Spells, magic items, and questing galore! What other fanciful tales were being constructed in Chaucer’s time? This week, we host special guest Roger Ladd and discuss Chaucer’s contemporary, John Gower – and the fanciful works he produced. Join us as we explore a witchy, alternative version of Jason and Medea, as well as a mortality tale turned on its head.

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Citations & References:

• Gower, John. Confessio Amantis. Edited by Russell A. Peck, Latin translated by Andrew Galloway, Medieval Institute Publications, 2013. Middle English Text Series.
• Gower, John. The Lover’s Confession: a Translation of John Gower’s Confessio Amantis. Edited and translated by Brian Gastle and Catherine Carter, Latin translated by Andrew Galloway, Medieval Institute Publication, 2023. TEAMS Varia Series.
• The Gower Project. https://www.gowerproject.com/.
• Holsinger, Bruce. A Burnable Book. William Morrow, 2014.
• International John Gower Society. https://johngower.org/.
• Ladd, Roger. Antimercantilism in Late Medieval English Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. The New Middle Ages.
• “List of Subjects and Tales in Confessio Amantis”. Wikipedia, 5 September 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_subjects_and_tales_in_Confessio_Amantis.
• McSheffrey, Shannon. Marriage, Sex, and Civic Culture in Late Medieval London. U Pennsylvania P, 2006.

In this episode, Mac and Zoe discuss how medieval peasantry worked, the complexities of the system, what sort of peasants there were, and how world builders, writers, and game masters can both accurately represent and adapt the village system in their medieval fantasy worlds and TTRPGs.

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Citations

• Gies, Frances & Joseph. Life in a Medieval Village. Harper & Row, 1990.
• Bennett, Judith M. Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England. Oxford UP, 1999.
• Graeber, David. Debt: The First 5,000 Years. Melville House, 2011.
• “Medieval Settlements.” Historic England. A great PDF introduction. Link .
• Ellis, Penny. “Medieval Thoralby.” Thoralby Through Time. Link .
• Ray, T.J. “Manorial Language.” T.J. Ray: The Eclectic Eccentric. Link .
• Ray, T.J. “Feudal Language.” T.J. Ray: The Eclectic Eccentric. Link .
• The Middle English Compendium. (Note: this site often goes down.) Link .

Terminology & Spelling:

• ale-taster
• bailiff
• beadle
• cellarer
• claviger
• hayward
• majordomo
• messor
• reeve
• seneschal
• serjant
• steward
• woodward

How many versions of one tale can we tell? In this episode, we’re diving back into Eric & Enide, and Mac has found two more versions of this classic chivalric romance. We discuss how various cultural differences affect the manner in which these adaptations are written, and explore how we can use cultural difference in worldbuilding.

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• Get your copy of Marginal Worlds , a deck of 50 magic items pulled directly from medieval manuscripts, built for any TTRPG system here !

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Citations & References:

• Check out our blog post with the names listed out here .
• Blaisdell, Foster W., and Marianne E. Kalinke, translators. Erex Saga and Ívens Saga. U Nebraska Press, 1977.
• Chrétien de Troyes. “Erec and Enide.” The Complete Romances of Chrétien de Troyes, translated by David Staines, Indiana UP, 1993, pp. 1-86.
• Davies, Sioned, translator. The Mabinogion. Oxford UP, 2007. Oxford World’s Classics.
• Gantz, Jeffrey, translator. The Mabinogion. Dorset Press, 1976.
• Guest, Charlotte, translator. The Mabinogion. 1877. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1906. Everyman’s Library.
• Hartmann von Aue. Erec. Translated by Michael Resler, U Pennsylvania Press, 2004.
• Hartmann von Aue. Erec. Translated by Thomas L. Keller, Garland Publishing, 1987. Garland Library of Medieval Literature (Series B) 12.
• Thomson, Robert L., editor. Ystorya Gereint uab Erbin. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, School of Celtic Studies / Dundalgan Press, 1997. Medieval and Modern Welsh Series 10.

Terminology & Spelling for Reference:

• abatis
• brunet
• Hartmann von Aue
• umbo
• vespereide