Beste Medieval History podcaster (2025)

1
Melissa Vise, "The Unruly Tongue: Speech and Violence in Medieval Italy" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2025) 52:05

1h ago52:05

52:05

The Unruly Tongue: Speech and Violence in Medieval Italy (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025) by Dr. Melissa Vise, offers a new account of how the power of words changed in Western thought. Despite the association of freedom of speech with the political revolutions of the eighteenth century that ushered in the era of modern democracies, Dr. Vis…

1
154: Fingers in the Dam 43:34

2d ago43:34

43:34

SEASON 7: All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 154: Fingers In the Dam Things have been going pretty great in England for a few years, but that may have only been people’s wishful thinking. As 1093 drew to an end, the king had been growing ever more unpredictable and volatile, and no one, not even Archbishop Ansel…

1
Women's Power and Patronage with Tiago Veloso Silva 42:43

12d ago42:43

42:43

Due to popular demand our podcast producer Tiago de Oliveira Veloso Silva has finally come on to the other side of the mic as one of our expert guests! We chat ‘soft power’, definitions of patronage, Agnes Ní Máelsechlainn ‘An Caillech Mór’ (d.1196), St Mary’s Arrouaisian monastery, Clonard, & reflections on the study of medieval Irish history. Tia…

1
Martha Bayless, "Entertainment, Pleasure, and Meaning in Early England" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 37:55

1d ago37:55

37:55

The people of early England (c. 450–1100 CE) enjoyed numerous kinds of entertainment, recreation and pleasure, but the scattered records of such things have made the larger picture challenging to assemble. Entertainment, Pleasure, and Meaning in Early England (Cambridge University Press, 2025) by Dr. Martha Bayless illuminates the merrier aspects o…

1
Ibn Butlan, "The Doctors' Dinner Party: A Satirical Novella " (NYU Press, 2023) 43:49

4d ago43:49

43:49

In the latest episode of Unlocking Academia, Raja Aderdor, the host, delves deeper into this fascinating work with Jeremy Farrell, a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at Leiden University, who co-authored a translation of this novella. Jeremy shares his insights into the satire, the medical practices described, and how Ibn Buṭlān's critique resonates w…

1
Jørgen Møller and Jonathan Doucette, "The Catholic Church and European State Formation, AD 1000-1500" (Oxford UP, 2022) 51:22

4d ago51:22

51:22

Generations of social scientists and historians have argued that the escape from empire and consequent fragmentation of power - across and within polities - was a necessary condition for the European development of the modern territorial state, modern representative democracy, and modern levels of prosperity. The Catholic Church and European State …

1
Exploring Muslim Sicily with Nuha Alshaar and Shainool Jiwa 55:00

5d ago55:00

55:00

In this episode Saeed Khan and Hizer Mir take a trip to Muslim Sicily, via a new book edited by Nuha Alshaar. They are also joined for this conversation by Shainool Jiwa, one of the authors whose work is featured in this edited volume. They discuss the period from around 800 CE to the mid-13th century, one characterised by a large Muslim presence w…

1
Robert Houghton, "The Middle Ages in Computer Games: Ludic Approaches to the Medieval and Medievalism" (Boydell & Brewer, 2024) 36:05

9d ago36:05

36:05

Games with a medieval setting are commercially lucrative and reach a truly massive audience. Moreover, they can engage their players in a manner that is not only different, but in certain aspects, more profound than traditional literary or cinematic forms of medievalism. However, although it is important to understand the versions of the Middle Age…

1
Isabel Moreira, "Balthild of Francia: Anglo-Saxon Slave, Merovingian Queen, and Abolitionist Saint" (Oxford UP, 2024) 1:05:32

9d ago1:05:32

1:05:32

This book tells the remarkable life of Balthild of Francia (c. 633-80), a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon slave who became a queen of France. Described in contemporary sources as beautiful and intelligent, she rose to power through her marriage to the short-lived King Clovis II. As regent for her young son, she promoted social and political reforms in …

1
153: The Henry Factor 33:26

10d ago33:26

33:26

SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 153: The Henry Factor Some people have it — whatever it is. William Rufus was a force of personality, a courageous warrior, and an effective ruler. Robert Curthose was generous and also a courageous warrior. But Henry…? What did Henry have to offer? Well, they didn’t call him Beauclerc for noth…

