August 26, 2025 • 10 mins
Today's tour through the Cabinet features knights and kings, but not in the setting you'd imagine.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of
the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all
of these amazing tales are right there on display, just
waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
The ground shook as the column of tanks rumbled along
the country road making for the Czech border. It was
nineteen thirty eight, and Hitler had just signed a treaty
claiming the Sudetan Land a region of Czechoslovakia for himself.
Now German troops were advancing on the border. Suddenly, the
tanks screeched to a halt. The marching German soldiers stopped
(00:57):
in their tracks. Something was on the road. The Germans
couldn't believe it. This was nineteen thirty eight, not the
Middle Ages, and yet standing between them and the sudetan
Land was an armor clad, sword wielding night. Not much
is known about the early life of Josef Minchik, the
Last Night of Czechoslovakia. It's not clear where he was
(01:19):
born or what his family was like. A local newspaper
described him as a town counselor with a taste for rum, anchovies,
and adventure. But the most definitive thing that we know
about Joseph is that he had a passion for the Medieval.
The first reliable records about him come from property deeds,
when he bought a run down thirteenth century Gothic castle
(01:39):
in the Czech town of Dubries in nineteen eleven. The
castle had lived many lives, acting as grain storage and
a school before it was damaged by a fire, but
Joseph quickly set to bringing it back to its former glory.
He personally renovated the castle, fixing its issues and filling
it with antiques from the High Middle Ages period. Became
(02:00):
a kind of museum, and Joseph delighted in giving tours
to the curious locals. He lived as someone in the
Middle Ages would, rejecting electricity and cars in favor of
torchlights and horses. He also began appearing affairs and festivals
in his prized possession, a full suit of medieval armor
from France. Joseph's passion for the Middle Ages didn't just
(02:22):
extend to appearances. He truly wanted to live like a knight,
following a chivalric code of generosity, bravery, courtesy, and respect
for tradition. He called himself the Last Night and was
known for his kindness and service to people in town.
He even got his wife and two children in on
the act, dressing them in period clothing as well. For years,
(02:44):
Joseph was the town eccentric, giving tours to school groups
and riding to town on his horse, but in the
late nineteen thirties he went from local kook to local champion.
In nineteen thirty eight, Nazi Germany started expanding into other countries.
It often used cultural ties to justify taking over territory.
(03:04):
For example, when annexing Austria in March of nineteen thirty eight,
Germany claimed that it was a reunification of German speaking peoples.
Wary of just having gone through the incredibly bloody World
War One just twenty years earlier, many European countries felt
that it was better to just give Hitler what he
wanted to avoid another conflict, and so, as we discussed
(03:26):
at the beginning in September of nineteen thirty eight, the
Nazis turned their eyes toward the Sudetan Land, which were
regions on the German Czech border that were home to
many German speaking people. Like with Austria, Hitler argued that
these people in their land belonged to Germany. Czechoslovakia, on
the other hand, wanted to maintain its independence. They feared
(03:46):
that once Germany took over the Sdeedtan Land, they wouldn't
stop until they occupied the whole country. When England, France,
and Italy signed an agreement giving the Sudetan Land to Germany,
the Czechs felt betrayed, and as the tanks rolled over
the Czech border, the people mostly decided to stay in
their houses and just watch. It was clear no other
countries would come to their aid if they tried to fight. Joseph, however,
(04:10):
didn't see things that way. According to his chivalric code,
he had to defend his people, even if it was
a losing battle. So that day in October of nineteen
thirty eight, when the Germans marched on the border, he
rode out in full armor to meet them. The tanks
and the soldiers did actually stop for a few moments
in shock at seeing what looked like something out of
(04:30):
Don Quixote, but soon enough they continued forward. Murmuring among
themselves that this errant knight must be crazy. Joseph was
forced to step aside. It's not clear what he did
during the rest of the war and during his country's occupation.
