Medieval Archives

🌾Hunger Games: The Great Famine of 1315🌾 Executive Producers wanted: ⭐YOUR NAME HERE; Thank you to all the listeners! 💰Become a Producer! DONATE  to the show via PayPal , or use Venmo You can also donate with Stripe 📜 Sign Up for our newsletter The 14th century opened with a nightmare beginning a period called the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages, which lasted almost 200 years and was filled wi...

🎃 Trick or Terror: The Halloween Candy Scare of the 1980s🍬 ⭐This is a Bonus episode from Dragon Moon Media. We have launched another 'Archives' podcast, this one focusing on the late 20th century. If you have no interest in 20th century history you could skip this episode. However, I say give it a chance. You never know what new knowledge you may gain from listening. After all we're talking abo...

🎃Tales of Medieval Revenge by Edgar Allan Poe🎃 Executive Producer: ⭐Lilac Square Antiques & Books 💰Become a Producer! DONATE  to the show via PayPal , or use Venmo You can also donate with Stripe On this Medieval Archives Halloween Special we're listening to two tales of revenge by the the master of gothic horror, Edgar Allan Poe. This isn't the first time Poe has made an appearance on Med...

🇫🇷 John the Fearless and the Bloody Fight for France 🇫🇷 Executive Producer: ⭐Two Anonymous Producers (Thank you! you know who you are) 💰Become a Producer! DONATE  to the show via PayPal , or use Venmo You can also donate with Stripe                                                             John the Fearless ( 1371-1419) 14th century France was in utter turmoil, torn apart by an insane king,  m...

🇻🇦 The Papal Conclave🇻🇦 💰Become a Producer! DONATE  to the show via PayPal , or use Venmo You can also donate with Stripe Pope Francis died on 21 Apr 2025 starting a process established in the Middle Ages. Learn all about the Medieval origins of the Papal Conclave and watch as it unfolds in modern Italy during the Papal Conclave of 2025. Once a Pope dies the Vatican enters a period called Sede Va...

Executive Producer: ⭐ Helle Hagenau 🏹 Robin Hood 🏹 in the Movies The story of Robin Hood is over 600 years old. An Outlaw from English folklore and a hero to the people, Robin Hood has inspired countless poems, books and movies. Robin Hood first appeared in the poem Piers Plowman, written around 1377. His band of Merry Men, Will Scarlett, Little John and Much the Miller’s son, began to appear i...

Executive Producer: ⭐ Helle Hagenau A day trip to Canterbury is a a popular choice for tourists visiting England and London and for good reason, it's a great city! During our European vacation in the Summer of 2024 we had a free day and decided to take a modern day pilgrimage to Canterbury and Canterbury Cathedral. We decided not to walk the Pilgrim's Way though, instead traveling by train to Can...

 It's time for our 🎃Halloween🎃 episode! This year we are looking at... The Devil's Bible Codex Gigas "Giant book" lives up to it’s name measuring over 3 feet long, 2 feet wide, 9 inches thick, over 300 fully illuminated pages and weighing in at 170 pounds! Legend has it the book was written in one night, by a single monk condemned to death, who sold his soul to the Devil to complete the work. As...

Have you ever seen an eclipse? I’ve seen numerous lunar eclipses and I’ve seen a few partial solar eclipse, but never a total solar eclipse. On 08 April 2024, Mexico, the United States and Canada will experience a total solar eclipse. It’s the first one in 7 years and the last one for 20 years. The next total solar eclipse in North America will be in 2044. Europe won’t be in the path of the 2024 e...

Medievalist and Art Historian Dr. Amy Jeffs joins the show to discuss her books  Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain and Wild: Tales from Early Medieval Britain In Amy’s first book, Storyland she examines the origins of Britain from Noah’s flood to the Norman invasion. And there are some good stories to tell, including the incredible story of Albina, who ruled Britain, was seduced by demons and...

Professor and author Nicolas Morton joins the podcast to discuss his book, The Crusader States and their Neighbours . The Crusader States were founded during the First Crusade. The Crusaders conquered the land and claimed it as their own. There were four Crusader States established during the First Crusade; The County of Edessa, The County of Tripoli, the Principal of Antioch and the Kingdom of Je...

We are embarking on a new podcasting adventure! Medieval Tales Podcast will be released every Tuesday and Thursday and feature medieval themed classic novels. The first book in the series is: The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson  The Black Arrow: A Tale of Two Roses is the 1888 historical adventure novel. Set in fifteenth century England during the Wars of the Roses, the story revolves around...

