Leaving no stone unturned in our quest for the weirdest stories, guys, and art from the Middle Ages.
The Weird Medieval Guys podcast is brought to you by Olivia, the creator of internet sensation Weird Medieval Guys, and
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It's grim up north... Why did a five-hundred-year-old Viking colony in Greenland suddenly disappear, with no trace or record? In this episode, Olivia, Aran, and local archaeologist Joe Mason assemble to try and solve one of the most enduring mysteries in medieval history. It's a quest that will take them out of the libertarian "paradise" of 11th century, to the freezing walrus-infested shores of Greenland, and beyond - to the promised land of Vinland. Along the way they'll encounter Native American ghosts, Inuit revenge epics, and the Vikings' love of pointless, cyclical violence. Sources: The Saga of the Greenlanders: https://vidforul.wordpress.com/the-saga-of-the-greenlanders/ The Saga of Erik the Red: https://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en "Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo" by Hinrich Johannes Rink: https://sacred-texts.com/nam/inu/tte/index.htm Music used: Peta, Etulu & Susan - This Land is Your Land (Inuktitut) - https://citizenfreak.com/titles/319453-peta-etulu-susan-songs-by-etulu-susan-peta Olafur reid med Bjorgum fram - https://www.loc.gov/item/2017701460/
Yes, you heard us right!! Join Olivia and Aran as they defend their most dubious claim to date, which is definitely not just an excuse to step beyond our usual remit and talk about the wild, delightful world that was Edo Period Japan! We explore why Edo Japan was so cut off from the world and the effects this had on its society, plus some of the cultural developments that took place along the way. Also discussed are The legend of the tanuki and the trainhttps://www.proquest.com/docview/1036926966?sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals Kume Kunitake's diaries of travel in Europle and the United Stateshttps://archive.org/details/japanrisingiwaku0000kume/ An overview of the Satsuma rebellionhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/2383560 The decline of the Japanese warrior classhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/25790888 The song used in this episode is sōran bushi, a Japanese folk song traditionally sung by fishers.
Journey across space and time with Olivia and Aran this week as we head to medieval Wales, home of one of history's finest bardic traditions. But what was a bard, what did they do, and why did Wales have so darn many of them? Give the episode a listen to learn all this and more! Also discussed are sand worms, long houses, and why foxes are better than babes. For more on some of what we discuss, check out: English translations of Dafydd ap Gwilym's poetryhttps://dafyddapgwilym.net/eng/3win.php Y Goddodinhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/48578318 The Court Poets of the Welsh Princeshttps://www.jstor.org/stable/459824 Performance and Literacy in Medieval Welsh Poetryhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/3737807 Music sources for this episode: Intro: https://archive.org/details/78_bugeilior-gwenith-gwyn-idle-days-in-summer-time_gwilym-williams-frances-williams_gbia0015181a Breaks: https://archive.org/details/78_evanss-jigg_the-folk-dance-orchestra-w-s-gwynn-williams-p-green-philip-green_gbia0511441b Bard rap battle (track 3): https://archive.org/details/lp_spanish-medieval-music_new-york-pro-musica-alfonso-x-el-sabio/disc1/01.03.+Cantigua+XXV%3B+Cantigua+CXXXIX.mp3
Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo... Spring is just around the corner in the northern hemisphere, so it's time to learn some animal facts! Turns out, medieval people had all sorts of strange beliefs about wildlife both real and imagined. So, join Olivia, Aran, and beloved naturalist Sir David Attenborough* as they take you to meet fruit-rustling hedgehogs, homicidal pelicans, immortal eagles, and the most tender lovers in the animal kingdom: bears. Also discussed: the existential terror of Animorphs, CS Lewis' creative process, and which animals are Jesus. An excellent English translation of a Latin bestiary https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/PVFA6XOOSG2448C The Ashmole Bestiary https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/faeff7fb-f8a7-44b5-95ed-cff9a9ffd198/ The Northumberland Bestiary https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/109AX3 *Not really.
Anyone who's anyone in the Middle Ages needs their own coat of arms, but it's not as simple as just throwing some snazzy shapes and cool animals on a shield and calling it a day. Join Olivia and Aran as they walk you through how to make your very own authentically (or inauthentically) medieval coat of arms, as well as a little bit of background on how and why these cool emblems became a quintessential part of medieval visual communication. Also discussed are short king representation, why leopards are bastards, and the glory of Peterhead FC. For more on some of what we discuss, check out: An English translation of John Trevor's heraldic treatisehttps://archive.org/details/medievalheraldry0000ejjo/ Geoffrey Chaucer's testimony in favour of Sir Richard Scropehttps://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/deposition-geoffrey-chaucer-esquire-1386 Heraldry, Ancient and Modern by Charles Boutellhttps://archive.org/details/heraldryancientm00bout/