Media-eval: A Medieval Pop Culture Podcast

This week, Media-eval explores premodern China with anime series The Apothecary Diaries! Join Sarah and returning guest (and Media-eval anime correspondent) Peter Konieczny as we explore the lived experiences of women in medieval China, from servants to courtesans, concubines to apothecaries. CW: The series includes depictions of suicide/suicidal ideation and sexual harassment and assault, which we discuss in the episode. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
 E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com
 Find Peter at www.medievalists.net

Magic and mystery are part of their history … and now they’re featured on Media-eval! Join Sarah and returning guest Mabel Slattery as we tackle Disney animated series Adventures of the Gummi Bears. What you might expect: discussions about knightly culture and medievalism for children. What you might not expect: discussions about expulsions and refugee crises in the medieval world. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
 E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Mabel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slatteroo/ and stream her comedy, featured on: https://www.twitch.tv/blizzardcomedy Buy Sarah’s award-winning book The Fruit of Her Hands: https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-09330-7.html. Use promo code KZO24 for a 40% discount!

Happy Passover! Media-eval celebrates by once again dunking on Ridley Scott. Join Sarah and her mother, Beth Greenfeld, as we talk about the biblical and historical inspirations behind 2014 film Exodus: Gods and Kings, and attempt to answer such questions as: Why is Moses now a military leader? What’s up with all the brownface? What happened to the women in the Exodus story? And how did medieval Jews celebrate Passover? Social Media:
 Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
 E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com
 Find Beth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bethg20904 Learn more about medieval haggadot in Marc Michael Epstein’s excellent book: https://www.academia.edu/2439145/The_Medieval_Haggadah_Art_Narrative_and_Religious_Imagination

If a movie is released and no-one is there to see it, does it make a sound....and lots of historical errors? James Purefoy is back and he is once again making a movie that is fun but not necessarily...good? Ollie has a good time and Sarah has a mild breakdown at just how many things this movie gets wrong!

Join Sarah and returning Media-eval Doctor Who correspondent Lily Bonnemann for a trip into the late 17th century with New Series season 6 episode, The Curse of the Black Spot. We get to talk Mughal emperors, sirens, and, of course, pirates! Social Media:
 Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
 E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com
 Find Lily on Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/shadow-academic

Media-eval this week is transported back to (sort of) Ancien Regime France. Join Sarah and returning guest Peter Konieczny for a discussion of anime series I’m in Love with the Villainess! We get into how we distinguish medieval from early modern (and whether we should), food history (ever wondered when they first invented crème brûlée?), and class dynamics in the late medieval and early modern world. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Peter at http://www.medievalists.net

Ollie returns to talk about a season of a tv show he enjoyed and simultaneously got really annoyed at. Sarah is very patient with him and they also have a really interesting discussion on what makes an adaptation good and what mistakes adaptations often make.

Sarah and returning Media-eval Doctor Who correspondent Lily Bonnemann return for New Series season 5 episode, The Vampires of Venice! Join us as we explore vampire lore, the history of Venice, and the real lives of powerful wealthy women (most of whom are NOT fish-aliens) in early modern Venice. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Lily on Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/shadow-academic

Media-eval this week goes from 1500 to 2000 to 2500 in Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain. Join Sarah and guest Marisa Macias as we attempt (with moderate success) to make sense of this movie. Are all the Hugh Jackman’s and Rachel Weiszes the same person? What was Isabella I of Castile really like? And why on earth are filmmakers so dedicated to not knowing what the Spanish Inquisition is? Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Marisa on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@madmodworld

This week, Media-eval ventures a bit outside its usual chronology … as after all, Sarah can’t resist an opportunity to dunk on Ridley Scott. Join Sarah and guest Miranda Sachs, a historian of modern France, as we discuss Ridley Scott’s 2023 film Napoleon. What about Napoleon got left out of the film, and why does it matter? Was the French Revolution quite as bad as the film implies? (Hint: No). And why is the film’s central thesis that Napoleon was bad at sex? Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Miranda Sachs at her faculty page: https://www.txst.edu/history/people/faculty-staff/sachs.html, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MirandaSachs, and on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mirandasachs.bsky.social

This week we have something a little different, as medievalists Lucy Barnhouse and Winston Black join Sarah to talk about how medieval medicine is represented in popular culture. Lucy and Winston are the editors of the new volume Beyond Cadfael: Medieval Medicine and Medical Medievalism. Join us as we explore the most common tropes of medical medievalism, from leeches to orientalism. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Purchase Beyond Cadfael here: https://trivent-publishing.eu/home/160-232-beyond-cadfael.html Find Lucy on social media: https://twitter.com/singingscholar Find Winston on social media: https://mastodon.world/@winstoneblack and https://bsky.app/profile/winstonblack.bsky.social

Sarah and Media-eval’s Netflix Christmas Correspondent Meghan Griffin return to the Netflix Extended Christmas Universe to talk about medievalism in A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby. Yes, the film features a medieval treaty - and a medieval curse! - but more importantly, it raises all sorts of questions about the medieval past of these fake kingdoms whose entire personality is Christmas and that have apparently taken over most of Central-Eastern Europe. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Meghan on social media at @MeggGriffin (including but not limited to: https://twitter.com/MeggGriffin)

He may be in decline but he still knows a good movie when he sees it so Ollie returns to argue with Sarah on the merits or lack thereof in the movie Apocalypto(2006). Is it hi-octane action? Yes! Does it have a paper thin plot? Absolutely! Does the politics it represents leave a bad taste in your mouth? Possibly! Sit back and enjoy as two friends discuss a movie one loves and the other doesn't while both agreeing that the director is a POS.

Sarah and returning Media-eval Doctor Who correspondent Lily Bonnemann are back to tackle their first episode of the New Series, in honor of the 60th Anniversary! Join us for our discussion of The Shakespeare Code, where we explore race, medical practices, and architecture in Elizabethan England. Further Reading: April Fool’s! Love’s Labour’s Won at the Globe: https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/discover/blogs-and-features/2021/04/01/shakespeares-globe-uncovers-long-lost-shakespeare-play/ Deborah Harkness, “A View from the Streets: Women and Medical Work in Elizabethan London,” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 82:1 (2008): 52-85 Olivette Otele, African Europeans: An Untold History: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/olivette-otele/african-europeans/9781541619937/?lens=basic-books Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Lily on Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/shadow-academic

Sarah and returning guest Peter Konieczny return to the world of the Three Kingdoms with 2022 anime series Ya Boy Kongming! Join us as we discuss the life story of Zhuge Liang Kongming, premodern Chinese concepts of hell, and the challenges of time travel narratives.

 CW for reference to suicide attempt Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Peter at medievalists.net

It's the spookiest time of the year and I'm not talking about Tax Season. Sarah want's to talk about a modern "Horror" movie that on the surface doesn't seem to be from the medieval period but when one of the major plot points is about the Spanish Inquisition and the movie seems to absolve certain people of guilt, you can bet they are going to have thoughts!

Sarah and returning guest Tracy Tanoff delve into the everyday lives of nuns in our conversation on Lauren Groff’s novel Matrix. Join us as we explore the work of Marie de France, illness and disability in monasteries, faith and mysticism, and the real stories of queer nuns through a discussion of Groff’s 2021 novel. 

