PONTIFACTS: Ranking the Popes

In this very special Actual Play episode, we were invited by Zoe and Mac of the Maniculum Podcast to play through the Green Knight TTRPG game, inspired by the A24 release of the Green Knight Movie

Listen as we team up with Andy and John from Saga Thing, and Mary from BookSquadGoals on an adventure to redeem our honour, and face impending death at the hands of the Green Knight!

Playing through literature-inspired games is super fun with Medievalists!!

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This week, we're playing this terrible and nonsensical click-your-own-adventure game.

https://clickhole.com/can-you-keep-an-eye-on-the-pope-for-just-5-minutes-1825124327/

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Although there is some confusion over Pope Marinus and his name, one thing that is perfectly clear is that his papacy set an important precedent in papal elections! In his episode, we discuss his approach to the ongoing Formosus situation, his relationship with a rexy king, and another spiritual blow in the Muslim conflict.

Please forgive our warbles, our mics were pure chaos this time around. 

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Pope Mad Hook assumes the papacy, and is faced with all the danger! In his episode, we discuss a full on pirate defense of Rome, difficult Guidos, a major shift in how the Holy Roman Emperors were chosen, and the first conflicts of Formosus - with shocking consequences!

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Adrian refused being elected pope twice before his actual pontificate, most likely because he was a married family man! 

In his episode, we discuss a surprise invasion of Rome, the somewhat resolution of the Lotharian divorce issue, courting the conversion of Buglars and Slavs, and the MOST perplexing murder. 

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"Few popes hold a more dominating place in the history of the Catholic Church than Nicholas I." So much so, that many church historians and scholars argue that he should be considered Pope Nicholas the Great! But does he hold up to Pope Leo and Gregory? We're going to decide once and for all! 

In his episode, we discuss Nicholas's many conflicts against the troublesome Archbishop John of Ravenna, the haughty Archbishop Hincmar of Rheims, the illegitimate Patriarch Photius of Constantinople, and most importantly, the divorce of Lothair II. 

It turns out he was the punchy ol' Saint Nicholas all along!

Audio note: Bry's working with a new microphone, there might be a warble or two. It's learning. 

Huge thanks to Ben of Fukushima Laser Shark for our jingle!

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During our exploration of the Frankish Papacy, Dr. Rutger Kramer has been our academic hero, providing access to sources, and inspiring thought-provoking discussions that resulted in much more informative episodes. So it only seemed right that we invite him on to the show, to provide his expertise!

In this episode, Bry and Rutger discuss the concepts of power, state, and church for both the Carolingians and the Papacy, the complicated dynamics of the Carolingian-Papal relationship, and critically evaluating our contemporary sources!

Find Rutger:

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For this special Christmas crossover, we joined up with Battle Royale to talk about important French Saints, in all their grisly glory! 

Check out Battle Royale: 

https://battleroyale.buzzsprout.com/1804279?s=09

https://twitter.com/BattleRoyalePod

Show description:

The most wonderful time of the year was made even more wonderful by our first ever guests, Bry and Fry of the Pontifacts podcast, who rate all of the popes from Peter to Francis. Complemented as ever by the splendid humour of Fry and Eliza, Bry and Ben recount the tales of the five patron saints of France who have been woven into our story so far: Saint Petronilla, Saint Denis, Saint Martin, Saint Remy and Saint Radegund. 

This is definitely not your average Christmas episode! We've got a guy carrying his own severed head, an emperor's butt being set on fire and a dove descending from the sky with a Molotov cocktail, just to name a few incidents. We also find out that not only could women read in the Dark Ages (shocker!), but one of them could even speak to frogs! How very French of her.

Pope Benedict was the actual pope to follow Leo IV, not Pope Joan! In his episode, we discuss a dramatic and confusing antipapacy, why his Liber Pontificalis entry is often missing, complicated consequences of the Iconoclasm, and... astral dew. 

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It's time to answer another important question – WHY Pope Joan?  If she didn’t exist, what purpose does the legend of Pope Joan serve?

In this episode, we discuss what Pope Joan represents about the church, popes, and women, and who she might have been created to attack. 

Note: In this episode, something went off-kilter with Bry's microphone! Please bear with us and our substandard audio quality. 

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