Gone Medieval
From long-lost Viking ships to kings buried in unexpected places; from murders and power politics, to myths, religion, the lives of ordinary people: Gone Medieval is History Hit’s podcast dedicated to the middle ages, in Europe and far beyond. New episodes every Tuesday and Friday. A podcast by History Hit, the world's best history channel and creators of award-winning podcasts Dan Snow's History Hit, The Ancients, and Betwixt the Sheets. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
How integral were horses to warfare, agriculture and travel in the Middle Ages? What did your horse say about your status? How can knowing more about horses unlock a deeper understanding of medieval society itself?
Matt Lewis is joined by equestrian historian Dr. Anastasija Ropa to understand the way horses powered the Middle Ages.
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Fantastic Beasts of the Middle Ages
Dragons: From Eden to Mi...
Matt Lewis and Dr.Eleanor Janega are launched into a medieval battle, how do they survive? They explore the intricacies of medieval warfare; from the strategic brilliance of leaders like Saladin to the unexpected outcomes of famous battles like Agincourt and Bannockburn, delving into what it takes to win against overwhelming odds.
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What Are The High Middle Ages?
The Battle of Agincourt
How could England be ruled when the king was just a baby? When Henry VI came to the throne at nine months old, the hunger for power among his Plantagenet uncles spilled into violence. 600 years ago, in February 1426, parliament even moved to Leicester to avoid mob violence in London. Even so, MPs armed themselves with wooden bats and clubs. What happened next?
Matt Lewis and Dr. Hannes Kleineke explore one of the most explosive ...
A wind whips across the North Sea as dragon-headed ships cut through the waves towards Anglo-Saxon England. Their arrival marks the start of the Viking Age.
In this episode of Gone Medieval, Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Terri Barnes and C.J. Adrien of the Vikingology podcast to explore why Vikings left their Scandinavian homelands. From climate change and political upheaval to innovations in shipbuilding, they examine the forc...
Matt Lewis explores the evolution of the Knights Hospitaller, from charitable brotherhood to a formidable fighting force at the heart of the Crusades. How did they reconcile their piety with the brutality of medieval warfare? How did their growing military and financial power reshape the fragile politics of the Holy Land? And how did they endure as one of the most resilient institutions in medieval Europe?
Matt is joined by Dr. Rory...
The death in 1290 of Eleanor of Castile, beloved Queen of King Edward I, sparked one of the grandest gestures of royal mourning in English history. Her body was carried on a 200-mile journey from Lincoln to London, commemorated at each of its 12 overnight stops by a monumental cross.
Dr. Eleanor Janega visits two of the surviving Eleanor Crosses with Alice Loxton and tells the extraordinary love story between Edward and Eleanor tha...
With Greenland in the news, you may be wondering how and why Greenland became inhabited in the first place. Like all great stories, it is a medieval one! Matt Lewis retells the fascinating tale of Norse Greenland, from the arrival of Norse explorers over a thousand years ago to the mysterious disappearance of their settlements and the myths and legends surrounding the Viking presence in Greenland.
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Norse Mythology: Creation M...
Sail north with Gone Medieval to Orkney’s storm-lashed islands, where saints, shipwrecks, blood-feuds and tax disputes all unfold in the Sagas of the Earls of Orkney. Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Professor Judith Jesch to explore Saint Magnus, turf-cutting Viking Earls, miracle-working dice games, and how a new translation reshapes this Norse world for modern readers.
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Scotland's Stone of Scone
Locked in the Tower of London after hours, Matt Lewis searches for his vanished co‑host Dr. Eleanor Janega. They swap wild escape stories of Ranulf Flambard and Roger Mortimer, and shiver inside the Bloody Tower discussing legendary prisoners including Princes in the Tower, Henry VI and William Wallace. Along the way, they meet a former Tower resident with a ghost in his bedroom, an unused toilet for Hitler, and a menagerie of spec...