 CW for reference to sexual assault (not graphic) Read the novel Matrix by Lauren Groff: https://bookshop.org/p/books/matrix-lauren-groff/16278801?ean=9781594634505 Check out a take from another medievalist, past guest Lucy Barnhouse, on this book: https://nursingclio.org/2021/12/09/matrix-lauren-groffs-visions-of-the-medieval/ Learn more about medieval women’s and gender history in Judith Bennett’s book History Matters: Patriarchy and the Challenge of Feminism: https://bookshop.org/p/books/history-matters-patriarchy-and-the-challenge-of-feminism-judith-m-bennett/12488103?ean=9780812220049 Learn more about lesbians in the Middle Ages: Jacqueline Murray, “Twice Marginal and Twice Invisible: Lesbians in the Middle Ages,” in The Handbook of Medieval Sexuality, ed. by Vern L. Bullough and James A. Brundage. Garland Publishing, 1996, pp. 191-222. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Tracy on BlueSky: haveloved

Sarah and fellow medievalist Ryan Szpiech take the podcast to Spain with 2012 Spanish-language miniseries Toledo, Cruce de Destinos. Join us as we explore the life of Alfonso X and his sons, the lived experience of Jews, Christians, and Muslims living in medieval Castile, and the popular understanding of the idea of convivencia in this soap opera-style take on the 13th century. CW for sexual assault, violence Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Prof. Ryan Szpiech and learn more about his work: https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/ryanszpiech/ Rate, review, and subscribe!

Media-eval is back and this time we are tackling one of the most famous movies that can come under our remit- Gladiator directed by Ridley Scott. This movie won all the oscars and is a beloved fan favourite BUT did Sarah like it? She has brought Ollie back to argue the merits or lack thereof for this popular movie. Is Russel Crowe any good? Does Joaquin Phoenix eat enough ham? Is Kingdom of Heaven really better than this? Is it a fridging if they arent even a character? This might be the closest to a real argument the podcast has ever seen between Host and traitor...I mean guest.

The podcast will be going on hiatus til September so Sarah can spend the summer focusing on research for her new book project! See you in a few months!

Sarah brings Ollie back to the pod to talk about the second season of The Legend of Vox Machina. At the end of the first season our heroes seemed to be in a lot of peril so join us as we see if they can escape and defy the odds yet again to win the day and save the realm. One thing we do know is that if they do they'll have a great sweary time doing it!

Sarah and fellow medievalist Dr. Raissa von Doetinchem de Rande explore medieval al-Andalus and the life of philosopher ibn Rushd in 1997 film Destiny! Join us as we discuss medieval philosophy, translation, and why this film is inexplicably about how the caliph’s son just wants to dance.
 Social Media:
 Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Dr. Raissa von Doetinchem de Rande and learn more about her work: https://www.rhodes.edu/bio/raissa-von-doetinchem-de-rande Rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah and returning guest Lily Bonnemann are back at Doctor Who with 2002 audio drama - and loose Three Musketeers adaptation - The Church and the Crown. Join us as we explore the Paris sewage system and do a deep dive into George Villiers, the First Duke of Buckingham!
 Social Media:
 Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Lily on Twitter: twitter.com/LizzieStrider and on Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/shadow-academic Rate, review, and subscribe!

Chris Pine has a new movie out that is inside our wheelhouse so that means our special Pine Correspondent, Tracy Tanoff, is back to talk about her favourite guy. And she brought Ollie with her! Join us as we discuss this new movie that is currently in cinemas. Is it good? Yes. Does it make us happy? YES!

Sarah and guest Erika Harlitz-Kern turn to Bohemia and the life of Jan Žižka as we tackle the 2022 film that is, generically, just called Medieval. Join us as we explore the doctrine of Jan Hus, the complex politics of the Holy Roman Empire, and how modern Czech nationalism uses the medieval past - and as Sarah literally splutters with rage over the portrayal of women in this film. CW for suicide and fridging. Social Media:
 Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
 E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Erika on Twitter (https://twitter.com/EH_Kern), on Mastodon (https://historians.social/@eharlitzkern), and on her blog The Boomerang (https://ehkern.com/author/ehkern/) Rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah and returning guest Peter Koniezcny of Medievalists.net explore medievalism in the anime Naruto! Join us as we discuss how Masashi Kishimoto blends medieval and modern elements in his world-building. We get into the history and legend surrounding ninja, the folkloric history of the nine-tailed fox, the use of technology, and whether ramen would have been available in pre-modern Japan. Just as a note: this episode focuses only on the first arc of a (very long!) series. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
 E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com See more of Peter’s work with public medievalism on https://www.medievalists.net/ Rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah and returning guest Morgan Morales delve into 2021 film The Tragedy of Macbeth - and award Ralph Ineson the official Media-eval MVP. Join us as we explore magic, gender, why Shakespeare is bad at history, and the historical Macbeth and Gruoch, aka Lady Macbeth. By the way, Macbeth does NOT pass the Ifft Decker. CW: we make several mentions of suicide in the context of the film. We also discuss sexual assault in the film The Last Duel at around the 1hr44min mark. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
 E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Morgan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/morganrmorales Rate, review, and subscribe!

Media-eval tackles another book this week! Join Sarah and guest Ben Paul as we discuss Lapvona, a 2022 novel by Ottessa Moshfegh. This intense and wide-ranging novel allows us to explore medieval disability studies, miraculous lactation, and why everyone is so insistent on making medieval people eat potatoes. CW: the novel includes depictions of sexual assault, child abuse, and cannibalism, which we discuss on the episode. To learn more about medieval disability studies: Wendy Turner’s remarks: https://massmedieval.com/2016/02/29/past-present-and-future-of-medieval-disability-studies-wendy-j-turner/ Open Access Medieval Disability Sourcebook: https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/22299 Ephraim Shoham-Steiner, On the Margins of a Minority: https://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/margins-minority Steven Bednarski, A Poisoned Past: https://utorontopress.com/9781442604773/a-poisoned-past/ Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod 
E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!

Media-eval is back this week with another new (ish) release as Sarah and returning guest Lily Bonnemann tackle the first season of the Willow TV series. We’ve definitely got a difference of opinion on this one, so whether you loved the show, hated it, or haven’t watched it (but don’t mind being spoiled!) come and check out our conversation. Join us as we get into books bound in human (or satyr) skin, possums, and the biblical and medieval associations between evil, temptation, women, and serpents. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
 E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Lily on Twitter: twitter.com/LizzieStrider and on Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/shadow-academic Rate, review, and subscribe!

Join Sarah and fellow medieval historian Abbey Agresta as we tackle 2022 release Catherine Called Birdy! We talk about our own history with the book as young wannabe medievalists, menageries for exotic animals, the 1290 expulsion of the Jews from England, and medieval European marriage practices. Spoiler alert: we're ... not that into Lena Dunham's take on this. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
 E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Abbey on Twitter: twitter.com/AbigailAgresta Rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah brings Ollie back from exile to talk about the Amazon series "Rings of Power". Did the show nail the feeling of Tolkien? Did the actors make you believe in them? Should an elf be thinking about making love to a perfectly normal human man? Find out all of this and more in the latest episode of Media-eval!

Happy Holidays from Media-eval! Join Sarah and her dad Richard as we stretch the definition of medieval to talk about Ghostbusters II, featuring the imaginary early modern dictator Vigo the Carpathian. Check out the perhaps surprising medieval content of the film, including traditions of portraiture, references to Vlad the Impaler, and the concept of living paintings in medieval culture. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod 
E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!

