Medieval Archives

About Medieval Archives

The Medieval Archives Podcast explores the history, people, stories, and mysteries of the Middle Ages. Join historian and host Gary, the Archivist, as we dig into the real medieval world, from kings, knights, popes, battles, and political intrigue to ordinary life, strange beliefs, and forgotten stories. Each episode takes a closer look at the people and events that shaped the medieval world, separating history from legend without taking all the fun out of it. Whether you’re a longtime medieval history enthusiast or just curious about the Middle Ages, there’s always something waiting in the Archives.

Publisher

The Archivist

Category

education · history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Jun 2010

Latest episode

10 Nov 2025

Latest episodes

12 of 105 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   10 Nov 2025TRANSCRIPT

   MAP97: Hunger Games: The Great Famine of 1315

   🌾Hunger Games: The Great Famine of 1315🌾 Executive Producers wanted: ⭐YOUR NAME HERE; Thank you to all the listeners! 💰Become a Producer! DONATE to the show via PayPal (https://medievalarchives.com/PaypalProducer), or use Venmo (https://medievalarchives.com/MedievalVenmo) You can also donate with Stripe (https://medievalarchives.com/MedievalStripe) 📜Sign Up for our newsletter (https://medievalarchives.beehiiv.com/subscribe) The 14th century opened with a nightmare beginning a period called the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages, which lasted almost 200 years and was filled with famine, plague, religious schisms and wars, lots of wars. Sadly, it’s the beginning of the end for the medieval era. After centuries of warmth, prosperity, and booming harvests, Europe plunged into a cold, wet catastrophe, the Great Famine of 1315. In this episode, you’ll learn about the end of the Medieval Warm Period and the disaster that began the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages. The Great Famine of 1315–1317 was the beginning of the crisis and one of the most devastating in 14th century Medieval Europe, a harrowing event that killed millions and reshaped the fabric of society. From endless rain and rotting grain to livestock dying in the fields and desperate people turning to unthinkable acts, the famine reshaped Europe for generations. We'll look at the medieval world before the famine, down the science, politics, and human stories behind one of medieval Europe's worst disasters. Learn how years of cold rain, crop failure, and desperation changed the course of European history. You'll hear firsthand accounts from chroniclers, discover the volcanic eruptions that may have triggered the cooling and ushered in the "Little Ice Age." Learn how years of relentless cold rain led to crop failures, the collapse of livestock populations, and mass starvation that reshaped Europe forever. In this episode, you’ll learn: 🌾 How centuries of agricultural success led to a fragile, overpopulated Europe. 🌧️ How the endless rains of 1315 destroyed crops and livestock across the continent. 🧂 Why salt, vital for preserving meat, suddenly vanished, worsening starvation. 🕊️ How famine fueled crime, cannibalism, and the collapse of faith in the Church. 🌋 How volcanic eruptions from Indonesia to Iceland may have triggered the cooling. 🧙♂️ The real famine folklore behind the Brothers Grimm’s Hansel and Gretel. 💀 How the Great Famine killed over 25% of Europe’s population and set the stage for the Black Death. The Great Famine of 1315–1317 marked the first great crisis of the Late Middle Ages. For three years, unrelenting rain, crop failure, disease, and starvation devastated Europe. It was the end of the Medieval Warm Period and the dawn of the Little Ice Age, a chilling prelude to the horrors of the Black Death three decades later. “When God saw that the world was so over proud, He sent a dearth on earth, and made it full hard...” ~ The Evil Times of Edward II Get all the links and see the bibliography in the show notes on Medieval Archives! (https://medievalarchives.com/97) Grab a free copy of A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman (https://medievalarchives.com/freebook) Other episodes to explore: Ep. 42 - Medieval Diseases and “Cures” (https://medievalarchives.com/42) Ep. 75 - Natural Disasters: Earthquakes that rocked the Middle Ages (https://medievalarchives.com/75) (00:17) - 14th Century or Bust! (01:10) - Thanks to all the producers! (01:54) - Life in the 13th century (04:20) - Little Ice Age Begins (05:38) - Rain, rain, go away (06:57) - Crop failure, livestock death & price gouging (12:21) - No relief, abandoned chldren and 'Hansel & Gretel (13:16) - Cannibalism, Fact or Fiction? (14:25) - Black Horseman of Famine and loss of faith (16:41) - You are my sunshine (18:28) - Poems, Folk Tales & Consequences (21:07) - Volcanic activity led to the LIttle Ice Age (26:58) - Volcanic Eruption & Bibliography (27:05) - Get your free audio book! (27:57) - Sharing is caring (28:06) - Become an Executive Producer with a 1315 donation Creators & Guests Medieval Archives (https://MedievalArchives.transistor.fm/people/medieval-archives) - Host <-----------> Contact: podcast@medievalarchives.com (mailto:%20podcast@medievalarchives.com) Call in to the Medieval Archives hotline at +1 720.722.1066 Follow Medieval Archives on X.com (https://twitter.com/medievalarchive) | Mastodon (https://medievalarchives.social/@MedievalArchives) | Blue Sky (https://bsky.app/profile/medievalarchives.com) 📜Sign Up for our newsletter (https://medievalarchives.beehiiv.com/subscribe) Medieval Archives is AD free and AI free because of our wonderful producers. Help keep Medieval History alive by becoming a producer today. Love Medieval History? Help us spread the word and become a history-making legend! Share the epic tales: Your friends will thank you for introducing them to the fascinating world of Medieval history. Become a proud producer: Support the show that keeps medieval history alive! Visit https://MedievalArchives.com/support (https://MedievalArchives.com/support) for details or donate now via PayPal (https://medievalarchives.com/PaypalProducer), or use Venmo (https://medievalarchives.com/MedievalVenmo) or donate with Stripe (https://medievalarchives.com/MedievalStripe) Leave your mark on history: Get your name listed in the credits – a lasting legacy for your love of the Middle Ages! Boost the show and see the artwork with a Podcasting 2.0 (https://podcasting2.org/) certified app: Castamatic (https://castamatic.com/) | iCatcher! (https://joeisanerd.com/)| Pocket Casts (https://pocketcasts.com/) | Fountain (https://fountain.fm/) | Breez (https://breez.technology/) | Sphinx (https://sphinx.chat/) ★ Support this podcast ★ (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5TZJH2R9X76G4&source=url) RSS Podcast Feed (https://feeds.transistor.fm/medieval-tales) Intro music provided by Tim Rayburn. It is available at Magnatune.com (http://www.magnatune.com) Thank You to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports the show. We appreciate you taking the time to listen to each episode. Share it with your friends! Copyright © 2025 · Dragon Moon Media All Rights Reserved. No Infringement is Intended. Medieval Archives & Dragon Moon Media production.

