The Medieval Podcast
All about the Middle Ages from Medievalists.net. Join Danièle Cybulskie and her guests as they talk about the medieval world, from Byzantium to the Vikings.
Episodes
October 15, 2025 • 44 mins
Since time immemorial, we've given animals names, from the sublime to the utterly ridiculous. For everyone who’s looked at a puppy or a kitten and wondered what it should be called – and then called it an embarrassingly silly nickname anyway – this episode is for you. This week, Danièle speaks with Ben Parsons about what medieval people named their pets and working animals, how we know about them, and which animals are still called...
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October 9, 2025 • 39 mins
In the dark forests of the Middle Ages – and the modern stories we tell about it – lurks a powerful, beautiful predator. Sometimes big and bad, sometimes a figure of admiration, the medieval wolf was such a big part of English culture, that it found its way not just into stories, but into the language itself. This week, Danièle speaks with Elizabeth Marshall about where we find wolves in medieval sources, how early English writers ...
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October 1, 2025 • 37 mins
The fourteenth-century is one of the most turbulent periods in European history. Famine, war, plague, royal depositions – you name it, this century’s got it. This week, Danièle speaks with Helen Carr about how England fared in these wild times, what her take is on some famous Plantagenets, and why we need to take a fresh look at this calamitous century.
You can support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/medievalists
You can support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/medievalists
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September 24, 2025 • 28 mins
One of the difficult truths of life in the Middle Ages is that death was never far away. While the vast majority of medieval people owned far fewer possessions than we do today, they were just as concerned with making sure everything was taken care of according to their wishes before they passed. This week, Danièle speaks with Robert A. Wood about medieval wills, funerals, and some memorable bequests.
You can support this podcast on...
You can support this podcast on...
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September 18, 2025 • 49 mins
Everyone loves a good medieval whodunit, but how did real people investigate homicides in the Middle Ages? What did they look for? And how did they decide if a person’s death was an unfortunate accident or foul play? This week, Danièle speaks with Sara Butler about forensic medicine, and how death investigation was conducted in medieval England.
You can support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists
You can support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists
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September 11, 2025 • 46 mins
Part of the reason a lot of people figure nothing much went on during the Middle Ages is because we’ve lost a whole lot of sources telling us what actually did happen. Through malice and misfortune, medieval manuscripts have been destroyed in their thousands. So, how do we know what may have gone up in smoke? And what can we do to keep our beloved manuscripts safe? This week, Danièle speaks with Robert Bartlett about the manuscript...
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September 3, 2025 • 48 mins
On September 4, 925 – 1100 years to the day this episode is released – King Æthelstan was crowned at Kingston-upon-Thames. Æthelstan is most often talked about in the context of the famous Battle of Brunanburh, but maybe we should remember him instead as the first king of England. This week, Danièle speaks with David Woodman about Æthelstan’s life, his rule, and his attempt to unite the kingdoms of Britain.
You can join Danièle's cl...
You can join Danièle's cl...
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August 28, 2025 • 50 mins
When the power of an entire kingdom rests in the hands of just one man, it’s both incredibly valuable and incredibly dangerous to be that man’s bestie - and the legacies of royal favourites tend to retain the taint of contemporary snark. So, maybe it’s about time we take a second look. This week, Danièle speaks with James Ross about the life of Robert de Vere - the infamous bff of King Richard II - his impact on the kingdom, and wh...
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August 20, 2025 • 59 mins
Maid, hero, heretic, saint - Joan of Arc is one of the most fascinating figures of the Middle Ages. This week, Danièle speaks with Deborah McGrady about Joan’s incredible life and death, her voice, and her complex and enduring legacy.
You can enrol in Danièle's online course Calamity and Change: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Century at https://medievalstudies.thinkific.com/courses/calamity-and-change
You can enrol in Danièle's online course Calamity and Change: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Century at https://medievalstudies.thinkific.com/courses/calamity-and-change
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August 13, 2025 • 42 mins
The people of the Middle Ages were no strangers to Cupid’s arrows, and just like us, they loved a good love letter. But in a world where literacy rates were far below what they are today, who was writing their most heartfelt feelings down? And how do we know? This week, Danièle speaks with Myra Stokes and Ad Putter about where we find love letters, and the way people wrote and sent them, along with a couple of spicy – and hilarious...
