29. People's Crusade, France and Germany, 1096

29. People's Crusade, France and Germany, 1096

Author: Anne Brannen and Michelle Butler November 18, 2020 Duration: 49:43
At the end of 1095, Pope Urban II called for the first of several crusades, wherein the Latin Christian Europeans were supposed to go take the Holy Land away from the Islamic rulers who held it at that time. So the nobility of Europe, mostly from France, started putting together forces and money, so as to travel and fight. That was the Prince's Crusade, the First Crusade, and it would leave Europe in the summer of 1096. It takes a while to gather the wherewithal needed...

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: 100

True Crime Medieval
Podcast Episodes
114. Beehive Stolen, Portugal 1435 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:05
If you wanted to steal beehives in the Middle Ages, you would need to be very good at the theft, because the laws about bees and beehives were many and varied, all over the European continent. And you should be really ca…
108. April Fool's Episode: Pope Joan, Rome 855-857 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:11
For all of the middle ages, almost everybody believed that earlier in church history, there had been a pope who was, instead of being male, a woman, who met, alas, a Bad End. She wasn't there, as some people suspected th…
109.King Duncan Gets Killed, Pitgaveny, Scotland 14 August 1040 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:18
King Duncan did indeed get killed, in 1040, and Macbeth was around, and maybe even was near him at the time, but Duncan wasn't old, he wasn't asleep in bed, and there was no crime, because Macbeth's forces slaughtered Du…
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…