Martin talks about the Utraquist communion - consuming both the bread and the wine - and the pacifist movements and thought patterns within the Hussite movement. He also explains the downfall of the Taborite faction, when the main request of the Hussites, the Utraquist communion was granted, but the other ones that the Taborites also held important were not, which sparked a divide between the Taborites and the moderate Hussites. This culminated in a war in which the Catholics and moderate Hussites joined forces and defeated the Taborites in the Battle of Lipany in 1434. Concluding the talk, Martin talks about the controversial nature of the Taborite vision, and how we probably wouldn’t want to live in a post-revolutionary world where the Taborite way of thinking is prevalent.

In this episode, David Rockwell asks Pietro Delcorno, research fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study, about his research related to late medieval sermons. 

Some of the questions discussed in this episode are how the Bible reached common people, and how flexible the Bible could be for interpretation in sermons and religious theatre. 

Pietro also talks about the sermons as the primary means of communicating religious content to the lay people, and what sources he uses, like model sermons, or ad-hoc notes of preachings. Sermons tell us about the shared religious language of the people, especially those who could not read and write. Preaching was the mass-media of the time. 

Pietro also talks about how medieval preachers incorporated histrionics into their preaching practice and what techniques they used to catch the attention of their audience. They must have been quite successful in the last regard, as some preachers rose to quite high fame, and were treated like rock stars of the Late Medieval society. 

Past Perfect! is CEU Medieval Radio’s show on medieval and early modern history and culture, where various issues from the crusades to archeo-zoology to medieval urine sampling are discussed. The discussions are made with the aim to popularize medieval and early modern studies with the help of experts such as early musicians, historians, philologists and archeologists.

This episode was recorded in June 2019. 

What is the difference between altar and altarpiece? How were the altarpieces produced and used in medieval churches? How did medieval people see and understand them? In this interview, Chris Mielke talks with Emese Sarkadi Nagy, an art historian from the Christian Museum in Esztergom, Hungary, about the manufacturing and symbolism of Transylvanian altarpieces and their place in medieval society. 

The researcher speaks about the meaning of Transylvanian altarpieces for the local communities, the people who stood behind their manufacturing, and the unusual iconography on the altarpieces. The discussion reveals that these objects of Christian art can show the connections between art and local saints venerations, the economic situation of the community, and the transition of styles and schools. Emese Sarkadi Nagy also speaks about her work and recent projects in Christian Museum and how its catalogs and collections can help us understand medieval Christian culture. 

Past Perfect! is CEU Medieval Radio’s show on medieval and early modern history and culture, where Christopher Mielke casually discusses with his guests various issues from the crusades to archeo-zoology to medieval urine sampling. The discussions are made with the aim to popularize medieval and early modern studies with the help of experts such as early musicians, historians, philologists and archeologists.

This episode was first recorded and broadcast in 2013.

In this episode, Chris Mielke has an exciting conversation about medieval forests and the woodcutting economy with the researcher Péter Szabó. The doctor explains how to study medieval landscapes, shows the difference between forests and woodlands, and talks about woodcutting's technologies and economic benefits in the Middle Ages and Early Modern times. He also tells where to find medieval forests in Central Europe and how to compare the source descriptions with the landscapes that we see now. Péter Szabó's research is a good example of interdisciplinarity, which involves specialists from various fields and contributes to substantial European environmental projects. 

During the episode, you will also discover whether the movies about Robin Hood show the proper medieval forests, what to do with a medieval tree for prolonging its life, and why the small forests are more interesting for historians than the big ones. 

Past Perfect! is CEU Medieval Radio’s show on medieval and early modern history and culture, where Christopher Mielke casually discusses with his guests various issues from the crusades to archeo-zoology to medieval urine sampling. The discussions are made with the aim to popularize medieval and early modern studies with the help of experts such as early musicians, historians, philologists and archeologists.

This episode was first recorded and broadcast in 2013.

In this episode of Past Perfect, Chris Mielke is joined by Ádám Nádasdy, a professor of English linguistics and a poet who is famous for translation Sheakspear`s plays into Hungarian. The professor starts the conversation with the Anglo-Norman world, the development of English in the Middle Ages, and the interactions between English and French. You will learn how the difference between „swine” and „pork” appeared, which strange French expressions still exist in English, and when did British start pronounce vowels as it is now. Ádám Nádasdy also speaks about the changes in English between Chaucer to Shakespeare: is it true that Elizabeth I would instead prefer American English over the modern British one?

The second part of the interview tells about the current project of the professor, the translation of Dante’s „Divine Comedy” into Hungarian. Ádám Nádasdy explains „Science Fiction” of Dante`s Heaven and the mistakes of cosmology, which were made both by Dante and Christopher Columbus. In the end, the professor shares his thoughts on the spirit of the Middle Ages, whether they were gloomy and “gothic,” or did the medieval people enjoy life even more than we do it nowadays. 

