Medieval Life
Join Fin as he explores the 14th Century conspiracy theories, Mary Celeste, the Nine Years War and more..
EP1/39
This episode is recorded in a very Irish unusual castle with echoes of the Mary Celeste – Ballymoon Castle. It too has a somewhat mysterious history. It was abandoned around the year 1300 for reasons that are not entirely clear. In this show I investigate this fascinating building and speculate what may have happened.
EP2/39
In this episode, I examine the 14th century Lepers’ Plot, one of the more bizarre chapters in medieval history. In 1321 the Kingdom of France was gripped by rumours lepers were plotting a coup. As the conspriacy theory spread thousands were killed.
EP3/39
In this podcast I look at their forgotten stories which took place in an Ireland ravaged by deadly conflict. These medieval female warriors played an overlooked role in the brutal and deadly war that broke out between Norman settlers and Gaelic Rebels in the late Middle Ages.
EP4/39
Believe it or not the first Irish person to visit China left Europe in 1318 arriving. His fascinating journey would take several years. Known only as ‘James of Ireland’ this a story embroiled in the rise of the Mongols, medieval papal diplomacy and the tediously slow world of medieval travel.
EP5/39
This podcast is about a Irish man who was an outlaw in all but name. While Jack would avoid being declared an outlaw his life gives a much better sense of what a medieval outlaw was like rather than the oft recounted tales of Robin Hood.
EP6/39
In this episode I look at the foods available in medieval Ireland. This includes everything from larks cooked in cinnamon and cloves, geese cooked in garlic to soggy pies and lethal takeaways!
EP7/39
Medieval Ireland was a very strange place and this show looks at the stranger aspects of magic, superstition and the custom from the world of our medieval ancestors.
EP8/39
A few weeks ago I hit the road with a recorder taking in some of the best medieval sites in Ireland. The show takes in 1000 years of Irish history in one day-trip.
EP9/39
This podcast looks at the brutal reign of King John which led to Magna Carta being written, before looking at its impact in Ireland. The show concludes with why I think its over rated and perhaps why medieval riots are as important. This podcast is based on research for a discussion I participated in on RTE history show.
EP10/39
Many of the foods you will eat on Christmas day were unknown to medieval Europeans. Turkey, cranberries and even potatoes only arrived in Europe after the conquest of the Americas began. This podcast looks at the world of medieval food to see at what was available.
EP11/39
In this podcast I look at five protests from late medieval Ireland including opposition to a water tax in 1244 and Ireland’s first recorded strike in 1299. The intriguing stories behind these protests are brought to light for the first time in centuries in this podcast.
EP12/39
In 1270 the battle of Ath-an-Chip saw a major Gaelic Army take on the forces of the powerful Norman Lord of Connacht Walter de Burgh on the upper reaches of the river Shannon. This decisive battle would shape the history of medieval Ireland in Connacht for decades if not centuries.
EP13/39
To start the show we look at the Vale of Dublin in 1326 when the region was almost an apocalyptic wasteland before turning the clock back to 1234 and taking a look at the region in its better days.
EP14/39
In the late 13th & early 14th centuries Ireland was also battered by storms and maligned by poor weather. This podcast takes a look at some of the ways it impacted the medieval world. While society didn’t collapse if the experience of our ancestors is anything to go by our future could be something of a rocky and hungry road!
EP15/39
The podcast takes the form of a walk through the city as it was in 1320 where we encounter everything from pigs roaming the streets to the city hangman Philip of Colchester.
EP16/39
Lambert Simnel’s life must be one of the most unusual stories from medieval history. Born the son of a carpenter he became embroiled in a conspiracy to overthrow Henry VII and before he knew what was happening he became the only person ever crowned king of England in Ireland.
EP17/39
This podcast is based on this article I wrote about Cristiana la Sadelhackere, a woman who worked as a prostitute in medieval Ireland. Her story is an intriguing account of a precarious life on the fringes of medieval society struggling against the authorities of the day.
EP18/39
This podcast is a little different that many of the previous episodes. In this story, I attempt to explain how a major crisis in Ireland in the 14th century affected two ordinary people who lived in these trying times.
EP19/39
This podcast will introduce some of the key characters from Irish history, some of whom are well known such as Strongbow and Brian Boru, others less well-known such as Flann Sinna and William ‘Liath de Burgh’. Part I starts in 908 at the long forgotten battle of Ballymoon and finishes at the siege of Dublin in 1171.
