Medieval Death Trip

A Podcast Exploring the Wit and Weirdness of Medieval Texts

Archives: Episodes (Page 20 of 20)

MDT Episode 02: Concerning Another Cure for Extreme Swelling, a Sinful Clerk, & Some Lightning Bolts

On this episode, we look at an example of the kind of odd incidents you might find preserved in a medieval chronicle — in this case, the Lanercost Chronicle. We have three short episodes from the account of the year 1288, and then one spectacular lightning strike from 1291.

Luttrell Psalter Monster f.192r

This episode’s text: The Chronicle of Lanercost: 1272–1346. Trans. Sir Herbert Maxwell. Glasgow: James Maclehose and Sons, 1913.

Correction: The chronicle is not fully available on Google Books, as stated in the podcast, but you can get it from archive.org.

Image: Luttrell Psalter, Diocese of Lincoln, c.1325-1335, London British Library, Add MS 42130, fol 192r.

MDT Episode 01: Concerning Poisoning By Toad

Welcome to the first full and proper episode of Medieval Death Trip. This episode examines a tale of pirates, prisons, and poisonous toads, and the gruesome aftermath of combining those three elements together.

The text for this episode is taken from The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich, written by Thomas of Monmouth in the late 12th century. This translation is from the edition by Augustus Jessopp and M.R. James [London: Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1896], which is available on Google Books.

Yates Thompson MS 13 f.145r

Image from the British Library: Yates Thompson MS 13 f.145r

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