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the-dane-axeDownload In the mid-19th century, a farmer dug into a strange mound at the former-Viking settlement of Mammen, discovering an extravagant Norse burial chamber. One of the rare findings from the mound was a well-preserved axe head with etched designs featuring a cross-over of Christian and pagan motifs. Become a patron of the show – http://www.medievalextras.com Research & Writing: Joshua Potts Voice: William Landry Music: Epidemic Sound Email me at admin@medievalextras.com

lombards-part-4Download Buy our merch – http://www.medievalextras.com/merch Finding King Arthur: http://www.medievalextras.com/finding-king-arthur You can also get it on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/medievalpodcast It is 572. Italy, having emerged from a decades-long war between the Byzantines and Ostrogoths, has once again fallen under the hegemony of a new European superpower. Lombard military leaders sweep through the provinces, dividing their newly annexed territory into thirty-six duchies. Now they are consolidating their control to mitigate any chance of rebellion from the native Romano-Ostrogothic population. Research & Writing – Joshua Potts Voice: Bill Odman Music: Epidemic Sound, Alexander Nakarada, Kevin Macleod Artwork for several projects was contributed by @g.h.erring on Instagram! Contact me at admin@medievalextras.com

spears-and-seaxesDownload Get official Medieval! merch: http://www.medievalextras.com/merch For monthly premium content: http://www.patreon.com/medievalpodcast A great many weapons were used throughout the Middle Ages to inflict brutal, dismembering damage upon a person’s enemies. The Early Medieval Period was a particularly turbulent era, and it saw the political structure of Europe collapse and struggle to rebuild itself after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It should follow, therefore, that arms and armour played an integral role in this complicated process, as tribes and kingdoms fought battles against each other to establish their borders and hegemonies. We all know the well-loved and famous sword, but many other influential cutting and smashing devices receive far less recognition. Voice: Bill Odman Research & Writing: Joshua Potts Music: Kevin Macleod, Epidemic Sound, SilvermanSound, Alexander Nakarada, AShamaluev

early-medieval-chainmalDownload “Finding King Arthur: The Once and Future King” premium episode now available for $2 at http://www.medievalextras.com/finding-king-arthur. Lifetime access. Your purchase helps us make medieval history accessible! The quintessential image of a medieval knight is a gracious, horse-mounted warrior, clad in shining plate armour. It cannot be denied that this idol is spectacular, but it is unrealistic and implies the use of plate armour as the most common form of defensive clothing in the Middle Ages. This is, in fact, untrue. Throughout the medieval period, especially the Early Middle Ages, chainmail was the best, most practical armour available. Monthly access to premium content: http://www.patreon.com/medievalpodcast Merch: http://www.medievalextras.com/merch Research & Writing: Joshua Potts Voice: Bill Odman Music: Epidemic Sound, Kevin Macloed & Alexander Nakarada Email admin@medievalextras.com for copyright issues and we’ll respond immediately. This episode can be used in other productions for review/criticism purposes only.

lombards-part-3-1Download Purchase your own fantastic Game of Kingdoms deck of cards for $12.99 at http://www.playgameofkingdoms.com. You’ll be supporting the podcast in the process. Go send them some love! On the ramparts of the city of Pavia, the citizens cast their eyes down in misery as they watch the enemy soldiers of King Alboin intercept and destroy another desperate emergency supply train bringing support to the city’s population. Food supplies are running abysmally low and with reinforcement routes blockaded all around the city by Alboin’s soldiers, Pavia’s residents are becoming troubled. They cannot hold out much longer. It seems as if their situation can’t get any worse. The besiegers have dropped rotting animal carcasses over the walls and now disease is rampant, further reducing numbers of the few trained men who can fight back. If the enemies get inside the walls, the citizens know there will be no chance of mounting a resistance. It will be game over. We improved the audio quality of this episode to eliminate muffled audio, and re uploaded. Enjoy! Browse and purchase from our new premium content site: http://www.medievalextras.com Or get monthly access to Medieval! Extras premium content if you prefer a subscription-based model: http://www.patreon.com/medievalpodcast Research and Writing: Joshua Potts Voice: Bill Odman Music: Kevin Macelod, SilvermanSound, numerous artists from Epidemic Sound. Please email me at admin@medievalextras.com for copyright issues.

anglo-saxon-housingDownload Support the podcast and gain access to all premium content: http://www.patreon.com/medievalpodcast For premium episodes and videos: http://www.medievalextras.com A heavy cloak of smoke hangs in the room, stinging your eyes and nostrils. The reeking smell of manure makes the single room of your family’s house an unpleasant place to stay. Right in the middle a large fire rages in a pit, spewing angry red flames towards a charred black pot boiling an ugly soup of water and stinging nettles, hanging on a metal rod over the fire. You hate the rough rags on your hard, cold bunk and you despise the prickly rushes on the floor. But this is your home. It is all you have ever known. Research & Writing: Joshua Potts Voice: Bill Odman Music: Kevin Macleod, Alexander Nakarada, AShamaluev Please email admin@medievalextras.com for copyright issues.

medextrasDownload Visit http://www.medievalextras.com to find our first premium project, Finding King Arthur, a dramatic 30-minute podcast episode about the legend of Arthur and modern attempts to unveil his mysterious and deceptive identity. You can also visit http://www.medievalextras.com to vote on future project ideas. Medieval! Extras offers a better premium content model than Patreon; here’s why: You only pay for the content you’re interested inThere are no recurring paymentsThe content is yours for life If you prefer a subscription-based model, however, Patreon supporters get access to all premium content we post on Medieval! Extras: http://www.patreon.com/medievalpodcast Please help us make Medieval! Extras a reality!

