Gone Medieval

Was King Robert the Bruce a true Scottish freedom fighter or a ruthless, self-interested politician?

Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega are getting stuck into the riotous, bloody history of the legendary Scottish king, from constant backstabbing and the murder of his rivals, to the stunning underdog victory at the Battle of Bannockburn, they explore how Robert the Bruce finally secured Scottish independence.

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William Wallace, Scottish Rebel

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King Edward I: Hammer of the Scots

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How did harmless medieval healers become hunted as terrifying, devil-worshiping conspirators? Matt Lewis and Professor Marion Gibson explore the chilling origins of the witch trials; how a humiliated inquisitor named Heinrich Kramer, after being publicly defied by a local woman in Innsbruck, penned the infamous Malleus Maleficarum? This sinister manual weaponised folk magic and unleashed centuries of terror across Europe.

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Supernatural Medieval Ireland

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Murder in Anglo-Saxon England

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Why would the execution of a single Czech priest spark decades of bloody revolution across Europe? In 1414, the outspoken reformer Jan Hus was promised safe conduct to a church council, only to be arrested, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake. Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis as they uncover the explosive Hussite Wars; a brutal conflict over church corruption, communion wine, and the right to preach in one's mother tongue. Did this rebellion pave the way for the Reformation?

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The Czech Braveheart: Jan Žižka

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In 1441, one of England's most powerful women was forced to walk barefoot through London's streets as a convicted sorceress. What drove Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester, to the occult? Dr. Eleanor Janega sits down with bestselling novelist Philippa Gregory to uncover the political conspiracy, the astrology, and the shocking discovery of a wax doll buried at midnight. Was this genuine treasonous magic, or the ultimate political takedown of a dangerously ambitious woman?

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Real Medieval Women with Philippa Gregory

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The Battle of Agincourt is remembered as the ultimate David versus Goliath victory, where King Henry V’s small, exhausted army unleashed a devastating "hailstorm of arrows" to obliterate a French force twice their size. Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis uncover how this legendary clash was actually a brilliantly calculated slaughter against a fractured nation, securing Henry's throne and permanently forging the myth of the English underdog.

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Queen Isabella: She-Wolf of France

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After Agincourt: Henry V’s French Campaigns

Forget everything you know about the Vikings. Matt Lewis and Thomas Williams explore the forgotten era when Scandinavian warriors abandoned their pagan roots to become devout Christian crusaders. Armed with the Pope's sanction, these former raiders turned their legendary fury eastward, destroying four-headed pagan idols in the Baltic, launching bloody holy wars, and forging geopolitical divides that still echo across Europe today.

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How to Live Like A Viking

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What Caused the Viking Age?

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Step onto the dusty and dangerous fields of the medieval tournament with the only knightly teammates worth having: Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis *sound trumpets*

They discover how chaotic and brutal melees evolved into a highly lucrative sport where losing knights instantly forfeited their battle horses and armour.

Enter the wild world of medieval pageantry, from campy decorative helmets and spring-loaded shields designed to shatter, to peculiar tournament prizes - a live pig on a leash, anyone?

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How To Win A Medieval Battle

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What can the contents of a medieval French woman’s handbag tell us about her life, her beliefs and the strange world she inhabited?

When she was captured by the Inquisition, Béatrice de Planisolles revealed all the juicy details of her forbidden relationships and folk magic practices, and why one should always carry dried umbilical cords in one's bag. Is Béatrice the Medieval Lorelai Gilmore?? Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Katherine Pangonis to discuss this incredibly rare insight into a normal woman's life over a thousand years ago.

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Join Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega for a rigorous session of medieval myth-busting! Did William Wallace really shoot lightning from his backside? Did Pope Gregory IX cause the Black Death by ordering a cat genocide? And did King Alfred actually burn those cakes? And the biggest question of all; can Matt and Eleanor keep a straight face as they tackle history's most persistent fibs.

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William Wallace, Scottish Rebel

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Norwich Castle

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In 1381, a highly organised civilian army marched on London, demanding an end to generations of unfairness. Matt Lewis and author A.K. Blakemore explore the human stories behind the Peasants' Revolt. They discover how Chaucer viewed the uprising from his home within London and uncover the forgotten women of 1381, including widows seeking the king's justice, who navigated the chaotic London streets searching for freedom.