It's likely he spent much of his time inside his castle,
hoping for the day the Germans left, and finally, in
(04:50):
May of nineteen forty five, his wish was granted as
the Allies declared victory. Joseph's time and his free country
was short lived, though, as he died just a few
months later in November of nineteen forty five. Joseph Menschik
may have brought a sword to a gunfight, but when
it came to protecting his people and his country, he
had the heart of a true knight. Attics are inherently
(05:25):
mysterious places. They accumulate artifacts over a lifetime, sometimes several lifetimes.
Like a museum, every object there has a story, sometimes
multiple stories. In two thousand and eight, Jacques Bellinger, a
retired French tax collector, found something unexpected in the attic
of a house he bought in nineteen fifty three, an
(05:45):
ancient mummified skull. This find became international news soon after
because it wasn't just any skull, it was one that
had been missing for generations, the lost skull of King
Henry the Fourth. The French are somewhat infamis for not
liking their kings, and the history of Paris is littered
with headless nobility. However, Henry the Fourth of France was
(06:07):
not beheaded in his lifetime. Unlike the victims of the guillotine,
Henry was beloved by the majority of his subjects, garnering
the nickname Good King Henry or Henry the Great. During
his reign, which lasted from fifteen eighty nine to sixteen ten,
he championed reforms that would benefit the poorest peasants. His
greatest accomplishment was signing an edict that would grant equal
(06:30):
citizenship rights to French Protestants, who had been second class
citizens underneath the Catholics who practiced the state religion, known
as the Edict of Nant. It would prevent senseless religious
bloodshed and earn him his popularity as a progressive king. Unfortunately,
it would also prove to be his doom. It said
that he weathered many assassination attempts from Catholic extremists in
(06:53):
the decade that followed the Edict of Nunt. None of
these would prove successful until May fourteenth of sixteen ten.
That is, on that day, Good King Henry was traveling
in his coach along a street in Paris, going to
visit an ailing friend. The carriage came to a stop
due to traffic, and almost instantly a man leapt into
the coach and stabbed Henry to death. As his assassin
(07:15):
was executed, Henry himself would be buried in the Royal
chapel at Saint Denni, where his body lay peacefully for
over one hundred years. But then, during the French Revolution,
an angry mob stormed Saint Denni in an anti royal fervor.
They disintered the French kings and threw them into a
mass grave. At some point in the chaos, Henry's head
(07:35):
was cut off and saved from burial. It is at
this point that the location of the Royal skull becomes
something of an urban legend of its own. A photographer
allegedly bought it at auction in nineteen nineteen for just
three francs, not bad for one of the most sought
after relics in French history. If I do say so myself.
The man spent much of his later years attempting to
(07:55):
gain recognition for this fine, but no one believed him.
He even offered it to the Louver in the nineteen forties,
but the offer was declined. By the time it wound
up in Bellinger's attic, the head had been traveling from
private owner to owner for over two hundred years, and
for such an ancient body part, it was in remarkable condition.
Wrapped in an old towel. His nose was still intact,
(08:16):
although visibly broken, and several mustache hairs were still preserved,
and these would allow scientists to test the head's DNA
in an effort to determine its authenticity. Unfortunately, due to
the age of the samples, results were inconclusive, spurrying a
debate about whose head this actually was. However, digital facial
reconstruction and forensic analysis seems to point to this being
(08:40):
the head of Henry the Great. The head was returned
to the Duke of Anjou, a descendant of the Bourbon
line of French monarchs. He expressed his desire to re
enter the head at Saint Denny, although it's unclear if
this burial has been carried out. Some will say that
the head still rests within a bank vault in Paris,
waiting for the day that it can rejoin its body.
(09:01):
At the end of the journey which took the good
King Henry from a mostly successful reign all the way
to a scientific debate in the twenty first century, what
are we left to conclude that even being a good
king is no guarantee that your remains will be untouched,
that body parts acquire a mystique. Not unlike Catholic saints,
uneasy lies the head that wears a crown, they say.
