Medieval Death Trip

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


All Episodes

MDT Ep. 87: Medieval True Crime III: Death in the Countryside

We return from an unplanned semester hiatus with the third installment of our Medieval True Crime miniseries, continuing to explore the 13th-century coroner’s rolls of rural Bedfordshire (plus one...

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MDT Ep. 86: Concerning the Meaning of Stones

As we kick off the New Year, we take a brief diversion from our Medieval True Crime miniseries to explore the world of precious stones and the extraordinary properties...

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MDT Ep. 85: Medieval True Crime II: Concerning Violent Crime in the Coroner’s Rolls

This episode, we continue our Medieval True Crime series with a trip to late 13th-century Bedfordshire as represented in its Coroner’s Rolls, as well as hear some inadvertently lyrical...

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MDT Ep. 84: Medieval True Crime I – Concerning Miraculous Justice for a Mutilated Priest

For our sixth anniversary episode, we kick off a miniseries on medieval true crime, with the account of a particularly brutal assault on a parish priest, with an additional...

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MDT Ep. 83: Concerning Island Kingdoms, Bloodsuckers, and Flesh-Eaters

This episode, we check in once again with 14th-century traveler Odoric of Pordenone as he takes in the many lands between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea,...

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MDT Ep. 82: Concerning Plague Persecutions

This episode, we examine the persecution of Jews that occurred during the plague years of 1348-1350, including the record of well-poisoning interrogations, the pope’s attempt to quell the violence,...

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MDT Ep. 81: Concerning More Descriptions of the Plague

As life under quarantine begins to enter a new phase, we continue our survey of plague texts, with a grab-bag of selections ranging from Petrarch baring his soul to...

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MDT Ep. 80: Concerning Boccaccio’s Description of the Plague

We return at last for our first episode of 2020 in the midst of the covid-19 global pandemic. As such, our text for today is the famous description of...

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MDT Ep. 79: Concerning Cursed Christmas Carolers and an Unlikely Bishop

This Christmas Eve episode, we return to the Gesta Regum Anglorum of William of Malmesbury, to learn hear some legends of Saxony, including some overly boisterous Christmas revelers cursed...

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