Join Sarah and guests Clio and Mireille, of Clio/Mireille: A Fanfiction Podcast as we discuss the ultimate work of Shakespeare fanfiction: 1998 Oscar-winning film Shakespeare in Love! We talk literary analysis, the canonicity of Shakespeare, Elizabethan dental hygiene, and all the queer overtones that this film is desperate for its audience not to notice. Enjoy this episode? Listen to Sarah, Clio, and Mireille talking Lord of the Rings fanfiction on their podcast! CW: We briefly discuss Harvey Weinstein’s involvement in this film Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod 
E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com
 Check out Clio/Mireille: A Fanfiction Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clio-mireille-a-fanfiction-podcast/id1638750795 and follow them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClioSlashMire Rate, review, and subscribe!

The “King Arthur Babies” miniseries continues (and ends), as Sarah’s mom Beth Greenfeld comes on to discuss 2019 film The Kid Who Would Be King! Join Sarah and Beth as they grapple with the challenges of importing chivalry into the 21st century, do a deep dive on the Lady of the Lake, and have a classic Media-eval Latin grammar lesson. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com
Find Beth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bethg20904 Rate, review, and subscribe!

Jessica Bluemke Greiff of Friendly Atheist Podcast is back to discuss A Kid in King Arthur’s Court! Join Sarah and Jessica for some 90s childhood nostalgia—in a film that might not totally hold up to adult viewing. Come for our in-depth review of the film, stay for our discussion of the use of “mutton” as an insult and an excellent medieval recipe for goat’s head. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com
Find Jessica on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessBluemke Rate, review, and subscribe!

Happy Halloween from Media-eval! Sarah and guest Elizabeth Bonnemann discuss the first two seasons of animated series Castlevania. Join us as we talk vampires and demons (the reason for the season), as well as the recent discovery of a real Romanian medieval library, the historical Vlad Tepes Dracula and how he became connected with vampire lore, and why it is in fact historically accurate for the Belmont family to have a box of spells about penises. Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/mediaevalpod
 E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com
 Find Elizabeth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LizzieStrider and on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/shadow-academic. Rate, review, and subscribe!

Buy The Medievalist now! https://www.lulu.com/shop/phil-adamo/the-medievalist/paperback/product-7mvp64.html?q=Phil+adamo&page=1&pageSize=4 Sarah is joined by medievalist and author Phil Adamo for a conversation about his new book, The Medievalist. We explore the white supremacist uses and misuses of the medieval past and some of the challenges facing medievalists today grappling with these issues, and get into the history of the Voynich Manuscript, medieval forgeries, and (of course) the foreskin of Christ. Social Media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Phil Adamo on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriterPhilAdamo and at his website www.philadamo.com Rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah is once again joined by guest Elizabeth Bonnemann as we dive back into Doctor Who with our first audio drama! Join us as we tackle 2000 audio serial “The Marian Conspiracy” and explore Catholic-Protestant conflicts, ale and beer in Early Modern English taverns, and the not-quite-medieval history of the cardigan. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Elizabeth on Twitter @LizzieStrider and on Tumbler at Shadow Academic Rate, review, and subscribe!

Ollie said he would return for DnD....Sarah just didn't tell him which DnD it would be! Join us as we discuss season 1 of the Amazon Prime adaptation of Critical Roles Vox Machina campaign. Can some voice actors improv a better story with more pathos and drama than most highly paid hollywood screenwriters? you bet your sweet butts they can!

Media-eval is back this week with something a little different! Join Sarah and guest Erika Harlitz-Kern, of The Boomerang, as we discuss what it means to be public medievalists - and discuss Erika's future appearance to discuss the upcoming film Medieval! Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Erika on Twitter @eh_kern and at The Boomerang (ehkern.com) Rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah is once again joined by guest Elizabeth Bonnemann—but for once NOT talking about Doctor Who! Join us as we delve into the medievalism of 1988 fantasy film Willow. Were there really possums in medieval Europe? Were criminals left to die in hanging cages? And did women like Bavmorda, Sorsha, and Elora reign as queens? Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Elizabeth on Twitter @lizziestrider and on Tumblr: https://shadow-academic.tumblr.com/ Rate, review, and subscribe!

Damned former host Ollie returns to talk about a movie that is far better than it's reputation(or lack thereof) would suggest. Turns out if the devil wants your soul, you don't have a lot of options left!

Sarah's mom, Beth Greenfeld, is back to talk about 1955 film The Court Jester! Join us as we delve into the history of fools and jesters, the political challenges of infant monarchs, and how this film has better-developed women characters than many movies released in the 21st-century. 

 CW: Discussion of some potential issues of ableism in the film 
Learn more about the global history of jesters in Beatrice K. Otto’s Fools Are Everywhere: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/F/bo3615397.html. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Beth on Twitter @bethg20904 Rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah and returning guest Morgan Morales explore intellectual culture and interreligious strife in 2009 film Agora! Join us as we delve into the lives of Jews, Christians, and polytheists in late ancient/early medieval Alexandria and explore the reality and legend of the life of Hypatia of Alexandria. CW for conversations about sexual assault, slavery, and anti-Semitism, all based on depictions within the film. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Morgan at @morgansaysballs Rate, review, and subscribe!

Media-eval ventures to Valholl as Sarah and returning guest Miti von Weissenberg tackle 2022 film The Northman! Join us as we explore masculinity, gender, slavery, race, and vengeance in the film and in the real Norse past. CW for discussion of sexual assault (which is not graphically depicted in the film but is thematically important) and for discussion of white nationalism (which is relevant to the audience response to the film and to attitudes toward the Vikings in general). 
Want to learn more about the context for the film? 

Check out some classic Icelandic revenge sagas: The Saga of the People of Laxardal and Bolli Bollason’s Tale. Transl. Keneva Kunz. London: Penguin Books, 2008  1903 Translation into English: https://sagadb.org/laxdaela_saga.en2    Njal’s Saga. Transl. Robert Cook. London, Penguin Books, 2008.   1861 translation into English free and online: https://sagadb.org/brennu-njals_saga.en    Read some excellent scholarship on the Vikings and Scandinavia:   Brink, Stefan, in collaboration with Neil Price. The Viking World. London: Routledge, 2012.   Callmer, Johan, Ingrid Gustin, and Mats Roslund, eds. Identity Formation and Diversity in the Early Medieval Baltic and beyond : Communicators and Communication. The Northern World : North Europe and the Baltic, c. 400-1700 AD. : Peoples, Economics and Cultures: Volume 75. Leiden: Brill, 2017.   Clements, Jonathan. A Brief History of the Vikings (The Last Pagans or the First Modern Europeans?) London: Hachette, 2005.     Duczko, Wladyslaw. Viking Rus : Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe. Brill, 2004. Frank, Roberta. “The Invention of the Viking Horned Helmet” in International Scandinavian and Medieval Studies in Memory of Gerd Wolfgang Weber: Ein runder Knäuel, so rollt’ es uns leicht aus den Händen, ed. Michael Dallapiazza, Olaf Hansen, Preben Meulengracht-Sørensen, and Yvonne S. Bonnetai, 199-208. Trieste: Edizioni Parnaso, 2000.    Jarman, Cat. River Kings. A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads. London: William Collins, 2021.     Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir. Valkyrie. The Women of the Viking World. London: Bloomsbury, 2020.     Price, Neil. The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2019.   Price, Neil, Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson, Torun Zachrisson, Anna Kjellstrom, Jan Stora, Maja Krzewinska, Torsten Guenther, Veronica Sobrado, Mattias Jakobsson, and Anders Gotherstrom. “Viking Warrior Women? Reassessing Birka Chamber Grave Bj.581.” Antiquity 93, no. 367 (February 1, 2019): 181–98. doi:10.15184/aqy.2018.258.  Price, Neil. Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings. New York, Basic Books, 2020.  Samson, Vincent. Les Berserkir. Les Guerriers-Fauves dans la Scandinavie ancienne, de l’Âge de Vendel aux Vikings (VIe-XIe Siècle). Villeneuve-d’Ascq: Universitaires du Septentrion, 2011.     Weiss, Daniel. “The Viking Great Army.” Archaeology 71, no. 2 (2018): 50–56.   Winroth, Anders. The Age of the Vikings. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014.    Winroth, Anders. The Conversion of Scandinavia: Vikings, Merchants and Missionaries. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012.   Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Miti at @MvonWeissenberg Rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah and guest Peter Konieczny of medievalists.net delve into the layers of pre-modern history, late medieval historical fiction, and modern film in John Woo’s 2009 film Red Cliff. Join us as we get into interpretations of pre-modern history in China and the medieval novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. For more of Peter on Romance of the Three Kingdoms: https://www.medievalists.net/2018/10/which-translation-romance-three-kingdoms/ The works of Rafe de Crespigny, the leading English-language scholar on the period: https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/browse?type=author&authority=907b8620-2109-49aa-93b6-6e3f3a72b2c2 Video on the battle from Kings and Generals: https://youtu.be/a1n0yNDODJI

