Gone Medieval
History Hit
300 episodes
From long-lost Viking ships to kings buried in unexpected places; from murders and power politics, to myths, religion, the lives of ordinary people: Gone Medieval is History Hit’s podcast dedicated to the middle ages, in Europe and far beyond.
More about the show
New episodes every Tuesday and Friday.
A podcast by History Hit, the world's best history channel and creators of award-winning podcasts Dan Snow's History Hit, The Ancients, and Betwixt the Sheets.
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
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Episodes page 1 of 6
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Royal Witch: Eleanor Cobham with Philippa Gregory
In 1441, one of England's most powerful women was forced to walk barefoot through London's streets as a convicted sorceress. What drove Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester, to the occult? Dr. Eleanor Janega sits down…
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Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt is remembered as the ultimate David versus Goliath victory, where King Henry V’s small, exhausted army unleashed a devastating "hailstorm of arrows" to obliterate a French force twice their…
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Vikings vs. Pagans
Forget everything you know about the Vikings. Matt Lewis and Thomas Williams explore the forgotten era when Scandinavian warriors abandoned their pagan roots to become devout Christian crusaders. Armed with the Pope's…
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How to Win a Medieval Tournament
Step onto the dusty and dangerous fields of the medieval tournament with the only knightly teammates worth having: Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis *sound trumpets* They discover how chaotic and brutal melees evolved…
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The Heretic’s Handbag: Folk Magic and Survival in Medieval France
What can the contents of a medieval French woman’s handbag tell us about her life, her beliefs and the strange world she inhabited? When she was captured by the Inquisition, Béatrice de Planisolles revealed all the…
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Did Alfred Burn the Cakes? & Other Medieval Myths
Join Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega for a rigorous session of medieval myth-busting! Did William Wallace really shoot lightning from his backside? Did Pope Gregory IX cause the Black Death by ordering a cat…
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Inside the Peasants Revolt
In 1381, a highly organised civilian army marched on London, demanding an end to generations of unfairness. Matt Lewis and author A.K. Blakemore explore the human stories behind the Peasants' Revolt. They discover how…
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The Story of 1066
Is 1066 just the Battle of Hastings? Far from it. The war for the English crown was a year-long apocalypse. Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega dissect history's ultimate succession crisis. Follow King Harold as he…
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How to Make the Bayeux Tapestry
What connects the Bayeux Tapestry and a Cheshire silk-producing town? Dr. Eleanor Janega makes a special visit to Macclesfield to uncover its medieval past as a royal borough associated with Edward I and Eleanor of…
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Richard II & Richard III: Shakespeare's Version
Did Shakespeare shape the way we remember England's Plantagenet kings more than history itself? How much of his plays Richard II and Richard III are fact, fiction, or Tudor propaganda? Professor Emma Smith joins Matt…
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Henry IV & Henry V: Shakespeare's Version
Did Shakespeare teach us about England's greatest kings, or fabricate its greatest historical myths? How much of what you think you know about Henry IV and Henry V is actually true? Shakespeare's history plays…
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Peasants' Revolt on Film: The Uprising Reviewed
How accurate is Hollywood's take on the Peasants' Revolt? It is 1381, and England is at breaking point. A civilian army of thousands stormed the capital, making demands of King Richard II. Now, Paul Greengrass’s new…
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The Invention of Hell
"All hope, abandon ye who enter here." These words from Dante’s Divine Comedy may shape our modern vision of hell, but did you know that the Bible says surprisingly little about it? In fact, hell as we know it was…
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Sword in the Stone: Origins of Arthurian Legends
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…
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How to Read Runes
**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…
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Battle of Grunwald: Defeat of the Teutonic Knights
In July 1410, the formidable Teutonic Knights, rapacious crusaders clad in heavy plate armour, faced a massive Polish-Lithuanian alliance. After an insulting taunt involving two unsheathed swords, the Battle of…
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The King Who Created Medieval Bohemia
In 12th-century Bohemia, every royal funeral sparked a civil war. Dr. Eleanor Janega discovers how Přemysl Otakar I survived backstabbing brothers, imperial betrayals, and a dodgy divorce to seize power. Find out how…
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Tolkien: Middle Earth and the Middle Ages
From where did J.R.R. Tolkien get his ideas for the world of Middle Earth? For millions of readers, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are more than just fantasy fiction. Their rich mix of sacred mythology and…
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Extinct Beasts of Medieval Britain
Why have wolves often been the villains of British history? What happened to them and some of the other remarkable creatures that once roamed medieval Britain? Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Lee Raye to explore…
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Edgar Ætheling: The King Who Never Was
What if you were proclaimed King of England but never sat on the throne? In 1066, Edgar Ætheling possessed the strongest bloodline claim to the English crown, yet this Anglo-Saxon prince became a mere footnote in…
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Great Buildings of the Middle Ages
How did medieval builders create monuments that still leave us awestruck? How were vast cathedrals, temples and cities constructed and embellished? From Canterbury Cathedral and the palaces of Great Zimbabwe and…
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Henry III vs. Simon de Montfort
Was Henry III overthrown by England's first constitutional revolution? How did Simon de Montfort's rebellion change the course of history? In 1258, a revolutionary movement stripped Henry III of his authority,…
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Guinevere: The Queen Who Broke Camelot?
Was Queen Guinevere a traitorous adulteress who caused the tragic downfall of Camelot, or a complex political survivor? Was she even real? Dr. Eleanor Janega and Arthurian expert Dr. Mary Bateman explore the changing…
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Henry III: England's Longest Reigning King
How did a nine-year-old boy save England from the brink of collapse? How did he transform a disastrous legacy into a remarkably stable reign? When King John died in 1216, civil war raged, barons invited a French…
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Medieval Sex Work & Brothels
**WARNING: This episode contains explicit language and sexual content How did prostitution become so visible in medieval towns? How could sex work flourish, sometimes in the very same buildings as schools, churches…
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Olaf Tryggvason: Viking Warlord or Christian King?
