Everybody loves Wheatus, right? Wait, you don’t know who Wheatus is? Nevermind, we’ll get there in this episode. Megan and Prof. Gabriele talk about book history, how medieval people could indeed read - and engage with books in all sorts of interesting ways. Plus, we talk about dirtbag medievalism, a grungy vibes-based way of thinking about the Middle Ages. Guest Megan L. Cook is the Arthur Jeremiah Roberts Associate Professor of Literature and Co-Chair of the Department of English at Colby College. She is interested in the ways that language, poetry, and politics combine in the stories we tell ourselves about shared pasts and collective presents. Learn more about Prof. Cook at https://www.colby.edu/people/people-directory/megan-cook/.  CreditsHost & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com Editor: Julia SchifiniMusic: “Sleeping Bags” by OTEArt: Ulysses GabrieleMultitude: https://multitude.productions  Find American Medieval OnlineWebsite: AmericanMedieval.com Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval TikTok: tiktok.com/@americanmedieval YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social  About Us American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves.  After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval. Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Prof. Gabriele and Rutger Kramer talk about jolly old St. Nicholas - who, in part, became a saint because he was a rich guy who was also nice. Then he became Santa Claus.

Prof. Gabriele and David Perry talk about their recent book, Oathbreakers, about an early medieval civil war that remade Europe. Plus we talk about how we can understand what happened in the past when the sources want to stay silent. Guest David M. Perry is a journalist and historian, who currently works as the associate director of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Minnesota. He’s the co-author (with Matthew Gabriele) of the books Oathbreakers and The Bright Ages, both from HarperCollins. Publishers Weekly called Oathbreakers “An enlightening portrait of the medieval mindset” while The Boston Globe said The Bright Ages was “incandescent and ultimately intoxicating.” Over the last few years, Perry’s work on history, parenting, disability, and politics has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Daily Beast, Smithsonian Magazine, Slate, CNN, and many others. His website is davidmperry.com, and he can be found on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/lollardfish.bsky.social.  CreditsHost & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com Editor: Brandon GrugleMusic: “Sleeping Bags” by OTEArt: Ulysses GabrieleMultitude: https://multitude.productions  Find American Medieval OnlineWebsite: AmericanMedieval.com Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval TikTok: tiktok.com/@americanmedieval YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social  About Us American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves.  After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval. Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads  Sponsors“Pale Blue Pod” is a sister show on Multitude, an astronomy podcast for people who are overwhelmed by the universe but want to be its friend. Hosted by astrophysicist Dr. Moya McTeer and her best friend, Constar, together they demystify space one topic at a time. Hopefully, by the end of each episode, the cosmos will be a little less scary and a lot more freaking cool. New episodes drop every Monday. Who's ready for hot Jupiter… winter? You definitely are, so check the show out. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, Prof. Gabriele and Brett talk about Jesus through the years. Defying our assumptions, that Christian figure hasn’t stayed the same and his image was very different through the Middle Ages. Plus we talk a bit about Led Zeppelin. Guest Brett Whalen is the Zachary Smith Distinguished Term Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He generally researches Christian intellectual and cultural history during the European Middle Ages, including topics such as the crusades, apocalyptic thought, pilgrimage, and the history of the papacy. His current project is a book tentatively called Jesus: A Cultural History. Learn more about him at https://history.unc.edu/person/brett-e-whalen/.  CreditsHost & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com Editor: Julia SchifiniMusic: “Sleeping Bags” by OTEArt: Ulysses GabrieleMultitude: https://multitude.productions  Find American Medieval OnlineWebsite: AmericanMedieval.com Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval TikTok: tiktok.com/@americanmedieval YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social  About Us American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves.  After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval. Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, Roland and Matt talk about Disney and the Byzantine Empire (not in that order). Plus we talk about how the process of studying the past can lead you down interesting rabbit holes and connect, for example, the Byzantine Empire and Disney. Guest Roland Betancourt is currently the Andrew W Mellon Professor in the Center for the Advanced Study of the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art, and is also a Chancellor’s Professor of Art History at the University of California, Irvine. He’s the author of four books, broadly on the histories of science and technology, intellectual history, and the history of art in the Byzantine Empire. His new book is Disneyland and the Rise of Automation (to be released in April 2026). You can find more about him online at his faculty website - https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=6060.  CreditsHost & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com Editor: Julia SchifiniMusic: “Sleeping Bags” by OTEArt: Ulysses GabrieleMultitude: https://multitude.productions  Find American Medieval OnlineWebsite: AmericanMedieval.com Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval TikTok: tiktok.com/@americanmedieval YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social  About Us American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves.  