Americas
Christmas With the Pilgrims — Special Episode: The New Guys Celebrate Christmas, Plymouth (Massachusetts), December 25, 1621
Columbus Arrives in the Americas and Things Go From Bad to Worse — Columbus Captures Arawaks and Demands They Tell Him Where the Gold Is, Guanahani (in the Bahamas) October 12, 1492
Austria
Leopold of Austria Kidnaps Richard Lionheart, Which Was Totally Against Crusader Rules — Leopold of Austria Kidnaps Richard the Lionheart, Near Vienna, Austria 1192
Bohemia
Defenestrations of Prague, Because People Get Thrown Out of Windows All the Time, But it’s Prague That’s Famous For It — Defenestrations of Prague, Prague, Bohemia 1419, 1483, 1618
Brittany
Gilles de Rais, one of Joan of Arc’s Generals, Decompensates and Becomes the Opposite of a Hero — Gilles de Rais, Nantes, Brittany 1440
Jeanne de Clisson, Pirate and Queen of Revenge — Jeanne de Clisson takes up piracy, Brittany 1343
Byzantine Empire
The Italian Merchants in Constantinople Get Slaughtered and Then East-West Relations Get Even Worse — Massacre of the Latins, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire, April 1182
The Sack of Constantinople — The Sack of Constantinople, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire April 8-13, 1204
Central Europe
German Peasants Start Off The Biggest Workers’ Revolt Before The French Revolution — The Great German Peasants’ War, Central Europe 1524-1525
Crimea
The Crimean Slave Trade, Which was a Vast Enterprise Throughout Much of Human History, So We Had To Focus — Maddelena, a Circassian, is Bought in Crimea and Sold in Italy, Venice, Italy c. 1428
Denmark
Sveyn III Kills Off the Rivals So He Doesn’t Have to Share Denmark– The Bloodfeast of Roskilde, Roskilde, Denmark 1157
England
Arche the Miller Pretends to be a Ghost — Halloween Episode: Arche the Miller and his Drunken Buddies Pretend to be Ghosts, Cambridgeshire, England 1592
Battle Abbey Forges Charters, Not Very Well — Battle Abbey Forges Charters, Sussex, England mid 12th Century
Christopher Marlowe is Murdered, So Shakespeare Becomes the Greatest Playwright in England — Special Episode: Christopher Marlowe is Assassinated, Deptford, England, 1593
Con Artists in Medieval London, with Peter Konieczny — Special Episode! Peter Konieczny from Medievalists.net Explains Con Artists in Medieval London, England
Edward II of England is Gotten Rid Of– The Murder of Edward II, Berkeley Castle, England 1327
Eorpwald is Assassinated, But It’s His Dad Who is Buried at Sutton Hoo — Eorpwald of East Anglia is Murdered, East Anglia c. 627
Eustace the Pirate, Monk, and Sea Captain, No, Really — Eustace the Pirate, Battle of Sandwich, England 1217
Guy Fawkes and His Cohorts Almost Manage to Blow Up About Half of London— Special Episode: Guy Fawkes Attempts to Blow Up King James and Parliament, London, England November 5, 1605
Henry I of England Nearly Gets Assassinated by His Daughter — Juliane de Fontevrault Tries to Kill Her Father (Henry I) With a Crossbow, Normandy 1110
Hugh Despenser the Younger, Edward II’s Friend, Is Horrible– The Sheer Dreadfulness of Hugh Despenser the Younger, Hereford, England, 1326
The Jews of York are Massacred — The Jews of York are Massacred, York, England 1190
King John Starves Matilda and William de Braose to Death Because Matilda Was Rude (and John Owed Her Husband Some Money) — King John Starves Maud and William de Braose to Death, Corfe Castle, Dorset, England 1210
The Peasants’ Revolt, Which Gave Us Some Nice Rhymes — The Peasants’ Revolt, England 1381
