Medieval Archives

Listen Now! 🌾Hunger Games: The Great Famine of 1315🌾 Executive Producer: ⭐Lilac Square Antiques & Books 💰Become a Producer! DONATE  to the show via PayPal , or use Venmo You can also donate with Stripe 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 with famine, plague, religious schism...

Listen Now! 🎃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 m...

Listen Now! 🇫🇷 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, multiple assassinations, a failed Crusade, a...

🇻🇦 Papal Conclave 🇻🇦 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 Vacante , (Vacant Seat). Then the process of the Papal Conclave is started. Pope Gregory X issued the Pa...

🏹 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 in the 15th century. Friar Tuck first...

Canterbury: A Modern Day Pilgrimage 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 t...

Codex Gigas: The Devil’s Bible We’ve entered the spooky season and today we are looking at a mysterious manuscript called the Codex Gigas, Latin for Giant book. It lives up to it’s name measuring over 3 feet long, 2 feet wide, 9 inches thick, over 500 fully illuminated pages and weighing in at 170 pounds! There’s more to it besides its massive size though. Legend has it the book was written...

The Black Hour: Solar Eclipse and the Medieval Mind 08 April 2024, a total solar eclipse will travel across North America. The path of totality stretches from Durango, Mexico up through Dallas, Texas, Arkansas, Southern Illinois, through Indianapolis, Ohio, Buffalo, New York, Toronto, Montreal and making it’s way over New Brunswick before leaving North America. If you live in the path of totality...

British Myths & Legends 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 Br...

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...

Listen now! The Season of the Witch 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 husban...

Click here to download the episode 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 Ar...

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. We’ll visit a handful of castles around England and one in Ireland. Most of the castles today are in Northern England...

Listen Now! 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 th...

Listen Now! 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 exploit...

Listen Now! 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; Ge...

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...

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. W...

Listen Now! 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...

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...

Listen Now! We have a special episode today of medieval inspired music! Ian Churchward and his band The Legendary 10 Seconds write music about Richard III and the Wars of the Roses. Today we are showcasing one of their albums Tant le Desiree , the second album in the Richard III saga. You can find all their music at thelegendary10seconds.co.uk Ian and his band have a new album out called Sunnes an...

Ever wonder how medieval people dealt with natural disasters? No Red Cross or FEMA to come in and help clean up. Earthquakes and Tsunamis are some of the most destructive forces in nature. It’s estimated there are over 500,000 earthquakes each year and over 100,000 of them can be felt. Earthquakes in the Middle Ages are some of the most destructive in history. Today on the Medieval Archives...

In 1242 the Teutonic Knights were conquering lands to the east into Novgorod. Pope Gregory IX blessed the Knights in their Crusade to rid Novgorod of the orthodox pagans. Alexander Nevsky and his army had other plans. They intended to defend their country from all invaders. The conflict ended with a fierce battle, called the Battle on the Ice . On a frigid day in April the two armies met on the fr...

  The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories written Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387–1400. The tales are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The Miller’s Tale is about a carpenter, John, his beautiful wife Alison and two...

Jack Cade’s Rebellion The summer of 1450 was full of unrest in England. A failing war in France, political corruption and out of control crime left the citizens of England on edge. One man, Jack Cade, gathered together a band of followers from all classes of life and marched on London. The group presented King Henry VI a list of grievances called ‘The Complaint of the Poor Commons of K...