The Medieval Podcast

Listening to the Middle Ages with Jonathan Berger

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 only been heard by a handful of people in almost six hundred years. This week, Danièle speaks with Jonathan Berger about capturing the sounds of the past, what they can tell us, and the remarkable sound of one specific moment time.This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

Africa and the Middle Ages with D. Vance Smith

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, or otherwise somehow “doesn't count”. Fortunately, the tide seems to be turning. But how did we get here? And how did people outside of Africa view its peoples and kingdoms during the Middle Ages? This week, Danièle speaks with D. Vance Smith about medieval European ideas of Africa, the long shadow cast by the fall of Carthage, and how Medieval Studies itself contributed to colonization.This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

Magic Books with Anne Lawrence-Mathers

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, we can't help but look for a little bit of certainty in an uncertain world - and a little bit of magic. This week, Danièle speaks with Anne Lawrence-Mathers about medieval astrology, palm reading and the magic way to get a university education in just a fraction of the time.This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

Alberti: Renaissance Man

If you’re going to be a writer, it’s best to find yourself in a place where there’s plenty to write about, and fifteenth-century Italy was definitely one of those places. For a young member of the powerful Alberti family, it was the perfect place to study everything from law, to theology, to architecture, and to write it all down to educate - and to entertain. This week, Danièle speaks with David Marsh about Leon Battista Alberti's life and writing, in and around the great figures of fifteenth-century Italy.This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

Romanos the Melodist with Thomas Arentzen

Songs have a way of making us see and feel things unlike other forms of writing, which is why so many of us treasure the words of lyricists. And when it comes to early Christianity, no songs were more treasured and influential than those of Romanos. This week, Danièle speaks with Thomas Arentzen about the life and works of Romanos the Melodist, why his work is so important to the history of Christianity, and how this legendary lyricist wrote about women.This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast