The Medieval Podcast

The Medieval Podcast episodes:

• 04.25.2024

  Medieval Coins with Rory Naismith

  Because they’re so familiar, coins can sometimes seem to be a part of the natural order. But in the Early Middle Ages, just about everything to do with coins was in flux, from where they were sourced, to who was...

  
• 04.18.2024

  Medieval Fish with Richard Hoffmann

  Part of both faith and fashion, fish was an important ingredient in the medieval diet. And because of this, medieval fishing was much more sophisticated than just a rod, a line, and a worm. This week, Danièle speaks with Richard...

  
• 04.11.2024

  The Art of Medieval Anatomy with Taylor McCall

  These days, most of us have a good working knowledge of what’s going on with our internal organs. But in the Middle Ages, most people – even doctors – never got to see much of the inside of a human...

  
• 04.04.2024

  Mary of Egypt with Sonia Velazquez

  Medieval people spent a lot of time thinking about saints. But what they thought about saints wasn’t always what we might expect. Women saints with promiscuous backstories were fan favourites in the Middle Ages, and one of the most popular...

  
• 03.28.2024

  How to Focus Like a Monk with Jamie Kreiner

  We live in a world full of constant notifications, interruptions, and complications. If only we could get away from it all, the peace and quiet would allow us to concentrate. Or would it? This week, Danièle speaks with Jamie Kreiner...

  
• 03.21.2024

  Medieval Hair with Emanuele Lugli

  It may be an ordinary body part, but medieval people definitely had strong opinions about hair and what it said about you. This week, Emanuele Lugli returns to talk about hair, how it was used as a form of control,...

  
• 03.14.2024

  Dirty Books with Kate Rudy

  Through grime, stains, and wax droplets, the filthiest, most well-loved manuscripts tell us the story of how medieval people used - and abused - their books. This week, Danièle speaks with Kate Rudy about what we can learn from the...

  
• 03.07.2024

  Introducing the Medieval Fox with Paul Wackers

  Foxes were everywhere in the medieval world and the medieval imagination. But where do the ideas we have about foxes come from? This week, Danièle speaks with Paul Wackers about why foxes were loved and hated in the real world,...

  
• 02.29.2024

  Rome and the Papacy with Jessica Wärnberg

  He’s one of the most powerful figures in all of Western history, with influence not only over life and death, but over the immortal souls of billions of people over thousands of years. This week, Danièle speaks with Jessica Wärnberg...

  
• 02.22.2024

  Medieval Charms with Katherine Storm Hindley

  Like many people today, medieval people used charms, personal talismans, and amulets to help smooth their way through life. But just who used them? How did they use them? And what did the church think about such things? This week,...

  
• 02.15.2024

  A Medieval Map of the World with Meredith Small

  With a team of dedicated monks and lay brothers to help him, fifteenth-century Venetian Fra Mauro attempted to create the most accurate map of the world. This week, Danièle speaks with Meredith Small about this incredible mappamundi, what it contained,...

  
• 02.01.2024

  Medieval Monsters with Charity Urbanski

  They’re the things that go bump in the night, the creatures that storm your mead hall and eat your friends, the beings that wander restlessly from their graves. This week, Danièle speaks with Charity Urbanski about monsters in the medieval...

  
• 01.25.2024

  William of Auvergne with Lesley Smith

  Some of the most important and influential figures of the Middle Ages were the big city bishops who ministered to rich and poor alike. But how did they tend to such a large and diverse flock? This week, Danièle speaks...

  
• 01.18.2024

  Carrying and Moving in the Middle Ages

  In a time and place with a serious lack of pockets and built-in shelving, how and where did people carry and store their everyday stuff? This week, Danièle takes a look at carrying, packing, and moving in the Middle Ages.You...

  
• 01.11.2024

  Eleanor of Aquitaine with Karen Sullivan

  She’s one of the most well-known figures in history: married to two kings, mother to three, and a powerful duchess in her own right. This week, Danièle speaks with Karen Sullivan about the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine, her famous -...

  
• 01.04.2024

  Justice, Politics, and Death in Medieval Ireland with Joanna MacGugan

  Often, the stories we tell about colonization focus on the takeovers themselves, and the circumstances that led up to them. But what happens to the people when the dust settles? How do they manage the clash of two cultures and...

  
• 12.21.2023

  2023: The Year in Review

  This week, Danièle explores the big medieval news stories of 2023 in conversation with Peter Koniezcny, editor of Medievalists.net.You can support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

  
• 12.14.2023

  Saints and Feasts of the Holiday Season

  In the Middle Ages, December meant a celebration of jolly old St. Nicholas along with a host of other sainted figures and important moments in the Christian story. This week, Danièle presents a quick guide to medieval holiday saints and...

