- 47 minutesThe 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 define the emotional landscape of the Middle Ages and left a legacy that still echoes through European literature. Matt Lewis is joined by Professor Linda M. Paterson to explore the poet-musicians who shaped medieval ideas of courtly love, chivalry, gender, power and performance.
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Erotic Medieval Poet: Gwerful Mechain
Crusades Against Heretics (Albigensian Crusade)
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
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29 May 2026, 2:00 am - 1 hour 8 minutesFoolish 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 disaster and Henry I’s fatal fish, to a king laughing himself to death and a ghoulish deadly bite delivered by a severed head. Expect gore, gossip, and (at least) one unforgettable toilet death.
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The White Ship Disaster
James II and the Deadly Black Dinner
Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, produced by Amy Haddow 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 plus ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
26 May 2026, 2:00 am - 41 minutes 40 secondsFatimid 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 parts of Sicily, Syria, Palestine and Arabia, the Fatimids created an empire renowned for prosperity, cultural brilliance and relative tolerance, one in which women were promoted to positions rarely seen elsewhere.
Matt Lewis and Dr. Delia Cortese explore the Fatimid's remarkable origin story.
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How Islam came to Iran
Prophet Muhammad
Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Edited and produced by 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.
22 May 2026, 2:00 am - 57 minutes 44 secondsThe 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 the first kings of France so unforgettable, and why were they later written out of the story? From myth to murder, this is the family that helped shape medieval France.
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Why The Early Middle Ages Matter
The Destruction of Charlemagne's Legacy
Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Tim Arstall, 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 plus ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
19 May 2026, 2:00 am - 52 minutes 21 secondsAfter 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 brutal and often overlooked phase of the Hundred Years’ War and why the post-Agincourt years matter so much to medieval, English and French history.
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The Battle of Agincourt
Henry V with Dan Jones
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, plus ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
15 May 2026, 2:00 am - 43 minutes 27 secondsMatilda 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 Iron Countess of Tuscany, whose fortress at Canossa became the stage for the famous Walk to Canossa. Discover her political brilliance, brutal family dramas, papal alliances, failed marriages, and the legacy that kept her name alive for centuries.
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Medieval Italy
Pope vs. Emperor: An 11th Century Crisis
Gone Medieval is presented by 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 and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
12 May 2026, 2:00 am - 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.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 - More Episodes? Get the App