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PODCAST

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World

A narrative history podcast following the journeys of medieval travellers and their roles in larger historical events. Telling great stories, showing the interconnected nature of the medieval world, and meeting Mongols, Ottomans, Franciscans, merchants, ambassadors, and adventurers along the way.

history places & travel

All Episodes

33:57

Prester John 9: The End Part One

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2022/02/01

What happens to a mythical priest-king when you get too close to him? Does he just disappear? If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Prester John: The Legend and its Sources, compiled and translated by Keagan Brewer. Taylor & Francis, 2019. Ray, John. A Collection of Curious Travels & Voyages. 1693. Salvadore, Matteo. The African Prester John

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45:32

Prester John 8: Ambassador Mateus and his Many Doubters

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2022/01/17

In the early years of the 16th-century, Ethiopia's regent, Eleni, sent an ambassador to Portugal to propose an alliance. She sent a man named Mateus. Unfortunately for Mateus, almost nobody believed him. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Prester John: The Legend and its Sources, compiled and translated by Keagan Brewer. Taylor & Francis,

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50:03

Prester John 7: The Way from Lisbon

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/12/28

I finished this episode before Christmas and uploaded it to Patreon, only to completely forget to upload it anywhere else. So if you're wondering why I'm on here talking (very unnecessarily!) about how I won't have another episode out before Christmas, etc., that's why! That aside, this episode is not any kind of a Christmas special anyways. It's the continuation of my Prester John story, on the trip to Prester John's Ethiopia, and on the Portuguese crown's pursuit of the priest-king and how that

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42:53

Prester John 6: The Ethiopian Prester John

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/11/24

This is the first of two episodes on the next jump in the Prester John narrative, as the story pivots to Ethiopia and as Ethiopian envoys and pilgrims travel in 15th-century Italy and Spain. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Prester John: The Legend and its Sources, compiled and translated by Keagan Brewer. Taylor & Francis, 2019. Knobler,

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35:40

Medieval Halloween: Lamias, Devils, and Disembodied...

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/10/31

Medieval stories of the paranormal, for Halloween or any time really. Featuring invisible devils, water sprites, and helpful hands. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Gesta Romanorum, translated by Charles Swan. George Bell & Sons, 1905. Joynes, Andrew. Medieval Ghost Stories: An Anthology of Miracles, Marvels and Prodigies. Boydell,

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41:46

Prester John 5: The Mongol Priest-King

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/10/18

The Mongols, their conquests, and the travellers who went to see them were all going to necessitate some changes to the Prester John narrative. This episode is all about those changes. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Prester John: The Legend and its Sources, compiled and translated by Keagan Brewer. Taylor & Francis, 2019. Sir John

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40:16

Prester John 4: Waiting for David

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/09/17

After their success at Damietta, the participants in the Fifth Crusade decide what to do next, and they wait for a certain someone... If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Prester John: The Legend and its Sources, compiled and translated by Keagan Brewer. Taylor & Francis, 2019. Crusade and Christendom: Annotated Documents in Translation from

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28:16

Prester John 3: The Fifth Crusade

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/09/01

The crusaders make their way first to Acre and then to Damietta. Perhaps someone would be along to help them soon? If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Prester John: The Legend and its Sources, compiled and translated by Keagan Brewer. Taylor & Francis, 2019. Crusade and Christendom: Annotated Documents in Translation from Innocent III to the

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21:44

Prester John 2.5: Papal Correspondence

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/08/13

A shorter episode, on a letter from Pope Alexander III to Prester John. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Prester John: The Legend and its Sources, compiled and translated by Keagan Brewer. Taylor & Francis, 2019. Pope Alexander III (1159–81): The Art of Survival. Taylor & Francis, 2016. Rachewiltz, Igor de. Papal Envoys to the Great

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46:28

Prester John 2: Where From and What For

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/07/22

On the many fantastic additions to the Letter of Prester John (Dragons! Strange Bakeries! Etc!), and on the theories around it. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus. Sources: Prester John: The Legend and its Sources, compiled and translated by Keagan Brewer. Taylor & Francis, 2019. Nowell, Charles E. "The

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44:07

Prester John 1: The Letter

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/06/07

The legend in its early forms: the arrival in Rome of a patriarch from the east, the chronicles of Otto of Freising, and that famous "letter." If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus. Sources: Otto of Freising, Chronicon, ed. G.H. Pertz, MGH SSRG (Hanover: Hahn, 1867), VII, 33, (pp. 334-35), translated by James

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39:50

Medieval Lives 2: Ramon Llull

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/05/06

Ramon Llull sat down one night to write a love song, but instead he experienced a religious vision that would totally change the direction of his life. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus. Sources: Doctor Illuminatus: A Ramon Llull Reader, edited by Anthony Bonner. Princeton University Press, 1993. Other

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27:41

Abd-al-Razzāq Samarqandī 3: To Home, to Herat

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/04/16

The Timurid ambassador's time in India comes to an end, and he heads for home. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus. Sources: India in the Fifteenth Century: Being a Collection of Narratives of Voyages to India. Edited by Richard Henry Major. Hakluyt Society, 1857. Alam, Muzaffar and Subrahmanyam, Sanjay

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39:34

Abd-al-Razzāq Samarqandī 2: City of Victory

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/03/24

Shah Rukh's ambassador to the Indian city of Qaliqut arrives at the heart of the Vijayanagara Empire, finding much to admire but also war, a usurper, and uncertainties about his own status. We visit Hampi, the centre of that late-medieval power, and we talk about elephants. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at

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35:56

Abd-al-Razzāq Samarqandī 1: The Unwilling Envoy

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/03/02

It's 1442, and Shah Rukh, the son of Timur, is sending an ambassador for Qaliqut / Kozhikode on the Indian coast. That ambassador, Abd-al-Razzāq, sails from Hormuz and experiences delays, sickness, death, and disappointment. Making matters worse, he never actually wanted to go. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at

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16:32

Medieval Lives 1: al-Ghazāl

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/02/20

This is a story about Abū Zakariyyāʾ Yaḥyā ibn Ḥakam al-Bakrī al-Jayyānī, known also as al-Ghazāl (the Gazelle). It's the story of a 9th century poet on an embassy from the Emirate of Córdoba to a Viking ruler. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus. Sources: Allen, W.E.D. "The Poet and the Spae-Wife: An

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47:05

Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 6: There and Back Again

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/02/08

The Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo story reaches its conclusion, and so does that of Timur aka Tamerlane. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus. Sources: Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements

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43:16

Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 5: A Season of Feasting at...

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2021/01/24

Our travellers from early 15th century Spain arrive at the outskirts of Samarkand and meet with their host Timur. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus. Sources: Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6,

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42:12

Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 4: Sickness & Heat, Melons &...

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2020/12/23

Clavijo and his Castilian fellow travellers continue the journey toward Timur, cutting across northern Iran and dealing with sickness and heat. On the upside, there will be melons and a great deal of wine. There will also be visit with Timur's potentially problematic son. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at

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41:58

Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 3: Of the Water and the...

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World ·

2020/12/02

In search of Timur, the Castilian ambassadors leave Constantinople and travel east over the Black Sea and into the mountains beyond. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus. Sources: Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand,

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