أفضل بودكاسات Medieval History (2025)

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The Royal Irish Academy Library with Barbara McCormack 49:09

5d ago49:09

49:09

In this episode, we chat about the incredible academic and public resource that is the Library in the Royal Irish Academy. Academy Librarian Barbara McCormack tells us all about the collection of medieval manuscripts including some of Ireland's oldest manuscripts the Cathach of Columba and the Stowe Missal. Please visit the library yourself or chec…

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Anna Wainwright, "Widow City: Gender, Emotion, and Community in the Italian Renaissance" (U Delaware Press, 2025) 55:11

8d ago55:11

55:11

Widow City: Gender, Emotion, and Community in Renaissance Italy (University of Delaware Press, 2025) investigates the ever-evolving role of the widow in medieval and early modern Italian literature, from canonical authors such as Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, to the numerous widowed writers who rose to prominence in the sixteenth century—includin…

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158: Rebellions & Conquests: Hauteville Edition, Pt1 46:40

10d ago46:40

46:40

SEASON 7: All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries: Southern Italy and Sicily, 1085 - 1095 EPISODE 158: Rebellions & Conquests: Hauteville Edition, Pt1 Roger Borsa may have inherited dad’s domains, but Bohemond wasn’t going to sit idly by and be left with nothing. The Balkans should’ve been his, so if they would one day be under his control he would h…

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157: Catholic Corridors to the East 38:50

17d ago38:50

38:50

SEASON 7: All Roads Lead to Clermont EPISODE 157: Catholic Corridors to the East Venice and Hungary don’t seem to have much in common, but they would pave the way for crusaders to make the long, treacherous journey to the Holy Land, whether by land or by sea. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying…

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Castles in Medieval Ireland with Dr Victoria McAlister 54:21

19d ago54:21

54:21

Dr Victoria McAlister from Towson University, Maryland, on everything you ever wanted to know about castles! Featuring all the big hits, Maynooth Castle, Bunratty, Blarney, Trim, the Rock of Dunamase, Clonard castle, Ferrycarrig, Carrickfergus, Irish castles, Anglo-Norman castles, Tower houses, colonialism, we cover it all. Dr McAlister busts some …

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Judith Vitale, "The Historical Writing of the Mongol Invasions in Japan" (Harvard UP, 2024) 1:03:29

21d ago1:03:29

1:03:29

Although Japan was never conquered by the Mongol empire, the 1274 and 1281 Mongol invasions were commemorated, remembered, and imagined in Japanese historical writings. How did history books, genealogies, gazetteers, local histories, and artworks represent the Mongol invasions? What role did the idea of the invasions play in the creation of cultura…

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Asa Simon Mittman, "Cartographies of Exclusion: Anti-Semitic Mapping in Medieval England" (Penn State UP, 2024) 1:06:22

27d ago1:06:22

1:06:22

From the battles over Jerusalem to the emergence of the “Holy Land,” from legally mandated ghettos to the Edict of Expulsion, geography has long been a component of Christian-Jewish relations. Attending to world maps drawn by medieval Christian mapmakers, Cartographies of Exclusion: Anti-Semitic Mapping in Medieval England (Penn State University Pr…

1
PHIL003: Socrates: Ideas Worth Dying For 1:07:16

1M ago1:07:16

1:07:16

PHILOSOPHY SERIES 1: Foundations of Western Thought EPISODE 003: Socrates: Ideas Worth Dying For After taking a look at the world of Socrates on the last episode — the Athenian Golden Age, Pericles, the Plague of Athens, the Peloponnesian War — we dive into Socrates’ philosophy! Using a handful of Plato’s Dialogues — Euthyphro, Meno, Gorgias, Theae…

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Faith Tibble, "Crown of Thorns: Humble Gods and Humiliated Kings" (T&T Clark, 2025) 41:51

1M ago41:51

41:51

Jesus' Crown of Thorns has become one of the most ubiquitous features of Christian religious art, but was the original crown anything like the crown of popular medieval art and piety? The image conjured by art history is that of a bloodied, beaten Jesus, wearing a cruelly fashioned, woven crown made of sharp thorns. But this image is deeply mislead…

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Dicuil and Irish scholars at the Carolingian Court with Dr Christian Schweizer 52:25

1M ago52:25

52:25

This week we are delighted to talk to the always enlightening Dr Christian Schweizer about his Research Ireland funded research on Dicuil, an Irish scholar who was prominent in the Carolingian Court in Aachen in the early 9th century. Dicuil wrote many fascinating texts covering a variety of disciplines including geography, astronomy and computisti…