Outlander. The movie. It's like Beowulf but there are aliens in it. This movie is actually pretty decent. We all want to talk about Jamie and Claire and how some herbs are better than others but we will leave that for another time. enjoy!

Sarah and guest Miti von Weissenberg explore sanctity and voluntary poverty in 1989 film Francesco! Join us as we delve into the real lives of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi, the intertwined histories of the Franciscans and the Poor Clares, and the link between biopic and hagiography. Learn more about Miti’s research and teaching: https://www.xavier.edu/history-department/directory/marita-vonweissenberg Learn more about St. Francis of Assisi and his legacy: Francis of Assisi: Early Documents. Edited by Regis J. Armstrong, J.A. Wayne Hellman, and William J. Short. New York: New City Press, 1999-2001  Moorman, John R. H. A history of the Franciscan Order from its Origins to the Year 1517. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968 Vauchez, André, translated by Michael F. Cusato. Francis of Assisi : The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Saint. Yale University Press, 2012   The Cambridge companion to Francis of Assisi. Edited by Michael J.P. Robson Thompson, Augustine. Francis of Assisi : A New Biography. Cornell University Press, 2012.  Appelbaum, Patricia. St. Francis of America: How a Thirteenth-Century Friar Became America’s Most Popular Saint. Chapel Hill: university of North Carolina Press, 2015.  Learn more about St. Clare of Assisi:  Mooney, Catherine M. Clare of Assisi and the Thirteenth Century Church: Religious Women, Rules, and Resistance. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016.  Mueller, Joan. The privilege of poverty : Clare of Assisi, Agnes of Prague, and the struggle for a Franciscan rule for women. University Park, Pa. : Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006. Learn more about Franciscan spirituality: Ahlgren, Gillian T.W. The Tenderness of God: Reclaiming our Humanity. Lanham: Fortress Press, 2017.   Learn more about medieval sanctity: Bartlett, Robert. Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things? : Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013.  Vauchez, André. The Laity in the Middle Ages : Religious Beliefs and Devotional Practices. South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1993. Vauchez, André. Sainthood in the Later Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Miti at @MvonWeissenberg Rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah and guest Sara McDougall take on another of 2021’s highly anticipated medieval-inspired films: The Last Duel. Join us as we get into the myths and realities about medieval law and this fascinating 1386 trial, and our … struggles … with this film. TRIGGER WARNING: The film includes graphic depictions of sexual assault, which we critique in depth on the podcast. Read more from Sara on the Last Duel: https://slate.com/culture/2021/10/last-duel-movie-historical-accuracy.html https://slate.com/culture/2021/10/the-last-duel-hairstyles-historical-accuracy.html 
 Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Sara at @SaraMcDougall2 Rate, review, and subscribe!

Finally, Media-eval tackles perhaps the most central text of medieval-inspired fantasy: The Lord of the Rings. Join Sarah and fellow medieval historian Paul Freedman, for a wide-ranging discussion about medievalism, food, gender, race, and more in the books and films.

 Learn more about Paul and his work: https://history.yale.edu/people/paul-freedman 
 Check out his article on food in The Lord of the Rings: https://raco.cat/index.php/ImagoTemporis/article/view/270936 Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah and fellow medieval historian - and expert on nuns - Annalena Müller discuss Paul Verhoeven’s 2021 film Benedetta. Join us as we tackle what the film got right, what it got wrong, and what it tells us about sensationalism, religion, and sex - medieval and modern. 
 CW: The film includes some scenes which raise issues of abuse and consent within a relationship, which we discuss. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah and music historian Charles Hughes tackle the medieval trend that swept the nation in April 202: bardcore. Join us as we explore bardcore in the context of musical nostalgia, plague and pandemic, and the real medieval troubadour tradition. Social Media: Find Charles on Twitter: @CharlesLHughes2 Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah and fellow medievalist Lucy Barnhouse delve into the medievalism of Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe and its 1997 BBC/A&E miniseries adaptation. Join us as we explore one of the few representations of medieval Jews, as well as questions about witchcraft, Saxon-Norman conflict, and how the Knights Templar were not in fact the Inquisition. Social Media: Hear more from Lucy on Footnoting History: https://www.footnotinghistory.com/home/category/lucy; on Twitter @HistoryFootnote Find Lucy on Twitter: @singingscholar Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!

Media-eval’s resident Doctor Who expert Elizabeth Bonnemann returns to discuss 1989 serial Battlefield. Join Sarah and Elizabeth as we meet the 7th Doctor and best-ever companion Ace and grapple with how the series handles Arthuriana-meets-aliens. Social Media: Find Elizabeth on Twitter: @lizziestrider Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!

Ever want to listen to two fans of a book series recap a show and get increasingly annoyed/joyous and sometimes angry as they do it? Well now you can! Join us for 3 hours of talk about the first season of the Wheel of Time tv show on Amazon Prime. What did it get right? What did it get wrong? We talk about it all!

Sarah and guest Molly Likovich get into CW’s Reign, aka Gossip Girl meets 16th-century France. Join us as we talk about some of the strangest choices made in a historical adaptation—from the invented illegitimate son of the King of France to the Forever 21-inspired costumes—as well as the real stories of Mary, Queen of Scots, François II, and Catherine de’Medici. CW: Discussions of sexual assault Social Media: Find Molly on Twitter: @magicalmolly Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!

TikTok celebrity and fellow medievalist Mireille Pardon is back to talk with Sarah about medieval misinformation and conspiracy theories on TikTok as we do a deep dive into Momllennial’s “Rome didn’t exist” theory. Join us for an extended debunking and a foray into the wide array of sources historians use to study the medieval past! Book Recommendation: The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000, by Chris Wickham Social Media: Find Mireille on TikTok and Twitter: @pardon_mi Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!

It's Christmas so we decided to talk about the most Christmas-y of all movies- The Green Knight. We talk about pretension, confusion and whether Barry Keoghan is attractive or not. Its a long episode but then again, its a movie that lasts for several years, or feels like it does at least!

