Weird Medieval Guys

After nearly half a year adrift on the seas of medieval history, it is finally time for Olivia and Aran to wash ashore on the hospitable shores of a little town called CONSTANTINOPLE. Join us for part 1 of 2 about the great medieval megalopolis as we explore the city from its prehistoric foundation to its siege by Catholic crusaders. And be sure to stay tuned for part 2, the incredible story of the Ottoman siege! Also discussed are worm biology, the elusive water sheep, and the viking urge to inscribe rocks.

Interesting web links:

• Chinese accounts of Rome http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html
• Viking graffiti in the Hagia Sophia https://sites.nd.edu/manuscript-studies/2020/06/05/varangian-guards-and-their-traces-in-istanbul-runic-inscriptions-in-hagia-sophia/
• A translated excerpt from The Book of the Prefect https://www.uwyo.edu/lawlib/blume-justinian/_files/docs/Book-1PDF/Book%201-28.pdf

Further reading:

Richard Fidler, Ghost Empire

Judith Herrin, Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire

Bettany Hughes, Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities

The music used in this episode's intro is a public domain recording of the Greek folk song Απ' τον καημό μου πίνω (I drink because of my sorrow)

https://archive.org/details/78_title-in-greek_contributors-in-greek_gbia0033944a

Additional music clips used throughout are from that song and another Greek folk song Πειραιώτισσα (The girl from Piraeus/Piraeotissa)

https://archive.org/details/78_title-in-greek_contributors-in-greek_gbia0033944b

Weird Medieval Guys is back, and there's more audience participation than ever! In this episode, Aran and Olivia tackle a litany of listener questions on the most important medieval topics, like the conversion of the Vikings, the best names for dogs, and whether medieval life was mid and evil. Also discussed are jambalaya, the importance of simping and the gruesome fate of Mickey Mouse.

Order Weird Medieval Guys: How to Live, Laugh, Love (and Die) in Dark Times by Olivia M. Swarthout: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/455674/weird-medieval-guys-by-swarthout-olivia/9781529908305

Order merch from the Weird Medieval Guys merch shop: https://weirdmedievalguys.bigcartel.com/

Further reading:

"The names of all manner of hounds: a unique inventory in a fifteenth-century manuscript" by David Scott-Mcnab https://www.academia.edu/44222801/THE_NAMES_OF_ALL_MANNER_OF_HOUNDS_A_UNIQUE_INVENTORY_IN_A_FIFTEENTH_CENTURY_MANUSCRIPT

Ibn Fadlan's account of a Viking funeral: https://www.mrtredinnick.com/uploads/7/2/1/5/7215292/ibn_fadlan_-_account_of_a_viking_burial.pdf

Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities by Bettany Hughes: https://www.bettanyhughes.co.uk/istanbul-a-tale-of-three-cities

Olivia's approach to episode planning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QFM8VD_Nbs

Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/74034

The Knight's Toast by Sir Walter Scott: https://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-130606/

War Song of the Normans: https://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-11937/

In this episode, Olivia and Aran are joined by a delightful host of guests from Weird Medieval Guys podcast episodes past as they prepare to put on the perfect medieval holiday party. Join them for a journey through medieval festive traditions that will tell you everything you need to know to do the same, from what kind of booze to bring wassailing to what creature's head should be roast and served on a plate and what kinds of entertainment you can expect. Also discussed are gay Dracula's emotional health, whether boar enjoy being stabbed, and who brings presents to Catalonian children. For more on some of what we discuss, check out:

• Medieval Hanukkah traditions: Jewish festive foods in their European contexts
  • https://www.academia.edu/12348903/Medieval_Hanukkah_traditions_Jewish_festive_foods_in_their_European_contexts
• Holiday Gifts in the Middle Ages
  • https://www.medievalists.net/2021/12/holiday-gifts-middle-ages/
• The Origins of the Christmas Date: Some Recent Trends in Historical Research
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/23358685?read-now=1&seq=9#page_scan_tab_contents
• The Mouth of the Boar as a Symbol in Medieval Literature
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/44940429?read-now=1&seq=4#page_scan_tab_contents

Due to Olivia's characteristic truancy, no episode could be recorded this week. In lieu of your regular WMGPod content, please enjoy this gag reel of previously-unseen podcast content featuring Olivia, Aran, and occasionally Joe Mason. In two weeks, we will return to our usual format!