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Bin Yang, "Discovered But Forgotten: The Maldives in Chinese History, C. 1100-1620" (Columbia UP, 2024) 41:30

1M ago41:30

41:30

Chinese travelers first made their way to the Maldives in the Indian Ocean in the 14th century, looking for goods like coconuts, cowries, and ambergris. That started centuries of travel to the islands, including one trip by famed sailor Zheng He. Then, quickly, the Maldives—and the broader Indian Ocean—vanished as Ming China turned inward. Bin Yang…

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PHIL002: Socrates In Context 26:09

1M ago26:09

26:09

PHILOSOPHY SERIES 1: Foundations of Western Thought EPISODE 001: Socrates In Context On this episode, we take a few minutes to outline why Socrates was the way he was and why his life ended the way it did. Philosophy, to some degree, is a reflection on one’s world, one’s circumstances, and if I try to preach anything it’s context matters. We won’t …

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PHIL 001: Foundations: The Pre-Socratics 48:23

2M ago48:23

48:23

PHILOSOPHY SERIES 1: Foundations of Western Thought EPISODE 001: Foundations: The Pre-Socratics On this episode, we begin, well, at the beginning…all of those amazing thinkers and tinkerers before Socrates. We call them the Pre-Socratics. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylin…

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156: The Beginning of the Reconquista 29:34

2M ago29:34

29:34

Closing SEASON 7: All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries: Iberia on the Eve of Crusade EPISODE 156: Beginning of the Reconquista King Alfonso VI of Leon-Castile, leading up to the pivotal year of 1095, needed to change the face of the Almoravid Conquest happening in Iberia. The Almoravid War Machine was formidable, but that wouldn't draw people to I…

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Letizia Osti, "History and Memory in the Abbasid Caliphate: Writing the Past in Medieval Arabic Literature" (I. B. Tauris, 2024) 51:55

2M ago51:55

51:55

Abu Bakr al-Suli was an Abbasid polymath and table companion, as well as a legendary chess player. He was perhaps best known for his work on poetry and chancery, which would have a long-lasting influence on Arabic literature. His decades of service at the court of at least three caliphs give him a unique perspective as an historian of his own time,…

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Slavery in Medieval Ireland with Dr Janel Fontaine 52:39

2M ago52:39

52:39

Apologies for the poor sound quality in this episode! This week Dr Janel Fontaine (Treasure Trove Officer, National Museums Scotland) talks us through some of the evidence for slavery in medieval Ireland. From the accounts of St Patrick in the 5th century to Gerald of Wales in the 12th century she explains how slavery was built into the social and …

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Bin Yang, "Discovered But Forgotten: The Maldives in Chinese History, C. 1100-1620" (Columbia UP, 2024) 50:14

2M ago50:14

50:14

Discovered but Forgotten: The Maldives in Chinese History, c.1100-1620 (Columbia UP, 2024) examines China's maritime activities in the Indian Ocean, especially as they relate to the Maldives. By weaving together the accounts of a 14th-century Chinese traveler (Wang Dayuan) to the archipelago, archaeological analysis of shipwrecks, maps by both the …

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Bruce L. Venarde, "The Miracles of Mary in Twelfth-Century France" (Cornell UP, 2024) 1:09:56

2M ago1:09:56

1:09:56

Murder in a cathedral, horrific illnesses and deformities, narrow escapes from injury and death, a vengeful dragon, a wandering eyeball, a bawdy monk and other sinners redeemed—the accounts of miracles performed by the Virgin Mary gathered and translated in The Miracles of Mary in Twelfth-Century France (Cornell UP, 2024) provide vivid glimpses int…

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ʿAbd al-Laṭīf, "A Physician on the Nile: A Description of Egypt and Journal of the Famine Years" (NYU Press, 2022) 49:16

2M ago49:16

49:16

In the latest episode of Unlocking Academia, Tarin Ahmed, the host, unpacks the translation of this incredible text with Tim Mackintosh-Smith, a Senior Research Fellow at New York University in Abu Dhabi, the translator of this publication. Tim shares his story of how he first came across the original source text, his journey of translation, and ev…

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155: End of the Taifa Era 30:20

2M ago30:20

30:20

SEASON 7: All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries: Iberia on the Eve of Crusade EPISODE 155: End of the Taifa Era When eras end and kingdoms fall, one would be entirely justified in assuming that said “end” would come from some external source. But that’s not always the case. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear m…