This is the one where Sarah gets unreasonably infuriated about the Magna Carta and Anglo-American exceptionalism - but also gets the chance to talk about King John’s troubles with Pope Innocent III. Elizabeth Bonnemann is back to talk Doctor Who serial “The King’s Demons,” where two Time Lords battle it out over (allegedly) the future of democracy in England, 1215. Social Media: Find Elizabeth on Twitter: @lizziestrider Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!

Media-eval ventures into the Discworld! Sarah and guest Bridget Kennedy discuss two of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels, Wyrd Sisters and Small Gods. Join us as we get into the Inquisition, witch persecution, and medievalism in the Discworld series. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Rate, review, and subscribe!

Is it a Lady? Is she a hawk? Why not both? A hawk, a wolf, and a bishop meet in a medieval Italian city—and Sarah is joined by living history reenactor Ari Ryan Ailin, aka “The Turnip of Terror,” to discuss 1985 film Ladyhawke. Join us as we get into synth scores, strange helmets, possibly stranger bishops’ croziers, French presence in late medieval Sicily, and what Caroline Walker Bynum has called the “werewolf Renaissance of the 12th century.” Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Ari Ryan Ailin on Twitter @turnipterror and online at theturnipofterror.com

Red, Black, and Periwinkle Deaths! Digressions Galore! Upside-down crosses! David Baxter of Thank You Five Podcast joins Sarah to discuss Vincent Price film The Masque of the Red Death (1964). Celebrate Halloween with us as we get into medieval horror, plague, and the real history of Satanism. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find David’s podcast Thank You Five on Twitter @thankyoufivepod Please rate, review, and subscribe!

What if a movie was about two men falling in love and restoring each others honor? It would be called The Eagle and of all the movies that fail the Ifft Decker test, it would fail it the most.

Medieval art historian Maeve Doyle returns to talk with Sarah about The Secret of Kells (2009), a gorgeous reimagining of the creation of the Book of Kells. Join us to learn about medieval visual culture, book production, and the real medieval origins of the film’s heroic cat Pangur Ban. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Producer Carmen, Sarah’s own heroic cat companion. She will be very much missed. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Maeve on Twitter: @mediumaeveum Please rate, review, and subscribe!

Medieval Iberia September on Media-eval continues! Want to hear what two historians of medieval Barcelona think about Netflix miniseries Cathedral of the Sea? Join Sarah and fellow medieval historian Marie Kelleher as we delve into the Jewish community of Barcelona, host desecration, and legal history - and remind listeners once again that the ius primae noctis wasn’t a real thing. CW: The series includes graphic representations of brutality (especially against women) and rape. We engage in critical discussions of the choices made related to this in the series and in the book on which it was based. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Check out Marie’s work: https://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/14735.html Please rate, review, and subscribe!

This September, universities are back up and running - and Media-eval will be featuring conversations between specialists of the medieval Iberian Peninsula! In this episode, Sarah and fellow medieval historian Dana Wessell Lightfoot explore interfaith contact and conflict in The Lions of al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay, a novel set in a world inspired by medieval al-Andalus. Join us as we delve into the real-life inspirations for characters and the question of convivencia in the medieval Iberian Peninsula. Read both of our work in the award-winning edited volume, Women and Community in Medieval and Early Modern Iberia: https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496205117/ Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Find Dana on Twitter @DrDameHistory Please rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah and guest Rachel Aanstad (Twelfth Night Podcast) tackle another example of Disney medievalism - 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Join us as we get into medievalism in architecture, religious references, and the history of the wicked stepmother. CW: Discussions of ableist, racist/anti-Semitic, and misogynist tropes Book Recommendation: Christians Klapisch-Zuber, Women, Family, and Ritual in Renaissance Italy: https://bookshop.org/books/women-family-and-ritual-in-renaissance-italy/9780226439266 Check out Rachel’s work on Twelfth Night Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1528559147 
 Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe!

With help from guest Erica Desautels, Sarah argues a) that The Little Mermaid DEFINITELY takes place in the late 17th century and is therefore a legitimate subject for this podcast and b) that it is clearly the best Disney movie. Join Sarah and Erica as we get into fish consumption, French cooking, costumes and material culture, and why contracts mattered in the medieval Mediterranean. 

 Want to learn more about medieval contracts and notarial culture? Check out: 
Daniel Lord Smail, Imaginary Cartographies: Possession and Identity in Late Medieval Marseille (1999) Laurie Nussdorfer, Brokers of Public Trust: Notaries in Early Modern Rome (2009)
 Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe!

Sarah is joined by fellow medievalist Marita (Miti) von Weissenberg to discuss the encounters between Vikings and indigenous peoples as seen in Pathfinder (2007). We delve into white savior narratives, trading vs. raiding, and, of course, shirtless Karl Urban. Thanks to our guest’s expertise, we have an excellent array of recommendations! Primary Texts: The Vinland Sagas, trans. Keneva Kunz, intro. and notes by Gísli Digurdsson. New York: Penguin Books, 2008  Tim Frandy, Translation of Inari Sámi Folklore by Koskimies and Itkonen: https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/5591.htm Scholarship: Neil Price, Children of Ash and Elm. A History of the Vikings. New York: Basic Books, 2020 Anders Winroth, Vikings, Merchants, and Missionaries. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012 Anders Winroth, The Age of the Vikings. Princeton: University of Princeton Press, 2014 Yvette Running Horse Collin, “The Relationship between the indigenous peoples of the Americas and the Horse: Deconstructing a Eurocentric Myth” (University of Alaska Fairbanks, PhD dissertation, 2017)  Kristina D. Stelter, The Horse and the Norse: Reconstructing the Equine in Viking Iceland (University of Glasgow, MLitt dissertation, 2014) A Movie to Watch Instead: "Original Pathfinder" from 1987: https://youtu.be/CZuWDiyddMQ with English dubbing  Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe! Find Miti on Twitter @MvonWeissenberg

Sarah tricked Ollie into playing a video game and watching a movie. He then forgot he doesn't host the podcast anymore. Together they discuss the search for the "Apple of Eden" and whether or not a secret order can be secret if they keep announcing themselves to the world. P.S Ollie swears quite badly while talking about Columbus

Sarah is joined by returning guest Ally Pitts of Russophiles Unite! Movie Podcast to discuss the 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc. We talk Joan’s trial and posthumous retrial, Eucharistic devotion, and late medieval women’s mysticism in this intriguing representation of Joan of Arc—as well as why this film was banned in England, censored by French Catholics, and criticized by the French right wing. Book Recommendation: Caroline Walker Bynum, Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women (1988) Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe! Find Ally on Twitter @Alistair_Pitts. Check out his podcast Russophiles Unite! Movie Podcast on Twitter @RussophilesU and on Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/russophiles-unite-movie-podcas-594862

Mireille once again joins Sarah for a short bonus episode! We found out why Jonathan Banks agreed to do this movie in an ... interesting ... interview. We break down his discussion of the "Dark Ages" here. You can read the full interview here: http://frontrowfeatures.com/features/film-features/jonathan-banks-gets-medieval-redbad-24289.html Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe! Find Mireille on Twitter and TikTok @pardon_mi

Sarah and fellow medieval historian Mireille Pardon tackle Redbad, the 2018 Dutch film that may or may not be Dutch right-wing propaganda. Join us as we get into the conversion of the Frisians, the real histories of Charles Martel and Redbad, and why in this film it looks like the Franks traveled back in time from the 14th century and the Frisians traveled forward in time from the 5th century. 

