Medieval Madness
Episodes
128 episodes
The Medieval Blood Ritual You Didn't Learn About in School...
The 22nd of March 1144 was Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. Outside the city walls, the forester Henry de Sprowston was riding through Thorpe Wood on the outskirts of Norwich, England. Among other things, Henry was looking for thieves, who...
Surviving Life as a Woman of the Medieval Crusades...
Going on a Medieval Crusade was a male mission, a military enterprise in which only men could fight. Obviously, the women stayed home and did womanly things while their dashing, knightly husbands rode off and defended the Holy Land. Right? Wron...
The Most Feared Building of The Middle Ages...
The White Tower, as it was originally known, was a fortress-stronghold built by the first Norman king, William the Conqueror. It was intended to protect against foreign invasion and intimidate the citizens of London in equal measure. But the To...
Surviving Life During The Mongol Empire...
From an insignificant tribal clan, the Mongols seemed to come out of nowhere to rule over the greatest empire in the world, before disappearing just as quickly three centuries later. Their lands reached out across the Mediterranean to the Pacif...
The Medieval Welshman Who HATED The English...
Born in 1359, Owain was the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales and fought for 15 years against English rule. He led successful sieges and battlefield victories to establish an independent Welsh State, refusing to ever give u...
How to Survive The 'Battle of Bannockburn' as a Medieval Soldier...
It was a spectacular win for Robert the Bruce, King of the Scots, over the two days of the 23rd and 24th of June 1314. Just like the triumph of Agincourt, which was to follow 100 years later, the Battle of Bannockburn was a win for the underdog...
Surviving Life as a Medieval Princess...
We often think of Medieval princesses in terms of fairy tales - as beautiful young ladies waiting around, in their tall pointy hats, for some knight to come along and rescue them from a tower. But the reality was far less romantic. Let’s travel...
Medieval Palaces That Have Been Lost To Time...
There are many medieval ruins scattered throughout England and the landscape is full of crumbling abbeys that were left to deteriorate after Henry VIII’s reformation. But there are also quite a few, little-known palaces, that were once magnific...
Why You Wouldn't Survive 2 Minutes in a Medieval Prison...
For hundreds of years, for whatever reason, whether innocent or guilty, men, women, and children have found themselves in prison. Imagine travelling back to the Middle Ages and spending time inside one of those “unregulated, frequently packed ....
The Wonderful World of Alchemy During The Middle Ages...
The word alchemy conjures up images of the occult, of dark laboratories and secretive wizard-like figures hunched over bubbling cauldrons. As well as trying to discover the philosopher’s stone, said to be the elixir of life and immortality, the...
The Mass Murdering 'Gangster' Monk of Malmesbury...
The history of Malmesbury Abbey is a long one and there are many tales to tell of the celebrated monastery. Founded by the Benedictines in 676, part of the abbey still survives today, over thirteen hundred years later. But it is the abbey’s con...
The Scariest & Most Feared Queens of the Middle Ages...
In the Middle Ages, men ruled the world, except when they didn’t. Many history lovers are aware of women like Margaret of Anjou and Eleanor of Aquitaine but other lesser-known Medieval female bosses were just as formidable. Let’s travel back in...
The Gangs of Medieval Europe...
The Middle Ages, with its crippling poverty and lack of law and order, was the perfect time for unscrupulous men to turn to a life of crime and roam around the countryside causing untold trouble. But not all gangsters were poor, some came from ...
The Fascinating World of LOST Medieval Cities...
Many once-great cities of the Middle Ages have been lost over time. It could have been through natural disaster, war, or just because they were victims of their own success. Let’s travel back in time now to rediscover some of these cities, that...
Natural Disasters in the Middle Ages...
Earthquakes, floods, and volcanic eruptions, whenever and wherever they hit are devastating events that can wipe out entire cities and leave thousands of people dead. Let’s travel back in time now and take a look at some of the worst natural di...
Surviving Life as a Medieval Slave...
We often associate slavery with non-Christians and the Romans, but unfree people continued to be owned and exploited throughout Europe for hundreds of years after the fall of the Empire. In fact, slavery was alive and thriving very well in the ...
The Rack: The Most INFAMOUS Medieval Torture Method of All Time...
Many forms of torture were utilised during the Middle Ages. But the rack was perhaps the most popular and most feared. Although it was common for joints to be dislocated during the process, the torture could tear a victim’s limbs apart and rip ...
The WORST Prison in Medieval History...
It was established in 1188, under the reign of King Henry II. What was constructed out of a group of cells housed in London’s city walls above the ‘New Gate’ gatehouse soon became known as a place of darkness and despair. Nicknamed ‘Hell on Ear...
The Most Inbred Family of The Middle Ages...
It all began in Switzerland, with an area of lush agricultural land, and became a dynasty that dominated Southeast Europe for centuries. The Habsburg's rise to power in the High Middle Ages and its descent into extinction is one of the most fas...
Timeline of The Middle Ages Explained in 15 Minutes...
From the fall of Rome to the dawn of the Renaissance, the Middle Ages was an era of history that encompassed massive social change. A time of international warfare, national rebellion, devastating disease, and at times brutal cruelty. Here are ...
Love and Marriage for Medieval Citizens...
When most people think about medieval marriages they are either practical, cold, and loveless, or the idealised “courtly love” of chivalric knights and damsels in distress. But what was married life and love really like in the Middle Ages? Let’...
The Medieval Catholic Church’s Weird Obsession With Incest...
For most, incest is seen as sexual intimacy between anyone who is related by blood, like a parent and child, siblings, or cousins. We could even extend this to anyone who has a position of responsibility within a family such as step-parents, st...
Roger Mortimer: The VERY Naughty Medieval Earl...
It was from a cell in the Tower of London, “in a very high up and confined place … out of sight and hearing of the world”, that Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March made his daring escape. A feudal lord, experienced military commander, and twice g...
Medieval Things NOT Considered Appropriate in Today's Society...
It’s easy to look at the Medieval world and see it as completely alien to the one we live in today. Many things that were thought acceptable and even pleasing then would horrify civilised people in the 21st century. Let’s travel back in time no...
The Most Sadistic & Bloodthirsty Man of The Middle Ages…
When most people think about Transylvania it conjures the image of Dracula and the world dreamed up in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel - a world of gothic castles, shapeshifting bats, and vampires. Some people even think of Transylvania as a mythical ...