Criminalia

More than 500 years after his death, Heinrich Agrippa is considered one of the most influential occult philosophers of the early modern period. But not everyone in his lifetime was pleased with his theories and experimentation. While his work was denounced as heretical, it, and the work of fellow alchemists, laid the foundation for what we now call chemistry. Learn more about your ad-choices at ht...

Agnes, also known as Mother Waterhouse, was accused of bewitching to death William Fynne. In the bigger picture, she was accused of using witchcraft to cause illness -- and her 18-year-old daughter was accused of the same crime. Agnes was hanged for a crime you may not guess, becoming the first woman executed for witchcraft in England. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastn...

A man named Stedelen was accused of practicing witchcraft between the years 1397 and 1406, in Switzerland. His was one of the earliest trials for maleficium and diabolism in Europe, and for certain, in Switzerland – at least according to the historical record.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For centuries according to the historical record, it was midwives who were most often prosecuted for witchcraft. Often in the historical record, midwives were written of as, quote, "unwomanly." And of course not assuming all 16th --century midwives are alike, many were considered suspicious for such things as being unmarried, or for their sexual behavior. Ursula Kemp made a living as a midwife --...

Season 5 is going to be all about witchcraft and alchemy, and the fate of many who practiced such things – or, who maybe didn't. And just like we always do, we'll look at the lives and motivations of some of women and men who were accused of using the so-called 'black arts' throughout the centuries. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listene...

One of the problems with uncovering the real stories of pirate legends is that there isn't always much historical evidence about many of them, especially if they never were captured or put on trial. If there is evidence of their lives, the stories often – but not always -- have been embellished. Embellished or not, though, they did all have interesting stories. Among the pirates, we did definitely...

Charles Vane has been described as good, but unlucky, in his career of piracy during the Golden Age of Piracy. He's often spoken of as being one of the most skilled pirate captains among his peers, which included men such as Blackbeard and Black Bart. He was also known as a cruel and ruthless pirate who tortured and murdered his prisoners. And as captain, he preferred punishing his crew with extre...

We recently talked about Stede Bonnet, a wealthy landowner who ditched it all for a life of piracy. Bonnet though was not the only aristocrat to turn his back on his life for a life plundering the high seas. Jeanne de Clisson is another noble-turned-pirate who got into the revenge business - upon her husband Olivier's execution by the King of France. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www...

Sayyida al-Hurra -- which translates roughly as "Lady who is free and independent" in Arabic -- was born as Lalla Aicha bint Ali ibn Rashid al-Alami. Aicha was queen of Tétouan from 1515–1542 -- and she was a pirate queen. And she is considered to be one of the most important female figures of the Islamic West in the modern age. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork....

Stede Bonnet was not really your typical pirate, if there is such a thing. Many pirates, such as unemployed sailors or laborers, chose the lifestyle because they didn't have many options. But Bonnet chose piracy over a wealthy and a respectable life. Was he was just looking for something bigger and more adventurous, or was there more to it? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpod...

When Mary Wolverston married Sir John Killigrew, she married into a pirate family, and was very hands-on with the family business. She would ultimately be accused of preying on shipping vessels that passed along the coastline, arrested, and convicted -- yet not executed. Holly and Maria talk about why. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/list...

Sometimes, and it happens with all scurvy sea dogs, male or female, there just isn't enough evidence left behind to know for certain that a person was a real part of history, or if they're just a fictional composite of several people. And because of that, there are just four confirmed female pirates from the Golden Age of Piracy – and one on that list is marginal. Learn more about your ad-choices...

As long as there have been pirates, there have been people hired to make them stop what they're doing. And, sometimes, those individuals hired to catch pirates are, themselves, pirates. From Woodes Rogers to Benjamin Hornigold, Holly and Maria tell the stories of the influential pirate hunters of the Golden Age of Piracy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See...

Sir Francis Drake was a politician, a naval officer, a sea captain, an English explorer, and the second person to circumnavigate the globe. He was also a pirate -- disguised as a privateer. Drake considered King Phillip II, the King of Spain, a life-long enemy, and he especially targeted their possessions and colonies. There was a rumor among Spaniards, and especially sailors who fought in the Spa...

Henry Every, also known as Henry Avery, Jack Avery or John Avery, as well as Benjamin Bridgeman or Long Ben OR The Arch Pirate or The King of Pirates, was an English pirate who apparently looted names. But he also became the most prosperous pirate when he took down the Gunsway -- it's estimated his treasure would be at least $60 million if not considerably more after inflation. Learn more about yo...

Hayreddin Barbarossa was a pirate and a privateer. But he wasn't just looting ships and enslaving people. He was a skilled warrior, and an admiral in the Ottoman navy. And he had a certain political sensibility that helped him navigate not just alliances but kingdoms as well. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

Valkyrie, she-warrior, pirate, shield-maiden – whatever the name you call her, stories about strong women including Lagertha are mentioned in lore dating centuries back. But, as we'll see, history can get in the way of itself. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rachel Wall may have been the first American-born woman to become a pirate – but she most certainly was the last woman to be hanged in Boston, though the specific crime that landed her that fate wasn’t actually piracy at all. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to our Talk Like a Pirate Day celebration! Although pirates didn't actually use words like Arrr and Matey, that doesn't mean it isn't a lot of fun to throw that lingo around, right? Just like we speak in pirate talk that doesn't have much to do with real pirate talk, some famous pirates themselves are just as fake as that vocabulary – although many of us may think it's all real. Learn more...

Queen Teuta is often considered the “Pirate Queen” of antiquity, but that's actually a bit misleading -- Teuta was not actually a pirate. In line with her expansionist policies, she encouraged and sanctioned her tribe's piratical activities. This queen led an army of pirates. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

Legend says that Grace refused to bow before Elizabeth because she did not acknowledge her as Queen of Ireland. Maybe she did, or maybe she didn't. Now she's considered a famous, feminine sea captain, and the most notorious woman in all the coasts of Ireland.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imposters are people who dishonestly pretend to be someone else for their own gain. Some do it in order to circumvent rules they feel are unjust. And some are simply criminals looking for an easy way to evade capture. And we talk about it all. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey are coming back with season four of Criminalia! Tune in for the new season starting August 31. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emperor Trajan, who came to power 30 years after Nero's death, spoke about the “quinquennium Neronis,” which means, the five good years of Nero’s 14-year rule. When Nero died by suicide, three documented Pseudo-Neros attempted to take his place. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Margaret, Maid of Norway, ascended to the Scottish throne on March 19, 1286, when she was just shy of three years old, and living in Norway. Ten years after the real Margaret, Maid of Norway's death, a Norwegian woman claimed Margaret’s identity. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.