EP20/39
This conflict occured during one of the most fascinating wars in Irish history – the Bruce Invasion of 1315-18. In May 1315, a Scots army led by Edward Bruce, brother to the King of Scotland, invaded Ireland, so this podcast starts in Scotland, with none other than William Wallace a.k.a. Braveheart making an appearance.
EP21/39
This podcast takes a look at this long forgotten story of the lives of two ordinary people from medieval Ireland. Previously untold, this is a dramatic and hair-raising story of medieval honour, violence and justice that will make you feel lucky to be born in the 21st century.
EP 22/39
This podcast is the fascinating story of the rise of Castlekevin, a colonial settlement deep in the foothills of the Wicklow mountains before charting its long and bloody battle for survival when the surrounding region became a battlezone.
EP23/39
This assault was the final chapter in a story that saw the Gaelic Irish in the province struggle to keep the Normans at bay after their initial invasion of the South and East of Ireland in the 1170s. Listen to this fascinating story of rivalry, warfare and the stuggle for survival of gaelic society in the west of Ireland.
EP24/39
After the Norman conquest of Ireland, the Wicklow region was surprisingly peaceful. Despite the fact the Gaelic Irish had been dispossessed, many appeared to be getting on with life and adjusting to Norman Rule. This was deceptive and in 1270 a massive rebellion broke out deep in the Wicklow Mountains that would see settlement after settlement raided and burned.
EP25/39
In the podcast we look at a forgotten story of medieval Dubliners who had to undertake what now seem as strange, unusual and often chaotic preparations to get a medieval army to the battlefield and the chaos this caused for people in early 14th century Dublin.
EP26/39
What happened next is one the deadliest and strangest events in Dublin history. Set to the backdrop of famine this episode explores the history of one of Dublins darkest periods.
EP27/39
In 1597 Dublin was ripped apart by a massive explosion that killed over 1% of the city’s population. This podcast looks at the background to the incredible events of March 1597.
EP28/39
One event that was indicative of the increasing harshness of 14th century Ireland was the burning of Petronella di Midia for Witchcraft in Kilkenny in 1324. Listen to this podcast produced for Heritage week in 2010 to get a flavour of 14th century Ireland and what you can expect from the audiobook.
EP29/39
In this podcast, first released in 2010, you can hear how ships from the Spanish Armada came to lie off the coast of Ireland, what has been found on excavations to date and what else we can expect to turn up.
EP30/39
Around the world on March 17th, millions of people attend St Patrick’s day parades in memory of the man who supposedly “converted the Irish to Christianity”. He is a figure shrouded in mystery and myth but in this podcast I examine the truth behind the one time slave and famous bishop Patrick.
EP31/39
In this podcast librarian Padraic Stack brings you behind the scenes in the archive. He tells the fascinating stories of letters to the Queen during the Famine and how medieval Dublin was demolished.
EP32/39
This episode brings you back to Dublin in 1320 in a soundscape of the medieval city. Reconstructed by trawling through 700 year old records for distinctive sounds; it was originally released back in 2014 but is definitely worth another listen.
EP33/39
When you think of the Middle Ages what springs to mind? Medieval battles, warfare and general hardship? Certainly not fun. In this episode, I explore what our medieval ancestors did for fun. From football to archery, poetry to the pub they knew how to have a good time!
EP34/39
This podcast is about a Irish man who was an outlaw in all but name. While Jack would avoid being declared an outlaw his life gives a much better sense of what a medieval outlaw was like rather than the oft recounted tales of Robin Hood.
EP35/39
This podcast takes the form of a walk through the city as it was in 1320 where we encounter everything from pigs roaming the streets to the city hangman Philip of Colchester.
EP36/39
In this podcast we will journey back through the centuries to explore how our ancestors measured time. Its an intriguing story. In the medieval world, the length of an hour changed every day so we will look at how that worked and also how Dublin in the 1870s had two separate time zones!
EP37/39
Discover how the marriage of Aoife, a seventeen-year-old, and Strongbow, a man in his mid-forties, altered the course of Irish history. I also explore how it elevated Aoife to one of the most powerful women in medieval Irish history.
EP 38/39
In May 1170, a small group of mercenaries landed in a remote corner of County Wexford, setting the stage for a dramatic chapter in Irish history. Just fourteen miles away, in the medieval city of Waterford, their arrival sparked intense debate and uncertainty. How would the city react to this looming threat?
Bonus EP39/39
In 1305 the Lord of Tethmoy Peter de Bermingham invited several leading members of the O’Connor-Faly family to Carrick castle for a feast. The guests included his godchild. What followed was one of the most notorious incidents in what was already a brutal age. Listen to the show for the full story.