From long-lost Viking ships to kings buried in unexpected places; from murders and power politics, to myths, religion, the lives of ordinary people: Gone Medieval is History Hit’s podcast dedicated to the middle ages, in Europe and far beyond.
New episodes every Tuesday and Friday.
A podcast by History Hit, the world's best history channel and creators of award-winning podcasts Dan Snow's History Hit, The Ancients, and Betwixt the Sheets.
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Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
Peasants' Revolt on Film: The Uprising Reviewed
#9 trending · History
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 o
Sep 18 1 h 02 min
The Invention of Hell
"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 littl
Sep 15 54 min
Sword in the Stone: Origins of Arthurian Legends
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 i
Sep 11 51 min
How to Read Runes
**Contains very strong language/Tavern talk**
Were runes really magical symbols used by Viking sorcerers? Or were they the everyday handwriting of merchants, lovers, pil
Sep 8 52 min
Battle of Grunwald: Defeat of the Teutonic Knights
In July 1410, the formidable Teutonic Knights, rapacious crusaders clad in heavy plate armour, faced a massive Polish-Lithuanian alliance. After an insulting taunt involv
Sep 4 57 min
The King Who Created Medieval Bohemia
In 12th-century Bohemia, every royal funeral sparked a civil war. Dr. Eleanor Janega discovers how Přemysl Otakar I survived backstabbing brothers, imperial betrayals, an
Sep 1 51 min
Tolkien: Middle Earth and the Middle Ages
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 ficti
Aug 28 36 min
Extinct Beasts of Medieval Britain
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. Elean
Aug 25 1 h 03 min
Edgar Ætheling: The King Who Never Was
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 An
Aug 21 1 h 02 min
Great Buildings of the Middle Ages
How did medieval builders create monuments that still leave us awestruck? How were vast cathedrals, temples and cities constructed and embellished?
From Canterbury Cathe
Aug 18 58 min
Henry III vs. Simon de Montfort
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 movem
Aug 14 46 min
Guinevere: The Queen Who Broke Camelot?
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 Arthuria
Aug 11 54 min
Henry III: England's Longest Reigning King
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
Aug 7 48 min
Medieval Sex Work & Brothels
**WARNING: This episode contains explicit language and sexual content
How did prostitution become so visible in medieval towns? How could sex work flourish, sometimes
Aug 4 41 min
Olaf Tryggvason: Viking Warlord or Christian King?
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,
Jul 31 57 min
Folk Legends of Iceland
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 t
Jul 28 57 min
High Kings of Ireland
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 r
Jul 24 54 min
How to Survive as a Medieval Woman
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
Jul 21 1 h 01 min
Edmund Ironside: The 222-Day King
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. M
Jul 17 52 min
Empress Matilda: Queen of the Romans, Ruler of the English
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 formida
Jul 14 49 min
What listeners say
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
I understand and sympathize with the desire of historians to popularize events that otherwise might seem stuffy and boring, but this podcast overdoes it to the point of annoyance. The facts and the narrative thread get lost amid self-satisfied in-jokes and anachronistic vernacular descriptions. I suspect one problem is that the participants are generally under-prepared and thus have to improvise. As a scholar myself, I can’t stand that when I hear it at an academic conference, and I can’t stand it here either.
GSL in NYC · Jul 2026
She is one of the best historians to listen to in order to learn something new and be entertained at the same time. She and Dr. Kate Lister need to do more podcasts together.
BriGuyRN · Jul 2026
I see a lot of comments disparaging Dr. janega I’d encourage everyone to ignore them and give this pod a chance! Love that there’s a wide range of topics covered, and while not all may appeal to me I can always count on finding something to learn about today
Cestlaviestephi · Aug 2024
The hosts (Matt and Eleanor) make listening to Gone Medieval feel like a fun chat with friends. They make history accessible and entertaining and I look forward to new episodes each week. This is legit my fave podcast I can’t recommend it enough!
Quirkynotcrazy · Aug 2024
This series is like two different podcasts. The shows hosted by Matt Lewis are usually awesome. But the ones hosted by Eleanor Janega are horrible. The topics are interesting, and the guests are interesting, but her presentation and tone and approach are just so appalling that I can hardly stand to listen to her. She is obviously intelligent, but just really does not present well at all. She has this jokey, laughing style that can charitably be described as adolescent. The recent episode on the murder of Thomas Beckett is an example. It is so interesting to look behind the general mythology of the murder — that perhaps Beckett knew the murder was coming, and was preparing himself for it, in the hope of being sainted. But her snorting laughter about his wearing a hairshirt and general “hoo haw, this is just hilariously funny stuff” attitude toward a serious subject are so offensive. Even if it occurred in the long distant past, the subject is still one of violence and murder. Would we countenance this presentation for a description of a recent murder? I had to stop listening. Really wish the producers would pay attention to the generally negative comments about Dr. Janega and how the subject matter in this show is being presented. Her style is perhaps suitable to an audience of teenagers — but is that really the audience here? For the record, I am an American woman, and do not object to an American accent or the fact that Dr. Janega is a woman. I would feel the same about an English male presenter.
RBDC111 · Dec 2024
Listened to most of the Pope and the Emperor episode and it was not great. The way the investiture crisis was discussed weirdly veered between assuming one knows nothing or next to nothing about the topic and then acting like we can just hit some highlights and giggle about them. I learned about the story from listening to the British History Podcast where some of the key events were discussed as Pope Gregory, his reforms and his conflict with Henry intersected with William the Conqueror’s actions on the continent. I was hoping to get more detail on this podcast but honestly think I had gotten more detail on BHP. My criticism would be that first we have to catch everyone up on who the main protagonists, as it were, are, what their bullet point histories were and what they did. But the episode confusingly threw in dates 2/3rds of the way in, mentioned key elements off handedly and was just a jumbled mess.
Vovik24a · Jul 2024
We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.
Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Gone Medieval, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