1
Caroline Dunn, "Ladies-in-waiting in Medieval England" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 42:23

10d ago42:23

42:23

Caroline Dunn joins Jana Byars to talk about her new book, Ladies-in-Waiting in Medieval England (Cambridge UP, 2025), which examines female attendants who served queens and aristocratic women during the late medieval period. Using a unique set of primary source–based statistics, Caroline Dunn reveals that the lady-in-waiting was far more than a pr…

1
Ellen Fenzel Arnold, "Medieval Riverscapes: Environment and Memory in Northwest Europe, C. 300-1100" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 53:35

11d ago53:35

53:35

Jana Byars talks to Ellen Arnold about Medieval Riverscapes: Environment and Memory in Northwest Europe, 300 - 1100 (Cambridge UP, 2024). Fishermen, monks, saints, and dragons met in medieval riverscapes; their interactions reveal a rich and complex world. Using religious narrative sources to evaluate the environmental mentalities of medieval commu…

1
Wan-Chuan Kao, "White before Whiteness in the Late Middle Ages" (Manchester UP, 2024) 1:11:14

12d ago1:11:14

1:11:14

White before Whiteness in the Late Middle Ages (Manchester University Press, 2024) by Dr. Wan-Chuan Kao analyses premodern whiteness as operations of fragility, precarity and racialicity across bodily and nonsomatic figurations. The book argues that while whiteness participates in the history of racialisation in the late medieval West, it does not …

1
Gemma Hollman, "Women in the Middle Ages: Illuminating the World of Peasants, Nuns, and Queens" (Abbeville Press, 2024) 1:10:52

14d ago1:10:52

1:10:52

Medieval women ruled over kingdoms, abbeys, and households; produced stunning works of art and craft; and did the hard work that kept ordinary families fed and clothed. Though women’s contributions were often diminished or completely ignored in written accounts, art tells a different story: women appear everywhere, from the margins of illuminated m…

1
Peter Ramey, "The Word-Hoard Beowulf: A Translation with Commentary" (Angelico Press, 2023) 57:05

18d ago57:05

57:05

Beowulf is the product of a profoundly religious imagination, but the significance of the poem’s Christianity has been downplayed or denied altogether. The Word-Hoard Beowulf: A Translation with Commentary (Angelico Press, 2023) is the first translation and popular commentary to take seriously the religious dimension of this venerable text. While g…

1
Mary Flannery, "Geoffrey Chaucer: Unveiling the Merry Bard" (Reaktion Books, 2024) 1:03:22

18d ago1:03:22

1:03:22

For over six centuries, Chaucer has epitomized poetic greatness, though more recent treatments of The Canterbury Tales’ lively and often risqué style have made his name more synonymous with bawdy humor. But beyond his poetic achievements, Chaucer assumed various roles including those of royal attendant, soldier, customs official, justice of the pea…

1
Andrew Jotischky, "The Monastic World: A 1,200-Year History" (Yale UP, 2024) 29:25

19d ago29:25

29:25

From the late Roman Empire onwards, monasteries and convents were a common sight throughout Europe. But who were monasteries for? What kind of people founded and maintained them? And how did monasticism change over the thousand years or so of the Middle Ages? Andrew Jotischky traces the history of monastic life from its origins in the fourth centur…

1
Shane Bobrycki, "The Crowd in the Early Middle Ages" (Princeton UP, 2024) 1:13:47

23d ago1:13:47

1:13:47

By the fifth and sixth centuries, the bread and circuses and triumphal processions of the Roman Empire had given way to a quieter world. And yet, as Shane Bobrycki argues, the influence and importance of the crowd did not disappear in early medieval Europe. In The Crowd in the Early Middle Ages (Princeton UP, 2024), Bobrycki shows that although dem…

1
Jacqueline M. Burek, "Literary Variety and the Writing of History in Britain's Long Twelfth Century" (York Medieval Press, 2023) 54:33

24d ago54:33

54:33

Histories of Britain composed during the "twelfth-century renaissance" display a remarkable amount of literary variety (Latin varietas). Furthermore, British historians writing after the Norman Conquest often draw attention to the differing forms of their texts. But why would historians of this period associate literary variety with the work of his…

1
Marcel Elias, "English Literature and the Crusades: Anxieties of Holy War, 1291-1453" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 26:09

