Ballads of Love and Death

How was folklore woven into the everyday life of medieval Icelanders? How did they make sense of the darkness of their world?During Iceland's endless nights, tales of trolls, ghosts, elves, hidden people and restless spirits were far more than entertainment: they explained an unp ...  Show more

What if “High King” in medieval Ireland was less a fixed office than a fiercely contested prize, won through ritual, lineage, and force? On the Hill of Tara, a would-be ruler climbs toward the Stone of Destiny, hoping for the legendary cry that marks him as chosen.Matt Lewis and ...  Show more

King Arthur. Merlin. The Knights of the Round Table and the Sword in the Stone. We think we know these stories but they've changed a lot since they were first told... In this episode, Maddy and Anthony are joined by History Hit's very own Dr. Eleanor Janega, host of the Gone Medi ...  Show more

Warning: this episode contains explicit language.Medieval people weren’t prudish—far from it. Dan is joined by medieval historian Dr Eleanor Janega to explore sex, marriage, and desire in the Middle Ages. They delve into the beliefs around sodomy as “non-procreative sex”; pilgrim ...  Show more

*WARNING this episode includes explicit language and adult themes*What were your medieval ancestors getting up to in the bedroom? Join sex historian Kate Lister, Betwixt the Sheets, to find out.Medievalist and George Michael super-fan Dr Eleanor Janega is on the podcast to chat a ...  Show more

Accessing stories from the past can be difficult, but how do we access smells from the past?In today's episode, Kate is joined by Eleanor Jackson, curator of a new British Library exhibition, Mediaeval Women In Their Own Words, which features original texts about, and by, women f ...  Show more