'tis but a scratch: fact and fiction about the Middle Ages
Richard Abels
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About This Podcast
Talking about popular conceptions of the Middle Ages and their historical realities. Join Richard Abels to learn about Vikings, knights and chivalry, movies set in the Middle Ages, and much more about the medieval world.
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Recent Episodes
S5E78 A Model Pre-Gregorian Reform Bishop: St. Ulrich of Augsburg
Send us Fan MailBack in September Ellen and I did an episode on Popes Leo IX and Gregory VII and their promotion of the Gregorian Reform of the Church. Because my hosting platform informed me that I…
S5E77 Offa of Mercia: Laying the Foundations of a Kingdom of England (with Prof. Rory Naismith)
Send us Fan MailOffa, king of Mercia from 757 to 796, was the most powerful and successful Anglo-Saxon ruler of pre-Viking England. Today Offa is probably best remembered for Offa's Dyke, a massive…
S5E76 Sieges, Chivalry, and Medieval Warfare: Dr. Larissa Tracy's podcast, "Medieval Mischief and Mayhem" (with Dr. Richard Abels) (E23 2026))
Send us Fan MailAs I did with the episode I scripted for the podcast BEEF about the conflict between King Philip the Fair of France and Pope Boniface VIII, today I am posting an episode from another…
S5E75 The Knights Templar, Part 3: From History to Legend (with Steve Tibble)
Send us Fan MailThis is our third and final episode on the crusading order of the Knights Templar. In today's episode, my cohost Dr. Steve Tibble and I talk about the "afterlife" of the Templars, and…
S5E74 The Knights Templar: The Trial and Suppression of the Order (with Steve Tibble)
Send us Fan MailToday’s episode is the second in a three part series on the Crusading military order of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, more commonly known as the…
S5E73 The Knights Templar, Part 1: the Templars in History (with Steve Tibble)
Send us Fan MailToday’s episode is the first of a two-part series on the notorious Christian military order, The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, more commonly known as…
S5E72 Knights, Samurai, and the Myth of Japanese Feudalism: A Conversation with Professor Stephen Morillo
Send us Fan MailUntil now, "'Tis But A Scratch: Fact & Fiction About the Middle Ages" has dealt with medieval Europe and the Middle East. In this episode, we branch out to a more global…
S5E71 1066 And All That: The Significance of the Norman Conquest (with Dr. Jennifer Paxton), part 2
Send us Fan MailIt has been several months since I posted the first half of a two part series on the significance and consequences of the Norman Conquest with my good friend and colleague Dr.…
S5E70 Episode 70: What we can learn about medieval people from their bones and teeth. A conversation with Professor Alison Beach
Send us Fan MailAnd now for something completely different! In this episode, we are not going to be talking about kings or popes, crusades, wars, or political events. Instead, we will be examining…
S4E69 The First King of England: Æthelstan (with David Woodman)
Send us Fan MailIronically, the most famous date in Anglo-Saxon history is that of its demise, 1066, which is why when in 1930 W. C. Sellar, a former schoolmaster, and his classmate at Oxford, the…
S4E68 A Florentine Pilgrimage to Bethlehem and Jerusalem in 1384
Send us Fan MailThis is an addendum to my previous episode with Peter Konieczny. One of my listeners sent me an email asking why we never covered Frescobaldi's, Gucci's, and Sigoli's accounts of…
S4E67 Three Accounts of A Pilgrimage To Egypt and the Holy Land in 1384-5
Send us Fan MailIn the year 1384 a company of six wealthy merchants from Florence, each accompanied by a servant, went on a ten-month long pilgrimage to Mameluke Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. Upon…
S4E66 Halloween special: Three Medieval Ghost Stories and My One Encounter with a Ghost
Send us Fan MailTo celebrate my birthday—yes I was a Halloween baby—I decided to do a short episode recounting my one up-close and personal experience with a ghost. No, it was not a ghost of some one…
S4E65 From Bishop of Rome to the Papal Monarchy: Pope Innocent III, Crusade, Church Reform, and the Apex of the Medieval Papacy
Send us Fan MailYes, we have finally come to the end of our series "From Bishop of Rome to the Papal Monarchy." In this episode, Ellen and I talk about the pontificate of Innocent III, which…
S4E64 From Bishop of Rome to the Papal Monarchy: the Rise of the Papal Monarchy
Send us Fan MailIn this, the fourth--and penultimate--episode of our continuing series on the medieval papacy, my wife Ellen and I examine the establishment of the papal monarchy in the twelfth…
S4E63 "1066 and All That": The Significance of the Norman Conquest, Part 1 (with Dr. Jennifer Paxton)
Send us Fan MailAbout eight months ago, Jenny and I released a couple of episodes dealing with the historical context of the Norman Conquest. I am delighted to have Jenny back to talk with me about…
S4E62 From Bishop of Rome to the Papal Monarchy: Pope Gregory VII and the Investiture Controversy
Send us Fan MailThe subject of today’s episode, the pontificate of Pope Gregory VII and the Investiture Controversy, is a staple of undergraduate medieval surveys. The first episode I posted after…
S4E61 From Bishop of Rome to the Papal Monarchy: Pope Leo IX and the Gregorian Reform
Send us Fan MailAfter a summer hiatus, we are finally back with a new episode, the third in our series on the medieval papacy, “From Bishop of Rome to the Papal Monarchy.” The previous covered the…
S4E60 Pope Boniface VIII vs King Philip the Fair: Catholicism's Medieval Meltdown (an episode from the podcast "BEEF with Bridget Todd")
Send us Fan MailAfter a summer hiatus “’Tis But A Scratch: Fact & Fiction About the Middle Ages” is back—well, not actually quite yet. I am busily working on the final two episodes of our series…
S4E59 Mysterious Medieval Manuscripts: Interview with Garry J. Shaw
Send us Fan MailNow for something completely different from tracing the development of the papacy from bishop of Rome to the papal monarchy--but, don't worry, I will be completing that series soon. …
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'tis but a scratch: fact and fiction about the Middle Ages has published 78 episodes since January 2022, covering topics in Education, History.
'tis but a scratch: fact and fiction about the Middle Ages is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 59m.
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