Villains and Virgins History Podcast
Recent Episodes
The First Crusade Ep 4: Rise of the Crusader Kings
The Crusaders have taken Jerusalem but they face one final battle. When the men start to head home, the legend of the First Crusade is born, and a massive new wave of Crusaders heads east. Not everyone wants to...
The First Crusade Ep 4: Rise of the Crusader Kings
The Crusaders have taken Jerusalem but they face one final battle. When the men start to head home, the legend of the First Crusade is born, and a massive new wave of Crusaders heads east. Not everyone wants to...
The First Crusade Ep 3: Jerusalem in Flames
The Crusaders have taken Jerusalem but they face one final battle. When the men start to head home, the legend of the First Crusade is born, and a massive new wave of Crusaders heads east. Not everyone wants to...
The First Crusade Ep 3: Jerusalem in Flames
The Crusaders narrowly escape annihilation when they attempt to fight their way out of Antioch. Some men credit the miracle of the Holy Lance for their amazing escape. Divisions emerge amongst the nobles, while the army starves. Some Crusaders...
The First Crusade Ep 2: Siege of Antioch
The Crusaders have taken Jerusalem but they face one final battle. When the men start to head home, the legend of the First Crusade is born, and a massive new wave of Crusaders heads east. Not everyone wants to...
The First Crusade Ep 2: Siege of Antioch
As Western knights and nobles ride toward Jerusalem, there are many other cities they must take along the way. Their first battlefield encounter with the Turks leaves a lasting impression on both sides, but they are soon occupied with...
The First Crusade: Call to Arms
The Crusaders have taken Jerusalem but they face one final battle. When the men start to head home, the legend of the First Crusade is born, and a massive new wave of Crusaders heads east. Not everyone wants to...
The First Crusade: Call to Arms
The First Crusade became the stuff of legend soon after it finished. Western knights headed to Constantinople and ultimately to Jerusalem, to rescue pilgrimage sites from the control of Muslim invaders. The crusade involved close to 100,000 people from...
Knights, Jousts, and Courtly Love
The Crusaders have taken Jerusalem but they face one final battle. When the men start to head home, the legend of the First Crusade is born, and a massive new wave of Crusaders heads east. Not everyone wants to...
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...
Camino de Santiago and Medieval Pilgrimage
The Crusaders have taken Jerusalem but they face one final battle. When the men start to head home, the legend of the First Crusade is born, and a massive new wave of Crusaders heads east. Not everyone wants to...
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 Crusaders have taken Jerusalem but they face one final battle. When the men start to head home, the legend of the First Crusade is born, and a massive new wave of Crusaders heads east. Not everyone wants to...
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
The Crusaders have taken Jerusalem but they face one final battle. When the men start to head home, the legend of the First Crusade is born, and a massive new wave of Crusaders heads east. Not everyone wants to...
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
The Crusaders have taken Jerusalem but they face one final battle. When the men start to head home, the legend of the First Crusade is born, and a massive new wave of Crusaders heads east. Not everyone wants to...
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...
Templars Ep 1: The Rise of the Knights Templar
The Knights Templar are surrounded by legends and conspiracy theories. Who were they actually? This episode tracks the Templars from their inception as an order of warrior monks in the Crusader state of Jerusalem, to their astonishing expansion into...