PODCAST · history
Ask a Medievalist
by Ask a Medievalist
Everything you always wanted to know about the Middle Ages, but were unable to ask.
Episodes
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Episode 102: Chalk It to Me
Synopsis Geoglyphs are a worldwide artistic phenomenon. The earliest ones are prehistoric. Join Em and Dr. Jesse as they look at the origins of two well-known geoglyphs in the UK. Sources The Uffington White Horse geoglyph as sun-horse by Joshua Pollard in Antiquity 91 356 (2017): 406–420. Here…
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Episode 101: Just What?
JD Vance was wrong about Augustine. But let's talk about it.
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Episode 100: What I’m Tolkien About
Summary This episode is dedicated to Tolkien superfan Stephen Colbert. May he return to The Colbert Report! No matter what, we know that he will go on to far, far better things than the crumbling edifice that was once known as CBS. Notes 1/ George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice series 2/...
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Episode 99: Respect My Authority
Synopsis What exactly is authority? Where does it come from? How do you get it? Can you move authority from St. Paul, MN to the south side of Chicago? Join Em and Jesse for a wide-ranging chat on the subject. Notes 1/ Of course, many people in addition to women have a hard time getting others…
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Episode 98: In Rome for the Calends
Summary It’s January, the first month of the year, ruled by the god Janus, who looks both ways. But a week ago it was December, the…tenth month of the year? What the heck was up with Roman calendars? Join Em and Dr. Jesse to explore why this otherwise competent civilization just fell apart when…
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Episode 97: Non-Roman Calendars
Synopsis When is Hanukkah this year? When is Lupercalia, or Easter, or Midsummer’s Eve? When is your birthday? Figuring out when big events happen is incredibly important, and humans have been doing it for a long time. But while we can see some similarities in the process of calendar evolution,...
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Episode 96: Pope Joan
Summary Starting in the middle ages, a rumor spread of a female pope, elected because of her incredible learning, who went undiscovered until she gave birth to a child. At which point, everyone lost their minds. Join Em and Dr. Jesse to learn about the veracity of this tale and the wacky test it...
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Episode 95: Sur le Pontife d’Avignon
Summary Avignon! A city where there is a bridge, and a song about the bridge. And, once, the pope lived there. Why? Let’s talk about this weird century. Notes 1/ Avignon: it has a bridge! And a song about the bridge: “Sur le pont d’Avignon.” The bridge is medieval; the song dates from the…
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Episode 94: Popes and Antipopes
Synopsis Let’s talk about a few good antipopes. What’s that about, anyway? If they meet, do they both annihilate? How do they sometimes switch places? Join Em and Dr. Jesse as they go over some of the more interesting antipopes of the 11th and 12th centuries. Notes 1/ The board game is Kremlin.…
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Episode 93: Take Me Down to Vatican City
Synopsis When did the conclave system get started and why? Following on the heels (uh, vaguely) of our emergency popecast, Em and Dr. Jesse discuss history of papal elections and how the Church got to where it is. Notes Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes, by Eamon Duffy. 4th ed. Yale...
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Episode 92: Emergency Popecast
Synopsis Pope Francis, beloved of medievalists, died on April 21, 2025, so we’re here with all you might care to know about the forthcoming conclave (now a film starring Ralph Finnes), the history of conclaves, and why medievalists loved Francis so much, anyway. Notes 1/ Benedict went to Mater...
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Episode 91: The Field Where I Grow My Ducks
Summary Em and Jesse are back with more medieval meme review. Join us as we discuss martyrdom, marginalia, The Seventh Seal, and the Bayeux Tapestry. Notes 1/ martyrdom of Isaiah: Martyrdom sword through throat: 2/ St. Sebastian. Artists love him! Just to be clear, “It’s difficult to assert that...
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Episode 90: Ask a Memevalist
Synopsis Memes. Love or hate them, they’re hard to escape. Let’s do a medieval meme review. Notes 1/ Sorry for the weird sound at the beginning. File errors. 2/ There are whole Bsky accounts like “weird medieval guys“. 3/ Cave Canum Know thyself 4/ The Book of Dog Names: Superdog’s name is Krypto...