2. 

   30 Oct 2025TRANSCRIPT

   BONUS: Trick or Terror: The Halloween Candy Scare of the 1980s

   Hosts from Medieval Archives and Gen X Archives investigate the 1980s Halloween candy scare, revealing the truth behind the urban legends that terrified a generation.

3. 

   27 Oct 2025

   MAP96: Tales of Medieval Revenge by Edgar Allan Poe

   Host of Medieval Archives explores Edgar Allan Poe's chilling tales of revenge, "Hop-Frog" and "The Cask of Amontillado," revealing their historical inspirations and gothic atmosphere.

Inside a recent episode

MAP97: Hunger Games: The Great Famine of 1315

Published 10 Nov 2025 · Transcript excerpt

[…] The next season, they would rotate the fields in which they planted and left falo, and this allowed the soil to recover its nutrients better, and the crops would provide a bigger yield. At the start of the Medieval Warm Period in the 900s, it's estimated that wheat production was at about two to one, so for every seed planted, two were cultivated. As the years progressed into the Medieval Warm Period, the production increased over 250 % for every seed planted, seven were cultivated. The increased production and the shortened time to plant drove the need for more farmland. Now vast amounts of forests were cleared to make way for new farmland, and during the Medieval Warm Period from 1 ,000 to about 1 ,300, farmland doubled in England and in Germany. […]

Who has been a guest on Medieval Archives

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Edgar Allan Poe
• Dr Amy Jeffs
• Nicholas Morton

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

18,982

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.4 / 5

314 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

25 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 90 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

92

Social presence

91

YouTube

76

Engagement

97

Contact Medieval Archives

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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