Origins of Fairy Tales

Could one of art’s greatest mysteries at last be solved? Who was the luminous girl with a pearl earring in Vermeer's iconic painting? Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Andrew Graham-Dixon who believes he's finally identified her.MORE:Shakespeare's Male Muse: A Mystery Solv ...  Show more

The Pilgrimage of Grace sounds calm, but was in reality a major uprising in the north of England against Henry VIII’s religious and political reforms, including the dissolution of monasteries.Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Andy Wood to retell the legend of whe ...  Show more

It’s that time of year again, Halloween. A word which conjures up images of pumpkins, ghosts, and of course…witches.

But have you ever wondered what the ancient origins of witchcraft is? How did the black-hat-broomstick stereotype emerge? And what causes the waves of ...

The gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece have been written about for thousands of years. From their home atop Mount Olympus, they reigned over the land, sea and sky. The course of human history was shaped by the whims and wishes of these deities, and the Furies were no excepti ...

Where is the grave of King Arthur? What was the worst year in human history? Who were the most fractious royal siblings? What were the origins of humble pie? Which monsters pre-occupied Medieval minds?

In this episode, Gone Medieval’s co-hosts Matt Lewis and ...

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest surviving works of storytelling from history. Written in ancient Mesopotamia over three thousand years ago, this epic poem recounts the fabled tale of King Gilgamesh of Uruk and the forging of his friendship with Enkidu, a wild man se ...