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Peasants' Revolt on Film: The Uprising Reviewed

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Richard II vs. Henry IV

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Is 1066 just the Battle of Hastings? Far from it. The war for the English crown was a year-long apocalypse. Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega dissect history's ultimate succession crisis. Follow King Harold as he crushes a Viking armada at Stamford Bridge, only to face William the Conqueror’s brutal heavy cavalry just weeks later. From shattered shield walls to a Christmas coronation that literally went up in flames, Matt and Eleanor relive the ruthless reality of 1066.

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1066 New Discovery: the Myth of Harold's March

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What connects the Bayeux Tapestry and a Cheshire silk-producing town?

Dr. Eleanor Janega makes a special visit to Macclesfield to uncover its medieval past as a royal borough associated with Edward I and Eleanor of Castile. To celebrate the Bayeux Tapestry's arrival in Britain, the community has crafted a stunning "Macclesfield Tapestry" using traditional Bayeux stitches and natural dyes. Listen in as Eleanor explores a medieval dye garden, weaves on a historic loom, and meets the passionate local embroiderers bringing this incredible collaborative artwork to life.

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The Bayeux Tapestry

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Did Shakespeare shape the way we remember England's Plantagenet kings more than history itself? How much of his plays Richard II and Richard III are fact, fiction, or Tudor propaganda?

Professor Emma Smith joins Matt Lewis to separate the history from drama, and discover how Shakespeare balanced historical truth, theatrical brilliance and the political realities of writing under Elizabeth I, to create plays that still shape our understanding of medieval English history today.

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The Bishop who Took Down Richard II

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Did Shakespeare teach us about England's greatest kings, or fabricate its greatest historical myths? How much of what you think you know about Henry IV and Henry V is actually true?

Shakespeare's history plays continue to define our understanding of medieval England, the Plantagenets, the Hundred Years' War, and the rise and fall of England's warrior kings.

But Dr. Eleanor Janega separates history from drama with Professor Emma Smith to reveal how Shakespeare transformed Prince Hal from a wayward youth into England's greatest warrior king, invented the legendary Falstaff, and immortalised Agincourt with the stirring "...

How accurate is Hollywood's take on the Peasants' Revolt? It is 1381, and England is at breaking point. A civilian army of thousands stormed the capital, making demands of King Richard II. Now, Paul Greengrass’s new film, The Uprising, brings the revolt to the big screen, starring Andrew Garfield and Cosmo Jarvis. Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega give their review of the film and separate cinematic fiction from equally exciting historical fact.

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Richard II vs. Henry IV

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The Black De...

"All hope, abandon ye who enter here." These words from Dante’s Divine Comedy may shape our modern vision of hell, but did you know that the Bible says surprisingly little about it? In fact, hell as we know it was constantly reinvented during the Middle Ages.

Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Stephen Hopkins as they descend into the medieval underworld to uncover how apocryphal texts, localised mythologies, and religious anxieties shaped the terrifying, and occasionally hopeful, realms of the afterlife.

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How to Get to Heaven: Papal Indulgences

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Who first imagined King Arthur pulling a shining blade from solid rock? What do extraordinary Bronze Age discoveries reveal about the legend's deeper roots?

Matt Lewis is joined by Amy Jeffs to uncover the surprising origins of the sword in the stone (and other Arthurian legends), tracing them from ancient Welsh poetry and Celtic folklore to medieval romance and Christian symbolism.

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King Arthur

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Prophecies of Merlin

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**Contains very strong language/Tavern talk**

Were runes really magical symbols used by Viking sorcerers? Or were they the everyday handwriting of merchants, lovers, pilgrims and children?

From their mysterious origins and Viking Age memorial stones to medieval shopping lists, love letters and graffiti, runes recorded the lives of ordinary people across Scandinavia, Anglo-Saxon England, and beyond.

Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Professor Tom Birkett to uncover the remarkable history of one of Europe's oldest writing systems.

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Origins of English

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In July 1410, the formidable Teutonic Knights, rapacious crusaders clad in heavy plate armour, faced a massive Polish-Lithuanian alliance. After an insulting taunt involving two unsheathed swords, the Battle of Grunwald erupted into a bloody, day-long melee. Matt Lewis and Dr. Aleks Pluskowski to explore this epic medieval clash.

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Teutonic Knights

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The Last Pagans

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Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer...

In 12th-century Bohemia, every royal funeral sparked a civil war. Dr. Eleanor Janega discovers how Přemysl Otakar I survived backstabbing brothers, imperial betrayals, and a dodgy divorce to seize power. Find out how this 'spare' prince outmanoeuvred the Emperor to forge a powerful hereditary kingdom.

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Pope vs. Emperor: The Investiture Crisis

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Matilda of Canossa, Tuscany

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Czech Braveheart: Jan Žižka

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From where did J.R.R. Tolkien get his ideas for the world of Middle Earth?

