Gone Medieval
History Hit
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.
- 47 minutes 58 secondsHow Horses Ran the Medieval World
How integral were horses to warfare, agriculture and travel in the Middle Ages? What did your horse say about your status? How can knowing more about horses unlock a deeper understanding of medieval society itself?
Matt Lewis is joined by equestrian historian Dr. Anastasija Ropa to understand the way horses powered the Middle Ages.
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Fantastic Beasts of the Middle Ages
Dragons: From Eden to Middle Earth
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.
You can take part in our listener survey here:
https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on
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6 February 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 6 minutesHow to win a Medieval Battle
Matt Lewis and Dr.Eleanor Janega are launched into a medieval battle, how do they survive? They explore the intricacies of medieval warfare; from the strategic brilliance of leaders like Saladin to the unexpected outcomes of famous battles like Agincourt and Bannockburn, delving into what it takes to win against overwhelming odds.
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What Are The High Middle Ages?
The Battle of Agincourt
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.
3 February 2026, 3:00 am - 53 minutes 35 secondsThe Parliament of Bats: Plantagenets at War
How could England be ruled when the king was just a baby? When Henry VI came to the throne at nine months old, the hunger for power among his Plantagenet uncles spilled into violence. 600 years ago, in February 1426, parliament even moved to Leicester to avoid mob violence in London. Even so, MPs armed themselves with wooden bats and clubs. What happened next?
Matt Lewis and Dr. Hannes Kleineke explore one of the most explosive parliaments in English history and an episode that presaged the Wars of the Roses.
MORE:
How Parliament Came to Westminster
Henry V with Dan Jones
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 and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
30 January 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 10 minutesWhat Caused the Viking Age?
A wind whips across the North Sea as dragon-headed ships cut through the waves towards Anglo-Saxon England. Their arrival marks the start of the Viking Age.
In this episode of Gone Medieval, Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Terri Barnes and C.J. Adrien of the Vikingology podcast to explore why Vikings left their Scandinavian homelands. From climate change and political upheaval to innovations in shipbuilding, they examine the forces that set these raiders and explorers on a path that would reshape medieval Europe.
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The Viking Age: What New Discoveries Reveal
Viking Warrior Women
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. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
27 January 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 14 minutesThe Hospitallers: Warrior Monks
Matt Lewis explores the evolution of the Knights Hospitaller, from charitable brotherhood to a formidable fighting force at the heart of the Crusades. How did they reconcile their piety with the brutality of medieval warfare? How did their growing military and financial power reshape the fragile politics of the Holy Land? And how did they endure as one of the most resilient institutions in medieval Europe?
Matt is joined by Dr. Rory McClellan to delve into the origins, purpose, daily life, and lasting legacy of this remarkable order.
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The Knights Templar
Crusader Criminals
Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Max Carrie. 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.
23 January 2026, 3:00 am - 47 minutes 20 secondsThe Eleanor Crosses
The death in 1290 of Eleanor of Castile, beloved Queen of King Edward I, sparked one of the grandest gestures of royal mourning in English history. Her body was carried on a 200-mile journey from Lincoln to London, commemorated at each of its 12 overnight stops by a monumental cross.
Dr. Eleanor Janega visits two of the surviving Eleanor Crosses with Alice Loxton and tells the extraordinary love story between Edward and Eleanor that inspired these monuments.
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King Edward I: Hammer of the Scots
How To Be A Medieval Teenager with Alice Loxton
Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. 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.
You can take part in our listener survey here:
https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
20 January 2026, 3:00 am - 47 minutesThe Origins of Greenland
With Greenland in the news, you may be wondering how and why Greenland became inhabited in the first place. Like all great stories, it is a medieval one! Matt Lewis retells the fascinating tale of Norse Greenland, from the arrival of Norse explorers over a thousand years ago to the mysterious disappearance of their settlements and the myths and legends surrounding the Viking presence in Greenland.
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Norse Mythology: Creation Myths
How To Live Like A Viking
Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow. 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.
16 January 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 2 minutesThe Sagas of the Earls of Orkney
Sail north with Gone Medieval to Orkney’s storm-lashed islands, where saints, shipwrecks, blood-feuds and tax disputes all unfold in the Sagas of the Earls of Orkney. Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Professor Judith Jesch to explore Saint Magnus, turf-cutting Viking Earls, miracle-working dice games, and how a new translation reshapes this Norse world for modern readers.
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Scotland's Stone of Scone
Viking Warrior Women
Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producers are Rob Weinberg and Amy Haddow. 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.
13 January 2026, 3:00 am - 54 minutes 29 secondsTower of London: Medieval Prison
Locked in the Tower of London after hours, Matt Lewis searches for his vanished co‑host Dr. Eleanor Janega. They swap wild escape stories of Ranulf Flambard and Roger Mortimer, and shiver inside the Bloody Tower discussing legendary prisoners including Princes in the Tower, Henry VI and William Wallace. Along the way, they meet a former Tower resident with a ghost in his bedroom, an unused toilet for Hitler, and a menagerie of spectral bears, barrels and bile.
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The Princes In The Tower
Roger Mortimer: The Usurper
Recorded at the Tower of London with thanks to Historic Royal Palaces.
Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, 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.
9 January 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 5 minutesTower of London: Medieval Palace
In the first of two special episodes from the iconic Tower of London, Dr. Eleanor Janega charts the transformation of the William the Conqueror's Norman fortress by Henry II and Edward I into an opulent royal palace. Now imaginatively recreated, the palace is brought to life with furniture, tapestries, original artefacts, and vivid illustrations. Eleanor is guided by curator Dr. Charles Farris who tells the stories of ambition, intrigue and the royal court within the Tower’s grand medieval rooms.
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Castles, Kings and Courtly Life
Norwich Castle
Recorded at the Tower of London with thanks to Historic Royal Palaces.
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.
6 January 2026, 3:00 am - 44 minutes 5 secondsThe Kingdom of Mercia
Once the powerhouse of the Anglo-Saxon world, the kingdom of Mercia dominated not just Wessex but nearly all its neighbouring realms. At its height, Mercia held sway over regions that include modern Birmingham and even London. Though the kingdom eventually faded with the rise of Alfred the Great, its story—and its influence—were far from over.
In this episode, Matt Lewis sits down with historian Annie Whitehead to uncover the enduring legacy of the Mercians. From the fierce warrior-king Penda, to the empire-building Offa, to the legendary Lady Godiva, the people of Mercia helped shape the foundations of the English nation in ways both dramatic and surprising.
MORE
Rise of Wessex
Why The Early Middle Ages Matter
Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis, edited by Ella Blaxill and Amy Haddow and produced by Rob Weinberg. The Senior Producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music 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.
2 January 2026, 3:00 am - More Episodes? Get the App