Æthelstan: First King of the English

How did a widowed mother transform loss, politics and misogyny into one of the most accomplished literary careers in medieval history?From the Parisian court to contemporaneously telling the story of Joan of Arc, Christine de Pizan was Europe’s first professional woman writer and ...  Show more

Did Constantinople’s fall in 1453 end the Byzantine Empire as neatly as we think?Dr. Eleanor Janega and Dr. Laura Bolick unpack the Empire's dramatic final years and reveal a story far more complex than simple decline. Through the lives of Isidore of Kiev and Bessarion, they expl ...  Show more

Join Dan as he rollicks through the tumultuous life and rise to power of Henry Tudor, the man who would ultimately become King Henry VII of England. Step back to the late 15th century, a period marked by conflict, political manoeuvring and alliances as a young Henry Tudor, hav ...

If King Arthur never existed, why does he loom so large in England's history? Dan traces the real-life figures who could have been the legendary King Arthur- the medieval king who pulled the sword from the stone and led the English against the Anglo-Saxons who arrived in Engla ...

What does a document written in 1215 in England have to do with the United States? The Magna Carta has supposedly influenced foundational documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

In this episode, Don is joined by Eleanor Janega, the new co ...

Elizabeth I of England and Ireland reigned for 45 years over a golden age of peace, prosperity and flourishing art and culture. And she shocked the medieval world by doing it all without a man. But that certainly wasn’t for lack of proposals. Elizabeth had at least 16 suitors in ...  Show more