24d ago26:09

26:09

The period from the Mamlūk reconquest of Acre (1291) to the Ottoman siege of Constantinople (1453) witnessed the production of a substantial corpus of Middle English crusade romances. In English Literature and the Crusades: Anxieties of Holy War, 1291–1453 (Cambridge University Press, 2024) Dr. Marcel Elias places these romances in dialogue with mu…

1
Adam Pennington, "Henry VIII and the Plantagenet Poles: The Rise and Fall of a Dynasty" (Pen and Sword History, 2024) 48:23

25d ago48:23

48:23

The story of King Henry VIII, a man who married six times only to execute two of those wives, is part of Great Britain’s national and international identity. Each year, millions of people walk around the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace and Hever Castle, plus many other historical sites, taking in and hoping to glean some sense of the man and …

1
Erika Graham-Goering et al., "Lordship and the Decentralised State in Late Medieval Europe" (Oxford UP, 2025) 48:00

26d ago48:00

48:00

Jana Byars talks to Erika Graham-Goering of the University of Oslo about Lordship and the Decentralized State in Late Medieval Europe (Oxford University Press, 2025), which was edited by Graham-Goering, Jim van der Meulen, and Frederik Buylaert. The origins of modern European states are often traced back to the expansion of royal and princely autho…

1
Isabel de Clare (d.1220) with Dr John Marshall 58:48

26d ago58:48

58:48

"I have no claim to anything here save through her". These are the reputed words of one of the most famous knights in English history, William Marshal, describing his wife Isabel, daughter of Aoife and Strongbow. In honour of St Valentine's Day Dr John Marshall (Lancaster University) gives us the full story of Isabel de Clare — a fascinating noblew…

1
152: Rufus's New Archbishop 51:19

29d ago51:19

51:19

SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 152: Rufus’s New Archbishop On his deathbed, William Rufus has a change of heart regarding England’s Church. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th century, including but not limited to the creati…

1
Josef Stern, "Maimonides' "Guide of the Perplexed" in Translation: A History from the Thirteenth Century to the Twentieth" (U Chicago Press, 2019) 40:39

1M ago40:39

40:39

There is a common misconception that the Jewish religion does not believe in an afterlife. While it’s true that Judaism is focused on actions, intentions and thoughts in this life, it also believes in an afterlife, and has a variety of points of view about what happens after death. Today’s guest, Professor Joseph Stern, will discuss Maimonides’ uni…

1
Bonus episode: Interpreting the 'Anglo-Norman' Invasion with Dr Colin Veach 24:09

1M ago24:09

24:09

As a follow up to our episode on the English Conquest with Dr Colin Veach (University of Hull) we examine the bias inherent in the contemporary sources, including the famous Laudabiliter papal bull, the works of Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis/Gerald de Barri) , and the 'Song of Dermot and the Earl'. We also discuss how historians can best app…

1
1169: The English Conquest of Ireland with Dr Colin Veach 54:22

1M ago54:22

54:22

Happy St Brigit's weekend! (For links to Brigit content see below). Instead of Brigit we were eager to release an episode we recorded just before Christmas with the brilliant Dr Colin Veach, from the University of Hull, on the English colonisation of Ireland, which may be known to some of you as the Anglo-Norman Invasion. Today’s episode mostly foc…

1
Adam Franklin-Lyons, "Shortage and Famine in the Late Medieval Crown of Aragon" (Penn State Press, 2022) 1:01:44

1M ago1:01:44

1:01:44

Adam Franklin-Lyons joins Jana Byars to talk about Shortage and Famine in the Late Medieval Crown of Aragon (Penn State Press, 2022). In the late fourteenth century, the medieval Crown of Aragon experienced a series of food crises that created conflict and led to widespread starvation. Adam Franklin-Lyons applies contemporary understandings of comp…

1
151: Rufus & The Northern Border 33:35

1M ago33:35

33:35

This episode outlines one of William Rufus’s most enduring contributions to England’s long and storied past: the border with the kingdom’s northern neighbor, Scotland. SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 151: Rufus & The Northern Border Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying sto…