 CW: The film has one rape scene, which is described and analyzed during the podcast. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe! Find Mireille on Twitter and TikTok @pardon_mi

Media-eval's resident Doctor Who expert Elizabeth Bonnemann returns to talk about 1982 serial The Visitation. You know, the one where the Doctor et. al. starts a pretty big fire. Join Elizabeth and Sarah as we get into theater, plague, and the Great Fire of London. This is a bit outside Sarah's usual period - so if you know something we don't, let us know! Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe! Find Elizabeth on Twitter @LizzieStrider

That’s right - more Robin Hood! Sarah and returning guest Morgan Morales talk about the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood. Join us as we talk Saxons and Normans, sex-positive ladies in waiting (#teambess), and the origins of the Robin Hood legend and our current Robin Hood tropes. Sarah would also like to acknowledge that she’s pretty sure she stole the “bad Guy” joke from former co-host Ollie. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe! Find Morgan on Twitter @morgansaysballs

Sarah and guest Marisa Macias get into medievalism and archaeology in their discussion of 2021 Netflix release The Dig. Join us as we talk about Sutton Hoo, the practice of archaeology, and why you should think twice before using the terms "the Dark Ages" and "Anglo-Saxon." Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe! Find Marisa on Twitter @MarisaEMacias

Sarah and guest Megan Sunday of Let's Get Weirding Podcast and The Spool talk about beloved teen slumber party favorite Ever After. Join us as we talk material culture, arranged marriages, the concept of the premodern fairy tale romcom, and the fact that unfortunately, King Henri II of France did not marry Cinderella. Is this episode noticeably longer than the movie? Yes. Does this movie deserve it? Absolutely. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe! Find Megan on Twitter @mpsunday

Sarah talks with Meaghan and Elo of the podcast Modern Medieval about medievalism, fantasy, and comedy in Season 1 of Netflix series Disenchantment. Join us as we get into arranged marriages, lampreys, and the history of women and brewing! Book Recommendation: Judith M. Bennett, Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women's Work in a Changing World Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe! Find Modern Medieval on Twitter @medieval_modern and on Instagram @podcast.modern.medieval

Guests Matt Welsh and David Baxter of Thank You Five join Sarah to talk about Arthuriana and courtly love in the Middle Ages, the 1960s, and today as we delve into the movie musical Camelot. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe! Find David and Matt's podcast Thank You Five on Twitter @thankyoufivepod and on Facebook @TY5Podcast

Guest Elizabeth Bonnemann is back to talk with Sarah about 1976 Doctor Who serial The Masque of Mandragora, where we confront popular stereotypes about the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and scientific exploration. Also, some classic Media-eval rug history. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod E-mail: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe! Find Elizabeth @LizzieStrider Book Recommendation: The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science, by Seb Falk

Sarah is once again joined by her mom, Dr. Beth Greenfeld, to talk about medievalism, modernized adaptations, and translations in Maria Dahvana Headley's 2018 novel The Mere Wife - a modern adaptation of Beowulf centering Grendel's mother - and her 2020 translation of Beowulf. Join us as we delve into these texts and to the question of monsters and why they matter. CW for discussions of PTSD, disordered eating, suicide, and toxic masculinity

Sarah, guest Jessica Bluemke Greiff, and of course Producer Carmen spent FOUR HOURS talking about Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Don't worry; the finished episode is NOT four hours (but it is long). Join us as we get into the myth of medieval chastity belts (that's right - not a real thing!), exotic fruits, and why Rabbi Tuckman is arguably less anachronistic than Friar Tuck. CW: The film includes gay panic jokes, fatphobic jokes, and ableist jokes, as well as one rape joke, which we discuss in the episode. Social Media: Twitter @mediaevalpod Email: media.evalpod@gmail.com Please rate, review, and subscribe! Find Jessica @JessBluemke and on the podcasts Friendly Atheist and Cooper Dooper: A Twin Peaks Podcast for Regular People Book Recommendation: Albrecht Classen, The Medieval Chastity Belt: A Myth-Making Process

Ollie comes back to the podcast to talk with Sarah about one of his favourite movies, the 1990's classic Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Does Kevin Costner even try to sound English? Is Alan Rickman in a different movie to everyone else? Is it too long(yes)? We will address all of these topics and more including Sarah's shocking dislike of Christian Slater.

Guest MJ is back to talk with Sarah about another of Tamora Pierce's quartets: Protector of the Small. Join us as we continue to talk lady knights - as well as the real history of women's work in the textile industry and whether King Jonathan is actually just Joe Biden. As a note, this was recorded as usual well in advance - before the attempted terrorist coup on Wednesday Jan. 6 (and, in fact, before the November 2020 election), which is why it is not mentioned. Media-eval unequivocally condemns all those involved - including the elected officials who encouraged and enabled it. CW: rape; incest; child abuse; child murder; cat death

With the holiday season comes nostalgia - so today's episode takes a deep dive into Sarah's childhood favorite book series, The Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce (1983-1988). Join Sarah and guest MJ as we get into gender roles, representations of nonwestern cultures in fantasy, menstruation and birth control, and the real history of gender fluidity and women dressing as men in the Middle Ages. Content Warning: episode includes discussion of age/power imbalanced relationships and suicide.

Guest Ben Paul returns to talk Blackadder Series 1! Join Sarah and Ben as they get into alternative histories, the cult of relics (yes, including the foreskin of Christ), and what happened to the real Richard, Duke of York. CW: The series includes homophobic, fatphobic, misogynistic, and rape jokes; the problematic and at times disturbing nature of this material is addressed in the episode.

Guest Elizabeth Bonnemann is back to talk with Sarah about another Doctor Who serial, The Time Warrior, set in ... the Middle Ages, I guess. Join us as we talk castellans, rotten meat, and unsuccessfully attempt to identify what year it is.

What's the story, Wishbone? It's Joan of Arc! Sarah and guest Rachel Rosing tackle a childhood favorite: an episode of Wishbone in which we. learn that a girl joining a boys soccer team in the 1990s is EXACTLY THE SAME as Joan of Arc leading an army during the Hundred Years' War. Come for the adorable dog in armor, stay for a deep dive into Joan of Arc's trial. This episode was recorded pre-election, so our political digression is an ... interesting time capsule.

It's Halloween and Sarah manages to convince Ollie to talk about a "Horror" movie but they spend more time talking about JK Rowling and The Crimes of Grindlewald. Listen to the podcast- we watched this movie so you don't have to. :)

Join two thoroughly broken and downtrodden medievalists as Sarah and guest Katherine Hindley struggle through this adaptation of Beowulf - and talk about what makes the original poem worth reading. Recommendations: We talk about Seamus Heaney's Beowulf as a great translation - and it is! I also recommend the new translation by Maria Dahvana Headley, which I had not yet read back when this episode was recorded. It's much more modernized and takes a few more liberties, but it's a really great reading experience. If you want a better Beowulf adaptation, check out The Thirteenth Warrior (discussed on this podcast!) or, for a slightly different take, John Gardner's novel Grendel or Maria Dahvana Headley's modernized adaptation The Mere Wife. CW: Brief reference to suicide. References to consent issues. On a lighter note, frequent references to phallic symbolism (blame the movie, not us) that might make this awkward to listen to at work or in front of some family members.

Netflix release a show thats set in King Arthur continuity and cast lots of women and POC? Of course Sarah is going to talk about it! This week she is joined by Jillian Sterling Ness all the way from Canada and that Irish lad who talks too much. Let's see if Cursed lives up to the promise its casting suggests.