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Episode 89: The Three Hares on the Silk Road
Synopsis Trade goods weren’t the only things that moved along the Silk Road. Join Em and Jesse as they trace the history of an interesting artistic motif that made it from China all the way to England! Notes 0/ Credit to Hither, Page, by Cat Sebastian, for bringing this topic to my attention. 1/...
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Episode 88: The Peasants Are (Still) Revolting
Synopsis In a first for Ask a Medievalist, Em sits down with Sebastian Nothwell to discuss his approach to writing historical/historical fantasy novels. In the process, they get into everything from Victorian steam power to the effects of the peasants revolt of 1381 on the chartists in the...
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Episode 87: Resistance Is (Not) Futile
Synopsis “Times are tough, but they could be worse” is the eternal message of our show. This time, we’re talking about persecution and rebellion–how certain groups were oppressed for political purposes in medieval (and early modern, and modern) Europe, and some people and groups who rebelled, in...
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Episode 86: Too Many Ramayanas
Summary The Ramayana is not the oldest story in the world, but it’s definitely in the running. Composed starting in the 700s BCE, it has been carried to all corners of the earth and translated into many languages and cultures, traveling along several distinct lines of migration, yet it remains...
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Rebroadcast: Episode 29: D’you Like Dags?
In memory of Wrigley Njus-Kirk, The Best Puppy (May 28, 2009–November 18, 2024), we’re reposting our episode on dogs this week! You can check out the original notes here: http://askamedievalist.com/2021/03/26/episode-29-dyou-like-dags/ We’ll be back with regular episodes next week! Until then…
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Episode 85: It’s (not the) End of the World as We Know It
Synopsis One time, Em got drunk and started texting Jesse about the bronze age collapse. This is the result. Notes 1/ Em studied abroad in Tianjin, China. It was very educational. I learned that black vinegar is good for your health, that there are mushrooms called ear mushrooms (wood ear, but I...
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Episode 84: Trans-Saharan Trade
Synopsis We talked about trade moving across Asia and into Europe, but what about trade going North–South? Like the Silk Road, there was a lot of Trans-Saharan trade going back a long time. Goods like salt, ivory, gold, beads, and metal goods–as well as enslaved people–crossed hostile conditions…
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Old Silk Road, Take Me Home
Synopsis The Silk Road spanned four thousand years and lasted for centuries–it’s hard to think of anything comparable in scale. From the second century BCE until the mid-15th century, jade, silk, tea, horses, the plague, and more flowed across the Eurasian continent. Join Em and Jesse as they…
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Episode 82: Morebinogion
Synopsis Join Em and Dr. Jesse as they talk about the last two branches of the Mabinogi. Em’s books can all be found here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C5XX9BH3 (or at many other fine internet sites.) Notes 1/ The previous episodes were: Episode 78 (introduction), and episode 79 (branches…
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Episode 81: Angel of the Morning
Synopsis Did you see a headless (possibly satanic) angel rising from the stage during the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, or Winged Victory? Or did you wonder, as we did, how the two happen to be so similar, when angels in the bible are often described as having six wings, or wheels, or...
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Episode 80: Emergency Olympics Episode
Synopsis Last week, the 2024 Summer Olympics started in Paris with an opening ceremony that featured nods to several musicals, a heavy metal band named after Godzilla, a bit of an aria from Carmen, and of course, a tableau of drag queens and gender bent fashionistas referencing Leonardo da…
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Episode 79: Branching Out
Synopsis The Mabinogi: what’s it actually about, when you get down to it? Join Em and Jesse as they discuss the first two branches, in which Pwyll meets Arawn, lord of the underworld, and has adventures; in which Pwyll meets Rhiannon and has a lot more adventures than maybe he bargained for; and…
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Episode 78: Ma-Ma-Ma-Mabinogi
Synopsis Paul: Look, it’s a school of whales. Ringo: They look a little bit old for school. Paul: University then. Ringo: University of Wales. (From Yellow Submarine, 1968) Ever wonder what Wales is, on a mythological level? That strange country of Michael Sheen with a dragon on the flag! And…
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Episode 77: Carnival and Lent
Summary Here comes the parade, want some beads? Okay, so carnival is a prelude to Lent, which is an extremely solemn time in Catholic tradition. So why is it the way that it is in so many places? Let’s talk about it. Notes 1/ It’s late, but it’s up before the end of Lent. lol … Continue reading...