  
• 12.07.2023

  Gender, Transgender and the Middle Ages with Alicia Spencer-Hall and Blake Gutt

  In the past few years, trans and genderqueer issues have come to the forefront both in society and in the way scholars are approaching medieval studies. But what do these terms mean? And how do we apply them responsibly to...

  
• 11.30.2023

  Best Books of 2023

  This week, Danièle continues the annual tradition of sharing some of her favourite books of the year, along with the top picks of Peter Konieczny, editor and co-founder of Medievalists.net.Danièle's list: Temptation Transformed: The Story of How the Forbidden Fruit...

  
• 11.23.2023

  English Royal Mysteries

  In honour of the new discoveries around the Princes in the Tower, Danièle delves into some other mysterious deaths and disappearances in English royal history.You can support The Medieval Podcast and Medievalists.net on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

  
• 11.16.2023

  The Deorhord with Hana Videen

  Humans have always been fascinated by the birds and beasts of planet Earth, collecting and compiling information on their habits, habitats, and where they got their names. This week, Danièle speaks with Hana Videen about her contribution to the field:...

  
• 11.09.2023

  The Well-Laden Ship: Medieval Proverbs

  This week, Danièle and Peter Konieczny share profound - and profoundly odd - medieval proverbs from one of their favourite books of the Middle Ages: The Well-Laden Ship.The Well-Laden Ship, by Egbert of Liège, was translated by Robert Gary Babcock...

  
• 10.26.2023

  American Vikings with Martyn Whittock

  For a thousand years – and especially the last two hundred or so – people have had a love affair with Vikings. But what do we know about the Norse voyages to the Americas? Why are Vikings so fascinating at...

  
• 10.20.2023

  Chivalry and Courtesy with Danièle Cybulskie

  This week, guest host Peter Konieczny interviews Danièle about her new book Chivalry and Courtesy: Medieval Manners for a Modern World.You can support this podcast and Medievalists.net on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

  
• 10.13.2023

  How to Be a Five-Minute Medievalist

  This week, in celebration of her first two books becoming available on Patreon, Danièle discusses five ways to become a better medievalist, five minutes at a time.You can now buy two of Danièle's books on our Patreon - go to...

  
• 10.05.2023

  How Often Do You Think About the Crusades?

  In light of the TikTok trend asking, "How often do you think about the Roman Empire?" Danièle discusses how to gently correct misguided assumptions about history in the people we love.You can support this podcast and Medievalists.net on Patreon -...

  
• 09.28.2023

  Leading the Rebellion with Jason Kingsley

  For the better part of a millennium, people have been applying the tenets of chivalry to their personal lives in order to give themselves moral and ethical targets to tilt at. But what does it look like to apply medieval...

  
• 09.21.2023

  Wonders and Rarities with Travis Zadeh

  One of the favourite activities of medieval scholars was to write massive encyclopedias, distilling every last detail of the known world into book form to share with an insatiably curious public. This week, Danièle speaks with Travis Zadeh about a...

  
• 09.14.2023

  Trees and Religion in Early Medieval England with Michael Bintley

  We know that trees were a fundamental part of early medieval society, technology, and culture, but how did pagan communities preserve and adapt their thinking about trees in the face of increasing Christian missionary activity? This week, Danièle speaks with...

  
• 08.31.2023

  Gallows with Kenneth Duggan

  This week, Danièle speaks with Kenneth Duggan about capital crime in medieval England, how the community was involved in the justice system, and some of the unexpected events that might happen at a gallows.You can support this podcast and Medievalists.net...

  
• 08.24.2023

  The Templars in Britain with Steve Tibble

  Myths and conspiracies aside, the real medieval Templars were indeed a formidable fighting force, as well as being financially savvy diplomats at many of the major courts of the time. This week, Danièle speaks with Steve Tibble about the Templars'...

  
• 08.17.2023

  Medieval Advice from a Mother to a Son

  This week, Danièle catches us up on what's been happening lately, and reads some advice written by Dhuoda, a Carolingian woman, for her teenaged son.You can learn more about the Patreon for Medievalists.net and The Medieval Podcast at https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

  
• 08.03.2023

  Medieval Toys

  In honour of the new Barbie movie, Danièle talks about the games medieval children played, and the toys they played with.You can support this podcast and Medievalists.net on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists

  
• 07.27.2023

  Adventures in England

  This week, Danièle catches up with Peter Konieczny to discuss the new research they came across at the International Medieval Congress at Leeds, as well as some of the amazing historical sites they each visited this summer.

