Pop Medieval Ep 21: HOWL-oween!
Pop Medieval
It’s spooky season, folks! In this episode, Doc tells Nina about the medieval origins of werewolves! They’ll discuss some different types of werewolf myths, what werewolves represent in pop culture, and why vampires are favored over their hairier counterparts. Then, Nina recommends some movies with truly frightening werewolf transformation scenes.
Recommendations:
An American Werewolf in London (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082010/)
The Company of Wolves (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087075/)
What We Do In the Shadows (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3416742/)
“Bisclavret” by Marie de France (http://users.clas.ufl.edu/jshoaf/marie/bisclavret.pdf)
Have a recommendation for us? Send Doc and Nina an email at podcast at profawesome dot com!
Pop Medieval Ep 20: That Time Doc Had a Questionable Following
Pop Medieval
In the mid-aughts, director Scott Wegener cast a black actor in the title role of his zero-budget movie, “Beowulf: Prince of the Geats.” That attracted the attention of some Unpleasant Sorts. After hearing about the controversy, Doc published a very academic article (he is, after all, an academic) in a very academic journal about the experience. That ALSO attracted the attention of the same Unpleasant Sorts. In fact, they started showing up to his talks…
Don’t ever assume being Doc’s student is boring, folks. Sometimes its downright scary!
Show Notes:
Doc’s article, from the Old English Newsletter (http://www.oenewsletter.org/OEN/print.php/essays/nokes41_3/Array)
Buy “Beowulf: Prince of the Geats” (https://www.noblemansquare.com/dvds-and-such?fbclid=IwAR3eSrmyHIGozS9kI-tgILmJU2wy1mrnA-vTdPpZOwWdcXgLE7coZWuGq1M)
Proceeds for “Beowulf: Prince of the Geats” go to the American Cancer Society (https://www.cancer.org/)
Recommendations:
Constantine (movie) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0360486/
Nina’s author site (ninamacnamara.com)
Santiago Garcia and David Rubin’s Beowulf graphic novel (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/18754825-beowulf)
Have a recommendation for us? Send Doc and Nina an email at podcast at profawesome dot com!
Pop Medieval Ep 19: Beowulf Dragon Slayer
Pop Medieval
Doc takes Nina back to the 1970’s with the DC comic book, Beowulf Dragon Slayer. It’s a limited series run about the titular Medieval hero who fights Grendel and his mother, but that’s where the similarities end. *Stefon voice*: It. Has. Everything! Greek mythology! Alien space craft! Dracula! Satan! All in six issues! This is a weird one, folks. But trust us — it’s interesting!
A summary of the series is on Doc’s old blog, “Unlocked Wordhoard”: (https://unlocked-wordhoard.blogspot.com/2007/08/beowulf-dragon-slayer-no-6.html)
Michael Ulsan’s IMDB page: (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0882388/)
Recommendations
DC’s Harley Quinn (https://www.dcuniverse.com/videos/harley-quinn/193/season-1)
Edward Risden’s “Alfgar’s Stories from Beowulf” (https://books2read.com/risden-alfgar)
Witan Publishing.com – updated site! (http://witanpublishing.com/)
Have a recommendation for us? Send Doc and Nina an email at podcast at profawesome dot com!
Pop Medieval Ep 18: Abelard Cuts Ties with Heloise
Pop Medieval
In this episode, Doc breaches a subject that is so uncomfortable, so provocative that it raises eyebrows and makes his students squirm every year in class: the relationship between philosopher/theologian Abelard and scholar/prioress Heloise. He’ll discuss Abelard’s life as a travelling, rabble-rousing scholar, his torrid affair and secret marriage to his student Heloise, and the, uh, painful aftermath of their union. Then, Nina asks about the problems of secret marriages, brings up criticism of Heloise’s place in history, and even slides in a crass joke or two.
Recommendations:
NY Times – “Heloise & Abelard: Love Hurts” (https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/13/books/review/heloise-abelard-love-hurts.html)
“Eloisa to Abelard” by Alexander Pope, (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44892/eloisa-to-abelard)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/)
Have a recommendation for us? Send Doc and Nina an email at podcast at profawesome dot com!
Pop Medieval Ep 17: What We Did Over Our Summer Break
Pop Medieval
Welcome to season 2 of Pop Medieval! Doc and Nina return with a bevy of updates from their summer break. First, Nina stepped into the feudal Middle Eastern future with Frank Herbert’s “Dune” before settling down with Netflix’s “The Old Guard” and a few episodes of “The Witcher”. Then Doc tried to improve his understanding of medieval T’ang Dynasty poetry and resurrected an old favorite tabletop: Dungeons and Dragons!
Recommendations
TedEd – Why should you read “Dune” by Frank Herbert: (https://youtu.be/yhYU4ZbLmmk)
The Students Guide to Digital Publishing, edited by Dr. Richard Scott Nokes (that’s Doc!) and written by his students at Troy University (https://books2read.com/students-guide-to-digital-publishing)
Steven Muhlberger’s “Formal Combats in the Fourteenth Century” is now in print!! (https://books2read.com/students-guide-to-digital-publishing)
Have a recommendation for us? Send Doc and Nina an email at podcast at profawesome dot com!