Past Perfect! is CEU Medieval Radio’s show on medieval and early modern history and culture, where various issues from the crusades to archeo-zoology to medieval urine sampling are discussed. The discussions are made with the aim to popularize medieval and early modern studies with the help of experts such as early musicians, historians, philologists and archeologists.

This episode was recorded in 2013.

Why was it important for the regent of the Netherlands to be unmarried? What is the connection between a Hungarian Queen and Luther? Why did Mary of Austria sign herself as Mary of Hungary? And why is it possible to create an exhibition about these queens full of empty glass boxes? In this interview, Chris Mielke speaks with Orsolya Réthelyi, a specialist in Early Modern Queenship, and explores unexpected facts from the lives of queens in Hungary and the Netherlands.

 The central person of the discussion is Mary of Austria, a Hungarian Queen, who was also a regent of Law Countries and an important figure in Habsburg politics. Orsolya Réthelyi tells how the queen dealt with wars, lack of money, and Reformation, and which unique personal documents can be found about her. Then, the discussion reveals the general patterns of queenship in the sixteenth century and the cultural transformations, which were the consequences of queens moving from one country to another. In addition, the professor reveals her recent research of songs about dying queens and how they show the personalities of these famous women and the acceptance of queens among subjects.

 Past Perfect! is CEU Medieval Radio’s show on medieval and early modern history and culture, where Christopher Mielke casually discusses with his guests various issues from the crusades to archeo-zoology to medieval urine sampling. The discussions are made with the aim to popularize medieval and early modern studies with the help of experts such as early musicians, historians, philologists and archeologists.

This episode was first recorded and broadcast in 2012.

What do Faust and John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I's official magician, have in common? How to speak the language of angels and use magic crystals? What did Renaissance occultism look like, and how did it affect the modern understanding of magic? Christopher Melke discusses all these issues with György Szőnyi, a specialist in Renaissance and modern literature, whose academic interests include occultism and cultural transfers.

Professor Szőnyi talks about occult practices in the Renaissance, the connection between magic and clergy, and how Renaissance occultism was used by modern writers such as Umberto Eco. Also, he describes various challenges of finding and interpreting sources, and the impact of digitalization, copyright policies, and postmodern reality on the historian's work.

Past Perfect! is CEU Medieval Radio’s show on medieval and early modern history and culture, where Christopher Mielke casually discusses with his guests various issues from the crusades to archeo-zoology to medieval urine sampling. The discussions are made with the aim to popularize medieval and early modern studies with the help of experts such as early musicians, historians, philologists and archeologists.

This episode was first recorded and broadcast in 2012.

In this episode, Felicitas Schmieder, a professor of Medieval History in FernUniversität Hagen and visiting professor at CEU, speaks about medieval urbanism, perception, and eschatology. She begins with the research on her hometown, Frankfurt am Main, and the unique features of this royal city. Her focus is the medieval clergy, its role, and its challenges in the feudal world. Felicitas Schmieder would explain the pros and cons of being a cleric and why she does not consider the medieval Church an obstacle but rather a productive force for the city's development.

In the second part, the professor speaks about her studies of perception in the Middle Ages. With Marco Polo as an example, she describes the key differences between modern and medieval people's vision of the world and foreign lands. The final part of the episode is devoted to medieval eschatology and how it influenced the people's understanding of the changes and environmental catastrophes around them. Felicitas Schmieder describes how people handled the changes of the Late Middle Ages, how they knew that Apocalypse was coming and how medieval prophets showed Apocalypse as a possible win-win situation. 

Past Perfect! is CEU Medieval Radio’s show on medieval and early modern history and culture, where Christopher Mielke casually discusses with his guests various issues from the crusades to archeo-zoology to medieval urine sampling. The discussions are made with the aim to popularize medieval and early modern studies with the help of experts such as early musicians, historians, philologists and archeologists.

This episode was first recorded and broadcast in 2013.

After the graduation from CEU, doctor Magdolna Szilágyi talks about her dissertation about road systems in Western Hungary during the Arpad period. While the stereotypes say that medieval people lived in isolated societies and traveled a little, the research proved that the long journeys to the pilgrim locations, annual fairs, and other destinations were common. The doctor also claims that the road systems were not homogenous, describing eight main categories of the routes from her research and their hierarchy. She focuses on the county of Vas, the border territory with both the old Roman roads and medieval paths.

From this episode, you may also learn what the illegal routes were and how they appeared, what was the difference between “ecclesiastical,” “corpse,” and “king” road, and why salt was transported only on the Roman roads. In the conclusions, Magdolna Szilágyi gives the insight into recent innovations in medieval archaeology and the international digital projects on roads and communication in Central Europe. 

Past Perfect! is CEU Medieval Radio’s show on medieval and early modern history and culture, where Christopher Mielke casually discusses with his guests various issues from the crusades to archeo-zoology to medieval urine sampling. The discussions are made with the aim to popularize medieval and early modern studies with the help of experts such as early musicians, historians, philologists and archeologists.

This episode was first recorded and broadcast in 2013.