Episodes

  • Matilda of Canossa: Medieval Italy's Iron Countess
    May 12 2026

    What if one medieval woman could outwit emperors, shape popes, and force Henry IV to stand barefoot in the snow?

    Dr. Katherine Harvey joins Dr. Eleanor Janega to tell the astonishing story of Matilda of Canossa, the Iron Countess of Tuscany, whose fortress at Canossa became the stage for the famous Walk to Canossa. Discover her political brilliance, brutal family dramas, papal alliances, failed marriages, and the legacy that kept her name alive for centuries.


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    Medieval Italy

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    Pope vs. Emperor: An 11th Century Crisis

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    Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

    All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

    Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.


    Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    43 mins
  • Battle of the Eras: Medieval vs Early Modern
    May 8 2026

    What if the medieval world did not end with a bang, but with a messy argument over who gets to define history itself? Matt Lewis spars with Not Just The Tudors' host Professor Suzannah Lipscomb to spar over Gutenberg, the Reformation, witchcraft, plague, the Renaissance, and the Wars of the Roses to ask where medieval ends and early modern begins. The result is a lively, surprising fight over power, change, and the making of the modern world.


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    Why The Early Middle Ages Matter

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    The Black Death

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    Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

    All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

    Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.


    Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    55 mins
  • Cadaver Synod: Trial of a Dead Pope
    May 5 2026

    What could drive a pope to put a corpse on trial?

    In 897, Rome staged one of the Middle Ages’ strangest spectacles: the Cadaver Synod, where Pope Stephen VI exhumed his predecessor and put his body on trial. Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Jessica Wärnberg to unpack the violent politics behind the outrage, the rival factions at stake, and why this gruesome event still fascinates today.


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    Conclave: Picking Popes

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    Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor

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    Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. It was edited by Amy Haddow, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

    All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

    Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.


    Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    56 mins
  • Christine de Pizan: Pioneering French Feminist
    May 1 2026

    How did a widowed mother transform loss, politics and misogyny into one of the most accomplished literary careers in medieval history?

    From the Parisian court to contemporaneously telling the story of Joan of Arc, Christine de Pizan was Europe’s first professional woman writer and publisher. Matt Lewis is joined by Katherine Pangonis to explore her extraordinary life and uncover the story of one of history's most formidable writers.


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    Trial of Joan of Arc

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    Julian of Norwich

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    Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

    All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

    Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.


    Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    57 mins
  • Saving Byzantium
    Apr 28 2026

    Did Constantinople’s fall in 1453 end the Byzantine Empire as neatly as we think?

    Dr. Eleanor Janega and Dr. Laura Bolick unpack the Empire's dramatic final years and reveal a story far more complex than simple decline. Through the lives of Isidore of Kiev and Bessarion, they explore desperate diplomacy, church union, Ottoman expansion, and the political gambles behind the demise of Constantinople.


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    The Rise of Constantinople with Bettany Hughes

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    The Fall of Constantinople

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    Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

    All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

    Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.


    Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Offa, King of the Mercians
    Apr 24 2026

    Was Offa a tyrant whose reputation was forever tainted by the killing of his prospective son-in-law? Or a visionary ruler whose achievements have been overshadowed by legend?

    Offa is largely known for murderous acts and building a dyke. But he was so much more: a great leader who reshaped Mercia into the dominant power in southern Britain, and pioneered new models of kingship that would influence generations.

    Matt Lewis talks to Professor Rory Naismith, to rehabilitate Offa and challenge the way we understand power in early medieval England.


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    Rise of Mercia

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    Rise of Wessex

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    Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producers are Rob Weinberg and Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

    All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

    Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.


    Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Challenging the Pope: The Avignon Papacy
    Apr 21 2026

    Who would pick a fight with the Pope?? Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega dive into the explosive clash between Pope Boniface VIII and Philip IV of France, a head of state who dared to challenge papal power. From taxes and excommunication to arrest and humiliation, this is a gripping story of ambition, authority, and the Avignon Papacy.


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    Pope Vs. Emperor: An 11th Century Crisis

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    Holy Roman Empire

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    Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

    All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

    Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.


    Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    57 mins
  • Legends of Richard the Lionheart
    Apr 17 2026

    Was Richard the Lionheart really England’s greatest medieval hero? Or is he one of history’s most successful myths, more heroic in legend than in life?

    Over eight centuries, Richard has handled Excalibur, been celebrated in medieval romance, reinvented in novels and films, and even transformed into a character in Assassin’s Creed.


    Matt Lewis is joined by Dr. Heather Blurton to dig into the myths of Richard the Lionheart and ask why they endured and what they reveal about the societies that needed Richard to be larger than life.


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    King Henry II

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    King John: Worst Medieval Monarch?

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    Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producers are Joseph Knight and Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

    All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

    Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.


    Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    52 mins