Welcome to the Medieval Tales podcast, well, to the trailer at least.  Do you love reading classic novels set in the Middle Ages. Stories of brave Knights and epic battles, royal intrigue and life in a castle?  Is it getting harder to find  time to sit down and read a good book? With all the cooking and cleaning and commuting. Maybe you have the time and aren’t sure what to read next. Whatever the...

Professor and author Nicolas Morton joins the podcast to discuss his book, The Mongol Storm . The Mongol Empire rose to power in the early 1200s, founded by Genghis Khan. At it’s peak the Empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Black Sea, encompassing Korea, Mongolia, China, Russia and portions of Eastern Europe and the Near East. Nic’s new book The Mongol Storm covers the Mongol Empire and...

It’s Halloween again, the air turns colder, the nights grow darker and spirits roam in the shadows. On this year’s Halloween episode we are traveling to the Emerald Isle. In 1324 Kilkenny, Ireland witnessed it’s first witchcraft trial and the first execution carried out by burning at the stake. Alice Kyteler was a popular, beautiful inn keeper who's husbands had a bad habit of dying mysterious dea...

Mudlarks A mudlark is defined as someone who digs or searches in in river or harbor mud for items of value. The term was widely used in 18th and 19th century London. Mudlarks would search the shores of the River Thames during low tide to find valuable items and sell them for a profit. Being a mudlark back then was usually a job for those in extreme poverty. Today things are different. Mudlarks in...

When people think of the Middle Ages one of the first images that pops into their head is a knight in shining armor. Knights are synonymous with the Middle Ages. Slaying dragons, saving damsels in distress, but beyond the fairy tales are the real life knights. Men who sacrificed and endlessly trained to earn the title of Knight. On this episode of the Medieval Archives podcast I’m joined by histor...

The witching season is upon us once again. Past Halloweens we’ve covered a Medieval Serial Killer , Medieval Zombies and more. All the Halloween episodes are available on the Halloween Podcast page . This Halloween we are looking at haunted castles from the Middle Ages. Castles We’ll visit a handful of castles around England and one in Ireland. Most of the castles today are in Northern England and...

The Viking Age​ VIKINGS! The scourge of the early middle ages. Vikings raided England, Ireland and Europe with a ferocity never seen before. On this episode we’re going to look at a few Vikings that you may not have heard of, or know much about. One of them should be taught in every school in America and Europe. They are portrayed as blood thirsty killers who pillage and plunder, but they were als...

John II: King of France 1350-1364 King John II of France, called The Good. John ruled during a tumultuous time, the Plague was in full force killing large parts of France’s population, the Hundred Years’ War was raging and France was in financial trouble. With all that going on how did John get dubbed, The Good? We’ll take a look at his rise to the throne, his exploits in battle and on the home fr...

Fight For Profit Soldiers in the Middle Ages fought for King and Country. But what did they do when the wars ended? Not all soldiers retired back to a life of farming or trade. Some men wanted to continue fighting and they fought for profit Medieval Mercenaries rose to prominence in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Mercenary Companies were made up of men from every corner of Europe; Germany, Franc...

 We hit a milestone this month for the Medieval Archives Podcast. Ten years of podcasting! Unfortunately the podcast hit an unexpected and lengthy hiatus. But we are coming back this summer! Along with the 10 year anniversary is a fresh new website. And we're removing all the ads from the website as well! The new website and renewed podcast will remain ad-free! There are great lessons ready and pl...

In today's lesson we are joined by author Wayne Bartlett to discuss Richard the Lionheart! Wayne's new book Richard the Lionheart: The Crusader King of England is available through Amberley Publishing. It's an excellent biography and the first biography of Richard the Lionheart in over 40 years! Wayne and I discuss Richard's upbringing, the Crusades and his war in France. We also cover the women i...

Today's lesson features a talk with historian and author Stephen Spinks. Stephen's new book Edward II The Man: A Doomed Inheritance was recently published by Amberley Publishing. Edward II The Man is an in-depth biography of an often overlooked medieval king. Stephen and I talk about his work with the National Trust, his writing and his new book. It's a fantastic talk and I have a whole new outloo...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! The Great Plague or Black Death ravaged Europe in the 14th century, killing around 200 million people. No one was immune to the Plague! But as we'll find out in today's episode one man thought his wealth could keep him safe. Today on the Halloween inspired episode we are going to listen to Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death. It's a story of the lower class suffering whi...