
'tis but a scratch: fact and fiction about the Middle Ages
Talking about popular conceptions of the Middle Ages and their historical realities. Join Richard Abels to learn about Vikings, knights and chivalry, movies set in the Middle Ages, and much more about the medieval world.
Podcasting since 2022 • 58 episodes
'tis but a scratch: fact and fiction about the Middle Ages
Latest Episodes
The medieval papal conclave: starving cardinals into consensus
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 ...
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Season 4
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Episode 58
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29:38

From Bishop of Rome to the Papal Monarchy, Part 2: The Early Middle Ages
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 ...
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Season 4
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Episode 57
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1:32:21

From Bishop of Rome to the Papal Monarchy: the early centuries
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 ...
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Season 4
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Episode 56
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1:23:28

El Cid, From History to Legend
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 ru...
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Season 4
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Episode 55
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1:03:34

Tne Norman Conquest (with Dr. Jennifer Paxton), part 2
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 ...
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Season 4
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Episode 54
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1:01:42