  
• 07.20.2023

  Medieval Storytime: A Spicy Snack

  This week, Danièle takes a quick moment out of summer vacation to bring you a (mildly) spicy story from medieval Italy about a jealous husband and his quick-witted wife.You can support this podcast and Medievalists.net on Patreon - go to...

  
• 07.06.2023

  The Medieval Podcast Live! with Eleanor Janega

  This week, Danièle travels to the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds for a chat about life, history, and everything in between with podcast favourite Eleanor Janega in front of a live studio audience.You can support this podcast...

  
• 06.22.2023

  How the Forbidden Fruit Became an Apple with Azzan Yadin-Israel

  Everyone knows that the fruit Eve was tempted to eat in the Garden of Eden was an apple - or was it? This week, Danièle speaks with Azzan Yadin-Israel about the original fruit of original sin, how written culture and...

  
• 06.15.2023

  John Gower with Eve Salisbury and Georgiana Donavin

  Everyone’s heard of Geoffrey Chaucer, but he wasn’t the only poet writing powerful and political verse in fourteenth-century London. This week, Danièle speaks with Eve Salisbury and Georgiana Donavin about John Gower, his poetry, and why we should all get...

  
• 06.08.2023

  Thor with Declan Taggart

  He’s a comic book hero. He’s a movie star. He’s Earth’s mightiest Avenger, and a day of the week. He’s the god of thunder… or is he? This week, Danièle speaks with Declan Taggart about Thor.To listen to ExtraMedieval, please...

  
• 06.02.2023

  Episode 200: A Celebration

  This week, Danièle celebrates 200 episodes of The Medieval Podcast. Find out whose episodes listeners voted the most surprising, most entertaining, and most uplifting, as well as who had the best voice and best chemistry with Danièle. Which episode will...

  
• 05.25.2023

  Gunpowder, Cannons, and Military History with Cliff Rogers

  During the Late Middle Ages, warfare began to change with the rise of gunpowder weapons. But is every medieval gunpowder recipe actually effective? This week, Danièle speaks with Clifford J. Rogers about his gunpowder experiments at West Point Military Academy,...

  
• 05.18.2023

  The International Congress on Medieval Studies 2023 edition

  This week, Danièle speaks with Peter Konieczny from Medievalists.net about the new research they learned about at the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo.Danièle's course, Calamity and Change: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Century, begins on May 19th -...

  
• 05.11.2023

  Introducing Chrétien de Troyes

  This week, Danièle introduces Chrétien de Troyes, a thirteenth-century master of Arthurian literature and one of the most influential writers of all time.Sign up for Danièle's course at https://medievalstudies.thinkific.com/courses/calamity-and-change

  
• 05.04.2023

  A Who's Who of English Kings

  In anticipation of the coronation of King Charles III, this week, Danièle goes through all of the medieval English kings in sequence from 1066 to 1509, highlighting some of their best and worst moments.Sign up for Danièle's course, Calamity and...

  
• 04.27.2023

  Shakespeare and the Middle Ages

  This week, Danièle discusses the medieval stories that informed some of the world's most famous plays, as well as the influence William Shakespeare has had on our collective memory of the Middle Ages.Danièle's class on 'Calamity and Change: An Introduction...

  
• 04.13.2023

  Saint Colette with Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski

  Not every saint gets a contemporary biography, let alone two, but fifteenth-century French saint Colette is among them. This week, Danièle speaks with Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski about Saint Colette, her two very different biographies, and her remarkable life as a reformer...

  
• 04.06.2023

  Balthazar with Bryan Keene

  During the Middle Ages, one figure began to consistently symbolize the renowned wealth and wisdom of African kingdoms in European art: Balthazar. This week, Danièle speaks with Bryan Keene about this wise king, his evolution in medieval art, and his...

  
• 03.30.2023

  Medieval Storytime: Dogs

  They've been our helpers, protectors, and best friends for thousands of years, but what did people in the Middle Ages think about our canine companions? This week, Danièle shares some medieval writers' thoughts about dogs.You can support this podcast and...

  
• 03.23.2023

  Medieval Women's Letters

  This week, Danièle shares letters written by some of the most iconic women of the Middle Ages, including Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Christine de Pizan.To subscribe and listen to ExtraMedieval, please visit https://www.danielecybulskie.com/extramedieval