Movember continues! Hoo boy, this is a doozy. Doc and Nina are back in the same room to watch “The Name of the Rose,” a 1986 slog with Sean Connery and Christian Slater! Can they really stop laughing long enough to explain what’s going on? (This is all Engineer Mike’s fault.)
Topics covered: who’s actually IN this movie, Sherlock Holmes, the actual title of this film, Benedictine vs Franciscan orders, the lost book on Poetics, Frasier vs Tenet, the Cotton Library fire, the greasy sex scene, Doc’s teenage dating life, Nina’s very important question
Recommendations
FYI – this movie is almost impossible to find. We’re linking to where you can buy the DVD (if you have to)
Doc and Nina kick off Mov-ember with The Green Knight. Spoilers abound.
Topics discussed: knighthood, Gawain’s confusing heritage, the fox’s identity, Gawain becoming unstuck in time, the Trojan War, the color green, who killed St. Winifred, singing naked giants, greatness versus goodness, the last ten minutes of the movie, and how to pronounce “lady” and “Gawain.”
Recommendations
A24 Screening Room (available on the Apple Store and Roku)
Doc tells Nina the spooky tale of St Erkenwald, the 13th century bishop who found an incorruptible corpse of a 6th century pagan king, resurrected him, and sent him to heaven with his holy tears.
Topics covered: sacraments, incorruptible corpses, Padre Pio, stigmata, Vladimir Lenin, HP Lovecraft, Doc’s turn as a horror writer, Jeffrey Combs, BDSM, deadites, and boomsticks
Shall we play a (board) game? Doc shows Nina a board game featuring a raging Geat and Fairytale Femme Fatale.
Topics of discussion: Beowulf, Little Red Riding Hood, asymmetrical games, board games, metaphors, fox and geese, Doc’s hair, condescending comic book guys, Squid Game, and Mrs. Awesome’s patience.
Doc and Nina discuss the Vinland Map and the Voynich Manuscript.
Topics of discussion: the difference between fakes and forgeries, creepy medieval books, Yale, vikings, naked people in pea soup, doodling in homework, dinosaur bones.
Welcome back to Pop Medieval! We’re kicking off season 3 with a classic: the poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” in anticipation of the new film, “The Green Knight.”
Topics of discussion: Morality, games, irony, Gawain’s shield, and how this poem leads to fist fights at medieval conferences.
It’s the Pop Medieval second season finale! In the final episode before their summer break, Doc and Nina talk about the Cathars, a 14th century (heretical) off-shoot of the Catholic church, and the prophecy of the last Cathar Perfect. This year marks the predicted 700th year of the Perfect’s return, and Doc and Nina dissect that prediction. Skeptical, Nina runs through other predictions that did not come to fruition — whether the laurel turned green or not.
We lost our minds earlier this month when Russia’s 5TV uploaded a two-part Soviet television adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. This performance, once believed lost to time by scholars who knew of its existence, comes from 1991, at the tail-end of the Soviet Union. Now, both parts are up on YouTube for the world to watch. It’s time to pack a thermos of borscht and set forth on an adventure toward Mount Doom on a mission of perestroika!
Doc and Nina discuss the performance as both a scholar of Soviet/post-Soviet History and a defender of the performing arts (respectively). They’ll start off by giving the low production value a context, work their way through the mournful Russian folk music, puzzle about the frigid weather in the Shire, and, of course, discuss Tom Bombadil. Nina is on a quest for Soviet propaganda and Doc will also answer the question: is The Lord of the Rings an allegory for WWII? Warning: bad Russian accents and worse Soviet jokes lie within.
SPRANG BREAK FOREVER (or at least for this week)! Fresh episodes are coming up in a couple of weeks, so we’ll leave you with a Minisode. Today, Nina talks about a dumb memory from her days as Doc’s Medieval office minion.
Have a recommendation for us? Send Doc and Nina and email at podcast at profawesome dot com!
Doc and Nina head to the continent of Africa in this episode to discus the Medieval Malian king, Mansa Musa, known as the richest man who ever existed! Mansa Musa (or Musa I), caused quite a stir during his hajj with his generosity. In his efforts to show off and show out, he wound up inflating the economy of Cairo on his way to Mecca. But don’t worry — all worked out in the end!
