The Medieval Podcast

Earlier this year, we looked at the journey a pair of Eastern Christians made from their home near Bejing to Europe in the thirteenth century. Today, we’re investigating some incredible archaeological evidence of Franciscan missionary activity on the farthest shores of China. This week, Danièle speaks with Nancy Wu about a fourteenth-century Franciscan tombstone found in Quanzhou, what the religious community there was like, and what a tombstone can tell us about art, culture, and technique.

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

Last week, we took a look at the first hundred years of crusading, and the tactics involved in fighting in and around the crusader kingdoms of the Middle East. In this episode, we follow the crusaders as they shift their lens southward to Egypt, and make a bold attempt to capture one of the biggest prizes of the day. This week, Danièle speaks with Thomas Smith about why the Fifth Crusade targeted Egypt in the first place, how this campaign differed from the many that had come before, and just how close this crusade came to changing history as we know it.

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

If there’s one topic that continually draws people to the Middle Ages, it’s the Crusades. Templars, assassins, nomadic horse archers, in what is at times a very hostile environment makes for a history that regularly turns on a knife edge. But the story of the Crusades is much bigger, geographically, culturally, and politically than the same old stories would suggest. This week, Danièle speaks with Nicholas Morton about the wider world of the Crusades, the cultural and technological exchange it led to, and the importance of some forgotten individuals from this moment in history.

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 this episode, we’re looking at a legendary figure who thought ruling England would be one more step in his quest to be the dominant power in the North Sea. His legendary prowess in battle was known from Sicily to Orkney, and his name was Harald Hardrada. This week, Danièle speaks with James Turner about Harald’s travels, his conquests, and his place in the wide world of the eleventh century.

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

Early medieval kings come to us in glimpses, with legends, a few chronicles, and some archaeological finds sketching faint portraits of figures who were larger than life in their own time. One of these kings left a literal impression on Britain that speaks to the power he had in the eighth century: Offa, King of the Mercians. This week, Danièle speaks with Rory Naismith about Offa’s life, his rule, and his impact on Early Medieval England.

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