1
Bianca M. Lopez, "Queen of Sorrows: Plague, Piety, and Power in Late Medieval Italy" (Cornell UP, 2024) 53:52

2M ago53:52

53:52

Queen of Sorrows: Plague, Piety, and Power in Late Medieval Italy (Cornell University Press, 2024) by Dr. Bianca Lopez takes an original approach to both late-medieval Italian history and the history of Christianity, using quantitative and qualitative analyses of a remarkable archive of 1,904 testaments to determine patterns in giving to the Virgin…

1
Fashion and clothing with Mairéad Finnegan 34:32

2M ago34:32

34:32

In this episode, Niamh Wycherley interviews Mairéad Finnegan, a PhD researcher in Maynooth University, about dress, clothing and fashion in late medieval Ireland (12th to 16th centuries). Mairéad brilliantly paints a vivid picture of how a medieval Irish person would express their ethnic identity, status, gender or community through their clothes a…

1
Alec Goldstein, "Maimonides on the Book of Exodus" (Kodesh Press, 2019) 37:06

2M ago37:06

37:06

Today I talked to Alec Goldstein about Maimonides on the Book of Exodus (Kodesh Press, 2019). Rabbi Moses son of Maimon, known in Hebrew as Rambam and in English as Maimonides, is one of Judaism’s most influential and enduring figures. His works have shaped Jewish thought for centuries, combining legal precision, philosophical brilliance, and profo…

1
Yehudah Cohn, trans., "Mine Is The Golden Tongue: The Hebrew Sonnets Of Immanuel Of Rome" (Centro Primo Levi, 2023) 1:12:17

2M ago1:12:17

1:12:17

Mine Is The Golden Tongue: The Hebrew Sonnets Of Immanuel Of Rome (Centro Primo Levi, 2023) contains the first known sonnets written in Hebrew. Their author is Immanuel of Rome, an intensely studied yet little-known 14th-century poet, who adapted the quantitative meter of Arabic and Hebrew poetry from al-Andalous to the syllabic meter of romance po…

1
Anthony Bale, "A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages: The World Through Medieval Eyes" (Norton, 2024) 38:15

2M ago38:15

38:15

A captivating journey of the expansive world of medieval travel, from London to Constantinople to the court of China and beyond. Europeans of the Middle Ages were the first to use travel guides to orient their wanderings, as they moved through a world punctuated with miraculous wonders and beguiling encounters. In this vivid and alluring history, m…

1
150: A Brother Rejected 57:58

2M ago57:58

57:58

SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 150: A Brother Rejected This episode spans the entire duchy of Normandy, from one end to the other, and, symbolically, is the first shot in a decade-long struggle between the brothers that will see but one winner when it’s all said and done. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per…

1
Alastair Gornall, "Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270" (UCL Press, 2020) 56:07

2M ago56:07

56:07

Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270 (UCL Press, 2020) is the first intellectual history of premodern Sri Lanka’s most culturally productive period. This era of reform (1157–1270) shaped the nature of Theravada Buddhism both in Sri Lanka and also Southeast Asia and even today continues to define monastic i…

1
St Columbanus and the Merovingians with Dr Alexander O'Hara 52:32

2M ago52:32

52:32

Happy New Year! To soothe fragile minds after the Christmas break we are easing you in to 2025 with St Columbanus part 2 — a further, more relaxed, reflection, on the career and legacy of Irish monastic founder Columbanus with Dr Alexander O'Hara. Do listen to our previous episode from November 22nd first if you get the chance. In this episode, we …

1
149: The Price of Rebellion 1:00:35

2M ago1:00:35

1:00:35

SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 149: The Price of Rebellion Examples need to be made and people need to be paid after Odo’s rebellion against King William II of England. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th century, including …

1
Theresa Flanigan, "The Ponte Vecchio: Architecture, Politics, and Civic Identity in Late Medieval Florence" (Brepols, 2024) 49:43

3M ago49:43

49:43

Famous today for the shops lining its sloped street, the Ponte Vecchio is the last premodern bridge spanning the Arno River at Florence and one of the few remaining examples of the once more prevalent urbanized bridge type. Drawing from early Florentine chronicles and previously unpublished archival documents, The Ponte Vecchio: Architecture, Polit…

1
Hartley Lachter, "Kabbalah and Catastrophe: Historical Memory in Premodern Jewish Mysticism" (Stanford UP, 2024) 45:29

3M ago45:29

45:29

While premodern kabbalistic texts were not chronicles of historical events, they provided elaborate models for understanding the secret divine plan guiding human affairs. Hartley Lachter analyzes innovative kabbalistic doctrines, such as the idea of reincarnation and the notion of multiple successive universes, through which Jewish mystics sought t…

