A Medieval Christmas, 2024

A departure from our usual historical period for the 17th-century story of Osman Agha of Timisoara, an Ottoman soldier taken prisoner in the years after the Battle of Vienna. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Osman Agha of Timisoara. Prisoner of the Infidels. Edited, translated, and introduced by Giancarlo Casale. University of California Press, 2021. Finkel, Caroline. Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. Basic Books, 2005. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A 12th-century execution and the mixed messages in the chronicles around how things had gotten to that point. Did William with the Long Beard offer a better life to those unhappy in Richard I's London, or did he just take advantage of their misery to serve his own vices? If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: The Annals of Roger de Hoveden, translated by Henry T. Riley. Henry G. Bohn, 1853. The Church Historians of England, volume IV, part II, translated by Joseph Stevenson. Seeley's, 1861. Roger of Wendover's Flowers of History, translated by J. A. Giles. Henry G. Bohn, 1849. Alexander, Dominic. "'The People are the Waters': Social Revolt in London, 1196-1381," Counterfire. May 30, 2021. Dennis, David E P. "The Rise and Fall of William Fitz Osbert." McEwan, John. "William FitzOsbert and the Crisis of 1196 in London," Florilegium. Volume 21, 2004. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The conclusion of Nasir Khusraw's story, following his repeated trips from Cairo to Makkah, his struggles in crossing the Arabian Peninsula, and then his journey toward Khorasan. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Hunsberger, Alice C. Nasir Khusraw, the Ruby of Badakhshan: A Portrait of the Persian Poet, Traveller and Philosopher. Bloomsbury Academic, 2002. Khusraw, Nasir. Nāṣer-e Khosraw's Book of Travels, translated by Wheeler McIntosh Thackston. Bibliotheca Persica, 1986. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An 11th-century journey from Jerusalem to Fatimid Egypt. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Fulton, Michael S. Contest for Egypt: The Collapse of the Fatimid Caliphate, the Ebb of Crusader Influence, and the Rise of Saladin. Brill, 2022. Gascoigne, Alison L. "The Water Supply of Tinnis: Public Amenities and Private Investments," Cities in the Pre-Modern Islamic World The Urban Impact of Religion, State and Society. Edited by Bennison, Amira K and Gascoigne, Alison L. Routledge, 2009. Hunsberger, Alice C. Nasir Khusraw, the Ruby of Badakhshan: A Portrait of the Persian Poet, Traveller and Philosopher. Bloomsbury Academic, 2002. Khusraw, Nasir. Nāṣer-e Khosraw's Book of Travels, translated by Wheeler McIntosh Thackston. Bibliotheca Persica, 1986. Thomson, Kirsten. Politics And Power in Late Fāṭimid Egypt: The Reign of Caliph al-Mustanṣir. Bloomsbury Academic, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nasir Khusraw was around 40 years old when he experienced the vision that turned his life onto a new path and sent him out on the road in search, perhaps, of wisdom. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Hunsberger, Alice C. Nasir Khusraw, the Ruby of Badakhshan: A Portrait of the Persian Poet, Traveller and Philosopher. Bloomsbury Academic, 2002. Khusraw, Nasir. Nāṣer-e Khosraw's Book of Travels, translated by Wheeler McIntosh Thackston. Bibliotheca Persica, 1986. Khusraw, Nasir. Diary of a journey through Syria and Palestine, translated by Guy le Strange. Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society, 1893. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy Holidays! This episode is about festive "medieval" poetry. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Andrews, William. At the Sign of the Barber's Pole: A Study in Hirsute History. Lethe Press, 2008. Cook, Megan. "Dirtbag Medievalism," Avidly. July 14, 2021. Eco, Umberto. Travel in Hyperreality. Harcourt, inc, 1986. Jackson, Sophie. The Medieval Christmas. The History Press, 2013. Scott, Walter. Marmion. Riverside Press, Cambridge, 1896. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Born in the 13th century, Pietro d'Abano was referred to variously as “the Great Lombard,” “the Conciliator,” and, in at least one case, a “great necromancer.” This scholar and physician faced various troubles relating to heresy or sorcery, and stories swirl around him of calling on demons or magically making spent coins return to his purse. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Browning, Robert. The Complete Works of Robert Browning. Ohio University Press, 2007. Garin, Eugenio. History of Italian Philosophy, Volume 1. Translated by Giorgio Pinton. Rodopi, 2008. Hasse, Dag Nikolaus. "Pietro d'Abano's 'Conciliator' and the Theory of the Soul in Paris," After the Condemnation of 1277: Philosophy and Theology at the University of Paris in the Last Quarter of the Thirteenth Century. Edited by Jan A. Aertsen, Kent Emery, and Andreas Speer. Walter de Gruyter, 2013. Prioreschi, Plinio. A History of Medicine: Medieval Medicine. Horatius Press, 1996. Tafu, Pedro. Pero Tafur: Travels and Adventures (1435-1439). Translated and edited with an introduction by Malcolm Letts. Harper & brothers, 1926. Thorndike, Lynn. A History of Magic and Experimental Science Volume 2. Columbia University Press, 1923. Touwaide, Alain. "Pietro d'Abano, De venenis: Reintroducing Greek Toxicology in Late Medieval Medicine." Toxicology in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Edited by Philip Wexler. Academic Press, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Annales Fuldenses, or Annals of Fulda, is a source for 9th-century events in Carolingian lands: the incursions of the Northmen, fighting among the royal relatives, and omens in the sky. It also contains the story of an unfortunate village, an even more unfortunate villager, and the evil spirit that haunted both. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Source: The Annals of Fulda: Ninth-Century Histories, Volume II. Translated and annotated by Timothy Reuter. Manchester University Press, 1992. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The story of a 14th-century Flemish pirate, merchant, and adventurer, a man who took prizes at sea and took whatever side he needed to on land, crossing paths with various counts and kings as he went. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Barrell, Andrew D. M. Medieval Scotland. Cambridge University Press, 2000. Cushway, Graham. Edward III and the War at Sea: The English Navy, 1327-1377. Boydell Press, 2011. Holinshed, Raphael. Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, Volume 5. J. Johnson, et. al. 1808. Lucas, Henry S. “John Crabbe: Flemish Pirate, Merchant, and Adventurer.” Speculum 20, no. 3 (1945): 334–50. Rose, Susan. Medieval Naval Warfare, 1000-1500. Routledge, 2003. Wilson, Ben. Empire of the Deep: The Rise and Fall of the British Navy. Orion, 2013. The Anonimalle Chronicle 1307 to 1334. Edited by Wendy R. Childs and John Taylor. Cambridge University Press, 2013. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our 15th-century Spanish traveller goes home, mixing with the imperial elite along the way. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Source: Pero Tafur: Travels and Adventures (1435-1439), translated and edited with an introduction by Malcolm Letts. Harper & brothers, 1926. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices