The Medieval Podcast

The Medieval Podcast

Author: Danièle Cybulskie Language: English Episodes: 100
Step back in time without the dust and difficulty of old archives. The Medieval Podcast, hosted by Danièle Cybulskie, is your accessible gateway to a thousand years of human experience. This isn't a dry recitation of dates and battles, but a vibrant exploration of how people lived, thought, and created. Each week, Danièle brings her genuine curiosity and conversational style to interviews with leading scholars, uncovering the fascinating details that textbooks often miss. You'll find yourself immersed in discussions that might cover the economic significance of pigs, the beauty and complexity of Persian poetry, or the tumultuous drama of the Plantagenet dynasty. The scope is deliberately broad, touching on history, arts, literature, and the intricacies of daily culture and society, all through the medieval lens. Listening to this podcast feels like having a friendly chat with a knowledgeable guide who is just as excited to learn as you are. It’s designed for anyone with a spark of interest, whether you're a seasoned enthusiast or just wondering what daily life was really like between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance. The conversations are deep yet digestible, always aiming to connect the medieval world to our own in unexpected ways. Prepare to have your assumptions challenged and your curiosity ignited as Danièle and her guests illuminate the shadows of the past, one compelling story at a time.
Episodes
Comparing Women's Work with Nena Vandeweerdt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:50
Last week, we talked about a woman whose work was to support her husband’s dreams of conquest – and her son’s dreams of rebellion. But what about the medieval women whose work was a little more ordinary? What was the 9-5…
Mathilda of Flanders with Laura Gathagan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:39
They say that behind every successful man is a woman, and when it comes to one of the biggest medieval stories of personal success, that seems to have been true. Everyone’s heard of William the Conqueror, the illegitimat…
On the Supremacy of the Pope with Patrick Nold [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:12
When the king is semi-divine and the pope speaks for God, himself, who is the boss of whom? It’s a question most of us don’t spend our days contemplating, but in the Middle Ages, this philosophical debate loomed large. J…
The Welles-Ros Bible with Kathryn A. Smith [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:25
Much in debate in England in the fourteenth century was how – and even if – the Bible should be translated into everyday language. Enter Maud de Ros, Lady Welles, the woman responsible for the most complete surviving tra…
Sir Tristrem with Thomas H. Crofts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:43
As we wrap up the month, we have time to squeeze in one last love story. A tale packed full of potions, princesses, and even puppies, this one is right up there with Lancelot and Guinevere. It’s the story of Tristan and…
Medieval Silesia with Sébastien Rossignol [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:39
One of the best things about podcasting on all things medieval is the opportunity to learn about lesser-known places – especially when those places are full of examples of long-ago thinking on cross-cultural contact, int…
The Art of War in Byzantium with Georgios Theotokis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:34
From the social media buzz we saw a couple of years ago, it seems a lot of people spend a lot of time thinking about the ancient Roman Empire and its military activities, but less time thinking about how it evolved into…
Listening to the Middle Ages with Jonathan Berger [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:21
Since the new year, we’ve heard about both the development of medieval music and what it was like to live in the cultural hotbed of fifteenth-century Florence. And now, we’re going to bring it together in a way that has…
Africa and the Middle Ages with D. Vance Smith [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:54
Despite its vast cultural, spiritual, and material wealth, medieval Africa has too often been sidelined in the study of the Middle Ages. Or it's been peppered with asterisks to explain why its history is different, odd,…
Magic Books with Anne Lawrence-Mathers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:35
One of the fun things about humans is our constant desire to engage with the supernatural, especially when it comes to getting a peek at the future. From reading bones, to tea leaves, flower petals, or online horoscopes,…