Tag: Medieval Environmental History

Podcast

Trees have histories too, with Alexander Olson

A conversation with Alexander Olson about the secret lives of olive trees and oak trees in Byzantium. Contrary to what you may think, these were not cultivated consistently in the Mediterranean ecosystem of the Middle Ages; their uses to the human population fluctuated over time, giving the trees a history of their own, albeit one shaped by that of the people around them (and vice versa).

Features Podcast

Environmental Disasters in Medieval France

How did medieval people deal with natural disasters? In this episode of the Medieval Grade Podcast, Lucie speaks with Brian Forman, whose research focuses on responses to environmental disasters in three late medieval communities of medieval France. As we find out in the podcast, late medieval municipalities implemented a wide array of strategies to mitigate and prevent climatic catastrophes, sometimes religious, and at other times practical.