Medieval LOLs: Chaucer's 'Miller's Tale'

In The Portrait of a Lady, Henry James borrows from Eliot, Austen, folktales and potboilers, but ‘the thing that he took from nowhere was Isabel Archer’. James transformed the 19th-century novel through his evocation of Isabel, a woman who wants and suffers in a profoundly new (a ...  Show more

‘The very word “America” remains a new, almost completely undefined and extremely controversial proper noun,’ James Baldwin wrote in 1959. ‘No one in the world seems to know exactly what it describes, not even we motley millions who call ourselves Americans.’ Donald Trump’s visio ...  Show more

As Mary and Irina discussed in the previous episode of Medieval LOLs, fabliaux had an enormous influence on Chaucer, but outside of his work, only one survives in Middle English. Dame Syrith, a story of lust, deception and a mustard-eating dog, is medieval humour at its silliest ...  Show more

On this week's podcast, Nate, Aaron, and Brian take a trip back to Medieval Times to learn about the Middle Ages. The guys discuss famous court jesters, learn about unusual medical treatments, and discuss well known phrases that originated from the Middle Ages. Co-hosts: Brian Ba ...  Show more

Riddles are an ancient and universal form, but few people seem to have enjoyed them more than English Benedictine monks. The Exeter Book, a tenth century monastic collection of Old English verse, builds on the riddle tradition in two striking ways: first, the riddles don’t come w ...  Show more

Greg Jenner is joined by Dr Tim Wingard and Kiri Pritchard-McLean to look at what we know about animals in medieval Europe. From hunting and farming to companionship and entertainment, animals have long been a part of our culture but how did the beliefs and treatment of animals b ...  Show more