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Catalin-Stefan Popa, "The Making of Syriac Jerusalem" (Routledge, 2023) 1:07:46

2M ago1:07:46

1:07:46

This book discusses hagiographic, historiographical, hymnological, and theological sources that contributed to the formation of the sacred picture of the physical as well as metaphysical Jerusalem in the literature of two Eastern Christian denominations, East and West Syrians. Popa analyses the question of Syrian beliefs about the Holy City, their …

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The 'Story' of St Patrick with Dr Elizabeth Dawson 56:50

2M ago56:50

56:50

It's time for our annual discussion of the man responsible for our national holiday in Ireland, Fáilte Ireland's global greening campaign and J. D. Vance wearing shamrock socks in the White House! Dr Elizabeth Dawson (Carlow College) is the perfect expert guide through over 14 centuries of stories celebrating St Patrick. She explains how Patrick be…

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Melissa Vise, "The Unruly Tongue: Speech and Violence in Medieval Italy" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2025) 52:05

2M ago52:05

52:05

The Unruly Tongue: Speech and Violence in Medieval Italy (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025) by Dr. Melissa Vise, offers a new account of how the power of words changed in Western thought. Despite the association of freedom of speech with the political revolutions of the eighteenth century that ushered in the era of modern democracies, Dr. Vis…

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Martha Bayless, "Entertainment, Pleasure, and Meaning in Early England" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 37:55

2M ago37:55

37:55

The people of early England (c. 450–1100 CE) enjoyed numerous kinds of entertainment, recreation and pleasure, but the scattered records of such things have made the larger picture challenging to assemble. Entertainment, Pleasure, and Meaning in Early England (Cambridge University Press, 2025) by Dr. Martha Bayless illuminates the merrier aspects o…

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154: Fingers in the Dam 43:34

2M ago43:34

43:34

SEASON 7: All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 154: Fingers In the Dam Things have been going pretty great in England for a few years, but that may have only been people’s wishful thinking. As 1093 drew to an end, the king had been growing ever more unpredictable and volatile, and no one, not even Archbishop Ansel…

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Ibn Butlan, "The Doctors' Dinner Party: A Satirical Novella " (NYU Press, 2023) 43:49

2M ago43:49

43:49

In the latest episode of Unlocking Academia, Raja Aderdor, the host, delves deeper into this fascinating work with Jeremy Farrell, a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at Leiden University, who co-authored a translation of this novella. Jeremy shares his insights into the satire, the medical practices described, and how Ibn Buṭlān's critique resonates w…

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Jørgen Møller and Jonathan Doucette, "The Catholic Church and European State Formation, AD 1000-1500" (Oxford UP, 2022) 51:22

2M ago51:22

51:22

Generations of social scientists and historians have argued that the escape from empire and consequent fragmentation of power - across and within polities - was a necessary condition for the European development of the modern territorial state, modern representative democracy, and modern levels of prosperity. The Catholic Church and European State …

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Exploring Muslim Sicily with Nuha Alshaar and Shainool Jiwa 55:00

3M ago55:00

55:00

In this episode Saeed Khan and Hizer Mir take a trip to Muslim Sicily, via a new book edited by Nuha Alshaar. They are also joined for this conversation by Shainool Jiwa, one of the authors whose work is featured in this edited volume. They discuss the period from around 800 CE to the mid-13th century, one characterised by a large Muslim presence w…

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Robert Houghton, "The Middle Ages in Computer Games: Ludic Approaches to the Medieval and Medievalism" (Boydell & Brewer, 2024) 36:05

3M ago36:05

36:05

Games with a medieval setting are commercially lucrative and reach a truly massive audience. Moreover, they can engage their players in a manner that is not only different, but in certain aspects, more profound than traditional literary or cinematic forms of medievalism. However, although it is important to understand the versions of the Middle Age…

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Isabel Moreira, "Balthild of Francia: Anglo-Saxon Slave, Merovingian Queen, and Abolitionist Saint" (Oxford UP, 2024) 1:05:32

3M ago1:05:32

1:05:32

This book tells the remarkable life of Balthild of Francia (c. 633-80), a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon slave who became a queen of France. Described in contemporary sources as beautiful and intelligent, she rose to power through her marriage to the short-lived King Clovis II. As regent for her young son, she promoted social and political reforms in …