For millions of readers, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are more than just fantasy fiction. Their rich mix of sacred mythology and archetypal saga stories draw deeply into history and legend and profoundly resonate with universal human experience.

As with most things, Matt Lewis is determined to claim Middle Earth was inspired by the medieval period, with the help of today's guest, Tolkien scholar Dr. Christopher Snyder.

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Beowulf

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Why have wolves often been the villains of British history? What happened to them and some of the other remarkable creatures that once roamed medieval Britain?

Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Lee Raye to explore Britain's lost wildlife and how extinct species survived long after their disappearance through medieval literature, folklore, religion and myth.

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Fantastic Beasts of the Middle Ages

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Monsters of the Medieval World

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What if you were proclaimed King of England but never sat on the throne? In 1066, Edgar Ætheling possessed the strongest bloodline claim to the English crown, yet this Anglo-Saxon prince became a mere footnote in history.

Matt Lewis and Professor Levi Roach bring this forgotten heir out of the shadows. Discover his extraordinary seventy-year life of rebellions, Norman resistance, and Crusade exploits.

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Edward the Confessor

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The Queer Court of William Rufus

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How did medieval builders create monuments that still leave us awestruck? How were vast cathedrals, temples and cities constructed and embellished?

From Canterbury Cathedral and the palaces of Great Zimbabwe and Venice, to Cambodia's Angkor Wat, some of the greatest achievements of the middle ages depended on extraordinary stonemasons.

Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Simon Warrack to hear the inside stories of the exquisite craftsmanship behind these architectural wonders.

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A Stonemason's Secrets

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Mythbusting Medieval Buildings<...

Was Henry III overthrown by England's first constitutional revolution? How did Simon de Montfort's rebellion change the course of history?

In 1258, a revolutionary movement stripped Henry III of his authority, plunging England into a bitter crisis and a brutal civil war. As Henry fought to suppress an uprising in France, his queen Eleanor of Provence emerged as one of the most formidable political figures of the age.

David Carpenter returns to Gone Medieval to speak to Matt Lewis about the extraordinary final years of one of England's longest-reigning monarchs.

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Was Queen Guinevere a traitorous adulteress who caused the tragic downfall of Camelot, or a complex political survivor? Was she even real? Dr. Eleanor Janega and Arthurian expert Dr. Mary Bateman explore the changing faces of King Arthur’s legendary wife. They discuss her early mythological Welsh roots, scandalous 'affairs' with Lancelot and Mordred, and how medieval queens used this powerful romantic legend for their own real-world political influence.

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King Arthur with Dr. Mary Bateman

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King Arthur's Sex Life

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How did a nine-year-old boy save England from the brink of collapse? How did he transform a disastrous legacy into a remarkably stable reign?

When King John died in 1216, civil war raged, barons invited a French prince to seize the throne, and the new monarch Henry III was just nine years old. Against all odds, the boy king navigated rebellion, rebuilt royal authority after Magna Carta, and laid the foundations for one of the longest reigns in English history.

Matt Lewis finds out more from renowned Medieval historian David Carpenter.

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**WARNING: This episode contains explicit language and sexual content

How did prostitution become so visible in medieval towns? How could sex work flourish, sometimes in the very same buildings as schools, churches and markets?

Prostitutes were a familiar presence in medieval cities, raising fascinating questions about morality, religion, law and urban life.

Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Kate Lister, host of our sister podcast Betwixt the Sheets, to uncover a surprising world where ideals and reality often sat uneasily side by side.

Gone Medieval is presented by...

Matt Lewis and guest Dr Eleanor Barraclough as they dive into the turbulent world of late 10th-century Scandinavia and the extraordinary life of Olaf Tryggvason. Exiled, enslaved, raider, and eventually king of Norway, Olaf was a force of nature in an age of shifting loyalties, pagan beliefs, and rising Christianity. From Kievan Rus to the British Isles, this episode traces his violent rise and his brutal drive to convert Norway and beyond.

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Erik Bloodaxe

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Leif Erikson

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How was folklore woven into the everyday life of medieval Icelanders? How did they make sense of the darkness of their world?

During Iceland's endless nights, tales of trolls, ghosts, elves, hidden people and restless spirits were far more than entertainment: they explained an unpredictable existence, preserved history, and warned against unseen dangers.

Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Dagrún Ósk Jónsdóttir, to explore the extraordinary legends and oral traditions that continue to shape Icelandic culture today.