The Pretender Kings, Simnel and Warbeck — Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck Pretend to be Kings, England 1487 and 1491
Princes in the Tower; We Still Don’t Know What Happened — The Princes in the Tower, Part 1, London, England 1483
—The Princes in the Tower, Part 2, London, England 1483
Saint Brice’s Day Massacre was Meant to Rid England of All the Danes But Didn’t– St. Brice’s Day Massacre, England November 13, 1002
Saint Scholastica Riot, Pretty Much the Worst Student Riot Ever — St. Scholastica Riot, Oxford England, February 10, 1355
Stephen of Blois Starts a Civil War — Stephen of Blois Breaks His Oath, London England, December 1135
Sumptuary Laws — Special Episode: Richard Walweyn Wears Padded Pants, London, England 1565
Thomas Becket is Murdered Because Some Drunken Soldiers Made a Colossal Mistake– Christmas Episode: The Murder of Thomas Becket, Canterbury, England 1170
Thomas Malory is Imprisoned, Which is Good for Posterity Because He Writes Le Morte d’Arthur– Sir Thomas Malory Goes to Prison for Treason, London, England 1468
The Vikings Raid Lindisfarne and Kick Off the Viking Age — The Viking Raid on Lindisfarne, Northumbria 793
The White Ship Sails Off But Doesn’t Make It Out of the Harbour — The White Ship Disaster, Barfleur, Normandy 1120
William de Marisco, One of the Many Naughty de Mariscos, is Executed, Finally, for One of His Crimes — William de Marisco is Executed for Treason, London England 1242
William Rufus Dies in the New Forest — The Death of William Rufus, New Forest, England, August 2, 1100
Europe
Chastity Belts Are Not Medieval — April Fool’s Episode: Debunking the Chastity Belt
The Great Famine, Which Didn’t Kill as Many People as the Black Death but Lasted Way Longer — Crime Rise in the Great Famine, Europe 1315-1322
Lords of Misrule, or Christmas Activities — Winter Shenanigans (Lords of Misrule), Europe 500-1600
Our Favorites of the First 100 — 100. Retrospective: Our Favorites of the Past 100 Episodes – True Crime Medieval
The People’s Crusade, Which Is How You Can Attempt to Go On an Expensive Trip To Jerusalem By Murdering Other People and Stealing Their Stuff — People’s Crusade, France and Germany, 1096
Sanctuary: We Explain — Church Sanctuary in the Middle Ages
The Shame Flute Did Not Exist– Special Episode: April Fool’s Debunking of the Myth of the Medieval Shame Flute
True Crime Medieval Bingo, Made for Us By a Listener — True Crime Medieval Bingo!
The Victual Brothers Turn Pirates and Annoy the Hanseatic League — The Piratical Victual Brothers, North and Baltic Seas, 1393-1440
Werewolves Terrorize a Piece of Europe and Human Non-Werewolves Get Blamed — A Werewolf Craze Leads to Torture and Executions, Western Europe 16th-17th centuries
France
Abelard is Castrated by Heloise’s Uncle’s Hit Men — Fulbert’s Henchmen Attack Peter Abelard, Paris, France 1117
Henry V of England Does or Does Not Commit a War Crime — Henry V Orders the French Prisoners Killed, Agincourt, France October 25 1415
The Jacquerie Were Not As Cruel As the Nobility But the Nobility Got To Tell the Story — The Jacquerie Smashes Property, France 1358
Marguerite Porete is Burned At the Stake Even Though the Paris Theologians Said Her Book Wasn’t Heretical — The Murder of Marguerite Porete, Paris, France 1310
Philip Augustus Tries to Renounce His Wife — King Philip Augustus Fakes a Genealogy, Paris, France 1194
Sigebert, Along with Mention of Brunhilda– The Murder of Sigebert, Vitry-en-Artois, France 575
