Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World

It's Christmas Day in 1066, and a new king is to be crowned. There will be all sorts of festive events: arrows in the eye, fires outside the church, and just a little holiday looting too. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my Patreon is here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. I'm on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@a-devon.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and I have some things on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Redbubble⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sources: Guy Bishop of Amiens. The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio. Edited and translated by Frank Barlow. Oxford University Press, 1999. Lawson, M.K. The Battle of Hastings 1066. Tempus, 2002. Orderic Vitalis. The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, Volume 1. Translated by Thomas Forester. H.G. Bohn, 1853. William of Poitiers. The Deeds of William. Oxford University Press, 1998. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marcellinus and Peter died in the early 4th century, but the saints would still be active and on the move in the 9th. This is about their journey. It is also about Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, the man who wrote about that journey and set it into motion. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my Patreon is here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. I'm on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@a-devon.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and I have some things on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Redbubble⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sources: Charlemagne's Courtier: The Complete Einhard. Edited and translated by Paul Edward Dutton. University of Toronto Press, 1998. Charlemagne and Louis the Pious. Lives by Einhard, Notker, Ermoldus, Thegan, and the Astronomer. Translated with introductions and annotations by Thomas F.X. Noble. Penn State Press, 2009. Medieval Travel and Travellers: A Reader. Edited by John F. Romano. University of Toronto Press, 2020. A Short Reader of Medieval Saints. Edited by Mary-Ann Stouck. University of Toronto Press, 2009. Einhard. The History of the Translation of the Blessed Martyrs of Christ, Marcellinus and Peter. Harvard University Press, 1926. Lapidge, Michael. The Roman Martyrs: Introduction, Translations, and Commentary. Oxford University Press, 2018. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 15th-century Russian merchant and traveller journeys back from India. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my Patreon is here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. I'm on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@a-devon.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@humancircuspod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and I have some things on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Redbubble⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sources: Afanasy Nikitin's Voyage Beyond The Three Seas, 1466–1472. Geografgiz, 1960. Alam, Muzaffar and Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. Indo-Persian Travels in the Age of Discoveries, 1400-1800. Cambridge University Press, 2007. Belkov, Gregory. The Journey Beyond Three Seas of Afanasij Nikitin in A.D. 1466-1472 : Establishment of Text, Translation and Commentary. University of British Columbia, 1950. Paulau, Stanislau. “Embodying the World beyond Three Seas: India in the Imagination of the Mediaeval Rus," in Body, Emotion and Mind. ‛Embodying’ the Experiences in Indo-European Encounters, edited by Martin Tamcke and Gladson Jathanna. LIT Verlag, 2013. Romano, John. Medieval Travel and Travellers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Afanasy Nikitin, a 15th-century Russian merchant, sets out from Tver and immediately runs into trouble before travelling to India. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my Patreon is here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. I'm on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@a-devon.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@humancircuspod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and I have some things on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Redbubble⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sources: Afanasy Nikitin's Voyage Beyond The Three Seas, 1466–1472. Geografgiz, 1960. Alam, Muzaffar and Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. Indo-Persian Travels in the Age of Discoveries, 1400-1800. Cambridge University Press, 2007. Belkov, Gregory. The Journey Beyond Three Seas of Afanasij Nikitin in A.D. 1466-1472 : Establishment of Text, Translation and Commentary. University of British Columbia, 1950. Paulau, Stanislau. “Embodying the World beyond Three Seas: India in the Imagination of the Mediaeval Rus," in Body, Emotion and Mind. ‛Embodying’ the Experiences in Indo-European Encounters, edited by Martin Tamcke and Gladson Jathanna. LIT Verlag, 2013. Romano, John. Medieval Travel and Travellers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Osman flees Vienna and reaches freedom, with success and suffering on the other side. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠my Patreon is here⁠⁠⁠⁠. I'm on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠@a-devon.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠, Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠@humancircuspod⁠⁠⁠⁠, and I have some things on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Redbubble⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sources: Osman Aga of Timisoara. Prisoner of the Infidels. Edited, translated, and introduced by Giancarlo Casale. University of California Press, 2021. Olin, Timothy. The Banat of Temesvar: Borderland Colonization in the Habsburg Monarchy. Stanford University Press, 2025. Yaycıoğlu, Ali. "On the Ottoman Arguments during the Congress of Karlowitz (1699)," in Territorial Imaginaries: Beyond the Sovereign Map, edited by Kären Wigen. University of Chicago Press, 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices