Medieval Death Trip

Kormak's Saga (Part 2)

We continue with Kormak's Saga as a new lead character is introduced, Holmgang Bersi, who soon becomes ensnared in the drama of the cursed romance of Kormak and Steingerd

Kormak's Saga (Part 1)

We inaugurate our first "Saga Summer" a bit late this year, but starting with an early poet's saga, a tale of love and betrayal, duels and magic. This is Part 1 (of 4) of

Concerning a Voyage to India via the Strait of Hormuz

As vacation season kicks off, we revisit 14th-century traveler Friar Odoric at the very start of his journey, as he crosses from the Black Sea to the Persian Gulf, passes

Concerning Seizure and Possession (Part 2): Medieval Methods

We complete our look at epilepsy in the Middle Ages by considering how religion and medicine intersect in surviving medical texts and how classical learning was reintrodu

Concerning Seizure and Possession (Part 1): The Greek Tradition

This episode we begin a two-part exploration into the understanding and treatment of epilepsy in the middle ages. But to get to the medieval, we have to start with its an

Concerning the Life and Miracles of St. Winefred

As a follow-up to our 2025 saint's-life generating Advent Calendar game, we hear an actual medieval saint's life and discuss how we get some of our saintly terminology. Y

Appendix to Ep. 120: Some Sts. Valentines' Lives

In this prelude appendix to our episode on saint's lives, we hear versions of the life of St. Valentine from three different medieval sources. Today's Texts: First Engl

Concerning Hinzelmann the Kobold

As we enter the season of elves and Christmas spirits, we follow up on our fairy theme from last episode with a look at the famous 16th-century German hausgeist, Hinzelma

Concerning Redcaps

For our eleventh anniversary episode, we follow the fairy path of the redcap, from recent cinema through tabletop gaming, into Victorian folklorists and Romantic balladee

Concerning More 8th-Century Visions of Hell

This episode we continue further with Bede as he relates two more afterlife visions of a more infernal nature, and then we hear Gregory the Great answer some questions ab

Concerning the Near-Death Visions of Fursa and Dryhthelm

This episode we explore two glimpses of the afterlife presented by the Venerable Bede and consider how they relate to the modern conception of the near death experience.

The Voyage of the Uí Corra (Part 2)

This episode we finally enter the open ocean with the Uí Corra and their fellow pilgrims as they explore strange new lands, seek out new afterlives and new sects, and bol

The Voyage of the Uí Corra (Part 1)

In this episode, we embark on another Irish adventure with the first part (of two) of "The Voyage of the Uí Corra," in which we don't actually set sail until final paragr

St. Patrick's Letter to Coroticus

For this St. Patrick's Day, we finally present the last canonical text written by St. Patrick, his letter to Coroticus, completing the series we began in Episode 68 with

Concerning the Murder and Miracles of Kenelm of Mercia

This episode, we go into more depth with the legend of St. Kenelm (Cynehelm) and his jealous sister Quendrida (Cwenthryth). We also learn what it means to "crab the parso

Concerning Conjoined Twins, Some Incorruptibles, and Royal Murders

We continue on from last episode's look at the Green Children of Woolpit with a further consideration of what it meant to wonder at a marvel in the middle ages, with addi

Concerning the Green Children of Woolpit and Other Prodigies

This Halloween marks our 10th anniversary, and we observe it by hearing the earliest written accounts of one of the most well-known pieces of medieval weird history: the

Concerning the Miseries of the Flesh according to Pope Innocent III

In this episode, we explore the tradition of contemptus mundi with a text all about how horrible it is to be a human being, On the Misery of the Human Condition, written

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

We continue from our last episode into the years 1212-1214 in the Melrose Chronicle, where we come to the end of the interdict, and perhaps the prophesized end of King Jo

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

We return to the Melrose Chronicle with a notably nasty run of years from 1205 to 1211. We also consider why people -- medieval and modern -- are so captivated by bad new