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The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast

The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast

by Will Beattie, Jonathan Correa Reyes, Loren Cantrell, Reed O'Mara, & Logan Quigley

History Society & Culture

Season 5

Books Without Borders: Arabic Manuscripts and the Making of the Global Middle Ages

In this episode, Mourad Tadghout explores how manuscript cultures shaped intellectual exchange across medieval Eurasia and the Mediterranean. Focusing on the transmission of texts such as Ibn Sina’s Canon of Medicine, Tadghout traces the movement of knowledge from Baghdad to Toledo and beyond. The episode highlights the collaborative nature of translation, commentary, and scholarly exchange, challenging narratives of isolation and rethinking the medieval world as deeply interconnected across cultures and languages. For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

Speculum Spotlight | Child’s Play and the Provenance of the Bodley Alexander

In this episode, producer Reed O’Mara sit down with Georgetown professor Sarah McNamer about her contribution to Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies, in which McNamer explores the provenance and purpose of the Bodley Alexander manuscript (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 264 [Part A, fols. 3–208]). Namer’s article suggests that the manuscript can be read as a medieval version of a children’s search-and-find activity book and that it was made for a young prince. For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

The Global Gyrfalcon

This episode takes a bird’s eye view of the global medieval world, following the trade and giving of arctic gyrfalcons across vast distances. Caitlin, Sam, Bjørn, and Ragnar discuss the capture and keeping of these rare birds in Scandinavia and their cultural significance in Europe, China and the Islamic world. For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

Disability and Medieval Studies: Then and Now

In this episode of The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast, the editors of the recent volume Towards an Accessible Academy discuss disability, academia, and medieval studies with several of the authors. Combining interviews with chapter readings, Dr. Alex R. A. Lee and Dr. Hope Doherty-Harrison break down key concepts and consider how they as disabled medievalists do their work, and how we can make the academy better for everyone. Content notes: This episode contains mentions of suicide (22:50–22:55, 23:33–22:50, 24:03–25:28) and of surgery/surgical wounds (28:34–28:36, 30:40–32:00, 36:42–36:54). For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

St. Christopher Cynocephalus in Contemporary Russia

In this episode, Dr. Polina Ignatova deconstructs the spectrum of diverse roles of St. Christopher in the contemporary societal discourses in Russia. She argues that the public knowledge about St. Christopher is sporadic and unsystematized, resulting in the saint’s image being used by both oppressors and oppressed. For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

Widows are Doin' It for Themselves: Piety and Power in the Tomb of Alice Chaucer

In this episode, Zelda Cahill-Patten and Sofia Holmberg explore the unusual tomb of Alice Chaucer, a wealthy and influential noblewoman living in 15th-century England. Together, Zelda and Sofia unpack clues about Alice’s life as a pious and powerful widow, from her religious practices of bodily discipline, to the books she read, to the striking monument itself. For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

Echoes of Empire: Persian Kingship in the Medieval Islamic World

Was there really a medieval “Dark Age”? In this episode, Dr. Natasha Parnian unpacks what happened after the fall of the Sasanian Empire—and why Persian kingship didn’t simply disappear. From Abbasid Baghdad to medieval Iran, ancient ideas of justice, divine glory, and sacred rule reshaped Islamic authority. The Persian king was gone, but his political afterlife was just beginning. For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

Speculum Spotlight | The Marriage of a Cleric and Canon in 12th-Century Paris: Heloise, Abelard, and the Evolution of Clerical Celibacy

In this episode, producer Loren Cantrell chats with Stanford professor Fiona Griffiths about her latest contribution to Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies, in which Griffiths revisits the famously complex relationship between Heloise and Abelard. Griffiths situates Heloise’s striking language within the shifting landscape of 12th-century debates on clerical marriage and reform, offering a powerful reinterpretation of one of the Middle Ages’ most challenging couples. For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

A Multicultural Case for the Study of the Early Middle Ages

How might the study of multiculturalism in the Middle Ages differ across historical period and academic specialization? In this episode, Fordham University master’s students Kristian Powell and Sean Maldonado discuss their experiences studying the early medieval period. They reflect on conversations from their coursework, the importance of professorial/institutional support, and what excites them most about the diversity of the early medieval period. For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

Pandemic in the Medieval World: Teaching a New Black Death Narrative in the 21st Century

How do pandemics happen? In this episode, historians of medieval medicine Monica H. Green, Winston Black, and Lucy Barnhouse talk with Will Beattie about the genesis of a new open-access teaching module on the Black Death. Our understanding of the late medieval pandemic has been transformed not only because of advances in the biological sciences, but also because historians have recently discovered—or newly interpreted—written records from the 13th and 14th centuries. For the first time, the Islamicate world’s experience is centered in the narrative, allowing entirely new perspectives on the Afro-Eurasian pandemic to be revealed. Access the History of the 21st Century module here! For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

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