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153: The Henry Factor 33:26

3M ago33:26

33:26

SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 153: The Henry Factor Some people have it — whatever it is. William Rufus was a force of personality, a courageous warrior, and an effective ruler. Robert Curthose was generous and also a courageous warrior. But Henry…? What did Henry have to offer? Well, they didn’t call him Beauclerc for noth…

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Caroline Dunn, "Ladies-in-waiting in Medieval England" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 42:23

3M ago42:23

42:23

Caroline Dunn joins Jana Byars to talk about her new book, Ladies-in-Waiting in Medieval England (Cambridge UP, 2025), which examines female attendants who served queens and aristocratic women during the late medieval period. Using a unique set of primary source–based statistics, Caroline Dunn reveals that the lady-in-waiting was far more than a pr…

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Ellen Fenzel Arnold, "Medieval Riverscapes: Environment and Memory in Northwest Europe, C. 300-1100" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 53:35

3M ago53:35

53:35

Jana Byars talks to Ellen Arnold about Medieval Riverscapes: Environment and Memory in Northwest Europe, 300 - 1100 (Cambridge UP, 2024). Fishermen, monks, saints, and dragons met in medieval riverscapes; their interactions reveal a rich and complex world. Using religious narrative sources to evaluate the environmental mentalities of medieval commu…

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Wan-Chuan Kao, "White before Whiteness in the Late Middle Ages" (Manchester UP, 2024) 1:11:14

3M ago1:11:14

1:11:14

White before Whiteness in the Late Middle Ages (Manchester University Press, 2024) by Dr. Wan-Chuan Kao analyses premodern whiteness as operations of fragility, precarity and racialicity across bodily and nonsomatic figurations. The book argues that while whiteness participates in the history of racialisation in the late medieval West, it does not …

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Women's Power and Patronage with Tiago Veloso Silva 42:43

3M ago42:43

42:43

Due to popular demand our podcast producer Tiago de Oliveira Veloso Silva has finally come on to the other side of the mic as one of our expert guests! We chat ‘soft power’, definitions of patronage, Agnes Ní Máelsechlainn ‘An Caillech Mór’ (d.1196), St Mary’s Arrouaisian monastery, Clonard, & reflections on the study of medieval Irish history. Tia…

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Gemma Hollman, "Women in the Middle Ages: Illuminating the World of Peasants, Nuns, and Queens" (Abbeville Press, 2024) 1:10:52

3M ago1:10:52

1:10:52

Medieval women ruled over kingdoms, abbeys, and households; produced stunning works of art and craft; and did the hard work that kept ordinary families fed and clothed. Though women’s contributions were often diminished or completely ignored in written accounts, art tells a different story: women appear everywhere, from the margins of illuminated m…

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Mary Flannery, "Geoffrey Chaucer: Unveiling the Merry Bard" (Reaktion Books, 2024) 1:03:22

3M ago1:03:22

1:03:22

For over six centuries, Chaucer has epitomized poetic greatness, though more recent treatments of The Canterbury Tales’ lively and often risqué style have made his name more synonymous with bawdy humor. But beyond his poetic achievements, Chaucer assumed various roles including those of royal attendant, soldier, customs official, justice of the pea…

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Peter Ramey, "The Word-Hoard Beowulf: A Translation with Commentary" (Angelico Press, 2023) 57:05

3M ago57:05

57:05

Beowulf is the product of a profoundly religious imagination, but the significance of the poem’s Christianity has been downplayed or denied altogether. The Word-Hoard Beowulf: A Translation with Commentary (Angelico Press, 2023) is the first translation and popular commentary to take seriously the religious dimension of this venerable text. While g…

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Andrew Jotischky, "The Monastic World: A 1,200-Year History" (Yale UP, 2024) 29:25

3M ago29:25

29:25

From the late Roman Empire onwards, monasteries and convents were a common sight throughout Europe. But who were monasteries for? What kind of people founded and maintained them? And how did monasticism change over the thousand years or so of the Middle Ages? Andrew Jotischky traces the history of monastic life from its origins in the fourth centur…

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Shane Bobrycki, "The Crowd in the Early Middle Ages" (Princeton UP, 2024) 1:13:47

3M ago1:13:47

1:13:47

By the fifth and sixth centuries, the bread and circuses and triumphal processions of the Roman Empire had given way to a quieter world. And yet, as Shane Bobrycki argues, the influence and importance of the crowd did not disappear in early medieval Europe. In The Crowd in the Early Middle Ages (Princeton UP, 2024), Bobrycki shows that although dem…

