Medieval Hallowe'en

Who first imagined King Arthur pulling a shining blade from solid rock? What do extraordinary Bronze Age discoveries reveal about the legend's deeper roots?Matt Lewis is joined by Amy Jeffs to uncover the surprising origins of the sword in the stone (and other Arthurian legends), ...  Show more

**Contains very strong language/Tavern talk**Were runes really magical symbols used by Viking sorcerers? Or were they the everyday handwriting of merchants, lovers, pilgrims and children?From their mysterious origins and Viking Age memorial stones to medieval shopping lists, love ...  Show more

Greg Jenner is joined by Dr Michael Carter and actor Mathew Baynton to learn all about ghost stories in the European Middle Ages. From the twelfth century onwards, medieval Europe produced a huge number of ghost stories, often written in monasteries. But why were monks so interes ...  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 witch trials ...  Show more

When you say ‘going medieval’ on someone, it brings up quite nasty connotations. But is this brutal suggestion a fair depiction of medieval times and their thoughts on torture and punishment? What are some of the more gruesome methods they employed? And why did Henry I give autho ...  Show more

Welcome to the Dark History podcast. It’s spooky season babbyyy. Ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and witches. Oooo witches. It’s hard to have a spooky season without witches. But many people hundreds of years ago tried real hard to get rid of all the witches. In today’s episode we’re go ...  Show more