Help us make more episodes – http://www.patreon.come/medievalpodcast “In a short time, swarms of the aforesaid nations came over into the island, and the foreigners began to increase so much that they became a source of terror to the natives themselves who had invited them. Then, having on a sudden entered into league with the Picts, whom they had by this time repelled by force of arms, they began to turn their weapons against their allies.“ Research & Writing: Joshua Potts Voice: Bill Odman Music: Alexander Nakarada, Kevin Macleod, AShamaluev Funding: Thank you to all supporters on Patreon!

Please help us make more episodes! http://www.patreon.com/medievalpodcast In the mid-5th century, a new wave of migrants appeared in Britain from across the Channel. The Anglo-Saxons were well-cultured, sophisticated and determined. But what were these often-misunderstood invaders looking for in the rainy hills, fields and crags of Britannia? Research & Writing: Joshua Potts Voice: Bill Odman Music: Kevin Macleod, Silverman Sound, Alexander Nakarada. Funding: all of YOU!

lombards-part-2-1Download News of Albo-In’s astounding victories are spreading far and wide, playing vividly in the imaginations of all who hear them. In Pannonia, Alboin, the fierce warrior king, is preparing for the greatest challenge and ambition of his lifetime. Italia. The Eternal City. All that is rich and abundant lies in the sacred cradle of Europe. And very soon it will be his for the taking. Research & Writing: Joshua Potts Voice: Bill Odman Music: Alexander Nakarada & AShamaluev Help us make better episodes: http://www.patreon.com/medievalpodcast

Europe’s next big shark – hungry for territory, proud of its past victories, and in search of a new homeland – comes to dominate Italia, taking swift advantage of its abysmal state and critical power vacuum. They were the Lombards, from “lango” and “barba” – the men with long beards. In half a decade, under their king Alboin, they will cement a powerful realm that will last undefeated for more than two centuries, fundamentally changing the course of early medieval history in Europe.

In 410 AD, with the last remaining Roman legions being called to defend the mainland against Germanic invaders, Emperor Honorius advised the people of Britain to “look to their own defenses”, a statement which effectively ended the island’s connection to the Roman empire. In the power vacuum that ensued, Britain was left divided and in shambles, ill-equipped to defend themselves against the encroaching Anglo-Saxon invaders. Faced with threats on all fronts, and with no help in sight, the Britons were locked in a desperate fight for their survival. Research – Medieval! Team Writing & Production – Joshua Potts Voiceover – Medieval! Team Music – Alexander Nakarada

When did Christmas originate? How did the pagans and Romans celebrate it? What were festive celebrations like in the Middle Ages? And what was a “first footer”? These questions and more answered in the latest episode of Medieval! this year! Buy the Medieval! Team cookies and milk – http://www.patreon.com/medievalpodcast

Vikings. Or Northmen, Pagans, Foreigners, Rus. These and many names were given to the people who came to be one of the greatest nuisances to Europe after the Barbaric invasion and the great crisis that ended the Roman Empire. They were so feared that the Church even declared that the apocalypse was near and the Vikings were, in fact, the soldiers of the antichrist. Norsemen came from the Danish and Scandinavian peninsula, as well as other Northern regions, and they were fierce and efficient warriors, well equipped and well trained. They specialized in the art of raiding. They were so incredibly adept to this tactic and their name, “Vikings”, was probably derived from this. 

Get Bonus Episodes: http://www.patreon.com/medievalpodcast It was one of the greatest deeds in the history of the Roman Empire – the glorious but brief restoration of the Western Roman provinces, the capture of Rome, and the series of month-long sieges in order to take back major Italian cities. From 535 to 554 AD, the Byzantines and Ostrogoths fought furiously over the peninsula. By the last year of the war, the Byzantines are able to conquer the majority of Italy, but their territorial holdings will soon come under attack by the cruel Langobards later in the century.

Medieval! Armour & Weapons – http://www.knightsatarms.com Of the many religions prominent in the Middle Ages, just one came to both threaten Christianity on a massive scale and bestow remarkable technological and cultural advances upon Europe. It was Islam, the faith of the Middle East, the driving religion behind one of the most mighty communities in all of history, and the one rival which Christianity just could not overcome. From the 7th century onwards, it would come to triumph over the deserts, cities and rivers of North Africa and Asia Minor.

Christianity came to be the most dominant religious force in medieval Europe within just a few centuries. Fraught by conflict, resolution, conversion and massive growth, the early history of Christianity is as fascinating as any other religion. Today I’m joined by Sir Paolo Ostava, a knight of the Templar Order, who studies apologetics and theology, to talk about the undulating past of the world’s most popular religion. Check out @aeterna on Instagram! Make a donation, get a postcard from us! http://www.paypal.me/medievalpodcast

Welcome to Focus! These episodes are for listeners who want to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of medieval eras by learning about notable characters and places. Today… Emperor Zeno. Get bonus episodes: http://www.patreon.com/medievalpodcast We love hearing from you so let us know what episodes you want to see in this mini-series (medievalpodcast@outlook.com).

Welcome to Focus! These episodes are for listeners who want to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of medieval eras by learning about notable characters and aspects. Today… Gregory of Tours. We love hearing from you so let us know what episodes you want to see in this mini-series (medievalpodcast@outlook.com) Your support means the world to us – http://www.patreon.com/medievalpodcast

Taking the typical form of William the Conqueror’s fortifications, Arundel Castle was a motte-and-bailey defence built out of earth and timber. The motte would become the base of the castle’s keep. Measuring over 30 meters high, its size could be used not only to guard the river, but to intimidate the residents of Arundel into behaving. Researched by Ainaa Daniyal Written by Joshua Potts – http://www.joshwriter.com Music – Alexander Nakarada