Media-eval makes its first foray into Doctor Who! Sarah and guest Elizabeth Bonnemann talk 1066 and how yes, real medieval people would find it strange that they've only met one grumpy monk from the local monastery.

We're back with another look at Wheel of Time, the greatest fantasy epic of them all. Sarah gets technical and Ollie once again has to cut an hour of his fanboy gushing out. Enjoy!

Join Sarah and guest Ollie as they take a look at the greatest fantasy series ever written. They recorded for 5 hours on this and Ollie had to cut out about 2 hours of him gushing. Hopefully you like it! part 2 will come next week!

Sarah and guest Jessica Bluemke Greiff (Friendly Atheist Podcast; Cooper Dooper) get into Army of Darkness ... despite having never seen the non-medieval parts of the trilogy. Come for the campy supernatural; stay for the demon sex - if you wanted to know about the premodern antecedents to Dr. Stella Immanuel's demon sex theories, this is the place to go. CW: the film depicts kissing without consent and implied sexual assault; both are discussed on the podcast.

Sarah and her mom Beth Greenfeld continue with their Game of Thrones discussion on gender, race, and religion. CW: this episode includes a discussion of sexual assault in the series.

Media-eval finally tackles HBO series Game of Thrones and George R.R. Martin's book series A Song of Ice and Fire - but Sarah and her mom, Beth Greenfeld, have been reading, watching, and discussing for a long time, and had a lot to say! So the episode is divided into two parts. Stay tuned next week for Part 2! The format is a bit more of a general thematic conversation on this one since, well, who's going to sit down and do a plot summary of all 8 seasons of Game of Thrones? But spoilers abound, so if you haven't seen Game of Thrones and want to do so unspoiled, you might want to hold off on this one!

Enjoy this blast from the past: Sarah and Ollie's Media-eval practice episode on the Sean Bean/Eddie Redmayne film Black Death, recorded all the way back in 2018 and now coming out of the vault and into your ears. This episode also includes a few updated reflections on how the medieval pandemic response compares to the modern one. If you're interested in learning more about why we shouldn't call the current pandemic response "medieval," check out medievalist Guy Geltner's fantastic article: http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/174758. CW for graphic torture and gratuitous violence against women

It had to be done ... Sarah and guest Mabel Slattery wince our way through The Ribald Tales of Canterbury, a porn adaptation of The Canterbury Tales, and find that ... it's not actually the worst adaptation of a medieval text? Listen in to find out how two medievalists can watch an erotic film and then end up talking about the value of currency, sumptuary laws, the best way to prepare boar's head, and medieval anti-Judaism. Warning: This film obviously includes more graphic sex scenes than most movies and some of those details are discussed. If you ordinarily listen within earshot of colleagues, parents, or kids, you ... might want to grab headphones for this one. But, good news: this movie is strangely WAY better on consent for sexual activity than a lot of the things covered for the podcast.

Sarah and guest Sarah Baggs tackle Disney's take on Victor Hugo's medieval historical fiction: The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Join us as we talk about the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris and its restorations, the Feast of Fools, and the foreskin of Christ (because Sarah will ALWAYS bring up the foreskin of Christ if she gets an opportunity). CW - yes, this CHILDREN'S MOVIE includes sexual harassment and implicit threats of sexual assault.

Guests Mary Galvin and Sally Whiting (Instagram:@_the_writer_and_the_artist; YouTube: The Writer and the Artist)join Sarah to talk about Dragonheart, a movie that cannot decide whether it is a children's movie or a sex comedy about a dragon-human throuple. We delve into the epic dragon-elephant battles that should have been in this movie, and what actually happened in the year 984 (hint: it was not abolishing the monarchy).

Join Sarah and guests Meghan Griffin and Tracy Tanoff as we gush about our new favorite adaptation featuring of the wives of Henry VIII (at least, until our own novels come out). I hope listeners will be inspired to check out the soundtrack and support the creators during this difficult time while theaters are closed. CW: one song (and therefore also our discussion of it) includes themes of grooming and sexual assault.

Imagine you took everything that was intriguing about the life story of Anne Boleyn ... and then somehow made an extremely boring movie. You would have The Other Boleyn Girl. Join Sarah and guest Dana Carriere as we discuss how truth can be more interesting than fiction, and the real story of Anne Boleyn. Come back in 2 weeks for an episode on another (better) piece of media related to the wives of Henry VIII!

Media-eval tackles another book! Join Sarah and guest Tegan Robinson for a discussion of Brethren by Robyn Young. Highlights include Jew Watch (spoiler: there aren't any), medieval manic pixie dream girls, and the real secret of the Templars - that they're less interesting than you expect (unless you really like economic history).

Happy belated Easter and Passover! In honor of the holidays, Media-eval travels a bit further back in time with a special episode on Monty Python's Life of Brian - with a special guest, Roman history enthusiast (and Sarah's Dad) Richard Ifft. Join us as we talk Latin grammar and Roman Judea, and ponder the question: What have the Romans ever done for us?

Sarah and guest Christine Fredrickson get into certain NSFW functions of fire and medieval dragon lore in the 2015 Russian film I Am Dragon (aka The Dragon Inside Me).

CW for rape/sexual assault/murder So ... this movie was pretty rough? Sarah and returning guest Morgan Morales talk about problematic portrayals of sexual violence, plus ideas about purity, piety, and martyrdom, in the second film of our medieval Ingmar Bergman retrospective. RIP, Max von Sydow - while we stand by our plot and character critiques he gave an incredible performance. Media-eval is prepared to continue through this period of social distancing, as all recording is already done remotely. Stay healthy and safe!

Sarah and returning guest Morgan Morales tackle the crisis of the fourteenth and twentieth centuries in Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film The Seventh Seal. Join us as we wonder yet again why people think the Black Death immediately followed the Crusades. This will be the first of a two-part discussion on Bergman's medieval-inspired films. CW: consent issues/threatened sexual assault

Sarah and guest Caroline Gruenbaum discuss Media-eval's inaugural book! Join us as we talk about medieval Jews real and fantastical in Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver.

In honor of the often unrecognized work done by women in film (*cough* Oscars 2020 *cough*)Sarah and guest Kourtnea Hogan cover Le Moine et la Sorciere, known in English as Sorceress, directed by Suzanne Schiffman. Join us as we delve into what they got right and wrong about the true story of a dog venerated as a saint in medieval France! CW for sexual assault; dog death

Looks like Media-eval accidentally ended up with the world's worst monthly theme: it's Inquisition January, I guess? Join Sarah and fellow medievalist Kevin Lord as we delve into heresy, medieval debates about poverty, whether Christ laughed, and how The Name of the Rose (2019) managed to make eight hours of television and still (spoiler alert) not have a single surviving named female character. CW for rape (again...), torture, and negative portrayal of a disabled character.

Sarah and guest Elaine Pauls had a LOT to say about Berserk! Join us as we get into portrayals of medieval violence and narratives of progress, taking religion seriously, and the history of the Inquisition in Media-eval's first non-Western depiction of a medieval European-inspired universe. CW: this anime series includes a LOT of graphic violence, torture, and sexual assault; we address this in detail during the episode.

Happy Holidays from Media-eval! Sarah and guest Meghan Griffin watched Netflix Christmas offering The Knight Before Christmas and ... well, we have thoughts. Join us as we discuss the least religious knight in medieval Europe; the history of Christmas traditions; and the weird idealization of both 21st-century American cops & 14th-century knights.

