Villains and Virgins History Podcast
Recent Episodes
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 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 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...
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
John Calvin is one of the major figures of the Protestant Reformation, famous for his doctrine of pre-destination. This episode covers his time in Geneva, and how he turned that city into a grim and terrifying experiment in theocracy....
The Reformation Episode 2: Martin Luther, The Man Who Split Europe
In this episode we cover the unlikely journey of one young man from earnest Augustinian monk to rebel reformer. Martin Luther ignited a firestorm of existing anti-clerical sentiment across Europe, with results that would change Europe and the Western...
The Reformation Episode 1: John Wycliffe and the Middle Ages
What is the Protestant Reformation and why does it matter? To begin to understand how thoroughly it has shaped Western Europe and North America we must travel back in time to see the world as it was before the...
Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 5- Christopher Columbus and 1492
1492 was a year that changed everything. In Castile, it was the end of the Reconquista, as Isabella and Ferdinand ended a decade long war with a triumphant ride through the streets of Granada. It was also the year...
Ferdinand and Isabella: EP4- The Spanish Inquisition
You have probably heard of the Spanish Inquisition, even if only from a certain Monty Python sketch. The truth about why it was started and for what purpose will probably surprise you. In this episode we take a close...
Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 3- Slavery, Slaughter and Stake-burning in the Reconquista
In this episode, our plucky and determined heroine discovers the mantle of religious warfare. Isabella and Ferdinand respond to an attack on a Castilian city from Moorish forces. This becomes the first skirmish in a “Holy War” against Muslims...
Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 2- Queen at Last
After a high risk secret marriage to Prince Ferdinand of Aragon, Isabella finds there is no easy path to gaining the crown of Castile. An evil uncle, a civil war, and a heroic Portuguese flag bearer appear in this...
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...