Real Fantastic Beasts

From the OG bird of the soul to the medieval dining table, we explore the long fascination with swans and their (mostly nonexistent) song. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back with our 50th episode on the truly fantastic sheep of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, from the Lamb of God to environmental justice, animal rights, and the lubricants that made the industrial revolution possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The quintessential imperial attention whore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We journey from the clever self-castrating beaver of the Middle Ages to the near extinction of the North American beaver for the sake of European hats. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We explore the many versions of the Hydra. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For 400 years, the carp was the most popular fish in Europe. What made it so fantastic? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are dog-headed creatures people or beasts? Find out in this live podcast done at the Kalamazoo Medieval Congress. Our guest, Karl Steel, regales us with tales of the Cynocephalus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Beowulf to the guerrilla rewilding of Britain, guest Elizabeth (Lizzie) Marshall regales us with wolfish lore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Small, cute dogs that serve no practical purpose other than to make us go “awwww” turn out to have a long and fantastic history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The griffin was both a ferocious beast and a maternal figure. Nobody took it seriously, but its image is everywhere in the pre-modern world from the Near East to Europe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest expert Mustafa Banister Introduces us to the world of Arabic Beast Fables in the Kalila Wa Dimna and elsewhere. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Animals are everywhere in the end times. We explore early responses to the fantastic, terrifying, yet beautiful beasts of the Book of Revelation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Elizabeth Pastan explores the animals in the Bayeux Embroidery (aka the Bayeux Tapestry). If you want to see the images we're discussing, you can go to the Youtube version of the episode here: https://youtu.be/pOaibXA5XrI . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From partridges to "colly" birds, we explore the early history of the animals (and especially birds) of the beloved Christmas counting song. Special thanks to Evelyn Wohlbier for recording the song for us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Edana Kleinhans takes us through the subtle differences between wyverns and dragons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest expert Richard Nash takes us through the history of the thoroughbred horse, from its hybrid origins to the cult of purity that made it the background to racial narratives of the modern world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just in time for Halloween, we explore the humble bat, whose wings suddenly became the standard for all demonic flying creatures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We explore the lore of the hippocampus, from its classical roots to its Celtic legends. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beth Morrison, senior curator of manuscripts at the J. Paul Getty Museum, talks about medieval bestiaries, her favorite imaginary animal, and a new exhibition at the Getty Museum. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Sarah M. Guérin explains Medieval Europe's fascination with ivory and the differences between the early ivory trade and the savagery of modern Elephant poaching. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We explore the Albatross, unknown until just before the modern era... or was it? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Alixe Bovey regales us with the perplexing history of the goose barnacle and the barnacle goose.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which we explore this beautiful and ancient non-binary creature.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We explore the lore of cocks and hens from manuscript illustrations to the classic weathervane. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Brigitte Buettner explains how stones had living agency in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We trace the evolution of the werewolf from deliberate transformation to mental illness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Karen Raber takes us through our paces as we explore horses and horse training in the European Renaissance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest animal archaeologist Alan Outram lays out the evidence for the size and appearance of medieval horses. Join the conversation or subscribe at realfantasticbeasts.com #horses #knights Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We explore the troubled history of the Lamia, from bloodsucking monster to romance heroine to corporate logo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guests Dr. Sara Petrosillo and falconer Kelly Martello of the Michigan Hawking Club join us in exploring these fantastic birds in the Middle Ages. Kelly's hawk Vesper joins us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From loveable companion for monks to toxic witch's familiar, we trace the fantastic history of the cat from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two expert guests, Jane Buckingham and Samayita Banerjee, help us understand the pre-modern tiger in India, with special attention to Bengal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The European Middle Ages witnessed the birth of an entirely new bird: the pelican. This is not the "water pelican" we all know but an entirely fantastic beast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest experts Keith Botelho and Joe Campana regale us with fantastic tales of bees in the Renaissance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We investigate the most fantastic bugs of all: kermes and cochineal. These little creatures not only gave us many of our words for red but also famous symbols from British redcoats to the U.S. flag. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In honor of International Unicorn Day, here's a chance to explore the search for the real unicorn, from the mystery in Middle Ages to its ultimate discovery in the seventeenth century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We investigate worms and caterpillars and discover them everywhere. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest experts Asa Mitman and Holly Dugan explore two fantastic beast manuscripts, one from the Middle Ages, one from the Renaissance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We continue our exploration of dragons by learning about Chinese dragons from guest Winston Kyan, a historian of medieval Chinese art at the University of Utah. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From charismatic megafauna, like dragons, we descend to the small and distinctly uncharismatic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We extend our dragon-lore by chatting with Laura K. Nuffer from Colby College about dragons in medieval and early modern Japan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we begin the Year of the Rabbit in the East, we explore the fantastical history of the rabbit in the West, from jousting rabbits in manuscript illustrations to the Rabbit Woman of Godalming. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This our first of several planned episodes on the most famous of all fantastic creatures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We examine the Halcyon, which nests at the winter solstice with magical effect. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet the English mastiff, the creature who made "dog" into the generic English term for all domestic canines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest expert Caitlin Mahaffy talks to us about Bearbaiting in Elizabethan London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apes and Monkeys were present in households throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance as well as being represented in literature and art. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our first look at a truly fantastical hybrid creature as it moves from bestiary to natural history to art and literature. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The tiger begins as the most real of all fantastic beasts and ends as the most fantastic of all real beasts. How and when did this happen? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we take on sea monsters, monstrous fish, whales, and and sea fishing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.