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Ask a Medievalist

Everything you always wanted to know about the Middle Ages, but were unable to ask.

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All Episodes

1:14:31

Episode 77: Carnival and Lent

Ask a Medievalist ·

2024/04/08

Summary Here comes the parade, want some beads? Okay, so carnival is a prelude to Lent, which is an extremely solemn time in Catholic tradition. So why is it the way that it is in so many places? Let’s talk about it. Notes 1/ It’s late, but it’s up before the end of Lent. lol … Continue reading "Episode 77: Carnival and Lent"

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1:17:56

Episode 76: Pipe Dreams

Ask a Medievalist ·

2024/03/10

Synopsis If you’re one of those people who thinks about the Roman Empire a lot because aqueducts are really cool, you’re going to love this. Join Em and Jesse as they discuss the irrigation of the Chengdu Plain, the plumbing of Tenochtitlan, and water management at Machu Picchu. Then we round out our “the middle … Continue reading "Episode 76: Pipe Dreams"

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1:22:21

Episode 75: Plumb as in Full of Lead

Ask a Medievalist ·

2024/02/10

Summary After a brief discussion of how people brushed their teeth, we move on to the question of where the water they used came from. And yeah, Rome had aqueducts–but so did a lot of places! And the Romans didn’t even build the aqueducts they did have–they took them from the Etruscans! Who may have … Continue reading "Episode 75: Plumb as in Full of Lead"

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1:25:14

Episode 74: Bath House (in the Middle of the Street)

Ask a Medievalist ·

2024/01/15

Summary When Em was a kid, she was told that knights in shining armor didn’t bathe, that Elizabeth I had bathed only three times in her life, and various other assertions. But we know that soap is not a modern invention–the word itself comes from the Latin, and no less than Pliny the Elder discusses … Continue reading "Episode 74: Bath House (in the Middle of the Street)"

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1:18:01

Episode 73: I’m a Ramblin’ Man

Ask a Medievalist ·

2023/11/22

Synopsis Are you travelling for Thanksgiving? Believe it or not, “travel” as a thing is not a modern creation. In the middle ages, people visited many remote and far-flung places and brought back notes (and delicious noodles). Join Em and Jesse for travel talk, including Lord Elgin, Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, Zheng He, Margery Kemp, … Continue reading "Episode 73: I’m a Ramblin’ Man"

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57:47

Episode 72: Does It Belong in a Museum?

Ask a Medievalist ·

2023/11/10

Synopsis We’ve all seen that scene in Indiana Jones where he’s clutching an artifact and shouting, “It belongs in a museum!” But nowadays in 2023, we tend to temper that idea–museums are fun, but who gets to hold a particular object, why, and for how long is a point of contention. Join Em and Jesse … Continue reading "Episode 72: Does It Belong in a Museum?"

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1:07:54

Episode 71: Fashion (Turn to the Left)

Ask a Medievalist ·

2023/10/26

Synopsis Em and Jesse talk about Italian sumptuary laws, which unlike the British ones, were more aimed at women. Then they talk about fashion “dos” of the middle ages. Notes 1/ So, the difference between having a title and being part of the peerage is this. In America, when you earn a lot of money, … Continue reading "Episode 71: Fashion (Turn to the Left)"

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1:21:06

Episode 70: White After Labor Day

Ask a Medievalist ·

2023/09/25

Synopsis Just in time for Paris Fashion Week, join Em and Jesse for an exciting discussion of sumptuary laws and the medieval origins of prohibitions against wearing white, as well as a few digressions about John Waters films and Blackadder. Notes 0/ Rainbow Space Magic Con: https://www.rainbowspacemagic.org/ 1/ Serial Mom: (warning for violence) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnGHB-kI2ZM 2/ … Continue reading "Episode 70: White After Labor Day"

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1:21:43

Episode 69: Virgil Was Here

Ask a Medievalist ·

2023/09/03

Synopsis What got written illicitly on the walls back before 79 CE? It turns out a lot of stuff! Join Em and Jesse as they discuss the graffiti of Pompeii and also stuff Vikings wrote their names on. Em’s book: Amazon, all other sites. Notes Books! Ancient Graffiti in Context ed. Baird and Taylor: https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Graffiti-Context-Routledge-Studies-ebook/dp/B004OBZWDG … Continue reading "Episode 69: Virgil Was Here"

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1:21:32

Episode 68: Bat Country (Drugs, pt 2)

Ask a Medievalist ·

2023/07/28

Summary Let’s talk about psychedelics in ritual practice. From Hunter S. Thompson’s pilgrimage across the desert to the human sacrifices of the Incan empire in the sixteenth century to the use of opium during the late bronze age, people have been altering their mental states in religious contexts almost since the dawn of civilization. Join … Continue reading "Episode 68: Bat Country (Drugs, pt 2)"

