Medieval Death Trip

Feb 09 2025 116 ep. 42 mins 11.8k

Medieval Death Trip Podcast artwork

On Medieval Death Trip, we feature a selected medieval text (often historical, occasionally literary) that touches on the odd, the gruesome, the unexpected, and similarly curious incidents, images, or ideas. In addition to presenting the text itself, each episode features commentary and musings upon that text.

Arts Society & Culture Education

Copy RSS

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

Concerning the Murder and Miracles of Kenelm of Mercia

Feb 09 2025 46 mins

This episode, we go into more depth with the legend of St. Kenelm (Cynehelm) and his jealous sister Quendrida (Cwenthryth). We also learn what it means to "crab the parson." Today's Text - "The Legend of St. Kenelm." Translated by John Amphlett in A Short History of Clent, Parker and Co., 1890, pp. 177-193. Google Books. References - Brand, John. Observat

Concerning Conjoined Twins, Some Incorruptibles, and Royal Murders

Dec 14 2024 56 mins

We continue on from last episode's look at the Green Children of Woolpit with a further consideration of what it meant to wonder at a marvel in the middle ages, with additional illustration of some wondrous things from William of Malmesbury. Today's Texts - Gervase of Tilbury. Otia Imperialia. Edited and translated by S.E. Banks and J.W. Binns, Clarendon Press, 2002. - I

Concerning the Green Children of Woolpit and Other Prodigies

Oct 31 2024 63 mins

This Halloween marks our 10th anniversary, and we observe it by hearing the earliest written accounts of one of the most well-known pieces of medieval weird history: the Green Children of Woolpit -- and also hear the other less famous prodigies their story was originally presented alongside. Today's Texts: Radulphi de Coggeshall. Chronicon Anglicanum. Edited by Joseph Stevens

Concerning the Miseries of the Flesh according to Pope Innocent III

Oct 19 2024 53 mins

In this episode, we explore the tradition of contemptus mundi with a text all about how horrible it is to be a human being, On the Misery of the Human Condition, written by Pope Innocent III (when he was but Cardinal Lotario di Segni). Today's Texts: Lotario dei Contie di Segni [Pope Innocent III]. De miseria condicionis humane. The Latin Library, https://www.thelatinlibrary.

MDT Ep. 108: Concerning the End of the Interdict and a Vexatious Prophet

Sep 18 2024 41 mins

We continue from our last episode into the years 1212-1214 in the Melrose Chronicle, where we come to the end of the interdict, and perhaps the prophesized end of King John's true sovereignty. Along the way, we also cover some of the more common ecclesiastical offices and check the accuracy of the chronicle's battlefield accounting. Today's Texts: The Chronicle of M

MDT Ep. 107: Concerning Portents, an Interdiction, Persecutions, Heresy, and a Year of Bloodshed

Aug 17 2024 42 mins

We return to the Melrose Chronicle with a notably nasty run of years from 1205 to 1211. We also consider why people -- medieval and modern -- are so captivated by bad news. Today's Texts: The Chronicle of Melrose. Edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, The Church Historians of England, vol. 4, part 1, Seeley’s, 1856, pp. 79-242. Google Books.

MDT Ep. 106: Concerning the Hard Work of a Housewife

May 12 2024 42 mins

For Mother's Day, we look at a 15th-century tale of a plowman who thinks that -- in terms of daily labor -- his wife has it too easy, and how he learns otherwise. Today's Text "Ballad of a Tyrannical Husband." Reliquiae Antiquae: Scraps From Ancient Manuscripts, Illustrating Chiefly Early English Literature and the English Language, edited by Thomas Wright and

MDT Ep. 105: Concerning the Voice of the Golem

Mar 31 2024 107 mins

We kick of 2024 with a look at humanity's attempts to recreate itself, first with a dip into the legends of the Golem of Prague, and then an extended discussion of the role of AI in the future of medieval studies and particularly this show. Today's Texts: Eleazar of Worms, Commentary on Sefer Yezirah, fol. 15d. In Moshe Idel. Golem: Jewish Magical and Mystical Traditio

MDT Ep. 104: Concerning the Abacus and Succubus of Gerbert d'Aurillac

Nov 28 2023 58 mins

We conclude our miniseries comparing the legends to the real life of Gerbert d'Aurillac: mathematician, pope, and alleged magician. Today's variant of the Dark Legend comes from Walter Map, and we follow that with a look at the historical Gerbert's contributions to science. Today's Texts: Map, Walter. De Nugis Curialium. Translated by Montague R. James, hist

MDT Ep. 103: "The Demon Pope" by Richard Garnett

Oct 31 2023 34 mins

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Gerbert d'Aurillac series with a special Halloween anniversary detour into a Victorian version of his Dark Legend: the 1888 short story, "The Demon Pope," by Richard Garnett. Today's Text Garnett, Richard. "The Demon Pope." The Twilight of the Gods and Other Tales. John Lane, 1903, pp. 86-98. Google Books. Music C