Old Age and Poverty in the Middle Ages
What happened to elderly individuals deprived of resources and family?
Abduction, Marriage and Consent in the Middle Ages
What did it mean to abduct your fiancé? Lucie Laumonier talks with Chanelle Delameillieure about marriage and consent in the late medieval Low Countries. We learn that consented abductions were a thing, but that they could lead to contentious outcomes!
The perils of childbirth, with Christian Laes
A conversation with Christian Laes about one of the most joyous, dangerous, and often tragic, moments of life in antiquity and the Middle Ages: childbirth.
Kissing in the Middle Ages
For medieval people, a kiss represents far more than the romantic.
Medieval Advice for Pregnant Women
The wonderful and bizarre pieces of advice offered to pregnant women by a group of medieval peasant women.
The Jacquerie Revolt with Justine Firnhaber-Baker
A decade after The Black Death, French peasants rose up suddenly against the nobility in an unprecedented and remarkably coordinated revolt. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Dr. Justine Firnhäber-Baker about the rebellion that shocked the elites of Europe: the Jacquerie.
Who was part of the medieval family?
A look at the size, concepts and members of the family and household in the Later Middle Ages.
Holiday Gifts in the Middle Ages
Christmas in the Middle Ages looked quite different than it does today, but gifts still played a role. Read on to find out what gift-giving looked like during the holidays in the Middle Ages.
Famine in Medieval London
How climate change, supply chain issues and inflation helped to create massive food shortages and starvation in medieval London.
Why Was a Scotsman Working as a ‘Cop’ in 15th-century Bologna?
How can this be, and what does it say about both medieval policing and the movement of people in the Middle Ages?
A Rotting Cat and a Damaged Penis
Do you know what is the best weapon to attack your drinking pal outside of a tavern? A rotting cat, of course! In today’s episode, Allison Bailey, a PhD candidate in history at the University of Toronto presents her research about the intersection of gender, violence and emotions in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century France.
Social class in Byzantium, with Efi Ragia
A conversation with Efi Ragia on coming to grips with social class in Byzantium, a society without a fixed social hierarchy, at least not fixed in terms of hereditary groups. Claims to high (or low) social standing were often rhetorical and fluid. Who were “the powerful”? By what criteria could they be recognized, and how might others aspire to that position?
Crafting Communities: Masons in Medieval London
A look at how misteries, guilds and fraternities worked to create a sense of community for the masons of medieval London.
Child Freedom in the Middle Ages
Were there any intellectual arguments against having children in the Middle Ages, and were there medieval equivalents to “childfree” individuals?
You Might Be a Medieval Redneck If…
Call it hick, hayseed, or hillbilly: if you’re one of the rustici, you might be a medieval redneck.
How medieval children got their names
It is not, strictly speaking, true that every Christian in late medieval Europe had the same six names.
Minding your Manners in the Middle Ages
Did medieval parents care about manners?
The Black Death and the Great Transition
How did the Yersinia pestis pandemic that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351, and then returned five times before the end of the century, spark the transition from the feudal Middle Ages to capitalist modernity?
From Moneylending to Hell
Moneylending was serious business in the Middle Ages. You could be risking your very soul! Lucie Laumonier talks with Sama Mammadova, a PhD candidate at Harvard University, who studies the history of usury and moneylending in fourteenth and fifteenth-century Italy. How did moneylenders reconcile their business with the fear of sin?
Crowd behavior in imperial Rome and Constantinople, with Daniëlle Slootjes
As our own political world is increasingly revolving around mass protests, it is time to revisit what we know about the dynamics of crowds in imperial Roman cities, whether they acted for or against the regime of the day.
How Large were Medieval Peasant Families?
Looking specifically at late medieval Western Europe, this article examines how large families actually were.
‘Sfacciate donne fiorentine’: Sumptuary Laws in Medieval Florence
The preoccupation with the way women dressed was constant in Florence during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, so much so that in almost every decade some new legislation would appear trying to respond to the new fashions that were becoming popular in the Italian city.
Piers Plowman and the Great Uprising of 1381
The Great Uprising of 1381 saw a group of dissatisfied peasants and their supporters march on London with demands that the king abolish serfdom and a new poll tax. The revolt remains one of the most widespread insurrections in English history, and it was inspired, in part, by the famous medieval poem Piers Plowman.
The Art of Courtly Love
The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus is a twelfth-century guide to the ins and outs of medieval love affairs, from how to find love to how to keep it – and why maybe it’s best to avoid it altogether. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Peter Konieczny about this fascinating book, and why it’s probably time to ditch some of its outdated dating advice.