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Now 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. In this episode, I chat with author Garry J. Shaw about his fascinating new book from Yale University Press, Cryptic: From Voynich to the Angel Diaries, the Story of the World's Mysterious Manuscripts. The book tells the stories behind nine puzzling medieval and early Modern European texts. In our interview Garry talks about the three that fall within the chronological confines of the Middle Ages.

We begin with the "unknown language" and "unknown script" concocted by the remarkable twelfth-century German abbess, mystic, polymath, and composer of sacred music, Hildegard of Bingen.

We then turn to another strange early fifteenth-century manuscript, the Bellicorum instrumentorum liber, Book of the Instruments of War, by Giovanni Fontana, whom Garry Shaw characterizes as "a true pre-Renaissance man." Fontana was entranced with the "natural magic of mechanical creations" and the "practical knowledge gained from experiments and observation of nature." But this did nothing to lessen his belief in supernatural forces operating in the world. He was also "a world class prankster" with a fascination for ciphers. All these came together in the Bellicorum instrumentorum liber, an enciphered illustrated catalogue of imagined machines, ranging from rocket-powered chairs and fanciful siege engines to mechanical witches.

We conclude with perhaps the most famous of all mysterious manuscripts, the early fifteenth-century Voynich codex, whose content has resisted decipherment by professional code-breakers and cryptographers. (Spoiler: we won't be able to tell you what the Voynich manuscript actually says, but Dr. Shaw has a good idea what the manuscript is, why it was produced, and why no one has been able to decipher it. If you disagree with him, just go online to Yale University library's posting of Voynich and have your own go at it!)

I hope you will join us.

Cryptic: From Voynich to the Angel Diaries, the Story of the World's Mysterious Manuscripts by Garry J. Shaw. Yale University Press, 2025. (https://www.amazon.com/Cryptic-Voynich-Diaries-Mysterious-Manuscripts/dp/0300266510)

The manuscripts that we discuss in this episode can be viewed online at:

Hildegard of Bingen's Unknown Language: An Edition, Translation and Discussion by Sarah L. Higley (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007): https://epdf.pub/hildegard-of-bingens-unknown-language-an-edition-translation-and-discussion-the-48385c392ef3ce461b6703d8f09d435e57514.html

Voynich Manuscript. Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library: https://collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/2002046

Giovanni Fontana, Instrumentorum bellicorum liber. The Munich DigitiZation Center (MDZ) https://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/0001/bsb00013084/images/index.html?fip=193.174.98.30&seite=54&pdfseitex=

This episode includes three musical snippets:

Hildegard of Bingen's votive antiphon for the dedication of a Church, "O orzchis Ecclesiam" (Ensemble Sequentia, with Barbara Thornton. Deutsche Harmonium Mundi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?)v=AGCAOf9gjBM&t=7s)

O orzchis Ecclesia,
armis divinis precincta
et iacincto ornata, tu es caldemia
stigmatum loifolum
et urbs scientiarum.
O, o, tu es
etiam crizanta
in alto sono et es
chorzta gemma. (Hildegard's 'lingua ig

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Intro and exit music are by Alexander Nakarada

If you have questions, feel free to contact me at richard.abels54@gmail.com

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I finally saw the movie "Conclave," and really enjoyed it. As you probably know, it is about the contentious election of a pope in a conclave of the college of cardinals. The movie, however, never explains what the word conclave actually means or how and why that papal electoral procedure began. This episode will remedy that omission.

The intro music is from the Academy Award nominated overture to the movie "Conclave" by the composer Volker Bertelmann

Listen on Podurama https://podurama.com

Intro and exit music are by Alexander Nakarada

If you have questions, feel free to contact me at richard.abels54@gmail.com

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In this second episode of a three part series, my favorite cohost Ellen and I survey the development of the papacy from the eighth through the early eleventh century. Among the topics we discuss are who and what the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties of Francia were; Pope Zacharias' legitimization of Pepin the Short's deposition of a puppet Merovingian king and his elevation to the throne; the "donation of Pepin" that created the papal states; the "Donation of Constantine," forged in the papal chancery to justify the donation of Pepin; the partnership between Charlemagne and the papacy in reforming the Western Church; Pope Leo III's coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day, 800; and how the papacy was reduced once again to being the local bishops of Rome under the control of the Roman aristocracy in the tenth century after the collapse of the Carolingian empire. This is the period that historians see as the nadir of the institution that featured some memorably bad popes, though we conclude with a few good ones under the Ottonian emperors.

This episode includes audio snippets

Musician Ernst Stolz playing the pilgrims' song, "O Roma nobilis" on tenor vielle, recorder and gemshorn. From his YouTube channel "My Years with Early Music: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf3_3065gmU)

Gregorian Chant - Agnus Dei, posted by fgl music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YZI4cyBkvI

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Intro and exit music are by Alexander Nakarada

If you have questions, feel free to contact me at richard.abels54@gmail.com

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In this first episode of a three part series, my favorite cohost Ellen and I survey the development of the papacy over its first seven centuries. I have to confess that along the way I got somewhat off topic talking about the Roman persecution of the Christians. But it is an interesting subject in itself and worth exploring, and as 31 of the first 32 popes are venerated as martyrs--some with more reason than others--it seems relevant to a discussion of the first centuries of the papacy. In this episode Ellen and I also talk about Christological disputes that divided the early Church, the position of the bishop of Rome vis-à-vis other bishops, and the papacy's relationship with the Emperor Constantine and his successors. That's my way of saying that it turned out longer than I expected. But I hope that you'll listen and enjoy it.