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August 7, 2025 • 48 mins
He's one of the most popular figures in all of medieval history, and his book was a bestseller for literally centuries. So what do we know about the life and times of Marco Polo? This week, Danièle speaks with Sharon Kinoshita about why Marco travelled so far, what sort of detail he wanted to share with his readers, and what was going on in the world around him.
You can support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com...
You can support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com...
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July 24, 2025 • 48 mins
This week, in celebration of Episode 300, Danièle answers your questions on everything from Hastings to hose, with a couple of surprises along the way.
You can support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists
And join on This is History's Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thisishistory and use the code 'glassking' to get 20% off your first month
You can support this podcast on Patreon - go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists
And join on This is History's Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thisishistory and use the code 'glassking' to get 20% off your first month
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July 16, 2025 • 43 mins
If you asked the average person how Vikings solved their problems, they probably wouldn’t say through lawyers. And yet, early Scandinavian people were sticklers for due process. This week, Danièle speaks with Robert Lively about how a person became a Viking lawyer, what the process was for solving disputes, and how fixing bad behaviour worked in this shame-based culture.
Listen to this podcast ad-free on Patreon - go to https://www....
Listen to this podcast ad-free on Patreon - go to https://www....
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July 9, 2025 • 49 mins
Elephants were known throughout most of the medieval world, even if most people had never encountered one, themselves. In bestiaries, elephants are praised for their long memories, intelligence, and monogamy. And, of course, their ivory. This week, Danièle speaks with John Beusterien about elephants and ivory in medieval China and Spain, including how elephants were put into service, and how ivory was used and traded across the wor...
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July 3, 2025 • 56 mins
For three medieval Iberian queens, grief - and the way they expressed it - had immense and far-reaching consequences. This week, Danièle speaks with Núria Silleras-Fernández about what grief and widowhood were "supposed" to look like, how grief and madness were thought to be intertwined with love, and how the grieving women in the famous Isabella the Catholic’s family shaped the history of Spain and Portugal.
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Listen to this podcast ...
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June 26, 2025 • 55 mins
There are several famous examples of mysterious medieval writing, including the so-far unbreakable Voynich Manuscript. So, what secrets were medieval people trying to hide? And why? This week, Danièle speaks with Garry Shaw about who was encrypting their manuscripts, the codes they used, and the centuries of attempts to crack the Voynich Manuscript.
You can support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/medievalists
You can support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/medievalists
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June 19, 2025 • 52 mins
There are a lot of gamechanging inventions that shifted the trajectory of the Middle Ages, but one machine managed to hit at just the right time and place to create a massive enterprise in medieval Europe, with consequences that touched the entire globe: Gutenberg's printing press. This week, Danièle speaks with Eric White about Johannes Gutenberg’s life, his early entrepreneurship, and the invention that changed the world.
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June 11, 2025 • 55 mins
Given that the term literally means “rebirth”, the Renaissance throws some not-so-subtle shade on the period that comes before it. So, where did the idea of the Renaissance actually come from? And was it truly a golden age? This week, Danièle speaks with Ada Palmer about Petrarch, Machiavelli, atheism, and how we should look at the period formerly known as the Renaissance.
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June 4, 2025 • 57 mins
It's one of the most notorious political assassinations in history: the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. The story of two friends who became bitter enemies in a struggle between church and state that drew in some of the most powerful people from all over medieval Europe. So, how did a pretty ordinary kid from London end up as England’s most famous saint?
This week, Danièle speaks with Michael Staunton about Th...
This week, Danièle speaks with Michael Staunton about Th...
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May 29, 2025 • 47 mins
One of the most celebrated moments in childhood is when a person utters their very first words, stepping over a brand new threshold of communication. And from that moment on, all bets are off. This week, Danièle speaks with Julie Singer about what medieval people thought about infancy in general, how literary children could be vehicles for truth and justice, and how even in the Middle Ages kids were known to say the darnedest thing...
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