The Templars are Murdered Because Philip IV Needs His Money– Philip IV Slaughters the French Knights Templar, Paris, 1310
The Tour de Nesle Scandal, Which Finished the Capetian LIne– The Tour de Nesle Scandal, Paris, France 1314
University of Paris Strike, Which Proves to the Citizens of Paris That They Need the University, Despite How Rowdy the Students Get — University of Paris Strike, Paris, France 1229
The Vikings Try Seige Warfare (Which Doesn’t Really Work): Vikings Besiege Paris, Paris, France 845 and 885-886
Frankish Kingdom of the Holy Land
Queen Melisende is Accused of Adultery Because Her Husband Wants to Rule Jerusalem — Melisende, Frankish Queen of Jerusalem, is Falsely Accused of Adultery, Jerusalem 1134
Steve Tibble Tells Stories About the Badly Behaved Crusaders: Steve Tibble Discusses Crusader Criminals, Holy Land, 12th – 13th Centuries
Geneva
Michael Servetus is Burned at the Stake, Though John Calvin is Sorry Later — Michael Servetus is Murdered, Geneva, Republic of Geneva 1553
Germany
Els von Eystett is Forced to Have an Abortion, and Takes the Brothel Keeper to Court–Els von Eystett, Nördlingen, Germany 1471
German Peasants Start Off The Biggest Workers’ Revolt Before The French Revolution — The Great German Peasants’ War, Central Europe 1524-1525
Peter von Hagenbach, War Criminal Provides One of the Models for the Nuremberg Trials — Peter von Hagenbach is Convicted of War Crimes, Breisach, Germany 1474
Saffron is Adulterated — Johannes Ryneken is Executed for Adulterating Saffron, Nuremberg Germany, 1444
Greece
The Janissaries Have no Fighting To Do On Account of a Truce — The Janissaries Briefly Break the Truce, December 24, 1522, Rhodes
Holy Roman Empire
Henry VI, HRE, Misbehaves, Which Surprises Nobody — Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, Does Various Bad Things, Germany, Italy, and Sicily, 1169-1197
Hungary
Elizabeth Bathory, Serial Murderer — Special Episode: Elizabeth Bathory Commits Serial Murder, Castle of Csejte, Hungary 1590-1610
Iceland
Axlar-Björn Pétursson, Iceland’s Only Serial Killer , Experiences Danish Law — Axlar-Björn Pétursson is Executed for Serial Murder, Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Iceland 1596
Snorri Sturluson, the Great Poet, Is Assassinated, Being Not As Great At Politics — Snorri Sturluson Is Assassinated, Reykholt, Iceland 1241
Ireland
Alice Kyteler Gets Away but Petronilla de Meath Gets Burnt at the Stake — Accusations of Witchcraft against Alice Kyteler, Kilkenny, Ireland 1324
The Book of Kells is Stolen And Later Discovered With its Cover Torn Off — The Theft of the Book of Kells, Kells, Ireland 1006
Bran Ardchenn and His Wife Eithne are Assassinated By Being Burnt in a Church– Bran Ardchenn, King of Leinster, and his wife Eithne are Assassinated, Cell Cúile Duma, Ireland May 6, 795
Diarmait Mac Murchada Allies With the Anglo-Normans So As to Regain His Kingship, In a Cunning Plan Which has Long Lasting Results — Diarmait Mac Murchada Invites the Anglo-Normans into Ireland, Leinster, Ireland 1167
Hugh de Lacy is Assassinated, Not Surprisingly By an Irishman — Hugh de Lacy is Assassinated, Durrow, Ireland 1186
Rogallach mac Uatach is Murdered, After Which Time Turns Him Into A Myth — Rogallach mac Uatach Is Assasinated By Máel Brigte mac Mothlachán , Connacht, Ireland 649
Saint Columba Copies a Book Without Asking — St. Columba Violates Nonexistent Copyright Laws and Starts a War, Movilla Abbey, Ireland 560
A Viking Child is Murdered and Later Found by Archeologists — Viking Child Murdered, Dublin, Ireland 9th-10th C.