The Middle Ages gave us one of the longest-lasting institutions of education: the university. And where there are universities, there are sure to be students sowing chaos and destruction. Olivia and Aran are joined by a special guest, Joe Mason, as they explore the medieval origins of universities and take a look at the lives and activities of those who studied at them. Also discussed are the dangers of tennis, the risks of kidnapping a bishop, and wrong way to behave in a tavern.

For more information about some of what we discuss, check out:

• The Life of Medieval Students as Illustrated by their Letters
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/1832500
• Student power in medieval universities
  • https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/89561/j.2164-4918.1968.tb03142.x.pdf?sequence=1
• Sporting and Recreational Activities of Students in the Medieval Universities
  • https://www.medievalists.net/2010/07/sporting-and-recreational-activities-of-students-in-the-medieval-universities/
• Medieval murder maps
  • https://medievalmurdermap.co.uk/

The Weird Medieval Guys book is now out!!! Head to linktr.ee/weirdmedievalguys to pick up a copy!

Florence and its residents appear in late medieval popular culture across Europe, particularly in jokes at their expense. So why was everyone so obsessed with Florence? In this episode, Olivia and Aran take a look at how this Tuscan city grew to become a thriving centre of arts, banking, and trade by the 15th century, its resulting notoriety, and the conflicts that ensued between its different factions. Also discussed are Olivia's Italian heritage, why Master Splinter is a communist, and the Underwear Revolution.

For more on some of what we discuss, check out:

• Poggio Fiorentino's 1470 joke book "Facetiae"
  • https://elfinspell.com/PoggioSecondTitle.html
• The Economy of Renaissance Florence by Richard Goldthwaite
  • https://muse.jhu.edu/book/3422
• Plebeian Politics: Machiavelli and the Ciompi Uprising by Yves Winter
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/41703099
• The Patron's Payoff by Jonathan K. Nelson and Richard J. Zeckhauser
  • https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691161945/the-patrons-payoff

In this special Halloween episode of the Weird Medieval Guys podcast, Olivia and Aran take a look at the confluence of fact, fable and fear that created the medieval vampire myth. We then explore how that myth developed into the modern image of vampires that most people think of today, most notably how the titular character of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula came to be. Also discussed are why Dracula is better in the original Spanish, Aran's suspicious new roommate from Transylvania, and recipes for Blood.

For more on some of what we discuss, check out:

• Circumcising Dracula
  • www.jstor.org/stable/43308497
• William of Newburgh's ghost stories as urban legends
  • www.jstor.org/stable/48577687
• Modern legend and rumour theory
  • www.jstor.org/stable/3814160
• Medieval conceptions of blood
  • www.jstor.org/stable/42001729

Jesters. They're just funny little guys with bells who hang around their medieval king and make wisecracks, right? As it turns out, there's actually a bit more to it. Olivia and Aran trace the origins and development of jesters, minstrels, fools, and other entertainers in the wider context of humour in the Middle Ages. Along the way, we meet some of medieval europe's weirdest guys and crack plenty of authentically medieval jokes! Also discussed are Critical Clown Studies, historical oppression of drummers, and the most single Welshman ever.For more information about some of what we discuss, check out:

• E.K. Chambers' The Mediaeval Stage (1903), in particular chapter 3: "The Minstrel Life"
  • https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.215896/page/n93/mode/2up
• Fooling Around the World: The History of the Jester
  • https://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/640914.html
• More about Stanczyk the jester and Jan Matejko's famous painting of him
  • https://www.rhiannonpiper.com/blog/behind-the-painting-unveiling-the-layers-of-meaning-in-staczyk

• Age at first marriage in 13th-15th century Lincolnshire
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/2174029
• Women and the law in early Ireland
  • https://celt.ucc.ie/women_law.html
• Divorce, Medieval Welsh Style
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/3301214
• `Runaway Wives: Husband Desertion in Medieval England
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/4491898