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. 45: Concerning Magnus Barefoot vs. Ireland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:23
This episode we (that is, I) wax autobiographical as we look at our first saga text, an account of the death of King Magnus Barefoot during his attempted conquest of Ireland in 1103. Also, there are some thoughts on the…
MDT Ep. 44: Concerning Turnover of the Kings of Man [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:54
This episode we crack open the Chronicle of Man and the Sudreys to look at the Isle of Man and the rise of the royal house of King Orry, Godred Crovan, and King Magnus Barefoot of Norway is warned in a dream to leave Nor…
MDT Ep. 43: Concerning the Resurrection of Cannibals [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:44
Today we plunge into some hard-core scholasticism, as we hear Thomas Aquinas wrestle with the thorny question: "If all dead bodies are resurrected at the Last Judgment, what happens to the bodies of cannibals, whose bodi…
MDT Ep. 42: Concerning the Exhumation of St. Cuthbert (1827) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:23
We conclude our three-part look at the remains of St. Cuthbert with James Raine's account of his 1827 exhumation of Cuthbert's body and the recovery of some extraordinary early medieval artifacts. Featured Music: Extract…
MDT Ep. 41: Concerning the Examination of Cuthbert's Body (1104) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:50
In Part II of our "Cuthbert's Body" series, we hear Reginald of Durham's description of what was found inside Cuthbert's coffin in the investigation preceding the Cuthbert's translation in 1104, and we consider what inco…
MDT Ep. 40: Fear and Trembling in Durham Cathedral [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:17
This episode is the first in our three-part series looking at encounters with the remains of St. Cuthbert, starting in this installment with a quick look at the discovery that his body had not decayed in 698, eleven year…
MDT Ep. 39: To the Lists! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:03
This episode we're looking at lists: a list about list, a text akin to an early modern police blotter, and a catalogue of scholarly sessions from Kalamazoo, where I'll be heading off to this week!
MDT Ep. 36: Concerning the Depredations of King John [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:41
This episode we look at the less than stellar reputation of King John during the First Barons' War, as recounted in the Melrose Chronicle, and consider the relationship of medieval texts to immediate politics.