119. A Werewolf Craze Leads to Torture and Executions, Western Europe 16th-17th centuries

119. A Werewolf Craze Leads to Torture and Executions, Western Europe 16th-17th centuries

Author: Anne Brannen and Michelle Butler November 3, 2025 Duration: 46:01
If you were living in Western Europe in the late middle ages and early modern age, you might well come across partly eaten humans, whilst walking around in the woods, or even, alas, strolling in Paris. OBVIOUSLY these partly eaten humans had been attacked by werewolves! Duh! There were a lot of real wolves roaming around, attacking humans, if the wolves had rabies, or there was a widespread famine affecting all the living beings, but of course the real wolves hadn't attacked and partly ...

Ever wonder if human nature has really changed all that much over the centuries? True Crime Medieval, hosted by historians Anne Brannen and Michelle Butler, digs into a thousand years of historical mischief, mayhem, and outright villainy. This isn't just a dry recounting of dates and battles; it's a deep dive into the dark alleyways of the past, where greed, passion, and power led to deeds that would feel right at home in a modern headline. Each episode focuses on a specific case, unraveling the motives, the methods, and the often-surprising social contexts that shaped crime and punishment from the fall of Rome to the dawn of the Renaissance. You'll hear about poisoned chalices, treacherous plots, shocking betrayals, and the long, messy struggle for justice in eras without forensic science. Brannen and Butler blend rigorous historical research with engaging storytelling, treating these ancient scandals with the detailed scrutiny of a true crime investigation. The result is a fascinating podcast that reveals how people have always been capable of astonishingly bad behavior, proving that the drive for wealth, revenge, or love is truly timeless. Tune in for stories where the stakes are life and death, the suspects wear crowns or cowls, and every mystery is a window into the complex world of our medieval ancestors.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

True Crime Medieval
Podcast Episodes
107. Church Sanctuary in the Middle Ages [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:39
As we all know, if you were accused of a crime in the middle ages, or if you were in danger, and you ran to a nearby church, you could have sanctuary, and then you were safe. Well, this is true, more or less, but exactly…
105. St. Adalbert of Prague is Martyred, Truso, Poland 997 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:11
Adalbert of Prague wanted very much to go Christianize the Prussians, but they were just not having it, so they hacked him up and cut his head off, and that is why he is a Saint, with an enormous number of churches aroun…
101. Defenestrations of Prague, Prague, Bohemia 1419, 1483, 1618 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:25
Humans have been throwing each other out of windows pretty much as long as humans have had windows more than one story or so off the ground, but only Prague is famous for them. Two of them actually led to wars, even. We…
100. Retrospective: Our Favorites of the Past 100 Episodes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:15
It's Episode 100! So we both went through the episodes we've published so far, to pick our favorites. Out of them, we picked three apiece, and then, as a grand winner, the one that turned up on both of our lists -- not t…
98. April Fool's Episode: Debunking the Chastity Belt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:09
There were not, in the Middle Ages, any chastity belts. They did not exist. Really, they didn't. They show up later, when enlighted ages say that they were used in the Middle Ages. Then, enlightened ages invented them, a…