- 55 minutes 22 secondsBattle 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, the Reformation, witchcraft, plague, the Renaissance, and the Wars of the Roses to ask where medieval ends and early modern begins. The result is a lively, surprising fight over power, change, and the making of the modern world.
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Why The Early Middle Ages Matter
The Black Death
Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
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8 May 2026, 2:00 am - 55 minutes 34 secondsCadaver Synod: Trial of a Dead Pope
What could drive a pope to put a corpse on trial?
In 897, Rome staged one of the Middle Ages’ strangest spectacles: the Cadaver Synod, where Pope Stephen VI exhumed his predecessor and put his body on trial. Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Jessica Wärnberg to unpack the violent politics behind the outrage, the rival factions at stake, and why this gruesome event still fascinates today.
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Conclave: Picking Popes
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. It was edited by Amy Haddow, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
5 May 2026, 2:00 am - 56 minutes 40 secondsChristine de Pizan: Pioneering French Feminist
How did a widowed mother transform loss, politics and misogyny into one of the most accomplished literary careers in medieval history?
From the Parisian court to contemporaneously telling the story of Joan of Arc, Christine de Pizan was Europe’s first professional woman writer and publisher. Matt Lewis is joined by Katherine Pangonis to explore her extraordinary life and uncover the story of one of history's most formidable writers.
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Trial of Joan of Arc
Julian of Norwich
Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 May 2026, 2:00 am - 1 hour 2 minutesSaving Byzantium
Did Constantinople’s fall in 1453 end the Byzantine Empire as neatly as we think?
Dr. Eleanor Janega and Dr. Laura Bolick unpack the Empire's dramatic final years and reveal a story far more complex than simple decline. Through the lives of Isidore of Kiev and Bessarion, they explore desperate diplomacy, church union, Ottoman expansion, and the political gambles behind the demise of Constantinople.
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The Rise of Constantinople with Bettany Hughes
The Fall of Constantinople
Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
28 April 2026, 2:00 am - 1 hour 4 minutesOffa, King of the Mercians
Was Offa a tyrant whose reputation was forever tainted by the killing of his prospective son-in-law? Or a visionary ruler whose achievements have been overshadowed by legend?
Offa is largely known for murderous acts and building a dyke. But he was so much more: a great leader who reshaped Mercia into the dominant power in southern Britain, and pioneered new models of kingship that would influence generations.
Matt Lewis talks to Professor Rory Naismith, to rehabilitate Offa and challenge the way we understand power in early medieval England.
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Rise of Mercia
Rise of Wessex
Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producers are Rob Weinberg and Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
24 April 2026, 2:00 am - 56 minutes 53 secondsChallenging the Pope: The Avignon Papacy
Who would pick a fight with the Pope?? Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega dive into the explosive clash between Pope Boniface VIII and Philip IV of France, a head of state who dared to challenge papal power. From taxes and excommunication to arrest and humiliation, this is a gripping story of ambition, authority, and the Avignon Papacy.
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Pope Vs. Emperor: An 11th Century Crisis
Holy Roman Empire
Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
21 April 2026, 2:00 am - 51 minutes 34 secondsLegends of Richard the Lionheart
Was Richard the Lionheart really England’s greatest medieval hero? Or is he one of history’s most successful myths, more heroic in legend than in life?
Over eight centuries, Richard has handled Excalibur, been celebrated in medieval romance, reinvented in novels and films, and even transformed into a character in Assassin’s Creed.
Matt Lewis is joined by Dr. Heather Blurton to dig into the myths of Richard the Lionheart and ask why they endured and what they reveal about the societies that needed Richard to be larger than life.
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King Henry II
King John: Worst Medieval Monarch?
Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producers are Joseph Knight and Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
17 April 2026, 2:00 am - 1 hour 4 minutesHow To Do Celtic Magic
What's the best cure for a hangover? What's the most effective way to curse your enemies? How do you keep demonic powers at bay?
The medieval Celtic world was filled with magic which became absorbed and restructured within a Christian worldview, as saints, prayers, and sacred objects replaced earlier supernatural beings, incantations, charms and talismans.
Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Brigid Ehrmantraut to find out how people in the medieval Celtic world coherently integrated magic into their daily lives.
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Lizard Shampoo, Potions and Remedies
Prophecies of Merlin
Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producers are Joseph Knight and Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
14 April 2026, 2:00 am - 49 minutes 46 secondsThe Bishop who Took Down Richard II
What makes an Archbishop one of the most hated figures in British history? And does Thomas Arundel truly deserve to be branded the greatest villain of 15th-century Britain?
Matt Lewis and Professor Chris Given-Wilson explore the life, power, and legacy of a man whose influence reached deep into the politics, religion, and royal struggles of late medieval England, and ask whether he was truly a villain or a far more complex figure than history has remembered.
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Richard II vs. Henry IV
Plantagenets at War: A Fight for the Throne
Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
10 April 2026, 2:00 am - 46 minutes 47 secondsThe Betrayal of Thomas Becket
"Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?!"
These words supposedly uttered by a King over 800 years ago set in motion a chain of gruesome events, and sparked cult-like devotion across the world.
Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis consider Becket's meteoric rise in status to becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury, his increasingly fractious relationship with King Henry II, the vicious murder itself and finally, how the cult of St Thomas of Canterbury spread across the European continent.
But how did Thomas Becket first rise to power and prominence? Professor Michael Staunton joins Eleanor to unwrap the enigma and get to the heart of who Thomas Becket was, and whether his fate was truly inescapable.
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Henry II & Thomas Becket: A Doomed Friendship
The Murder of Thomas Becket
The Cult of Becket
Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis. Audio editors are Ella Blaxill and Amy Haddow, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
7 April 2026, 2:00 am - 1 hour 5 minutesWhat Are the Late Medieval Ages?
Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega dive into the chaos of the late Middle Ages; from the Great Famine and the Little Ice Age to plague, peasant revolts, papal schism and deposed kings, they explore how the 14th and 15th centuries rocked Europe’s political, social and religious foundations. Along the way, they ask what really separates the “high” from the “late” Middle Ages, how far disasters undermined faith in monarchy and the Church, and whether these tidy labels make sense once you look beyond Europe.
MORE:
Why the Early Middle Ages Matter
What are the High Middle Ages?
Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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