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Marcel Elias, "English Literature and the Crusades: Anxieties of Holy War, 1291-1453" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 26:09

3M ago26:09

26:09

The period from the Mamlūk reconquest of Acre (1291) to the Ottoman siege of Constantinople (1453) witnessed the production of a substantial corpus of Middle English crusade romances. In English Literature and the Crusades: Anxieties of Holy War, 1291–1453 (Cambridge University Press, 2024) Dr. Marcel Elias places these romances in dialogue with mu…

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Jacqueline M. Burek, "Literary Variety and the Writing of History in Britain's Long Twelfth Century" (York Medieval Press, 2023) 54:33

3M ago54:33

54:33

Histories of Britain composed during the "twelfth-century renaissance" display a remarkable amount of literary variety (Latin varietas). Furthermore, British historians writing after the Norman Conquest often draw attention to the differing forms of their texts. But why would historians of this period associate literary variety with the work of his…

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Adam Pennington, "Henry VIII and the Plantagenet Poles: The Rise and Fall of a Dynasty" (Pen and Sword History, 2024) 48:23

3M ago48:23

48:23

The story of King Henry VIII, a man who married six times only to execute two of those wives, is part of Great Britain’s national and international identity. Each year, millions of people walk around the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace and Hever Castle, plus many other historical sites, taking in and hoping to glean some sense of the man and …

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Erika Graham-Goering et al., "Lordship and the Decentralised State in Late Medieval Europe" (Oxford UP, 2025) 48:00

3M ago48:00

48:00

Jana Byars talks to Erika Graham-Goering of the University of Oslo about Lordship and the Decentralized State in Late Medieval Europe (Oxford University Press, 2025), which was edited by Graham-Goering, Jim van der Meulen, and Frederik Buylaert. The origins of modern European states are often traced back to the expansion of royal and princely autho…

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Isabel de Clare (d.1220) with Dr John Marshall 58:48

3M ago58:48

58:48

"I have no claim to anything here save through her". These are the reputed words of one of the most famous knights in English history, William Marshal, describing his wife Isabel, daughter of Aoife and Strongbow. In honour of St Valentine's Day Dr John Marshall (Lancaster University) gives us the full story of Isabel de Clare — a fascinating noblew…

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152: Rufus's New Archbishop 51:19

3M ago51:19

51:19

SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 152: Rufus’s New Archbishop On his deathbed, William Rufus has a change of heart regarding England’s Church. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th century, including but not limited to the creati…

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Josef Stern, "Maimonides' "Guide of the Perplexed" in Translation: A History from the Thirteenth Century to the Twentieth" (U Chicago Press, 2019) 40:39

3M ago40:39

40:39

There is a common misconception that the Jewish religion does not believe in an afterlife. While it’s true that Judaism is focused on actions, intentions and thoughts in this life, it also believes in an afterlife, and has a variety of points of view about what happens after death. Today’s guest, Professor Joseph Stern, will discuss Maimonides’ uni…

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Bonus episode: Interpreting the 'Anglo-Norman' Invasion with Dr Colin Veach 24:09

3M ago24:09

24:09

As a follow up to our episode on the English Conquest with Dr Colin Veach (University of Hull) we examine the bias inherent in the contemporary sources, including the famous Laudabiliter papal bull, the works of Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis/Gerald de Barri) , and the 'Song of Dermot and the Earl'. We also discuss how historians can best app…

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1169: The English Conquest of Ireland with Dr Colin Veach 54:22

4M ago54:22

54:22

Happy St Brigit's weekend! (For links to Brigit content see below). Instead of Brigit we were eager to release an episode we recorded just before Christmas with the brilliant Dr Colin Veach, from the University of Hull, on the English colonisation of Ireland, which may be known to some of you as the Anglo-Norman Invasion. Today’s episode mostly foc…

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Adam Franklin-Lyons, "Shortage and Famine in the Late Medieval Crown of Aragon" (Penn State Press, 2022) 1:01:44

4M ago1:01:44

1:01:44

Adam Franklin-Lyons joins Jana Byars to talk about Shortage and Famine in the Late Medieval Crown of Aragon (Penn State Press, 2022). In the late fourteenth century, the medieval Crown of Aragon experienced a series of food crises that created conflict and led to widespread starvation. Adam Franklin-Lyons applies contemporary understandings of comp…

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