The Medieval Winter and Other Seasons Since

Detail from an image of December in the Da Costa Book of Hours - Morgan Library

Not a Christmas episode, but a winter one: winter in various Old English sources and winter now. Happy New Year and thanks for listening!

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.

Sources:

• Clare, John. Major Works. Oxford University Press, 2004.

• Gopnik, Adam. Winter: Five Windows on the Season. House of Anansi, 2011.

• Hostetter, Aaron K. Translation of "Andreas" - https://oldenglishpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/andreas/

• Hostetter, Aaron K. Translation of "The Menologium" - https://oldenglishpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/the-menologium/

• McKennitt, Loreena. To Drive the Cold Winter Away. Quinlan Road, 1987. 

• Parker, Eleanor. Winters in the World: A Journey Through the Anglo-Saxon Year. Reaktion Books, 2022.

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Medieval Halloween: Signs in the Sky, Strange Children, etc

Depiction of the sky over Nuremberg on April 14th, 1561.

From William of Newburgh's 12th-century chronicle, "History of English Affairs," these stories aren't really about Halloween, but they do feel a little Halloween-ish. There's no Michael Myers, zombies, or vampires, but there are strange portents in the sky, toads locked in stone, faerie banquets, green children, and a good number of demons.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.

3 Things:

• At Stanford's Arcade, an article on heavenly portents and fire from the sky during the Little Ice Age.

• At Medievalists.net, an article on the history of monsters, monstrosity, and dehumanization.

• On the British Library's medieval manuscripts blog, charms against evil from their collection.

Sources:

• The Church Historians of England, translated by Joseph Stevenson. Seeley's, 1856.

• Watkins, C.S.. History and the Supernatural in Medieval England. Cambridge University Press, 2007.

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The Saga of Grettir the Strong 1: Exile, Outlawry, and the Undead

Grettir and the Undead Old Karr - Henry Justice Ford

This is the first episode of a narrative series on the Icelandic saga of a famed outlaw. The Saga of Grettir the Strong opens with his grandfather leaving King Harald's Norway for Iceland. We follow its portrayal of Grettir's troubled childhood and his tests of strength against boulders, men, bears, and (for some Halloween appropriate listening) draugr, the undead of the burial mound.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.

Sources:

• Grettir's Saga, translated by Jesse Byock. Oxford University Press, 2009.

• Grettir's Saga, translated by Denton Fox and Hermann Palsson. University of Toronto Press, 1974.

• Three Icelandic Outlaw Sagas, translated by George Johnston and Anthony Faulkes. Everyman, 2001.

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Medieval Halloween: Lamias, Devils, and Disembodied Hands

Dante, Virgil, and Satan - The Inferno - Add MS 19587, f. 58r

Medieval stories of the paranormal, for Halloween or any time really. Featuring invisible devils, water sprites, and helpful hands.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.

Sources:

• Gesta Romanorum, translated by Charles Swan. George Bell & Sons, 1905.

• Joynes, Andrew. Medieval Ghost Stories: An Anthology of Miracles, Marvels and Prodigies. Boydell, 2006.

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Halloween Mini Episode: The Trouble at Froda

The Norwegians Land in Iceland, Year 872 - Oscar Wergeland

It's a quick break from the Clavijo storyline for some Halloween material. Specifically, this is a story from the Icelandic Eyrbyggja, the Saga of the People of Eyri. In it, a stranger comes to Froda, blood rains down, and the dead rise up to trouble the living.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

• Gisli Sursson's Saga and the Saga of the People of Eyri, translated by Judy Quinn & Martin S. Regal. Penguin, 2003.

• Joynes, Andrew. Medieval Ghost Stories: An Anthology of Miracles, Marvels, and Prodigies. Boydell, 2006.

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Halloween Mini Episode: The Stories of Walter Map

It's Halloween, and here are some medieval stories appropriate to the season. This mini episode is about the stories of Walter Map, particularly those ones featuring demons, faeries, and the prisoners of the Wild Hunt.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

• Joynes, Andrew. Medieval Ghost Stories. Boydell, 2006.

• Map, Walter. De Nugis Curialium, translated by Frederick Tupper & Marburry Bladen Ogle. Chatto & Windus, 1924.

• Schwieterman, Patrick Joseph. Fairies, Kingship, and the British Past in Walter Map's De Nugis Curialium and Sir Orfeo. UC Berkeley Electronic These and Dissertations, 2010.

• Smith, Joshua Byron. Walter Map and the Matter of Britain. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017.

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Halloween Special: Medieval Ghost Stories

This episode is a Halloween special full of medieval ghost, revenant, and Wild Hunt stories from the 11th and 12th centuries, featuring Orderic Vitalis, Thietmar of Merseburg, William of Newburgh, and, briefly representing the 6th-century, Gregory of Tours. Enjoy! (MP3)

If you like what you hear, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

• Joynes, Andrew. Medieval Ghost Stories: An Anthology of Miracles, Marvels and Prodigies. Boydell Press, 2006.

• Schmitt, Jean-Claude. Ghosts in the Middle Ages: The Living and the Dead in Medieval Society. The University of Chicago Press, 1998.

• Shinners, John, ed. Medieval Popular Religion, 1000-1500 (2nd Edition). Broadview Press, 2007.

• Vitalis, Ordericus. The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy. Bohn, 1854. 

• Warner, David A, ed. Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg. Manchester University Press, 2001. 

• Widukind of Corvey. Deeds of the Saxons. Catholic University of America Press, 2014.

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