Concerning Seizure and Possession (Part 2): Medieval Methods

Concerning Seizure and Possession (Part 2): Medieval Methods

Author: Medieval Death Trip June 7, 2026 Duration: 1:06:14
We complete our look at epilepsy in the Middle Ages by considering how religion and medicine intersect in surviving medical texts and how classical learning was reintroduced by looking at the example of John of Gaddesden, possibly the model for Chaucer's Doctour of Phisik. Today's Texts: John of Gaddesden. "John of Gaddesden on Epilepsy." Edited by William G. Lennox, translated by Adrian P. English, Annals of Medical History, vol. 1, no. 3, May 1939, pp. 283-307. Semantic Scholar. Origen. Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, translated by John Patrick, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 9, edited by Allan Menzies, Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1896. New Advent, revised and edited by Kevin Knight, www.newadvent.org/fathers/1016.htm Herbarium. In Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England, translated by Thomas Cockayne, vol. 1, Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green, 1864, pp. 1-325. Archive.org. Leech Book. Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England, translated by Thomas Cockayne, vol. 2, Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green, 1864. Archive.org. "Life of St. Winefred." Lives of the Cambro British Saints, of the Fifth and Immediate Succeeding Centuries, from Ancient Welsh & Latin MSS. in the British Museum and Elsewhere, with English Translations, an Explanatory Notes, edited and translated by W. J. Rees, Welsh MSS. Society, 1853, pp. 515-529. Google Books. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:34 Text: Gospel of Mark (NIV), Ch. 9:14-29 00:04:36 Commentary 00:10:12 Text: Origen, Commentary on Matthew 00:11:44 Commentary 00:13:58 Flashback to Life and Miracles of St. Winefred 00:14:41 Commentary 00:18:33 Text: Bald's Leechbook 00:19:44 Commentary 00:22:17 Text: Anglo-Saxon Herbarium, "On Asterion" 00:23:11 Commentary 00:24:03 Text: Anglo-Saxon Herbarium, "On Artemisia" 00:25:05 Commentary 00:34:28 Text: John of Gaddesden, Rosa Medicinae 00:56:59 Commentary 01:00:42 PSA: Seizure First Aid 01:04:03 Riddle 01:04:39 Outro

Step into the strange and vivid world of the Middle Ages with Medieval Death Trip. Each episode is built around a single primary source-a chronicle, a poem, a letter, or a legal record-that reveals something peculiar, grim, or wonderfully unexpected from the period. The chosen texts are the real draw, offering unmediated glimpses into a mindset that can feel both alien and strangely familiar. You’ll hear about bizarre miracles, brutal justice, mystical visions, and the quiet, odd details of daily life that history books often overlook. After presenting the document in full, the host provides context and personal reflections, piecing together what the story might tell us about the people who wrote it and the world they inhabited. This isn’t a dry academic lecture; it’s more like a guided tour through the archives, pointing out the bloodstains and the marginal doodles with equal fascination. The podcast lives in the intersection of several genres, pulling from history, literature, and cultural study to examine how medieval people made sense of their reality. Listening feels like uncovering a series of forgotten artifacts, each one a conversation starter about belief, violence, humor, and humanity. For anyone curious about history’s shadowy corners and the raw, unfiltered voices of the past, this series provides a consistently engaging and thought-provoking journey. The approach is both serious and accessible, treating these centuries-old accounts with respect while never shying away from their inherent strangeness. Tune in for a deep dive into the archives, one unsettling and fascinating story at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Medieval Death Trip
Podcast Episodes
MDT Ep. 93: Helmbrecht Returns, or The Dark Robber Knight [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:24
We continue with Part 2 (of 3) of the 13th-century peasant epic Meier Helmbrecht, in which Helmbrecht returns to his family after a year as squire to a robber knight, and cultures clash accordingly. Today's Text: Wernher…
MDT Ep. 92: Helmbrecht Begins, or How to Become a Robber Knight [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:08
In this episode we learn how important good hair is to becoming a medieval cattle rustler with part one of the 13th-century poem Meier Helmbrecht. Today's Text: Wernher der Gartenaere. Meir Helmbrecht. In Peasant Life in…
MDT Ep. 91: Concerning Wage Warfare after the Plague [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:39
This episode, we follow up on a question from Ep. 90 about why the wandering worker Thomas Fuller might have fallen in with a criminal shepherd by looking at a pair of vagrancy and labor laws from the economically disrup…
MDT Ep. 90: Medieval True Crime IV: In the Shadow of the Gallows Pole [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:01
We finish off our Medieval True Crime miniseries with a look at two hangings from the year 1484 and explore some of the practices surrounding and meanings of hanging as a mode of execution in medieval Europe. Today's Tex…
MDT Ep. 89: Interview with a Devil [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:11
In this (belated) episode marking our seventh anniversary, we learn about the infernal realms, straight from the devil's mouth, going from a 11th-century Old English text to the 16th-century stage. We also learn why you…
MDT Ep. 88: Concerning the Plight of the Paterfamilias [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:35
In this slightly belated Father's Day episode, we return to the snarky wit of Walter Map as he explains why it's so hard to be the man of the house. Today's Text Map, Walter. De Nugis Curialium. Translated by Montague R.…
MDT Ep. 87: Medieval True Crime III: Death in the Countryside [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:56
We return from an unplanned semester hiatus with the third installment of our Medieval True Crime miniseries, continuing to explore the 13th-century coroner's rolls of rural Bedfordshire (plus one item from 14th-century…
MDT Ep. 86: Concerning the Meaning of Stones [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:52
As we kick off the New Year, we take a brief diversion from our Medieval True Crime miniseries to explore the world of precious stones and the extraordinary properties attributed to them through a look at the Lapidary of…