How do you bring down a castle tower? In 1215, King John's answer involved a tunnel and the fat of 40 pigs. Explore the siege of Rochester. medievalarchives.com/2026/06/10/t...
Medieval Archives
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Illuminating the Dark Ages for the Digital World. Podcast and website dedicated to the medieval era.
Ten books, plenty of medieval murders, and some tough cuts. Cadfael, Sister Fidelma, Owen Archer, and more made my medieval mystery countdown. Which novel or detective series did I leave out?
Years of cold rain turned harvests into disaster. Long before the Black Death, the Great Famine devastated medieval Europe. Hear the story on the podcast. medievalarchives.com/2025/11/10/m...
Not every medieval mystery happens in an abbey. The Alewives has three women solving murders after the Black Death. The Apothecary Rose brings us suspicious poisonings in medieval York. Both made my top 10. medievalarchives.com/2026/10/29/1...
A monastery murder mystery or a Viking adventure? Here are 10 medieval historical novels for your reading pile. Which one would you recommend? medievalarchives.com/2026/09/18/1...
Brother Cadfael or William of Baskerville? I ranked A Morbid Taste for Bones ahead of The Name of the Rose in my medieval mystery countdown. Did I get #1 right, or should Umberto Eco take the crown? medievalarchives.com/2026/10/29/1...
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“Hoo...” The voice came from somewhere behind him. Then closer. Then somewhere ahead. Even his dog was scared! Happy Halloween. 👻 The Ghosts of Byland Abbey 🎧 medievalarchives.com/99
Need something a little sinister for Halloween weekend? Monastery murders, poisoned medicines, missing manuscripts, and medieval detectives who know better than to trust appearances. Here are 10 medieval mysteries worth reading. medievalarchives.com/2026/10/29/1...
Medieval monasteries apparently had a murder problem. From Brother Cadfael and The Name of the Rose to mysteries set in Baghdad and Japan, here are 10 medieval mystery novels worth reading. Which would you put at #1? medievalarchives.com/2026/10/29/1...
A monk at Byland Abbey recorded stories of restless spirits, strange apparitions, and the dead who refused to stay buried. Missed Tuesday's episode? The Ghosts of Byland Abbey makes a fitting Halloween listen. medievalarchives.com/99
The Ghosts of Byland Abbey: Medieval Ghost Stories from Yorkshire
The Ghosts of Byland Abbey: Medieval Ghost Stories from Yorkshire
Listen: The Ghosts of Byland Abbey On the Halloween edition of the Medieval Archives Podcast, we head to medieval Yorkshire and to discover the Ghosts of Byland Abbey, including Snowball the Tailor, the restless Robert of Kilburn, the wandering dead rector and several other spirits that refused to stay dead. So pull up a chair,
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👻 NEW EPISODE: The Ghosts of Byland Abbey Shapeshifting spirits. Restless corpses. Haunted roads. A ghost that helps carry a sack of beans. And medieval villagers whose solution to a walking corpse is to catch it! 🎧 medievalarchives.com/99
Four husbands, suspicious deaths, and accusations of sorcery. In 1324, Alice Kyteler found herself at the center of one of medieval Ireland's most notorious witchcraft cases. Hear the story on the podcast. medievalarchives.com/2021/10/24/m...
Medieval News Weekly: An Anglo-Saxon Abbot, a Burgundian Palace and Hanseatic Trade
Medieval News Weekly: An Anglo-Saxon Abbot, a Burgundian Palace and Hanseatic Trade
Medieval News Weekly • 23 Oct 2026 An Anglo-Saxon Abbot, a Burgundian Palace and Hanseatic Trade A Roman sarcophagus at Westminster Abbey may have held one of the monastery’s earliest known abbots. Elsewhere, a monumental complex in Burgundy is revealing how early medieval elites preserved Roman architectural traditions, dozens of cloth seals are tracing Tartu’s
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10 Medieval Movies to Watch This Halloween
10 Medieval Movies to Watch This Halloween
The air turns cooler, the leaves begin to fall and pumpkin spice is everywhere. That means Halloween is right around the corner. It’s the perfect excuse to turn off the lights, grab some popcorn and settle in for a good horror movie. But for some people, contemporary slasher horror isn’t what they want. If you’re
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A murdered jester at Malahide Castle. A bloody chapel at Leap Castle. Ireland has no shortage of ghost stories hiding behind medieval stone walls. Explore the legends. medievalarchives.com/2023/10/03/i...
Braveheart managed to leave the bridge out of the Battle of Stirling Bridge. 🤦 But there are real stories behind many medieval epics. Here are 10 films and the history behind them. medievalarchives.com/2026/09/25/1...
A monk, one night, and a bargain with the Devil. That's the legend behind the Codex Gigas, a massive medieval manuscript with a portrait of Satan inside. Hear the story on the podcast. medievalarchives.com/2024/10/28/m...
A good historical novel can drop you into the Middle Ages without the mud or disease. Here are 10 worth adding to your reading list. Which one would you recommend? medievalarchives.com/2026/09/18/1...
And then there’s the lightning round... 🍺 Bad medieval water 📏 Tiny medieval people ⚔️ Helpless knights 👹 Horned Vikings 🔥 Witch burnings 🔒 Chastity belts Some myths don't survive very long. 🎧 Medieval Mythbusting medievalarchives.com/98
Hollywood rule #1 for the Middle Ages: Add mud. Lots of mud. But did medieval people really never bathe? That’s Myth 6 in Medieval Mythbusting: Mud, Misery and Other Medieval Myths. 🎧 medievalarchives.com/98
Did medieval people really think the Earth was flat? It’s one of the most persistent myths about the Middle Ages. So naturally, we had to bust it. 🎧 Medieval Mythbusting: Mud, Misery and Other Medieval Myths medievalarchives.com/98
Medieval Mythbusting: Mud, Misery and Other Medieval Myths
Medieval Mythbusting: Mud, Misery and Other Medieval Myths
Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you purchase a book through one of them, Medieval Archives may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Every little bit helps keep the Archives going. Listen to Medieval Mythbusting If movies, television and popular culture are to be believed, medieval people spent
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Everyone in the Middle Ages was filthy, short, drunk and dead by 30. The new Medieval Archives Podcast is out: Medieval Mythbusting: Mud, Misery and Other Medieval Myths 8 big myths + a lightning round. 🎧 medievalarchives.com/98
Medieval News Weekly: Rare Silver, Little England and Medieval Plumbing
Medieval News Weekly: Rare Silver, Little England and Medieval Plumbing
Medieval News Weekly • 09 Oct 2026 Rare Silver, Little England and Medieval Plumbing A silver hoard from the medieval Baltic world, Anglo-Saxon coins beneath a Roman palace, and the practical infrastructure of monasteries and hospitals lead this week’s discoveries. Together, the stories show medieval communities through the objects they carried, the money they spent,
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Medieval News Weekly: Scottish Monastery, Cathedral Spire, Medieval Heating and Pamplona’s Hidden Gate
Medieval News Weekly: Scottish Monastery, Cathedral Spire, Medieval Heating and Pamplona’s Hidden Gate
Medieval News Weekly • 01 Oct 2026 Scottish Monastery, Cathedral Spire, Medieval Heating and Pamplona’s Hidden Gate The medieval world continues to emerge from unexpected places. Community excavations on a small Scottish island are revealing a major early Christian center, while conservators in Glasgow have begun the careful reconstruction of a fifteenth-century spire. In Basel,
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I picked 10. Now tell me what I got wrong. What medieval movie based on a true story should have made the list? Bonus points if it's something most people haven't seen.