After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval. Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads Sponsors For the rest of November, our podcast and all of our sister shows at Multitude are offering 30% off annual Patreon and MultiCrew memberships! It’s our Black (Death) Friday sale. That’s right, each week you’ll get ad-free episodes of “American Medieval” (or any other Multitude show!) at a discount. Money's tight, consumerism is at an all-time high, and corporations are pressuring small businesses to juice their sales around the holidays. But we, like so many other businesses, need your support all year round. So, if you can, sign up for an annual membership. You can get 30% off 12 whole months of support now through the end of November! Head over to patreon.com/AmericanMedieval to see more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Summary In this episode, we spend our time thinking about the Roman Empire. Cliche, but fun. Anyway, Sarah and Prof. Gabriele discuss how we can hear from the 98.5% of Rome that wasn’t an emperor (or a dude), and then try to unpack why Americans are so freaking obsessed with comparing themselves to Romans and why it always seems like the “Fall of Rome” (which isn’t really a thing) is just around the corner.  Guest Sarah E. Bond is an associate professor in the Department of HIstory at the University of Iowa, and her interests extend beyond late Roman history, epigraphy, late antique law, Roman topography, Digital Humanities, and the socio-legal experience of ancient marginal peoples. She’s the author of Trade and Taboo: Disreputable Professionals in the Roman Mediterranean (Univ Michigan Press, 2016), and Strike: Labor, Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire (Yale UP, 2025). Additionally, Bond is a regular contributor at Hyperallergic, a former columnist at the Los Angeles Review of Books, and a section editor at Public Books. She has written for The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Washington Post. Learn more at sarahemilybond.com.  CreditsHost & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com Editor: Julia SchifiniMusic: “Sleeping Bags” by OTEArt: Ulysses GabrieleMultitude: https://multitude.productions  Find American Medieval OnlineWebsite: AmericanMedieval.com Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval TikTok: tiktok.com/@americanmedieval YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social  About Us American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves.  After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval. Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Eels. Prof. Gabriele and John Wyatt talk about eels. And maps. We also talk about maps, but mainly medieval  eels.  Guest John Wyatt Greenlee is a cartographic historian, as well as a historian of roads and pathways and pilgrimage. He’s best known on social media though as the Surprised Eel Historian, and he’s been profiled in TIME, The Guardian, Atlas Obscura, Hakai Magazine, and The New Yorker. Learn more at his websites https://www.jwgreenlee.net/ and https://surprisedeelmaps.com/.  CreditsHost & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com Editor: Julia SchifiniMusic: “Sleeping Bags” by OTEArt: Ulysses GabrieleMultitude: https://multitude.productions  Find American Medieval OnlineWebsite: AmericanMedieval.com Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval TikTok: tiktok.com/@americanmedieval YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social  About Us American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves.  After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval. Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this very first episode of American Medieval, Prof. Gabriele and Dr Janega talk about what got us interested in the Middle Ages, what it’s like to do public-facing history, why Czech history is super cool, and why Dan Brown drives medievalists nuts. Guest Dr Eleanor Janega is a medieval historian, whose work aims to highlight the ways that our society has been influenced by the past, and more particularly, how it tells stories about history that aren’t actually true to justify our own desires. She’s the author of the book The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society and The Middle Ages: A Graphic History. Her work has also appeared in The Washington Post, Time, History Today, BBC History, Slate, and the Times Literary Supplement, among others. In addition, she’s co-hosts the hit podcasts “Gone Medieval” and “We’re Not So Different,” and  is the host and co-creator of several history series on HistoryHit TV. Learn more at eleanorjanega.com.  CreditsHost & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com Editor: Julia SchifiniMusic: “Sleeping Bags” by OTEArt: Ulysses GabrieleMultitude: https://multitude.productions  Find American Medieval OnlineWebsite: AmericanMedieval.com Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval Insta: instagram.com/americanmedieval TikTok: tiktok.com/@americanmedieval YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social  About Us American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, joined by expert guests, we’ll explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves.  After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval. Want to become a sponsor of American Medieval? Head over to https://multitude.productions/ads See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, your host Prof. Matthew Gabriele is joined by expert guests to explore not just the Middle Ages themselves, but how and why they have such a hold on our collective imagination. After all, if America has never been modern, it’s because we’ve always been slightly medieval. New episodes released every Wednesday. Be inscribed into the Book of Life, Drink with us Historians, and get ad-free episodes by subscribing at patreon.com/americanmedieval See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.