(09:23):
So it's perhaps worth noting that this saying is taken
from a play by Shakespeare. Which play you might ask
Henry the fourth? Of course. I hope you've enjoyed today's
guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free
on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by
(09:44):
visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by
me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I
make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast,
book series, and television show, and you can learn all
about over at Theworldoflore dot com. And until next time,
(10:05):
stay curious,
Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of
the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all
of these amazing tales are right there on display, just
waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
The ground shook as the column of tanks rumbled along
the country road making for the Czech border. It was
nineteen thirty eight, and Hitler had just signed a treaty
claiming the Sudetan Land a region of Czechoslovakia for himself.
Now German troops were advancing on the border. Suddenly, the
tanks screeched to a halt. The marching German soldiers stopped
(00:57):
in their tracks. Something was on the road. The Germans
couldn't believe it. This was nineteen thirty eight, not the
Middle Ages, and yet standing between them and the sudetan
Land was an armor clad, sword wielding night. Not much
is known about the early life of Josef Minchik, the
Last Night of Czechoslovakia. It's not clear where he was
(01:19):
born or what his family was like. A local newspaper
described him as a town counselor with a taste for rum, anchovies,
and adventure. But the most definitive thing that we know
about Joseph is that he had a passion for the Medieval.
The first reliable records about him come from property deeds,
when he bought a run down thirteenth century Gothic castle
(01:39):
in the Czech town of Dubries in nineteen eleven. The
castle had lived many lives, acting as grain storage and
a school before it was damaged by a fire, but
Joseph quickly set to bringing it back to its former glory.
He personally renovated the castle, fixing its issues and filling
it with antiques from the High Middle Ages period. Became
(02:00):
a kind of museum, and Joseph delighted in giving tours
to the curious locals. He lived as someone in the
Middle Ages would, rejecting electricity and cars in favor of
torchlights and horses. He also began appearing affairs and festivals
in his prized possession, a full suit of medieval armor
from France. Joseph's passion for the Middle Ages didn't just
(02:22):
extend to appearances. He truly wanted to live like a knight,
following a chivalric code of generosity, bravery, courtesy, and respect
for tradition. He called himself the Last Night and was
known for his kindness and service to people in town.
He even got his wife and two children in on
the act, dressing them in period clothing as well. For years,
(02:44):
Joseph was the town eccentric, giving tours to school groups
and riding to town on his horse, but in the
late nineteen thirties he went from local kook to local champion.
In nineteen thirty eight, Nazi Germany started expanding into other countries.
It often used cultural ties to justify taking over territory.
(03:04):
For example, when annexing Austria in March of nineteen thirty eight,
Germany claimed that it was a reunification of German speaking peoples.
Wary of just having gone through the incredibly bloody World
War One just twenty years earlier, many European countries felt
that it was better to just give Hitler what he
wanted to avoid another conflict, and so, as we discussed
(03:26):
at the beginning in September of nineteen thirty eight, the
Nazis turned their eyes toward the Sudetan Land, which were
regions on the German Czech border that were home to
many German speaking people. Like with Austria, Hitler argued that
these people in their land belonged to Germany. Czechoslovakia, on
the other hand, wanted to maintain its independence. They feared
(03:46):
that once Germany took over the Sdeedtan Land, they wouldn't
stop until they occupied the whole country. When England, France,
and Italy signed an agreement giving the Sudetan Land to Germany,
the Czechs felt betrayed, and as the tanks rolled over
the Czech border, the people mostly decided to stay in
their houses and just watch. It was clear no other
countries would come to their aid if they tried to fight. Joseph, however,
(04:10):
didn't see things that way. According to his chivalric code,
he had to defend his people, even if it was
a losing battle. So that day in October of nineteen
thirty eight, when the Germans marched on the border, he
rode out in full armor to meet them. The tanks
and the soldiers did actually stop for a few moments
in shock at seeing what looked like something out of
(04:30):
Don Quixote, but soon enough they continued forward. Murmuring among
themselves that this errant knight must be crazy. Joseph was
forced to step aside. It's not clear what he did
during the rest of the war and during his country's occupation.
It's likely he spent much of his time inside his castle,
hoping for the day the Germans left, and finally, in
(04:50):
May of nineteen forty five, his wish was granted as
the Allies declared victory. Joseph's time and his free country
was short lived, though, as he died just a few
months later in November of nineteen forty five. Joseph Menschik
may have brought a sword to a gunfight, but when
it came to protecting his people and his country, he
had the heart of a true knight. Attics are inherently
(05:25):
mysterious places. They accumulate artifacts over a lifetime, sometimes several lifetimes.