This episode includes musician Ernst Stolz playing the pilgrims' song, "O Roma nobilis" on tenor vielle, recorder and gemshorn. From his YouTube channel "My Years with Early Music: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf3_3065gmU)

Listen on Podurama https://podurama.com

Intro and exit music are by Alexander Nakarada

If you have questions, feel free to contact me at richard.abels54@gmail.com

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In this episode I interview Professor Nora Berend of the University of Cambridge about her new book El Cid; The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary (Pegasus Books, 2025). We discuss how the historical Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, a ruthless and ambitious mercenary who served both Christian and Muslim rulers in the violent and chaotic political world of late eleventh-century Iberia was transformed into the national hero of Francoist Spain and the hero of the 1961 movie starring Charlton Heston.

This episode includes the audio track from the theatrical trailer to the 1961 movie "El Cid", starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren, and directed by Anthony Mann

Listen on Podurama https://podurama.com

Intro and exit music are by Alexander Nakarada

If you have questions, feel free to contact me at richard.abels54@gmail.com

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This is the second of our two part series on the Norman Conquest. In it Jenny and I discuss the military challenges faced by King Harold Godwinson and Duke William of Normandy and the battles of Fulford Gate and Stamford Bridge, before turning to look closely at the Battle of Hastings (which did not actually take place at Hastings). I hope you will join us.

There is a host of books on the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest, both academic and popular. I would glad to recommend some. Feel free to email me. Meanwhile, I'd recommend a couple of good collections of primary and secondary sources:

Stephen Morillo, ed., The Battle of Hastings: Sources and Interpretations (The Boydell Press, 1996).

R. Allen Brown, ed., The Norman Conquest. Documents of Medieval History 5 (Edward Arnold, 1984).

The magazine "Medieval Warfare" devoted a special edition in 2017 to "1066: The Battle of Hastings." I highly recommend it for those interested in the military aspects of the battle.

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Intro and exit music are by Alexander Nakarada

If you have questions, feel free to contact me at richard.abels54@gmail.com

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This is the first half of a two part series on the Norman Conquest of England. My cohost for both parts is a veteran of this podcast, Dr. Jennifer Paxton of the Catholic University of America. Jenny is one of the very best historians of Anglo-Norman England, so this is a subject right up her alley. In this episode we explore the historical background leading up to the Norman Conquest and the claims of the three rivals who fought for the English throne in 1066: Earl Harold Godwinson, King Harald Hardrada of Norway, and Duke William of Normandy.

This is an episode that cries out for genealogical tables connecting the main claimants to the English throne in 1066. Fortunately, there are a number of useful and reliable ones online:

For the family relations of the main claimants to the English throne in 1066, see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Conqueror#/media/File:Tree_of_William's_struggle_for_England.svg

There is a nice table of the family of Earl Godwin at:
https://achallengeforthethronebygeorgina.weebly.com/harold-godwinson.html

And for Harald Hardrada, check out:
https://www.medievalists.net/2021/08/harald-hardrada-exemplar-age/

I'm pleased to say that 'Tis But A Scratch recently was recognized by Feedspot as one of the 25 best Viking Age Podcasts and one of the top 100 podcasts on the history of Europe:

https://podcast.feedspot.com/viking_age_podcasts/
https://podcast.feedspot.com/europe_podcasts/

This episode includes an audio clip from Walt Disney's animated "Alice in Wonderland." To understand why, you will just have to listen to the episode.

Listen on Podurama https://podurama.com

Intro and exit music are by Alexander Nakarada

If you have questions, feel free to contact me at richard.abels54@gmail.com

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Yes, I know that Octavian IS Augustus, but this episode is about how Gaius Octavius became Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, and in doing so replaced the old Roman Republic with a military autocracy masquerading as a republic. This is the conclusion of our three part series on the fall of the Roman Republic. My cohost for all three episodes has been my good friend Dr. Jennifer Paxton of the Catholic University of America.

This episode includes two audio snippets:
Mark Antony's funeral oration for Caesar, from the 1953 film version of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" (with Marlon Brando as Brutus)

"What have the Romans done for us?" from "Monty Python's The Life of Brian"

Quotations from:
Appian on Caesar's Funeral, trans. John Carter (https://www.livius.org/sources/content/appian/appian-caesars-funeral/)
Res Gestae Divi Augusti ("the achievements of the deified Augustus"), trans. F.W. Shipley (https://www.livius.org/sources/content/augustus-res-gestae/)
Tacitus Agricola. Translated by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb (1877)
Tacitus, Annals. Loeb Classical Library edition of Tacitus, 1931

For another take on the story, I recommend listening to "Marc Antony vs. Octavian Caesar: Ancient Rome's Ruthless Rivals," a two part series on the podcast "Beef with Bridget Todd."

As I am posting this a couple of days before Christmas and Hanukkah, I would like to wish you all Happy Holidays. And if you haven't yet listened to it, you might want to try our episode on how Hanukkah and Christmas were celebrated in the Middle Ages (with detours into how Hanukkah became the Jewish Christmas in the United States and why the Puritans tried to suppress Christmas).

Listen on Podurama https://podurama.com

Intro and exit music are by Alexander Nakarada

If you have questions, feel free to contact me at richard.abels54@gmail.com