William de Burgh Starves his Cousin — William de Burgh Starves his Cousin Walter to Death, Greencastle, Ulster 1332
Italy
King Alboin is Murdered, and Everybody Thinks His Wife Did It — King Alboin is Murdered, Verona, Italy 572
Beatrice Cenci Murders her Father and Throws Him Out the Window — Beatrice Cenci, Rome, Italy 1599
Cangrande della Scala is Poisoned with Foxglove, Or Maybe It Was An Accident– Cangrande della Scala, Verona, Italy 1329
Fra Alberigo Ends Up in Hell in Dante’s Inferno Even Though He Isn’t Dead Yet, On Account of the Blood Feast — Fra Alberigo, Faenza, Italy 1285
Henry d’Almain is Murdered by His Cousins For Something He Didn’t Do — Henry d’Almain is Murdered, Viterbo, Italy 1271
Pope Joan Wasn’t There — April Fool’s Episode: Pope Joan, Rome 855-857
Joanna of Naples is Murdered But We Don’t Know How — The Assassination of Queen Joanna of Naples, Muro Lucano, Italy 1382
King Lambert is Either Assassinated or Just Fell Off His Horse — King Lambert is Assassinated (or not), Marengo, Italy 898
The Pazzi Conspiracy, Which Fails Spectacularly — The Pazzi Conspiracy, Florence Italy 1478
Pino Ordelaffi Poisons People — Pino III Ordelaffi Poisons a Whole Lot of People, Forli, Northern Italy, 1463-1480
Pope Stephen VI is Murdered After the Cadaver Synod, Which Was Tacky Beyond Belief — Pope Stephen VI is Murdered, Rome, Italy 897
Duke Sforza is Murdered and Nobody Much Gets Upset — Galeazzo Maria Sforza, the Duke of Milan, is Assassinated, Milan, Duchy of Milan 1476
Kyivan Rus (see also Ukraine)
King Olaf Kills Klerkon, Who Had Enslaved Him When He Was a Boy — King Olaf Kills Klerkon in the Market Place, Novgorod, Kyivan Rus 10th Century
Saint Mikhail and his Boyar Saint Theodore Refuse to Worship Idols — St. Mikhail of Chernihiv is Assassinated by the Golden Horde, Batu Khan’s Camp, Kyivan Rus, Ukraine 1246
Saint Olga Massacres the Drevlians but is a Saint Anyway — St. Olga Massacres the Drevlians, Kyivan Rus, Ukraine, 945
Languedoc
The Albigensian Crusade, In Which Crusaders Murder and Loot Closer to Home Because the Albigensians Are Not Being the Right Sorts of Christians, According to the Crusaders — Albigensian Crusade, Languedoc 1209-1229
New England
Christmas With the Pilgrims — Special Episode: The New Guys Celebrate Christmas, Plymouth (Massachusetts), December 25, 1621
Normandy
Jacques le Gris Rapes Marguerite de Carrouges — Jacques le Gris Rapes Marguerite de Carrouges, Normandy, January 1386
Joan of Arc is Murdered By the Illegitimate Use of Canon Law — The Murder of Joan of Arc, Rouen, Normandy 1431
King John Has his Nephew Murdered — Arthur of Brittany Disappears, Rouen, Normandy c. 1203
Mabel de Bellême is Murdered And It’s A Wonder Nobody Did It Sooner– Mabel de Bellême is Murdered, Bures, Normandy 1079
Palestine
The Abbasids Slaughter the Umayyades In a Blood Feast That Didn’t Happen — Special Episode: Abd Allah ibn Ali invites the Umayyades to a Banquet and Slaughters Them, Palestine 750
Poland
Leszek the White Fails to Escape — Leszek the White, High Duke of Poland, is Assassinated, Morcinkowo, Poland 1227
Saint Adelbert of Prague Gets Murdered Whilst Attempting to Convert the Balts — St. Adalbert of Prague is Martyred, Truso, Poland 997
Portugal
A Beehive Gets Stolen in Portugal, But Really It’s All of Europe That Is Concerned About Bees — Beehive Stolen, Portugal 1435
Roman Britain
Saint Patrick is Kidnapped, Which is How He Gets to Ireland — St. Patrick Gets Kidnapped, Roman Britain, late 5th C.
