Modern Medieval: A NWMSN Postgraduate Podcast

Life of A Gothic Cathedral: Interview with Professor Emeritus Stephen Murray

Words cannot describe how honoured and thrilled we are to share this incredibly special episode featuring Professor Emeritus Stephen Murray. Professor Murray is an evocative storyteller overflowing with fascinating historical tidbits about Gothic architecture, medieval clergy, the influence of electronic media and technology in architectural history research, and SO much more! We hope you enjoy!
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Professor Emeritus Stephen Murray recently published a beautiful monograph on Amiens Cathedral titled, 'Notre-Dame of Amiens: Life of a Gothic Cathedral' available to purchase on the Columbia University Press website, Amazon, and anywhere else you buy books. As an advocate for accessible knowledge through electronic media, Professor Murray created a companion website to his monograph available here: http://projects.mcah.columbia.edu/amiens-arthum/ 
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Further, Professor Murray is a member of the 'Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris' the official 501(c)(3) charity leading the international fundraising efforts to rebuild and restore Notre-Dame Cathedral.
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Modern Medieval jingle created by Trothgard: https://trothgardmusic.bandcamp.com/album/legends-of-alderley 

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Lent & Mindfulness

The season of Lent is upon on us and here at Modern Medieval we were asking ourselves: What does one give up during a pandemic? Tune in to listen to our thoughts on taking this opportunity to be mindful and appreciative of the smaller things rather than dwelling on the negatives of loss.
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Icon: Diagram of the brain (c. 1300), Illumination on parchment, 21.7 x 14.2 cm (whole page), University Library, Cambridge.
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Music by Trothgard: https://trothgardmusic.bandcamp.com/ 

Musings, Materiality and Music with Special Guest Joe Burton

WOWOWOW! Words cannot describe how excited we are to share Modern Medieval's 30th episode with special guest Joe Burton! Not only has Joe created the most wonderful little jingle for our podcast, but he has also recently released an amazing album titled 'Legends of Alderley' under the name 'Trothgard'. Throughout this episode we muse upon the 'thing-ness' of things, Sutton Hoo, medieval musical compositions and so much more!
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You can find Trothgard's music online via Bandcamp (https://trothgardmusic.bandcamp.com/album/legends-of-alderley) or on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwnpfQFvhZ4). If you want to follow Trothgard on Instagram follow @trothgardmusic. 
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Icon image: A promotional photograph for 'Legends of Alderley' provided by Joe Burton. Photograph taken by Laura, whose work you can find on Instagram under @lmackphoto.

The Dig

This week Modern Medieval discusses the Netflix Original film 'The Dig' which is centred around the extraordinary 1939 Sutton Hoo Anglo-Saxon archaeological excavation. A beautiful film drenched in golden earth tones, Meaghan & Elo dig beneath the gilded veneer to discuss some of the gaps within the film.
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Icon is a still of Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) and Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) from 'The Dig'. 

Disenchantment

Animation and the medieval seem to go together like peanut-butter and jelly, from illustrated books to Disney to Netflix's series 'Disenchantment.' However, Meaghan & Elo are not quite sure how "enchanted" they are by the Netflix series. This week, we delve into the animated series and ask some broad questions about the appeal of the medieval for television as a whole. Make sure to listen through to the end for a special surprise!
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Icon: "Disenchantment" advertisement still from Netflix.
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Music: Sample track from Trothgard's upcoming album "Legends of Alderley".  For more information visit: https://trothgardmusic.bandcamp.com/album/legends-of-alderley . You can also keepup up with Trothgard on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClAqs3d4mGa6auyhCeUdEfw
and Instagram: @trothgardmusic 
 

A Giggle & A Gaggle

Everyone could use a laugh! This week, we keep it short and sweet, sharing a select few medieval jokes that have surviving ancestors today. Enjoy!
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Icon image is a still from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". 

Byzantine Intersectionality

Modern Medieval is incredibly excited to share this week's episode with you about Roland Betancourt's "Byzantine Intersectionality: Sexuality, Gender, and Race in the Middle Ages". We touch upon transgender saints' lives; eunuchs as a third gender; slut-shaming; and so much more! 
 
So brace yourselves, its time to get Modern Medieval!
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Icon image: "Mary of Egypt." Church of the Panagia Phorbiotissa, Asinou, Cyprus. Presented on page 8 of Betancourt, "Byzantine Intersectionality."
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Colour image accessed from https://www.icon-art.info/masterpiece.php?lng=ru&mst_id=4263. 

Insurrection.

It's 2021 and Modern Medieval is back! To start off the new year, Meaghan & Elo share some modern medieval thoughts on films and series watched over the holidays before pivoting into a discussion about historic insurrections, coup d'etats, and the attack on the United States Capitol. So brace yourselves, it's time to get Modern Medieval.  
 
Icon image: Painting by François Dubois, a Huguenot painter born circa 1529 in Amiens, who settled in Switzerland. Although Dubois did not witness the massacre, he depicts Admiral Coligny's body hanging out of a window at the rear to the right. To the left rear, Catherine de' Medici is shown emerging from the Louvre castle to inspect a heap of bodies.

Holiday Hauntings: Medieval Poetry for Christmas

In a special episode Meaghan & Elo read two medieval poems to get into the spirit of Christmas: "I Syng of a Mayden" (c. 1400), which is considered one of the first Christmas carols; and "Dream of the Rood" preserved in the Vercelli Book.
 
Enjoy and Happy Holidays!
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Episode icon is late fifteenth-century illuminated miniature by Jean Bourdichon, V&A miniature (E.949-2003) of the Nativity from the Book of Hours of Louis XII, commissioned to celebrate his accession to the throne in 1499.