Medieval Death Trip

On this episode, get a different version of the story of Edgar's love for the married Aelfthryth, this time in a blending of history with courtly romance from Gaimar's L'Estoire des Engleis.

On this episode, we take one more step backwards in history from last time and look at some scandalous behavior from King Edgar the Peaceful as described by William of Malmesbury.

On this episode, we look at one moment in history from three different sources -- the deaths of King Edgar and his short-reigned heir, Edward the Martyr. Sources featured: The Melrose Chronicle, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and William of Malmesbury's Gesta Regum Anglorum. Stay tuned to the very end for the new riddle!

It's our (shortly after) Mother's Day episode, in which we learn from Edward the Confessor how not to treat one's mother and investigate a connection between The Song of Roland and radioactive wastelands.

This episode, we return to the Lanercost Chronicle for some examples of clergy behaving in some unclergylike ways, with a particular look at the decline and fall of clerical marriage in the medieval church.

On this episode, we look at a couple of diggers of relics: first, Elfred (or Aelfred or Alfred), who brought the relics of the Venerable Bede to Durham Cathedral; and second, antiquarian James Raine, who dug up those same relics in the early 19th century.

After much delay, Medieval Death Trip is back to ring in 2016 (just not on the conventional date for New Year's Day) with a very special episode. What would it sound like if all the previous MDT episodes got together and made a monstrous baby? It might turn out a little bit like this.

We celebrate the Winter Solstice with a return to the Chronicle of Dale Abbey, where attempts to capitalize on the Hermit's Dale don't go smoothly.

This episode, Thanksgiving is making us feel a bit nostalgic about home comforts, so we look at the story of the Hermit of the Dale from the Chronicle of Dale Abbey.

This episode we celebrate our one-year anniversary on Halloween, with the tale of a mistreated werewolf: the Lai of Bisclavret by Marie de France.

This episode, we turn to the Chronicle of Battle Abbey to hear a tale of extortion, divine punishment, and ecclesiastical fashion.

In this episode of Medieval Death Trip, we acknowledge the recent passing of neurologist Oliver Sacks and horror writer/director Wes Craven with stories of compulsive behavior and monstrous encounters from the Lanercost Chronicle.

In this episode, we wrap up the Melrose Chronicle's account of Simon de Montfort with a look at the miracle stories attached to his relics.

In this episode, we continue the tale of Simon de Montfort's struggle against King Henry III, with a look at two depictions of his final battle and death.

The Trip goes on after an unexpected summer detour. This episode we celebrate the underdog blockbuster of the season, Mad Max: Fury Road, with a medieval story of vehicular deception during the Second Baron's War.

In this episode of Medieval Death Trip, we hear the Warenne Chronicle's account of how as King of England, William Rufus dealt with rebels and how his own death was foretold in signs and visions.

In this episode we finally cut to the core of the story Thomas of Monmouth tells about the murder of William of Norwich. While Thomas thinks he's telling the story of how William was murdered by Jewish citizens of Norwich, his actual text reveals quite plainly how mass hysteria and xenophobia drove such accusations.

In this episode we continue with Eberhard the German's Laborintus and learn how a teacher acquires the knowledge of grammar, along with getting some practical advice about inspiring medieval schoolchildren.

Better late than never, it's Episode 9, wherein we hear Eberhard the German's description of his own doomed conception, after a fashion, by which he introduces his handbook of Latin composition, the Laborintus.

Today, we continue with Thomas of Monmouth's tales from the shrine of William of Norwich. This time, instead of miracle cures, we get an example of a miracle injury -- in other words, a good old-fashioned smiting. On the way we get a visit from a sinister pig and learn that candles might be valued more than a life.

This episode we return to the The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich to look at three cases of cures for toothache, followed by a glance at some actual medieval dental treatments. Get those worms out of your teeth!

Medieval Death Trip returns with the first episode of 2015, in which we take year-end retrospectives to the extreme and sample all the year 14s for each century covered by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, followed by a look at the great Cottonian Library Fire of 1731.

On this episode, we hear an account of the great Croyland (or Crowland) Abbey fire of 1091, purportedly written by the abbot at the time, Ingulf.

Episode 4 continues the story of the murder of Bishop Walcher of Durham foreseen in our previous episode. Text from Simeon of Durham's History of the Church of Durham.

First episode in a two-parter: we look at story from Symeon of Durham's History of the Church of Durham involving a person who reawakens from apparent death to share a vision of the afterlife that portends bad things for the bishop of Durham.