The Medieval Podcast

Pretty much everyone has heard about Marco Polo and his thirteenth-century journey from Italy to China. But just as the Polos were making their way east, two other intrepid travellers were making the journey in reverse. This week, Danièle speaks with Thomas A. Carlson about two Eastern Christian monks who made their way from China all the way to Western Europe, and this unique account of what medieval Europe and its kings looked like from the outside.

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 honour of 350 episodes of The Medieval Podcast, Danièle celebrates the amazing progress that's been made in Medieval Studies since 2019.

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

It’s summertime and your friendly neighbourhood medievalist is taking a much-needed week off, so here's a blast from the not-so-distant past. This episode was recorded live at the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds in 2023 with everyone’s other favourite medievalist: Eleanor Janega.

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

Although death is just a natural and expected part of life – especially in the Middle Ages – it’s also an event that forever alters the lives of those left behind. For medieval women, widowhood changed everything. This week, Danièle speaks with Anna Wainwright about what it was like to be an Italian widow in the fifteenth century, how widowhood and politics went together, and the rise of widows as popular writers.

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

To picture the Middle Ages is to picture knights in shining armour. Custom-made, fashionable, and often beautiful, medieval armour was more than just practical: it was art. And in the late Middle Ages, a collection of talented artists captured the functional elegance of armour on paper. This week, Danièle speaks with Chassica Kirchhoff about armour as protection, art, and memorial in the Thun-Hohenstein Album.

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