What it was really like to be a medieval physician
A look at the day-to-day problems of a medieval physician.
New Year’s Resolutions from the Middle Ages
On January 1, 1404, a Florentine named Gregorio Dati wrote down his good intentions in his “secret ledger” to keep himself accountable. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle revisits Dati’s New Year’s resolutions and the life of this colourful medieval silk merchant.
A Look into Medieval Homes
One of the most common questions about daily life in the Middle Ages is what did homes look like. Medieval manuscript illuminations can reveal much about the exteriors and interiors of a peasant’s house.
Festivals in a Medieval English Village
What were the celebrations held in a typical medieval village? Evidence for this can be hard to find, but one article focusing on the villages of Berkshire, England, offers us some clues into the local festivals that were held there in the Middle Ages
Medieval kitchen discovered in Czech Republic
Archaeologists working in the Czech Republic have discovered the remains of a kitchen dating back to the 15th century. Many items have been found in remarkable condition, including pots with their lids intact and kitchen utensils.
Medieval Scottish Women with Elizabeth Ewan
On this episode of Scotichronicast, Kate is joined by Elizabeth Ewan as they talk about women in medieval Scotland, focusing on some court cases and what women did for work.
Medieval Beauty Tips
Just like us, medieval people wanted to step out looking (and smelling) their best. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle shares some hygiene and beauty advice from the Middle Ages.
25 Things from Everyday Life in the Middle Ages
If you lived during the Middle Ages, what kind of things would you have? Here is a guide to some of the everyday items that a medieval person would have used or had.
Household Goods in Medieval London with Katherine French
Material goods are a rich and fascinating source for finding out more about the ordinary lives of the people of the Middle Ages. This week, Danièle speaks with Katherine French about what Londoners’ homes were like both before and after the Black Death, what they filled them with, and how we know.
Medieval hairstyles: From bianfa to top-knots in Northeast Asia
The importance of hair and hairstyles among Chinese, Mongols and other peoples of northeast Asia during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Sanitation in Medieval Paris with Emily Hutchison
Just how dirty was medieval Paris? And what did people do with their waste? This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Emily Hutchison about sanitation in the Middle Ages.
How to go to the toilet, medieval style?
A history of not-so-private privies in the Middle Ages.
The 5 Most Common Jobs in a Medieval City
The five most common jobs were farming, carpentry, butchery, shoemaking and Church-related work.
‘Making a House a Home’: ordinary households in later medieval Ireland 1200 – 1600 AD
Drawing together results from excavations of later medieval houses in Ireland, incorporating contemporary historical and literary sources, my current research project ‘Home is Where the Heart(h) is’ examines how different people in the past organised their houses and what shaped their decisions. It aims to reveal new understanding of medieval people and the things they used in order to ‘make a house a home’.
Medieval Partytime!
Want to party like it’s 1399? This week, on The Medieval Podcast Peter Konieczny joins Danièle to walk back through the centuries to the medieval world of parties, from crashing a celebration in early medieval Baghdad to trying to impress your dining partner in late medieval England.
Waste Management in Medieval Scotland with Richard Oram
Kate Buchanan and Richard Oram talk about the everyday task of dealing with waste in Medieval Scotland. Covering both urban setting and elite residences, this episode outlines what people thought about and did with their daily waste.
Summer in the Middle Ages
When air conditioning was not yet a thing – how people in the Middle Ages coped with the summer months.
Medieval potions and modern lotions
Could there also be some medical merit behind many of the seemingly bizarre ingredients?
Merchant Time, Church Time, COVID Time
As the pandemic comes rolling into its final phases, we need to ask the question: Will we ever use time in the same way again?
Vintage Fashion: Second-Hand Clothing in Medieval France
This article sheds light on the circulation of second-hand clothing in the southern French city of Montpellier and its immediate surroundings in the late medieval period, by looking at the sale of used clothing and donations of second-hand clothes.
Using Isotopic Analysis to Investigate Diet and Disease in a Medieval German Poorhouse
This paper presents a bioarchaeological case study on a medieval poorhouse skeletal collection from Regensburg, Germany.
Spring in the Middle Ages
How did medieval people perceive the arrival of Spring? How was Spring depicted in medieval calendars and literary texts? And, was Spring the “mating season” for humans, as it is for many animal species?
Travel in the Middle Ages, with John F. Romano
A common myth about the medieval period is that no one traveled anywhere, but stayed in the place they were born until they died. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with John F. Romano to find out what travel was really like in the Middle Ages.
Medieval Beer with Noëlle Phillips
Beer: it’s delicious, it’s nutritious, and it’s inseparable from ideas of the Middle Ages. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Dr. Noëlle Phillips about medieval beer: who was making it, who was drinking it, and how the brewing industry leans on the medieval world for its marketing today.