Sarah and guest Shannon Campe (Little Women: A Modern Audio Drama) tackle Elizabeth, in which 20+ years become 2 and loyal adherents inexplicably become traitors! In an unsurprising turn of events, Baby Theon Greyjoy betrays his family; in a more surprising turn of events, James Bond crosses himself a lot.

Ever wanted to hear two scholars of medieval Iberia get very, very annoyed? Then this is the episode for you! Sarah and guest Kyle Lincoln get into the politicization of medieval "Spanish" history under the Franco regime - and wonder why the 1961 El Cid movie cut out most of the Cantar de Mio Cid.

Sarah and guest Ally Pitts (Russophiles Unite! Movie Podcast) discuss medieval gender roles, raiding and trading, and the mystery of how all those snakes made it to England in the TV show Vikings (Season 1). CW for rape/sexual assault, as well as for regular uncritical use of the term Anglo-Saxon - as a Mediterraneanist, I was not aware of the debates surrounding this term until after having recorded this episode. As listeners may guess, this episode was actually recorded before the 13th Warrior episode - hence my not knowing who Vladimir Kulich is, and my characterization of this as the first appropriate use of a Viking funeral.

As the Oracle hath foretold, on this day, the host shall become the guest ... that's right! It's Media-eval's first podcast-iversary and original co-host Ollie is back to talk with Sarah about his favorite movie, The 13th Warrior!

This is a long one because Sarah and guest Morgan Morales couldn't stop gushing about both Eleanor of Aquitaine and Katherine Hepburn. Join us as we discuss the soap opera that is the Plantagenet royals of England, medieval use of classical references, and how Henry II was not, in fact, a decade older than the Pope.

Sarah and guest Ben Paul watch classic 1964 film Becket - one of the first medieval movies Sarah ever saw, and one of the many movies for which Peter O'Toole was robbed of an Oscar. Join us for a discussion of piercing blue eyes, what happened to Becket's tomb, and whether Thomas Becket is really the worst Englishman in history. Also, get ready for next week - this episode will be followed by its unofficial sequel Lion in Winter, in which Peter O' Toole reprises his role as Henry II! CW: Sexual assault; suicide Recommended book: Hawkwood (https://www.amazon.com/Hawkwood-Diabolical-Englishman-Stonor-Saunders/dp/0571219098)

Medievalist and stand-up comedian Mabel Slattery introduces Sarah to Maid Marian and Her Merry Men, a British children's show that makes Marian the real hero - and Robin Hood a very unimpressive figure. Join us as we discuss the origins of the Robin Hood legend and the challenges of robbery in a cash-poor society, while Mabel gives Sarah (who had never heard the word "snooker" before) a crash course in British culture.

Sarah and guest Megan Tripp of Not Another Bad Movie Podcast talk about a classic (?) good-bad medieval movie, Season of the Witch - Nic Cage's first appearance on Media-eval, but Ron Perlman's second. Come for the bizarre choice to move the Crusades forward a century in time; stay for the claim that a pair of knights ended the Black Death forever by murdering a demon; explore the question of if this movie has any female characters. CW for brief mention of rape and torture.

Sarah and fellow medievalist Abigail Agresta talk about why there's no Eustace VIII, medieval attitudes toward lepers, and the challenges of setting a forensic-evidence-based mystery series in medieval England in our discussion of the ITV series Cadfael. This is also the first Media-eval episode where everyone is in the same room ... and that room was in Barcelona! CW: for discussion of rape/sexual assault in one episode.

It's the one with the sexy fox! In a discussion of Media-eval's favorite Robin Hood so far, Sarah and guests Dawn and Ileana talk about the sad absence of Eleanor of Aquitaine, childhood crushes on animated foxes, animals in medieval bestiaries, and the real reason Disney reused animated sequences.

Sarah and guest Maeve Doyle get into witch burning, burial of Black Death victims, and medieval marginalia in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Enjoy Media-eval's very first episode with not one, but TWO medievalists!

Sarah and Ollie watch one of the worst movies of 2018. If you've ever wanted to see the Crusades depicted as a Church plot to depose the king AND the War in Iraq, our discussion of Robin Hood is the podcast episode for you.

Sarah's pick this week. It....might be the worst movie we've done. Ollie says "like" around 1 million times this episode. And remember, it's ok to like a movie. even this one.

We watched the steampunk Three Musketeers movie ... and wished we hadn't. Come for the complaints about bad acting, plotting, and history; stay for the adorable animals making noise in the background!

Join Ollie, Sarah, and special guest Tracy Tanoff for what turned out to be another extra NSFW episode ... since like all other reviewers of Outlaw King, we talked about Chris Pine's role as "Richard the Bruce" almost as much as his role as Robert the Bruce."

Poetry, fancy prostitutes, AND the Inquisition? Join Ollie and Sarah as we move forward in time to discuss Dangerous Beauty, a movie about real early modern woman Veronica Franco! It even passes the Ifft Decker test AND the Bechdel test.

a movie that really divides the hosts this week. One of us hated it and the other loved it. join us for this "comedy" about some very bad Nuns in medieval Italy.

Sarah visited Medieval Times with guests Dawn Gildenmeister and Benjamin White - and she has thoughts. Join us for this special episode in which Sarah, Dawn, and Benjamin chat about terrible maps of Spain, medieval ruling queens, and exciting dressage at the Medieval Times Restaurant!

Netflix has Sarah well and truly scouted. A random recommend from the service leads us to the "Arab Lands" in search of knowledge.

Dungeon Siege is a video game that neither Sarah nor Ollie has played. This is a movie based on that game. Its also the worst movie covered so far. "Enjoy"

Dawn Gildenmeister joins us this week as we talk about one of our favourite films- A Knights Tale. Don't expect any sort of proper criticism here. This movie is a barrel of fun. Ollie's audio is a little funky in this but it is listenable. Enjoy!

Our first TV show. Something Ollie avoided for ten years. Turns out....It is great!!

CW: Violence against women Today Sarah and Ollie tackle a movie so bad it led to the formation of the Ifft-Decker Test. It also leads to a revision of our review scoring policy.

Join us as we have our first ever special Guest- and it's Sarah's Mom! Beth Greenfeld is a wonderful lady who tells us what's what about the Science and History "romp" that is Timeline.

Romeo and Juliet? Lancelot and Guinevere? Before these famous couples we had one that was more star crossed and more betraying than both of those combined. Sit down and strap in as Sarah and Ollie discuss some of the most foolish teenagers in literary history.

Buckle up as we go a little of our remit to discuss a movie that is just a barrel of fun. The Three Musketeers from 1993 starring Robin and Jack Bauer. We both loved this ridiculous movie!

Ollie's other favourite Faux-Historical figure makes his debut on the podcast as we talk about the steaming turd that is Ridley Scott's Robin Hood. Enjoy!

Join us as we discuss the little known and pretty strange adaptation of the 47 Ronin legend. Clive Owen turned down James Bond. Bet it feels like a poor choice now. Morgan Freeman never turned down anything. We had fun on this one and sorry for the background noise!

Join Sarah and Ollie as we talk about the mid 90's Medieval RomCom First Knight. Its a movie that features a lot of smoldering looks and also a lot of men being complete tools. CW: We discuss consent "laws" in the middle ages and it gets quite intense.

Our First Episode! Welcome as we talk about Braveheart and find out what it does right, what it gets wrong and just what alternatives we could create.