It's time to get continental because on this episode of the Weird Medieval Guys podcast, we're heading to the Holy Roman Empire! When Voltaire famously said that the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, Roman, nor an empire, he probably didn't think that his words would haunt history classrooms and conversations centuries in the future. Unfortunately they did, and so we are left to deal with the legacy of this smarmy soundbite. Join Olivia and Aran as they unpack what on earth this crazy, crazy thing really was and try to deliver a verdict on whether Voltaire was right.

For more on some of what we discuss, please check out:

• Nation States as Empire, Empires as Nation States by Krishan Kumar
  • https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Krishan-Kumar-13/publication/227138385_Nation-states_as_empires_empires_as_nation-states_two_principles_one_practice/links/56a7ae0a08ae860e0255800e/Nation-states-as-empires-empires-as-nation-states-two-principles-one-practice.pdf
• Rulers on the Road: Itinerant Rule in the Holy Roman Empire, AD 919–1519
  • https://www.carlmueller-crepon.org/publication/itinerant_rule/MNKM_itin_rulers_20240430.pdf
• IMPERIAL FANTASIES: IMAGINING CHRISTIAN EMPIRE IN THREE FOURTEENTH-CENTURY VERSIONS OF "THE BOOK OF SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE by Marianne O'Doherty
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/26396423

And be sure to join the official WMG Discord server!!

https://discord.gg/S6tdHCDq

Oh no! You've become unstuck in time and now you're in 15th century England with no idea what to do or how to avoid a miserable life as a social pariah who speaks an unrecognisable language and is ignorant to the rules and structure of the world around you! There has to be a better way! Or is there? Join Olivia and Aran as they journey back to medieval times to figure out the best way to get by. Should you become a monk or a nun? Have a go at blacksmithing? Or try to wow the village rubes with modern technology and ideas? All these options and more will be discussed in the search for a decent medieval life.

For more on some of what we discuss, check out:

• Database of England's immigrants 1330-1550
  • https://www.englandsimmigrants.com/
• Some case studies of individual immigrants in medieval England, including so-called "Prince of Inde" John Balbat and fake Jerseyman Giles Morvyle
  • https://www.englandsimmigrants.com/page/individual-studies
• William Lee and his frame knitting machine
  • https://alumni.christs.cam.ac.uk/william-lee
• The prologue to the Canterbury Tales, read in Middle English
  • https://archive.org/details/lp_prologue-to-the-canterbury-tales-read-in-m_geoffrey-chaucer-nevill-coghill-norman-dav

It's grim up north...

Why did a five-hundred-year-old Viking colony in Greenland suddenly disappear, with no trace or record? In this episode, Olivia, Aran, and local archaeologist Joe Mason assemble to try and solve one of the most enduring mysteries in medieval history. It's a quest that will take them out of the libertarian "paradise" of 11th century, to the freezing walrus-infested shores of Greenland, and beyond - to the promised land of Vinland. Along the way they'll encounter Native American ghosts, Inuit revenge epics, and the Vikings' love of pointless, cyclical violence.

Sources:

The Saga of the Greenlanders: https://vidforul.wordpress.com/the-saga-of-the-greenlanders/

The Saga of Erik the Red: https://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en

"Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo" by Hinrich Johannes Rink: https://sacred-texts.com/nam/inu/tte/index.htm

Music used:

Peta, Etulu & Susan - This Land is Your Land (Inuktitut) - https://citizenfreak.com/titles/319453-peta-etulu-susan-songs-by-etulu-susan-peta

Olafur reid med Bjorgum fram - https://www.loc.gov/item/2017701460/