1
Law and Society with Prof. Liam Breatnach 58:45

3M ago58:45

58:45

Happy Christmas everyone! In today's episode, Professor Liam Breatnach (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), one of Ireland's leading experts on the Old/Middle Irish language, medieval Irish law (so-called Brehon Law), poets and the Irish language, explains what the law tracts can tell us about medieval Irish society, the intellectual networks a…

1
148: The Green Tree Prophecy, Part 2 49:01

3M ago49:01

49:01

The Rebellion of 1088 was a markedly important moment in English history in which the fate of the kingdom — the promise all of those glorious centuries to come — hung in the balance. Would the battered and beaten English choose to remain rebellious against the sons of The Conqueror, or would they choose a new path forward? SEASON 7: Miniseries: A T…

1
147: The Green Tree Prophecy, Part 1 44:02

3M ago44:02

44:02

As Edward the Confessor lay dying, he sprang from a deep sleep and told of a dream he had involving a green tree. Could he have glimpsed a prophecy of the future of England? And would that prophecy come to fruition in the earliest days of the reign of King William II Rufus? SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 147: The Green Tree …

1
David J. Collins, SJ, "Disenchanting Albert the Great: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Magician" (Penn State UP, 2024) 1:07:26

3M ago1:07:26

1:07:26

David J Collins, SJ joins Jana Byars to talk about Disenchanting Albert the Great: the Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Magician (Penn State Press, 2024). Albert the Great (1200–1280) was a prominent Dominican friar, a leading philosopher, and the teacher of Thomas Aquinas. He also endorsed the use of magic. Controversial though that stance would h…

1
Herald van der Linde, "Majapahit: Intrigue, Betrayal and War in Indonesia's Greatest Empire" (Monsoon Books, 2024) 47:39

3M ago47:39

47:39

Majapahit was Indonesia, and Southeast Asia’s, largest empire. Centered on the island of Java, Majapahit commanded loyalty from vassals across the archipelago: on Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, and even the Malay Peninsula, including a tiny village called Tumasik–known today as Singapore. The empire lasted for around 230 years, from its founding in 129…

1
146: Inheritance & Division 1:04:58

3M ago1:04:58

1:04:58

SEASON 7: Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 146: Inheritance & Division England, 1087: William the Conqueror was dead. His sons, Robert Curthose, William Rufus, and Henry Beauclerc were left to clean up the mess. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far throu…

1
Shannon Gayk, "Apocalyptic Ecologies: From Creation to Doom in Middle English Literature" (U Chicago Press, 2024) 54:58

3M ago54:58

54:58

Shannon Gayk joins Jana Byars to discuss her new book. Apocalyptic Ecologies: From Creation to Doom in Medieval English Literature (University of Chicago Press, 2024) is a meditative reflection on what medieval disaster writing can teach us about how to respond to the climate emergency. When a series of ecological disasters swept medieval England, …

1
The Material World of Medieval Ireland with Dr Sharon Greene 56:39

3M ago56:39

56:39

Today, Dr Sharon Greene tells us how archaeologists explore how people lived in the past, what they believed and so on through the material remains they left behind. This can sometimes confirm or deny what the written records tell us – but most often it adds another layer to our understanding medieval Ireland. We chat about disciplinary challenges,…

1
145: The Next Turn of the Wheel 50:50

3M ago50:50

50:50

Fortune’s Wheel is embarking on a new chapter in our shared medieval history. Thank you for listening and thank you for your support. SEASON 7: All Roads Lead to Clermont EPISODE 145: The Next Turn of the Wheel Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th c…

1
Denys Turner, "Dante the Theologian" (Cambridge UP, 2022) 1:23:09

3M ago1:23:09

1:23:09

An understanding of Dante the theologian as distinct from Dante the poet has been neglected in an appreciation of Dante's work as a whole. That is the starting-point of Dante the Theologian (Cambridge UP, 2022). In giving theology fresh centrality, the author argues that theologians themselves should find, when they turn to Dante Alighieri, a compe…

Podcaster verdt å lytte til

Medieval History Podcaster

Podcaster verdt å lytte til

Hurtigreferanseguide