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Episode 76: Pipe Dreams
Synopsis If you’re one of those people who thinks about the Roman Empire a lot because aqueducts are really cool, you’re going to love this. Join Em and Jesse as they discuss the irrigation of the Chengdu Plain, the plumbing of Tenochtitlan, and water management at Machu Picchu. Then we round out...
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Episode 75: Plumb as in Full of Lead
Summary After a brief discussion of how people brushed their teeth, we move on to the question of where the water they used came from. And yeah, Rome had aqueducts–but so did a lot of places! And the Romans didn’t even build the aqueducts they did have–they took them from the Etruscans! Who may...
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Episode 74: Bath House (in the Middle of the Street)
Summary When Em was a kid, she was told that knights in shining armor didn’t bathe, that Elizabeth I had bathed only three times in her life, and various other assertions. But we know that soap is not a modern invention–the word itself comes from the Latin, and no less than Pliny the Elder...
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Episode 73: I’m a Ramblin’ Man
Synopsis Are you travelling for Thanksgiving? Believe it or not, “travel” as a thing is not a modern creation. In the middle ages, people visited many remote and far-flung places and brought back notes (and delicious noodles). Join Em and Jesse for travel talk, including Lord Elgin, Ibn Battuta,...
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Episode 72: Does It Belong in a Museum?
Synopsis We’ve all seen that scene in Indiana Jones where he’s clutching an artifact and shouting, “It belongs in a museum!” But nowadays in 2023, we tend to temper that idea–museums are fun, but who gets to hold a particular object, why, and for how long is a point of contention. Join Em and…
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Episode 71: Fashion (Turn to the Left)
Synopsis Em and Jesse talk about Italian sumptuary laws, which unlike the British ones, were more aimed at women. Then they talk about fashion “dos” of the middle ages. Notes 1/ So, the difference between having a title and being part of the peerage is this. In America, when you earn a lot of...
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Episode 70: White After Labor Day
Synopsis Just in time for Paris Fashion Week, join Em and Jesse for an exciting discussion of sumptuary laws and the medieval origins of prohibitions against wearing white, as well as a few digressions about John Waters films and Blackadder. Notes 0/ Rainbow Space Magic Con:...
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Episode 69: Virgil Was Here
Synopsis What got written illicitly on the walls back before 79 CE? It turns out a lot of stuff! Join Em and Jesse as they discuss the graffiti of Pompeii and also stuff Vikings wrote their names on. Em’s book: Amazon, all other sites. Notes Books! Ancient Graffiti in Context ed. Baird and…
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Episode 68: Bat Country (Drugs, pt 2)
Summary Let’s talk about psychedelics in ritual practice. From Hunter S. Thompson’s pilgrimage across the desert to the human sacrifices of the Incan empire in the sixteenth century to the use of opium during the late bronze age, people have been altering their mental states in religious contexts...
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Episode 67: Dionysus and Drugs, part 1
Synopsis In honor of the publication of Em’s debut novel, Dionysus in Wisconsin, Em and Jesse talk about Dionysus (the god), and then about drug use in ancient religious rituals. Notes 1/ Order book here (or from non-Amazon sites here). (Incredibly well reviewed! Buy one now!!) 2/ Sparagmos: your...
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Episode 66: Medievally Bootylicious (obscenity part 2)
Synopsis Are butts the most medieval of body parts? From the Wild Man to Chaucer to good old Michelangelo, let’s pontificate about the posterior. Do you need more of a pitch than that? Notes 0/ Preorder Em’s book: a little obscene, only a few butts. 1/ Warning for…talking about butts, I guess. 2/...