Pop Medieval Ep 16: A Beginner’s Guide to the SCA
Pop Medieval
In this episode, Doc introduces a skeptical but curious Nina to the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), a non-profit organization devoted to the research, study, and re-creation of medieval and renaissance art, skills, combat, and culture.
Doc discusses his history with the SCA and dispels a few misconceptions about the organization (namely, it’s not LARPing and the weapons are not Styrofoam). He talks about how members choose their personas, their crafts, and use the barter system to pay for goods and services. It’s incredibly nerdy, incredibly fun, and will turn the most dubious of skeptics (Nina) into excited neophytes!
Show Notes
Don’t take our word for it! Visit the SCA website and look up an event near you! (https://www.sca.org/)
Nina’s Recommendations
The Pyramid Collection (https://www.pyramidcollection.com/)
Nova Roma (http://www.novaroma.org/nr/Main_Page)
Doc’s Recommendations
“Formal Combats in the Fourteenth Century” by Steve Muhlberger (https://www.books2read.com/u/mV75pM)
Doc’s blog post “An Outsider’s View of the SCA” from 2007 on the Unlocked Wordhoard (http://unlocked-wordhoard.blogspot.com/2007/10/outsiders-view-of-sca.html)
Have a recommendation for us? Send Doc and Nina an email at podcast at profawesome dot com!
Pop Medieval Ep 15: All Hayl the Tyger Kyng
Pop Medieval
Like the rest of America, Doc and Nina have been bitten by something big, striped, and caged. That’s right, in this episode, they’re discussing the Netflix sensation, Tiger King! But what does a docu-series about backyard zoo wars have to do with anything medieval?
Doc will talk about menageries of Henry I, Charlemagne, and Frederick II and the everlasting allure and power of tigers. Plus, Nina will attempt to design a coat of arms for each tiger “kingdom.” Finally, they’ll play a quick game of “thrones” – which kingdom would you chose?
Show Notes
Still under lockdown and haven’t seen Tiger King yet? Watch it on Netflix! Tiger King (https://www.netflix.com/title/81115994)
Nina’s Recommendations
A beginners guide to heraldry (https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/easter/preparing-for-easter-adventure-quests/our-guide-to-heraldry/)
Meet The Designer Cats with Wild Blood (https://youtu.be/QHscMam4W7s)
Doc’s Recommendations
The Medieval Bestiary website (http://bestiary.ca/index.html)
Have a recommendation for us? Send Doc and Nina an email at podcast at profawesome dot com!
Pop Medieval Minisode 1: A Reading From Tristan and Iseult
Pop Medieval
Hwaet and welcome to our first minisode! Nina is by herself this time and reading an excerpt from a book about two very star-crossed lovers. Yep, that’s “The Romance of Tristan & Iseult,” where a loyal knight falls in love with his king’s beautiful queen. Sound familiar at all?
You can read along or by yourself later at the always accessible Project Gutenberg:
The Romance of Tristan and Iseult by Joseph Bedier (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14244)
Have a recommendation for us? Send Doc and Nina and email at podcast at profawesome dot com!
Pop Medieval Ep 14: Social Distancing, Boccaccio’s Way
Pop Medieval
Doc and Nina are holed up in their own houses right now. And while COVID-19 has different effects on their productivity levels, both of them have found time to record an episode on The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. This is a series of 100 short stories told by ten young Florentines hiding out in a country house, hoping to escape the worst of the Black Plague.
Nina and Doc will share their favorite stories from Day 2 of the book (the theme of “misadventures that end happily”). Doc and Nina also get into a discussion about why some of these stories are crueler than others.
Show Notes:
Nina’s Recommendations for “Sheltering in Place”:
Stardew Valley (https://www.stardewvalley.net/)
The Decameron – 3rd Day, Tenth Story
Doc’s Recommendations for “Sheltering in Place”:
Virgin Territory (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437954/) vs. The Little Hours (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5666304/)
Icarus by Nina MacNamara -that’s Nina!- (https://books2read.com/Icarus-MacNamara) and From A to Zombie by Prof. Awesome -that’s Doc!- (https://books2read.com/From-A-to-Zombie)
Pop Medieval Ep 13: Witches’ Brew
Pop Medieval
March is here! For St. Patrick’s Day and Women’s History Month, Doc discusses the history of Medieval Brewing, which was dominated by women known as “alewives.” He’ll talk about St. Brigid of Ireland, Katharina von Bora, and Hildegard of Bingen and give a brief history of brewing. Plus, Nina tells Doc a surprising fact about herself that even he didn’t know.
Show Notes: Our alewives in this episode are: St. Brigid of Ireland, Katharina von Bora, and Hildegard of Bingen
Nina’s Recommendation: Zoo Atlanta’s Brew at the Zoo: May 23 (https://zooatlanta.org/event/brew-at-the-zoo/)
Doc’s Recommendation: “Life in Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction” (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43972589-life-in-medieval-europe)
Have a recommendation for us? Send Doc and Nina and email at podcast at profawesome dot com!