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Norse Mythology: Creation Myths

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What if “High King” in medieval Ireland was less a fixed office than a fiercely contested prize, won through ritual, lineage, and force? On the Hill of Tara, a would-be ruler climbs toward the Stone of Destiny, hoping for the legendary cry that marks him as chosen.

Matt Lewis and Dr Seán Ó Hoireabhárd explore a world of multiple kings, turn-taking dynasties, cattle raiding, and shifting power between church, Norse settlers, and Irish rivals. Along the way, they reveal how Tara, Brian Boru, and the Uí Néill shaped Ireland’s tangled medieval politics.

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What was life really like for working peasant women in the Middle Ages? How did family, marriage, work and social class shape their choices, joys and struggles?

Taking a break from the usual queens, noblewomen and saints of the Medieval period, Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Catherine Hanley to explore the unsung experiences of mothers and daughters, wives, widows and women workers across medieval society.

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The Anarchy: Disruptive Women

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How to Survive the 14th Century

What does it take to face a Danish invasion and fight for a kingdom in just 222 days?

In 1016, England is at war as Edmund Ironside meets Cnut for a crown on the line. Matt Lewis and Dr David McDermott trace a young warrior king who fought six battles, won his name for speed and strength, and held the field at Sherston, Brentford, and beyond.

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Æthelstan: First King of the English

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King Cnut & the End of the Viking Age

How did an empress become the most dangerous claimant to the English throne?

From the Battle of Lincoln to her legendary escape from Oxford Castle, Matilda was a formidable political actor whose legacy shaped the Plantagenet dynasty.

Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Professor Elisabeth van Houts to explore Matilda’s imperial upbringing, her contested claim after Henry I’s death, the infamous White Ship disaster, and the brutal civil war known as the Anarchy.

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The Anarchy: Disruptive Women

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In 1302, an army of Flemish townsmen achieved the impossible. At the Battle of the Golden Spurs, infantry armed with pikes and determination crushed the mounted knights of Kingdom of France in one of the greatest military upsets of the Middle Ages.

Matt Lewis is joined by Danièle Cybulski to uncover the truth behind this classic David v Goliath story. Why did France invade Flanders? How did ordinary craftsmen defeat Europe's most feared cavalry? And did this famous victory change the course of medieval warfare?

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Deadly Rivalry: Armagnac v Burgundy

Why did a young Roman nobleman reject status and education for a life of prayer, solitude and discipline?

St Benedict’s quiet choices would go on to shape the future of Western civilisation. His is a story of medieval Christianity, monastic life, hospitality, order, prayer and work — and of a different kind of greatness.

Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Tim Larsen to explore the extraordinary life and legacy of St Benedict, founder of Western monasticism and patron saint of Europe.

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St. Christopher & Summertime Saints

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Was King Stephen a weak ruler who plunged England into chaos, or an unlucky monarch trapped by impossible circumstances? How did one disputed succession unleash nearly two decades of civil war, betrayal and brutality, which inspired George R. R. Martin's House of the Dragon?

Matt Lewis and Professor Carl Watkins explore the troubled reign of the king whose seizure of the throne in 1135 helped ignite the devastating conflict remembered as The Anarchy.

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Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior

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The Anarchy...

What starts as a shocking street murder in Paris turns into one of the most vicious civil wars in medieval Europe?

Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Professor Justine Firnhaber-Baker to unravel the blood-soaked conflict between Burgundy and the Armagnacs, a struggle triggered by assassination, fuelled by propaganda, and made more dangerous by a mad king, a divided court and a war-torn France.

They explore the brutal killing of Louis of Orleans, John the Fearless’s rise as a populist strongman, the shocking revenge killings that followed, and how all of it opened the door fo...

What if Scotland’s story began with a miracle in battle, a white cross in the sky, and a kingdom forged through war, faith and sheer ambition?

Matt Lewis is joined by Professor Murray Pittock to race through medieval Scotland, from the Saltire’s legendary origins to Picts, Gaels, Vikings and the rise of Alba. They trace how a patchwork of peoples became a nation.

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Viking Siege of Dumbarton

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Origins of Scottish Independance

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What really made a royal bastard, and could illegitimacy be a path to power as much as a barrier?

Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Lauren Johnson, author of Margaret Beaufort; Survivor, Rebel, Kingmaker to dive into the scandalous world of medieval illegitimacy. They trace how the label of “bastard” developed, why it could upend inheritance, how an explosive accusations could turn the tables of power and how royal children born outside marriage still rose to command armies, influence kings, and reshape dynasties.

This is a story of sex, power and succession, all the good stuf...