That's So Medieval

If you know anything about medieval education then you probably know that the idea of the university comes out of the culture of medieval Europe. While this is absolutely true, and an important step in the development of the modern world, there is more to medieval education than just the rise of the university. In the Central Middle Ages, an institution arose called the cathedral school that fostered a unique form of learning that preceded the university and profoundly affected medieval society.In today's episode, Benjamin is joined by C. Stephen Jaeger to talk about the development of the cathedral schools and how they influenced the culture of medieval Europe. They talk about medieval humanism, how the Church and the clergy were influenced by this kind of "charismatic education," and what the learning of the cathedral schools can still teach us today.

When you think of the Middle Ages, you probably imagine a chaotic period without any kind of real form of law. Yet while medieval Europe may not have had the same kinds of legal systems that we live under today, it was still a period where dramatic transformations and evolutions took place in the practice of law. One form of this was a kind of church law that influenced every aspect of medieval life and yet is woefully underrepresented in popular discussions of the medieval past: canon law. In today's episode, Benjamin sits down with Frances Eshleman to learn a bit more about the history of medieval law. They discuss how church law evolved from its "fuzzy" origins, how radical innovations in the twelfth century helped to change the norms of the day, and how this helped to give birth to the legal profession. They take no responsibility for that last bit, don't shoot the historians.

In this episode, Benjamin sits down with Robin Reich to talk about the medieval Church and its relationship with medicine. How did medieval people go about finding medical care? What role did infamous treatments like bloodletting play in their lives? How was the Church involved in medicine and how did it give rise to the practices of medicine (and sometimes wellness) that we see in the world today? How did the Church react to that most infamous and medieval of diseases: the Black Death? Robin Reich of Seattle University shares her expertise on these subjects to help us better understand the medicine of the Middle Ages and the ways it still influences us today. This podcast is funded by Fordham's Center on Religion and Culture with the assistance of the Medievalist Toolkit. The music for this show is excerpted from "⁠⁠Awaken the Soul⁠⁠" by John Schuemaker available, licensed under ⁠⁠CC BY 4.0⁠⁠.  You can find more of his music on his ⁠⁠homepage⁠⁠ at freemusicarchive.org.

In this episode, Benjamin sits down with John Ott and Anna Trumbore Jones to talk about the history of the medieval clergy. Who were the clergy? What did they do? How did they influence the lives of ordinary people in the Middle Ages? Drs. Ott and Jones help to unravel these questions as experts in the field who have recently completed a book on the subject, The Medieval Clergy 800-1250: A Sourcebook. The book is an outstanding resource for students and scholars alike who wish to know more about the role that the clergy played in the medieval world, and this conversation brings out their experience and expertise for the listener. We also get another appearance of recurring character Bodo the Peasant, who'll be with us for the whole series. This podcast is funded by Fordham's Center for Religion and Culture with the assistance of the Medievalist Toolkit. The music for this show is excerpted from "⁠Awaken the Soul⁠" by John Schuemaker available, licensed under ⁠CC BY 4.0⁠.  You can find more of his music on his ⁠homepage⁠ at freemusicarchive.org.

In the first episode of That's So Medieval, Benjamin Bertrand introduces listeners to himself and the show. Focusing on the history of the medieval church and its connections to the modern world, That's So Medieval is a twelve-part series that will dive deep into topics in medieval religious history. The goal of the series is to highlight the ways in which the medieval church, and the medieval world, continues to influence modern society in ways that most people never recognize. This first episode sets the tone for the rest of the series and gives a sneak peak of some of the topics that we'll be exploring over the next few months. This podcast is funded by Fordham's Center for Religion and Culture with the assistance of the Medievalist Toolkit. The music for this show is excerpted from "Awaken the Soul" by John Schuemaker available, licensed under CC BY 4.0.  You can find more of his music on his homepage at freemusicarchive.org.