The Medieval Podcast

This week, Danièle speaks with Dr. Emma Levitt about tournaments and the joust in the Middle Ages. Dr. Levitt tells us all about how to score a joust, how the tournament changed over time, and how jousting was used to mend fences during the Wars of the Roses. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, ple...

This week, Danièle tells the story of one of her favourite queens, Isabella of France, who went from being a child bride to storming England and toppling an anointed king. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

This week, Danièle takes on five common myths about medieval peasants. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

This week Danièle talks about castles: what they were like, what they were for, and where we get some of the everyday words we use to describe them. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

This week Danièle shares three funny tales by Franco Sacchetti, written to entertain Italians during the tough times they experienced in the fourteenth century. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

This week Peter Konieczny joins Danièle to talk about some dates and events that historians have used to define the beginning and the end of the Middle Ages, and the mysterious few centuries that some people actually believe didn’t exist. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com...

This week Peter Konieczny joins Danièle to talk about medieval movies, bringing you some classic favourites to help you escape to the medieval world. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

This week, it’s game on with Dr. Alicia McKenzie. Danièle and Alicia talk about the world’s love affair with medieval-themed video games, what some of the ups and downs are, and which games Alicia recommends for medieval fans staying at home. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon...

This week, with headlines turning once again to stories of the plague, Danièle catches up with Winston Black to talk about The Black Death and COVID-19, what’s different about them, and what we can learn today from looking back on the biggest pandemic in human history. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval hi...

This week, Danièle talks about anchorites, men and women who enclosed themselves for life to contemplate their religious beliefs. She also explores some of the work of Julian of Norwich, perhaps the most famous anchorite of the Middle Ages. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.c...

This week, Danièle gets dramatic with a look at medieval drama, how it changed and evolved, and how it influenced later forms of theatre. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

Often, people think of the women of medieval Europe as either wives or nuns: women whose lives and property were under the control of someone else. But what tends to be forgotten is that for some women there was a third option: to become a beguine. This week, Danièle speaks with Dr. Tanya Stabler Miller about who the beguines were, and what medieval society thought of them. This podcast is made po...

This week, Danièle gets down and dirty on medieval laundry. Who washed the clothes in the Middle Ages? How did they do it? And why was it so dangerous? This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

This week is all about King Arthur and his Knights - Danièle is joined by Peter Konieczny to discuss their favourite tales from Arthurian literature and how the story has changed over time. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

We’re going back to the Lais of Marie de France, as Danièle tells the story of Yonec. It has all the hallmarks of a classic medieval romance: adultery, magic, spying, revenge, and women being blamed for wrecking everything. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpod...

In the Middle Ages, a person could claim sanctuary to delay or avoid punishment for a serious crime. But what were the rules? This week, Danièle interviews Dr. Shannon McSheffrey to find out how and why medieval people sought sanctuary, and whether or not a convicted heretic could expect the church to save his life. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To fi...

This week, Danièle reaches out to romance writers, giving both information and resources for those who want to write their very own medieval novels. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

In this first episode of 2020, Danièle connects with Anne Thériault, author of Longreads’ Queens of Infamy series, to talk about some of her favourite queens, saints, and foxes, and what it’s like to write infamous history on the internet in 2020. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit pa...

For the final episode of 2019, Danièle is joined by Peter Konieczny to talk about the some of the top medieval-related news stories and their personal highlights from the last year.  This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

This week, Danièle is joined by Peter Konieczny to talk about their favourite books on the Middle Ages that were published in 2019. It take us from Viking Greenland to manuscripts to the Crusades, with books for all types of readers.  This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/the...

She’s said to be the first professional female author, a champion of women, and the builder of The City of Ladies. She was also one of the most popular writers of the fifteenth century, despite virtually disappearing until the twentieth. This week, Danièle explores the life and writings of one of the most outspoken women of the Middle Ages: Christine de Pizan.  This podcast is made possible by the...

This week, Danièle invites you to get cozy and listen to the story of Lanval, a knight of the Round Table who is loved by a mysterious lady of the Otherworld - for better and for worse. The story is one of the lais of another mysterious woman: 12th-century author Marie de France. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of...

What happened when someone got sick in the Middle Ages? Medieval medicine and healthcare might be two of the most misunderstood aspects of the whole era. This week Danièle speaks with Winston E. Black about some of the myths we have about medicine in the Middle Ages. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval hist...

This week, Danièle answers questions sent to The Medieval Podcast by our listeners, including how did people get rid of human waste in the Middle Ages? How were medieval cities planned? What was it like to be a seamstress? And who is Danièle’s favourite knight? This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, p...

Who were the men and women who took up the cross and journeyed to Holy Lands? Danièle speaks with Dan Jones about his latest book on crusaders and on why it’s important for historians to talk about the crusades today. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast