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American Medieval

American Medieval

By: Multitude
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About this listen

American Medieval is a podcast about the history of the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, host Prof. Matthew Gabriele is joined by expert guests to explore not medieval history, but how and why the Middle Ages 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

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Episodes
  • Medieval America (Cahokia) with Sarah Baires

    Medieval America (Cahokia) with Sarah Baires
    Mar 25 2026

    North America? Of course you did. We have Dr. Sarah Baires about that, specifically Cahokia - a city of about 20,000 people outside (modern) St. Louis that was bigger than Rome was at the same time.



    Guest

    Dr. Sarah Baires received her PhD in anthropological archaeology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2014, and her research focuses on why humans built and populated urban environments. She examines how people living on the peripheries of early cities became socially, culturally, and economically integrated, with particular attention to the Native American city of Cahokia, North America’s largest pre–European contact urban landscape north of Mexico. Her book Cahokia and the North American Worlds is out now. See more at her website.



    Credits

    • Host & Executive Producer: Matthew Gabriele. Find him on Bluesky @profgabriele.com or his homepage profgabriele.com
    • Editor: Julia Schifini
    • Music: “Sleeping Bags” by OTE
    • Art: Ulysses Gabriele
    • Multitude: https://multitude.productions



    Find American Medieval Online

    • Website: AmericanMedieval.com
    • Patreon: patreon.com/AmericanMedieval
    • Insta: instagram.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

    • Thanks for listening to American Medieval. Hope you’re enjoying the show. And I hope you’ll enjoy another Multitude podcast – Pale Blue Pod. Pale Blue Pod, or PBP to its friends, is hosted by Dr. Moiya McTier and her best friend ConStar, who during the show demystify space one topic at a time. It’s astronomy, and fun. Have a listen wherever you listen to podcasts every Monday.


    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    53 mins
  • Medieval Printing (and why LLMs are crap) with Sonja Drimmer

    Medieval Printing (and why LLMs are crap) with Sonja Drimmer
    Mar 18 2026
    Did you know that the earliest printing press is from the 13th century? And that the idea of print in the Middle Ages was pervasive and very different from ours? Plus, so-called “AI” is bad for education and I’m sorry to any fans of the Beatles. GuestSonja Drimmer is associate professor of medieval art in the Department of the History of Art & Architecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She writes about medieval manuscripts, early printed books, and all of the technologies that have mediated them. Her next book, Impressive Politics: Print before the Press in Late Medieval England is forthcoming in 2027. More info available at sonjadrimmer.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 YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social About UsAmerican 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 SponsorsSpirits is a history and comedy podcast focused on folklore, mythology, and the occult, told through the lens of feminism, queerness, and modern adulthood. Julia and Amanda get together each week to learn more about a different story from mythology and folklore over drinks. That's everything from the mythological origins of major franchises like Lord of the Rings and Wonder Woman, to modern urban legends, to a roundup of werewolf stories from around the world. They’ve been doing it for 9 years, but are still going strong. Head to spirits podcast dot com, or search for Spirits wherever you download your podcasts. New episodes on Wednesdays.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    59 mins
  • The Voynich Manuscript with Lisa Fagin Davis

    The Voynich Manuscript with Lisa Fagin Davis
    Mar 11 2026
    Aliens! Not really. In this episode, Prof. Gabriele and Lisa talk about the travels of medieval manuscripts (including why there are so many right here in the USA - only Alaska doesn’t have any!), but also the inscrutable and mysterious Voynich Manuscript, with its puzzling script and compelling (weird) illustrations.GuestLisa Fagin Davis received her PhD in Medieval Studies from Yale University in 1993. She has catalogued medieval manuscript collections at Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, the Walters Art Museum, Wellesley College, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Boston Public Library, and several private collections. Her publications include: several books, numerous articles in the fields of manuscript studies and codicology; and the monograph, La Chronique Anonyme Universelle: Reading and Writing History in fifteenth-century France (a translation, critical edition and detailed study of a fifteenth-century French world chronicle) (Brepols Publishers, 2015). Dr. Davis has taught Latin Paleography at Yale University and regularly teaches an Introduction to Manuscript Studies at the Simmons University School of Library and Information Science. As of 2023, she is the regular Latin Paleography and Fragmentology instructor at The Rare Book School (University of Virginia). Dr. Davis was elected to the Comité international de paléographie latine in 2019 and has served as Executive Director of the Medieval Academy of America since 2013. See more at https://medievalacademy.academia.edu/LisaFaginDavisCreditsHost & 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 YouTube: youtube.com/@AmericanMedieval Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/americanmedieval.bsky.social About UsAmerican 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 SponsorsJoin the Party will soon be no more, so it’s time to catch up. After 9 years, the crew are hanging it up, so check out this Multitude show and get in on the action as GM Eric and the emphatic players Amanda, Brandon and Julia welcome everyone to the table. The current campaign is a superhero high school, but you can also check out the back catalog – pirates, bugs, superheros, wizards, elves, and then the stuff from the campaigns themselves. Head over to join the party pod dot com, or search for it on your favorite podcast app.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    58 mins
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