Romania
Vlad Țepeș Is Very Bloodthirsty But Not a Vampire– Vlad Țepeș Slaughters the Transylvanian Saxons, Wallachia, Romania 1460
Saxony
Charlemagne Massacres the Saxons, and Later the Nazis Have Trouble Deciding if They Like Him — Charlemagne Massacres the Saxons, Verden, Lower Saxony 782
The Cursed Carolers; Something Happened, Though Probably Not Dancing Without Ceasing For an Entire Year — Special Holiday Edition: The Cursed Carolers, Saxony 10th Century
The Pied Piper — The Children of Hamelin Disappear, Hamelin, Lower Saxony, 1284
Scotland
The Black Dinner, Where the Young Douglases are Terrorized — The Black Dinner, Edinburgh Castle, Scotland 1440
Darnley Murders Rizzio and Throws him Down the Stairs, In the Stupidest Plot to Become King Ever Conceived — Special Episode: Darnley Murders Rizzio, Edinburgh, Scotland 1566
The Death of King Duncan I of Scotland, Which Didn’t Happen The Way Shakespeare Tells It — King Duncan Gets Killed, Pitgaveny, Scotland 14 August 1040
King James Murders William Douglas Even Though He Said He Wouldn’t — King James Murders the Earl of Douglas, Stirling Castle, Scotland 1452
Robert the Bruce Kills John Comyn at the High Altar — Robert the Bruce Kills John Comyn, Dumfries, Scotland 1306
The Stone of Scone is Stolen As War Treasure Even Though It Is Essentially a Big Rock — Edward I Steals the Stone of Scone, Scone, Scotland 1296
Pied Piper — The Children of Hamelin Disappear, Hamelin, Lower Saxony, 1284
Sicily
The Sicilian Vespers, Which Sounds Nice But Is a Massacre– The Sicilian Vespers, Sicily, Kingdom of Sicily, Easter 1282
Spain
The Droit de Seigneur Gets Abolished Even Though It Never Existed–April Fool’s Episode: Ferdinand II of Aragon Abolishes the Droit de Seigneur, Extremadura, Spain 1486
Henry of Trastámara Massacres the Jews of Toledo, Having Different Policies Than His Brother Did — Henry of Trastámara Massacres the Jews of Toledo, Toledo Spain, 1355
Peter of Castile, Who Was Either “the Good” or “the Terrible” Depending on Whom You Read — The Murder of Peter of Castile, Montiel, Spain, 1369
Sweden
Sverker the Elder Gets Murdered by a Trusted Servant Who Didn’t Care It Was Christmas —Sverker the Elder is Murdered, Alebäck Bridge, Sweden, December 25, 1156
Ukraine (See Also Kyivan Rus)
Vasvilkas is Assassinated — Vasvilkas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, is Assassinated, Volodymyr, Ukraine 1267
Wales
Davy Gam Kills His Cousin and Goes Off To Become a Hero to the English — Dafydd Gam ap Llewelyn ap Hywel Kills his Kinsman Richard Fawr ap Dafydd, Brecon High Street, Wales late 14th Century
Llewelyn the Great Hangs William de Braose But Marries his Son off to William’s Daughter Anyway — Llewelyn the Great Hangs William de Braose, Aber Garth Celyn , Wales May 2, 1230
The Christmas Massacre at Abergavenny, Which Set Welsh-Anglo/Norman Relations Even Further Back — The Massacre at Abergavenny, Wales, Christmas 1175