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Episode 65: I Know It When I See It
Summary A long time ago, people were pure at heart. Of course, sex happened occasionally, but no one took off their clothes for it–that would be gauche. Then James Joyce wrote a book called Ulysses and things started to go downhill. In 1933, a judge named John M. Woolsey ruled in a case called...
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Episode 64: Fight Knights
1/ EB White was a rather nice, shy guy who wrote for the New Yorker and hid from his admirers. TH White was a weirdo who lived on the edge of the woods in the UK. EB White is the White of Strunk & White. https://xkcd.com/923/ 2/ it would be more accurate to say Em … Continue reading "Episode 64:...
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Episode 63: The Knight in Tarnished Armor
Summary Early on, a friend of the podcast asked if we were going to cover chivalry. Because really, when you think of the Middle Ages, this is it, right? Knights in very shiny armor on beautiful horses charging into battle, swords drawn! Knights getting scarves from their ladies! Knights holding...
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Episode 62: Tapestries Not by Carole King
Summary The other day, I asked a friend, “Hey, what do normal people put on their walls?” The answer…is tapestries. Cold, stony castle? Tapestries. Small, plain cathedral? Tapestries. A house of some sort? Probably also tapestries. In this episode, Em and Dr. Jesse talk over how tapestries are...
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Episode 61: Snowpeople
Summary It’s wintertime in the Northern hemisphere! Snow is, of course, eternal, but did you ever wonder how far back the tradition of making snowpeople goes? Jesse did. Join us as we trace the history of snowpeople in Europe/the UK as far back as we can. Notes 1/ Marginal illustration in a Book…
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Episode 60: The Green Knight
Synopsis Once upon a time there was a guy named Gawain, and someone made a movie about him! And he got to be played by Dev Patel, which is pretty great when you get down to it. And then we covered it! In which Em reveals that she watches way too much historical costuming YouTube, … Continue…
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Episode 59: The Real MedEELval Times
Famous eels: 1/ "Those are the shrieking eels. You don't believe me? Just wait. They always grow louder when they're about to feed on human flesh." (Name that movie.) 2/ Mark Oliver Everett 3/ Medieval eel rents! The medieval church, famously, had a lot of restrictions on what people could eat…
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Episode 58: Long Live the Queen
Summary A lot of stuff about Richards II and III for a podcast that’s supposed to be about queens. Also Mathildas, Boudica, and why Black Panther is more historically accurate than Wonder Woman. Notes 1/ Richard III’s body was eventually found under a car park. I swear we talked about this at…
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Episode 57: Dancing Queens (pt 1)
Synopsis As a memorial to Elizabeth II, Em and Jesse discuss famous queens throughout history and mostly in the UK, including drag queens, the borough of Queens, Lady Jane Grey, Mary I, Elizabeth I, Mary II, Anne, Victoria, and Elizabeth II. Also Sophie of Hanover, Wills and Kate, Prince Harry…
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Episode 56: THE BEOWULFENING
Synopsis Bro! You knew it was coming! Grab your replica Sutton Hoo helmet and get ready, it’s Beowulf o’clock. Annotations 1/ Spoiler alert: it wasn’t published as episode 50. [But that’s ok! 🙂 –Jesse] 2/ We talked about Cotton in episode 39 note 8. Here is more info on the Cotton collection:...
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Episode 55: In the Summertime, When the Weather is Medieval
Summary Summertime, and the living is Medieval. But really, what was summer like in the Middle Ages? We talk about the Medieval Climate Anomaly, the (not at all Medieval) Little Ice Age, the volcano on Santorini, Medieval vacation tendencies, the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry, and the...
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Episode: 54: More England, More Normans
Synopsis Part two of the run up to the arrival of Queen Matilda and that other guy…what was his name…William the Conqueror. Yeah. Him. Includes Danelaw, Danegeld, surprising connections to Hamlet, an explanation of whether Aethelred the Unready was really unready, and of course a discussion of…
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Ask a Medievalist have?
Ask a Medievalist currently has 103 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Ask a Medievalist about?
Everything you always wanted to know about the Middle Ages, but were unable to ask.
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Ask a Medievalist publishes regularly with 103 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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