Villains and Virgins History Podcast
Recent Episodes
Camino de Santiago and Medieval Pilgrimage
The Camino de Santiago pilgrimage is exploding in popularity these days, but the modern travellers are part of a tradition that is over 1000 years old. How did the Camino begin? Why did medieval people go on pilgrimages anyway? ...
Empire of the Franks Ep 2: The Vikings Attack
The grandsons of Charlemagne slide into civil war, with thousands of Franks killing each other over the division of the empire. Though the Treaty of Verdun ends the bloodletting, Frankish troubles are far from over. Vikings sail up the...
Empire of the Franks Ep 1: Grit and Steel
Both the Germans and the French trace their origins to Charlemagne and the Franks. But who were the Franks, and how did they have such a powerful effect on the shape of Western Europe? This episode is a family...
Empire of the Franks Ep 1: Grit and Steel
Both the Germans and the French trace their origins to Charlemagne and the Franks. But who were the Franks, and how did they have such a powerful effect on the shape of Western Europe? This episode is a family...
Normans in Italy EP 3: King of Sicily
Both the Germans and the French trace their origins to Charlemagne and the Franks. But who were the Franks, and how did they have such a powerful effect on the shape of Western Europe? This episode is a family...
Normans in Italy EP 3: King of Sicily
Roger II has played a high stakes game to secure his crown. Now a king, he must face the consequences of backing the wrong Pope. Rebellious barons, treacherous in-laws, and the loss of his beloved wife burden him as...
Normans in Sicily EP 2: Roger II
Both the Germans and the French trace their origins to Charlemagne and the Franks. But who were the Franks, and how did they have such a powerful effect on the shape of Western Europe? This episode is a family...
Normans in Sicily EP 2: Roger II
Roger II inherits his father’s position as ruler of Sicily and begins to take over parts of Southern Italy as well. Along the way a daring plan leads Norman knights out of a desperate situation, and a Crusader king...
Norman Sicily EP 1: When the Vikings Invaded Italy
Both the Germans and the French trace their origins to Charlemagne and the Franks. But who were the Franks, and how did they have such a powerful effect on the shape of Western Europe? This episode is a family...
Norman Sicily EP 1: When the Vikings Invaded Italy
The Vikings terrorised coastal Europe in their longboats, plundering and killing as they went. Some of them were offered a deal: they could accept land and settle in France, in exchange for defending the area from other raiders. These...
The Peasant’ War Part 2: Bloodbath
Both the Germans and the French trace their origins to Charlemagne and the Franks. But who were the Franks, and how did they have such a powerful effect on the shape of Western Europe? This episode is a family...
The Peasant’ War Part 2: Bloodbath
The Peasants’ War was the largest peasant uprising prior to the French Revolution. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary people organise a labour strike and dare to demand a measure of fairness. They use the ideas of Martin Luther and...
The Peasants’ War Part 1: Before the Bloodbath
Both the Germans and the French trace their origins to Charlemagne and the Franks. But who were the Franks, and how did they have such a powerful effect on the shape of Western Europe? This episode is a family...
The Peasants’ War Part 1: Before the Bloodbath
This is the story of the biggest peasant uprising prior to the French Revolution. Inspired by the writing of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, it was a shocking challenge to the social order. Serfs occupied castles, executed nobles,...
The Reformation Episode 5: Wars of Religion
Both the Germans and the French trace their origins to Charlemagne and the Franks. But who were the Franks, and how did they have such a powerful effect on the shape of Western Europe? This episode is a family...
The Reformation Episode 5: Wars of Religion
The Wars of Religion are the bloody outcome of the religious fracturing of Europe. They reshaped political identity and redefined the balance of power among countries. But what actually happened and why does it matter? This episode is a...
The Reformation: EP 4- England Kills a King
Both the Germans and the French trace their origins to Charlemagne and the Franks. But who were the Franks, and how did they have such a powerful effect on the shape of Western Europe? This episode is a family...
The Reformation: EP 4- England Kills a King
In this episode we watch England execute a king. This is the strange tale of how England became a Protestant country, and why the Church of England is the way it is. Along the way we watch militant Scottish...
The Reformation Episode 3: John Calvin and Theocracy
Both the Germans and the French trace their origins to Charlemagne and the Franks. But who were the Franks, and how did they have such a powerful effect on the shape of Western Europe? This episode is a family...
Knights, Jousts, and Courtly Love
The image of the knight in shining armour has had a very long shadow in Western culture, from King Arthur to Monty Python. The reality of life for medieval knights, obsessed with honour and reputation is the subject of this...