Vikings!
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Richard and Ellen discuss who and what vikings were historically, and how they were depicted in the Middle Ages and modern times. The episode focuses upon the first c...
27 Tammi 20231h 3min
Some thoughts about Hanukkah by a (secular) Jewish medieval historian
Send us Fan Mail This is a short end of the year episode. It's exactly what the title says, just some thoughts about the role of Hanukkah in contemporary America and the Middle Ages. Happy Holidays f...
25 Joulu 202224min
Was King Æthelred Really Unready?
Send us Fan Mail Few English kings have had a worse popular reputation than Æthelred the Unready (r.978-1016), the king who lost England (at least temporarily) to viking invaders. But does he deserve ...
21 Joulu 20221h 13min
"Wicked" Medieval Women and the Monks Who Loathed Them
Send us Fan Mail In this episode Ellen and I discuss three "wicked" medieval women and the monastic authors who loathed them. We begin with the Anglo-Saxon Queen Ælfthryth, a champion of the Tenth-Ce...
7 Joulu 20221h 20min
King Arthur in Literature and Popular Culture: From Sir Thomas Malory to the Present
Send us Fan Mail Today’s episode concludes our three part series about King Arthur in history, legend, and popular culture. Our jumping off point for this episode is Sir Thomas Malory’s late fifteen...
18 Loka 20221h 2min
King Arthur in History, Legend, and Popular Culture, Part 2: The Middle Ages
Send us Fan Mail In this episode Ellen and I with the help of my longtime friend and colleague Dr. Jennifer Paxton of the Catholic University of America trace the development of the Arthurian legend d...
10 Loka 202258min
King Arthur in History, Legend, and Popular Culture. Part One: Was Arthur a Real Person?
Send us Fan Mail This episode features a guest co-host, my old friend and colleague Dr. Jennifer Paxton, director of the Honors Program at The Catholic University of America and one of the best histor...
6 Syys 20221h 12min
Inquisitions, Jews, and the Formation of a Persecuting Society
Send us Fan Mail In this episode Ellen and I compare medieval Inquisitions with the Spanish Inquisition, and both with the popular conception of the Inquisition. Among other subjects, we discuss what...
14 Elo 202255min