In the first of two special episodes from the iconic Tower of London, Dr. Eleanor Janega charts the transformation of the William the Conqueror's Norman fortress by Henry II and Edward I into an opulent royal palace. Now imaginatively recreated, the palace is brought to life with furniture, tapestries, original artefacts, and vivid illustrations. Eleanor is guided by curator Dr. Charles Farris who tells the stories of ambition, int...
Once the powerhouse of the Anglo-Saxon world, the kingdom of Mercia dominated not just Wessex but nearly all its neighbouring realms. At its height, Mercia held sway over regions that include modern Birmingham and even London. Though the kingdom eventually faded with the rise of Alfred the Great, its story—and its influence—were far from over.
In this episode, Matt Lewis sits down with historian Annie Whitehead to uncover the enduri...
Who was the worst Medieval monarch?
Dr. Eleanor Janega teams up with the hosts of our sister podcast After Dark to delve into the lives of some of Europe's most notorious medieval monarchs..and rank them! From Pedro the Cruel of Portugal to Richard the Lionheart, and from Isabella the She Wolf of France to Vlad the Impaler, the team unravel their nefarious deeds and personal vendettas to decide who can be crowned as the worst monarc...
The heart of the Assassin’s Creed franchise is the deadly rivalry between the brotherhoods of Assassins and Templars. These were real groups in history, whose power and influence in their lifetimes matched the longevity of their reputations. But how much of what we know of the two organisations is myth, and what is reality?
To help separate fact from fiction, Matt Lewis is joined by Dr Steve Tibble, author of Assassins and Templ...
Come closer, warm yourself by the fire, and don't look too closely at the shadows playing at the edges of the room. Dr. Eleanor Janega explores eerie medieval ghost tales with Dr. Michael Carter, of knights with blood-stained souls and transforming ravens, fleeing monks and night walkers.
Together they explore how winter hauntings reflected beliefs about ghosts, purgatory, and prayers for the dead, and why such stories, later revive...
Did Lady Godiva ride naked through Coventry?
Matt Lewis welcomes Annie Whitehead to delve into the legendary tale of Lady Godiva, uncovering the true historical figure behind the myth. They explore primary sources, the political landscape of 11th-century Mercia, and Godiva's significant role as a landholder and patron, as one of many independent and influential of Anglo-Saxon women.
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Legends of Robin Hood
The chilling discovery of a medieval well in Norwich, filled with the remains of 17 Jewish adults and children, opened a window into the lived reality of historical antisemitism. What do these findings tell us about the forces that shaped Jewish life and loss in medieval England?
Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis continue their exploration of Norwich, uncovering the rich, and often heartbreaking, story of the city’s once-thriving Je...
Medieval Norwich comes alive as Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega visit Norwich Castle, once a hulking Norman fortress, royal palace and later a Victorian jail. Matt tours the huge Keep with archaeologist Dr Tim Pestell, exploring fire-scarred vaults from medieval sieges and exquisite high-status finds unearthed in recent excavations. Matt also gets to attend Henry I's feasting hall where he spent Christmas in 1121.
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Castles,...
Christmas would not be complete without a nativity play: Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, all watched over by an ox, a donkey and assorted bystanders in the stable. St Francis of Assisi staged the very first nativity play way back in 1223, so like all the best things in life; it's medieval!
Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Professor Tim Larsen to uncover how St Francis turned worship into theatre and how a single night in Italy transform...
How did the alphabet we use today take shape?
Matt Lewis welcomes Danny Bate to explore how the medieval period shaped the alphabet we use today. They discuss the transformation of Egyptian hieroglyphs, the significant impact of the Norman Conquest of 1066, and the eventual disappearance of medieval letters like thorn (þ) and ash (æ). This is a journey across millennia from the adaptability of letters during the fall of Rome to inno...
What if the Renaissance was powered by Arabic science?
Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Elizabeth Drayson to uncover how figures like Constantine the African and Fibonacci transformed European learning and commerce by channelling Islamic knowledge into Latin Christendom. They dive into records from multicultural Spain and Sicily, where Islamic science, mathematics, and medicine helped forge the foundations of “Western” progress.
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