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1:18:53

Episode 67: Dionysus and Drugs, part 1

Ask a Medievalist ·

2023/07/07

Synopsis In honor of the publication of Em’s debut novel, Dionysus in Wisconsin, Em and Jesse talk about Dionysus (the god), and then about drug use in ancient religious rituals. Notes 1/ Order book here (or from non-Amazon sites here). (Incredibly well reviewed! Buy one now!!) 2/ Sparagmos: your vocabulary term for the day, kids. … Continue reading "Episode 67: Dionysus and Drugs, part 1"

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1:15:53

Episode 66: Medievally Bootylicious (obscenity part 2)

Ask a Medievalist ·

2023/04/27

Synopsis Are butts the most medieval of body parts? From the Wild Man to Chaucer to good old Michelangelo, let’s pontificate about the posterior. Do you need more of a pitch than that? Notes 0/ Preorder Em’s book: a little obscene, only a few butts. 1/ Warning for…talking about butts, I guess. 2/ The Wild … Continue reading "Episode 66: Medievally Bootylicious (obscenity part 2)"

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1:17:41

Episode 65: I Know It When I See It

Ask a Medievalist ·

2023/04/02

Summary A long time ago, people were pure at heart. Of course, sex happened occasionally, but no one took off their clothes for it–that would be gauche. Then James Joyce wrote a book called Ulysses and things started to go downhill. In 1933, a judge named John M. Woolsey ruled in a case called United … Continue reading "Episode 65: I Know It When I See It"

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1:15:17

Episode 64: Fight Knights

Ask a Medievalist ·

2023/03/13

1/ EB White was a rather nice, shy guy who wrote for the New Yorker and hid from his admirers. TH White was a weirdo who lived on the edge of the woods in the UK. EB White is the White of Strunk & White. https://xkcd.com/923/ 2/ it would be more accurate to say Em … Continue reading "Episode 64: Fight Knights"

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1:15:17

Episode 63: The Knight in Tarnished Armor

Ask a Medievalist ·

2023/02/26

Summary Early on, a friend of the podcast asked if we were going to cover chivalry. Because really, when you think of the Middle Ages, this is it, right? Knights in very shiny armor on beautiful horses charging into battle, swords drawn! Knights getting scarves from their ladies! Knights holding vigils and praying in front … Continue reading "Episode 63: The Knight in Tarnished Armor"

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1:15:27

Episode 62: Tapestries Not by Carole King

Ask a Medievalist ·

2023/02/10

Summary The other day, I asked a friend, “Hey, what do normal people put on their walls?” The answer…is tapestries. Cold, stony castle? Tapestries. Small, plain cathedral? Tapestries. A house of some sort? Probably also tapestries. In this episode, Em and Dr. Jesse talk over how tapestries are made, famous tapestries from around the world, … Continue reading "Episode 62: Tapestries Not by Carole King"

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1:13:47

Episode 61: Snowpeople

Ask a Medievalist ·

2023/01/27

Summary It’s wintertime in the Northern hemisphere! Snow is, of course, eternal, but did you ever wonder how far back the tradition of making snowpeople goes? Jesse did. Join us as we trace the history of snowpeople in Europe/the UK as far back as we can. Notes 1/ Marginal illustration in a Book of Hours … Continue reading "Episode 61: Snowpeople"

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1:36:56

Episode 60: The Green Knight

Ask a Medievalist ·

2022/12/28

Synopsis Once upon a time there was a guy named Gawain, and someone made a movie about him! And he got to be played by Dev Patel, which is pretty great when you get down to it. And then we covered it! In which Em reveals that she watches way too much historical costuming YouTube, … Continue reading "Episode 60: The Green Knight"

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1:15:32

Episode 59: The Real MedEELval Times

Ask a Medievalist ·

2022/12/14

Synopsis Famous eels: 1/ “Those are the shrieking eels. You don’t believe me? Just wait. They always grow louder when they’re about to feed on human flesh.” (Name that movie.) 2/ Mark Oliver Everett 3/ Medieval eel rents! The medieval church, famously, had a lot of restrictions on what people could eat and when—during Lent, … Continue reading "Episode 59: The Real MedEELval Times"

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1:23:13

Episode 58: Long Live the Queen

Ask a Medievalist ·

2022/11/26

Summary A lot of stuff about Richards II and III for a podcast that’s supposed to be about queens. Also Mathildas, Boudica, and why Black Panther is more historically accurate than Wonder Woman. Notes 1/ Richard III’s body was eventually found under a car park. I swear we talked about this at some point. “Was … Continue reading "Episode 58: Long Live the Queen"

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