Matt Lewis and guest Dr Eleanor Barraclough as they dive into the turbulent world of late 10th-century Scandinavia and the extraordinary life of Olaf Tryggvason. Exiled, enslaved, raider, and eventually king of Norway,…
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Folk Legends of Iceland
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…
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High Kings of Ireland
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…
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How to Survive as a Medieval Woman
What was life really like for working peasant women in the Middle Ages? How did family, marriage, work and social class shape their choices, joys and struggles? Taking a break from the usual queens, noblewomen and…
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Edmund Ironside: The 222-Day King
What does it take to face a Danish invasion and fight for a kingdom in just 222 days? In 1016, England is at war as Edmund Ironside meets Cnut for a crown on the line. Matt Lewis and Dr David McDermott trace a young…
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Empress Matilda: Queen of the Romans, Ruler of the English
How did an empress become the most dangerous claimant to the English throne? From the Battle of Lincoln to her legendary escape from Oxford Castle, Matilda was a formidable political actor whose legacy shaped the…
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Battle of the Golden Spurs
In 1302, an army of Flemish townsmen achieved the impossible. At the Battle of the Golden Spurs, infantry armed with pikes and determination crushed the mounted knights of Kingdom of France in one of the greatest…
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St Benedict
Why did a young Roman nobleman reject status and education for a life of prayer, solitude and discipline? St Benedict’s quiet choices would go on to shape the future of Western civilisation. His is a story of medieval…
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King Stephen
Was King Stephen a weak ruler who plunged England into chaos, or an unlucky monarch trapped by impossible circumstances? How did one disputed succession unleash nearly two decades of civil war, betrayal and brutality,…
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Deadly Rivalry: Armagnac vs. Burgundy
What starts as a shocking street murder in Paris turns into one of the most vicious civil wars in medieval Europe? Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Professor Justine Firnhaber-Baker to unravel the blood-soaked conflict…
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A Complete History of Medieval Scotland
What if Scotland’s story began with a miracle in battle, a white cross in the sky, and a kingdom forged through war, faith and sheer ambition? Matt Lewis is joined by Professor Murray Pittock to race through medieval…
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Medieval Royal Bastards
What really made a royal bastard, and could illegitimacy be a path to power as much as a barrier? Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Lauren Johnson, author of Margaret Beaufort; Survivor, Rebel, Kingmaker to dive into the…
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The Seljuk Turks
How did a nomadic people from the Steppes become one of the great powers of the medieval Middle East? Matt Lewis is joined by Dr Nicholas Morton to explore the rise of the Seljuk Turks, the nomadic horsemen who carved…
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Rise of The Plantagenets
What happened when Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II joined forces, and why did it set medieval Europe on fire? Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis break out of the Gone Medieval dungeon to explore the dramatic rise of…
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The Queer Court of William Rufus
What really went on at the court of King William Rufus? William the Conqueror's son and successor was fierce and ruthless. He taxed heavily, refused to conform to the ideals of kingship, and reportedly presided over a…
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Hildegard of Bingen - Prophetess, Composer, Mystic
How did a cloistered, twelfth century nun become a visionary, composer, healer, preacher, and adviser to popes and emperors? Despite having visions from childhood - even in the womb, she claimed - Hildegard of Bingen…
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The Black Death: A Global Apocalypse?
A plague of terrifying speed, mysterious symptoms and global reach, the Black Death transformed more than Europe alone. Matt Lewis is joined by Thomas Asbridge to chart the medieval spread, from Caffa’s siege lines to…
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Seeking Sanctuary
Could a medieval church really protect a killer from the law? From the 40-day asylum of parish churches to the more permanent protections claimed by Westminster Abbey, sanctuary was never simply an escape route, it…
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The First Troubadours
How could a love song become a political weapon? How were scandals, wars and crusades turned into some of the most influential poetry ever written? The songs of the troubadours - celebrities in their day - helped…
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Foolish Medieval Fatalities
Who survives when medieval deaths are turned into Top Trumps? In this riotous made up game of Foolish Fatalities, Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis rank the most ridiculous ends of the Middle Ages, from a latrine…
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Fatimid Dynasty: Descendants of Prophet Muhammad
How did the Fatimids build one of Islam's most powerful medieval empires? What can the rise of this dynasty reveal about power, culture, tolerance, and women’s authority? Stretching across North Africa, Egypt, and…
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The Merovingian Dynasty: France's First Kings
Long-haired rulers, dynastic bloodshed, secret letters, and a kingdom built in the aftermath of empire; Dr. Eleanor Janega and Dr. James Palmer dive into the wild, Roman-adjacent world of the Merovingians. What made…
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After Agincourt: Henry V's French Campaigns
What happened after the Battle of Agincourt? How did Henry V's victory turn into a seven-year struggle of sieges, diplomacy, ambition, murder and missed destiny? Matt Lewis is joined by W.B. Bartlett to explore a…
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Matilda of Canossa: Medieval Italy's Iron Countess
What if one medieval woman could outwit emperors, shape popes, and force Henry IV to stand barefoot in the snow? Dr. Katherine Harvey joins Dr. Eleanor Janega to tell the astonishing story of Matilda of Canossa, the…
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Battle of the Eras: Medieval vs Early Modern
What if the medieval world did not end with a bang, but with a messy argument over who gets to define history itself? Matt Lewis spars with Not Just The Tudors' host Professor Suzannah Lipscomb to spar over Gutenberg,…
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