Like a museum, every object there has a story, sometimes
multiple stories. In two thousand and eight, Jacques Bellinger, a
retired French tax collector, found something unexpected in the attic
of a house he bought in nineteen fifty three, an
(05:45):
ancient mummified skull. This find became international news soon after
because it wasn't just any skull, it was one that
had been missing for generations, the lost skull of King
Henry the Fourth. The French are somewhat infamis for not
liking their kings, and the history of Paris is littered
with headless nobility. However, Henry the Fourth of France was
(06:07):
not beheaded in his lifetime. Unlike the victims of the guillotine,
Henry was beloved by the majority of his subjects, garnering
the nickname Good King Henry or Henry the Great. During
his reign, which lasted from fifteen eighty nine to sixteen ten,
he championed reforms that would benefit the poorest peasants. His
greatest accomplishment was signing an edict that would grant equal
(06:30):
citizenship rights to French Protestants, who had been second class
citizens underneath the Catholics who practiced the state religion, known
as the Edict of Nant. It would prevent senseless religious
bloodshed and earn him his popularity as a progressive king. Unfortunately,
it would also prove to be his doom. It said
that he weathered many assassination attempts from Catholic extremists in
(06:53):
the decade that followed the Edict of Nunt. None of
these would prove successful until May fourteenth of sixteen ten.
That is, on that day, Good King Henry was traveling
in his coach along a street in Paris, going to
visit an ailing friend. The carriage came to a stop
due to traffic, and almost instantly a man leapt into
the coach and stabbed Henry to death. As his assassin
(07:15):
was executed, Henry himself would be buried in the Royal
chapel at Saint Denni, where his body lay peacefully for
over one hundred years. But then, during the French Revolution,
an angry mob stormed Saint Denni in an anti royal fervor.
They disintered the French kings and threw them into a
mass grave. At some point in the chaos, Henry's head
(07:35):
was cut off and saved from burial. It is at
this point that the location of the Royal skull becomes
something of an urban legend of its own. A photographer
allegedly bought it at auction in nineteen nineteen for just
three francs, not bad for one of the most sought
after relics in French history. If I do say so myself.
The man spent much of his later years attempting to
(07:55):
gain recognition for this fine, but no one believed him.
He even offered it to the Louver in the nineteen forties,
but the offer was declined. By the time it wound
up in Bellinger's attic, the head had been traveling from
private owner to owner for over two hundred years, and
for such an ancient body part, it was in remarkable condition.
Wrapped in an old towel. His nose was still intact,
(08:16):
although visibly broken, and several mustache hairs were still preserved,
and these would allow scientists to test the head's DNA
in an effort to determine its authenticity. Unfortunately, due to
the age of the samples, results were inconclusive, spurrying a
debate about whose head this actually was. However, digital facial
reconstruction and forensic analysis seems to point to this being
(08:40):
the head of Henry the Great. The head was returned
to the Duke of Anjou, a descendant of the Bourbon
line of French monarchs. He expressed his desire to re
enter the head at Saint Denny, although it's unclear if
this burial has been carried out. Some will say that
the head still rests within a bank vault in Paris,
waiting for the day that it can rejoin its body.
(09:01):
At the end of the journey which took the good
King Henry from a mostly successful reign all the way
to a scientific debate in the twenty first century, what
are we left to conclude that even being a good
king is no guarantee that your remains will be untouched,
that body parts acquire a mystique. Not unlike Catholic saints,
uneasy lies the head that wears a crown, they say.
(09:23):
So it's perhaps worth noting that this saying is taken
from a play by Shakespeare. Which play you might ask
Henry the fourth? Of course. I hope you've enjoyed today's
guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free
on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by
(09:44):
visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by
me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I
make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast,
book series, and television show, and you can learn all
about over at Theworldoflore dot com. And until next time,
(10:05):
stay curious,
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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