10 Fake (But Also Real) Medieval Proverbs
Ever wondered if medieval wisdom was just old wives’ tales or something more? Dive into the quirky world of the Distaff Gospels, where satire meets surprising truths in these so-called “fake” proverbs.
Buried Alive with an Undead Corpse: A Medieval Tale of Horror
Medieval people, much like us today, loved sharing spooky stories of the dead rising and haunting the living. One such tale involves a man named Asmund, who chose to be buried alive with his deceased friend. The most terrifying aspect of this story is how the friend returned as the undead.
Divining the Future with Jo Edge
Not knowing the future is an intensely uncomfortable experience, which is why humans invented a clever system to predict the future through numbers, called onomancy. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Jo Edge about how onomancy works, who used it, and how it fit in with medieval theology.
New Study Challenges Dinosaur Fossil Origins of the Griffin Myth
A widely-promoted claim that dinosaur fossils inspired the legend of the griffin, a mythological creature popular in medieval bestiaries, has been challenged in a new study.
New Medieval Books: Onomantic Divination in Late Medieval Britain
Onomancy is a type of divination to learn a person’s future based on their name. This book looks at how this magic became popular in the later Middle Ages.
The Mysterious Owl on the Cathedral Notre-Dame of Dijon
A look into a mysterious medieval carving at a French cathedral. Why was it put there?
Medieval Charms with Katherine Storm Hindley
Like many people today, medieval people used charms, personal talismans, and amulets to help smooth their way through life. But just who used them? How did they use them? And what did the church think about such things? This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Katherine Storm Hindley about charms in the Middle Ages.
Medieval Monsters with Charity Urbanski
They’re the things that go bump in the night, the creatures that storm your mead hall and eat your friends, the beings that wander restlessly from their graves. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Charity Urbanski about monsters in the medieval world.
The 9 herb charm – an archaeological approach
By focusing and reassessing the plants that form the 9 charm herb and comparing to archaeological evidence can new conclusions be made about early medieval herbal remedies?
New Medieval Books: Medieval Monstrosity
An examination of monster theory and how it applies to the Middle Ages, this book covers the way people looked at the monsters of literature and imagination (dragons, werewolves, revenants and monstrous races) and how they made monsters out of the other (women, children with disabilities, non-Christians).
The Pagan and Christian Origins of Halloween
With roots in Europe’s Christianization, Halloween is something of a hybrid holiday strongly influenced by ancient pagan beliefs, and for this reason, its celebration has long been somewhat controversial within the Christian faith.
New Medieval Books: Art of the Grimoire
A global history of magic, from ancient to modern. The focus of this book is often on the materials used to record magic, including scrolls, manuscripts and printed books.
The Medieval Village and its Evil Spirit
Today’s horror movies could make use of this story from the ninth century, of how an evil spirit terrorized a medieval village. It also reports on one of the earliest recorded attempts at an exorcism from the Middle Ages.
30 Medieval Superstitions
We know a lot about Christianity in the Middle Ages, but much less about the ‘pagan’ and folk religion that many people had. A list from the eighth century offers some clues into those medieval beliefs and superstitions.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin: A Medieval Mass Abduction?
What really happened on June 26, 1284, in the German town of Hamelin?
The Earliest Little Red Riding Hood Tale
The tale of Little Red Riding Hood has a long history to it – first printed by Charles Perrault in the late 17th century and the Brothers Grimm in the nineteenth. However, the earliest known version of the story actually dates back to the 11th century.
Clothing as Humanity: Ghosts, Werewolves, and the Fashion of Redemption
Through a range of medieval sources, otherworldly and supernatural beings are described through dress, identified or questioned by it, and sometimes, it is pivotal to the story
Joan of Arc’s Heretical Tree of Domrémy
The tree represented a useful trump card for Joan’s judges in order to convict her of heresy and eventually burn her at the stake
Did Medieval People Believe in Fairies?
Today fairies are typically relegated to the realm of children’s stories or superstitions, but in the Middle Ages, some individuals believed that fairies were real and that they had the power to impact human lives in material ways.
Medieval Omens
Omens were a staple of medieval superstition and a great reflection of medieval folk beliefs.
Christmas Traditions in the Hidden Corners of Europe
Celebrating the Christmas season in the Carpathian Mountains
Pagan Survivals in Medieval Holiday Celebrations
Many of the most signature parts of Christmas in the Middle Ages (and today) actually come from pagan rather than Christian traditions. So, if you want to find out how you can make your Christmas and end of year celebrations just a little bit more pagan, read on!
Demons, Djinns, and Devils of the Medieval Islamic World
Throughout the medieval world there was a strong belief in supernatural beings. If you lived in the Middle East, they would be called djinn, demons or devils. If you dare want to know more about these monsters, read on!
From Magic to Maleficium: The Crafting of Witchery in Late Medieval Text
In 1437, theologian Johannes Nider warned about a new threat to the Christian world – witches.