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
95. Henry d'Almain is Murdered, Viterbo, Italy 1271 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:52
Henry d'Almain didn't really want to fight in the Second Barons' War, because the leaders of the two sides were both his uncles, and when his uncle Simon de Montfort was killed and mutilated in the last battle, he wasn't…
93. Michael Servetus is Murdered, Geneva, Republic of Geneva 1553 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:35
Michael Servetus was one of those brilliant people who can be a bit annoying. He read and/or spoke Spanish and French and Hebrew and Latin and Arabic and Greek and who knows what all. He studied and/or wrote books on the…
90. The Jacquerie Smashes Property, France 1358 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:55
In the summer of 1358, French peasants took up arms -- this means mostly sticks -- and attacked the nobility. They did indeed murder some of them, but mostly, almost entirely, the burnt down property. They didn't even lo…
88. St. Scholastica Riot, Oxford England, February 10, 1355 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:42
Sometimes students riot, maybe because of tuition hikes, or because a coach got fired for a sex abuse scandal, or because their team won a game, or because their team lost a game, or because the university became integra…