Medieval Murders
Medieval Murders is a true crime podcast that investigates violent crimes in fourteenth-century London. Each episode examines a single murder case recorded on parchment by the city's coroner over six hundred years ago. The show explores cold cases and reveals how people in medieval times attempted to maintain order and justice. It highlights surprising similarities between medieval behavior and modern attitudes, showing that human nature has changed less than we might think.
Episodes
Sanctuary, a murdered Chaplain and a Concubine
In this episode of Medieval Murders, we’ll be discussing a case that touches on jealousy, greed, and mercy. It involves a chaplain, a concubine, and a killer. We’re right underneath one of modern London’s most famous landmarks, the skyscraper known as the Gherkin.Hidden in a corner in the shadow of the Gherkin you can find a medieval church called St Helen’s Bishopsgate. On Saturday 9th June in 13
A Medieval Midsummer’s Nightmare
In this episode of Medieval Murders, we travel to Oxford in 1306, where a midsummer night of music and merriment takes a deadly turn. What begins as a celebration by the town’s tailors erupts into bloodshed when a cleric, Gilbert de Foxlee, confronts the revelers with his sword drawn. But why did he attack them? Was it a noise dispute, a clash of social status, or a zealous attempt to suppress sin
From Prayer to Murder
For this episode we remain in Oxford, one of the three cities on the Medieval Murder Map. In this case, a praying clerk and a shoulder barge leads to murder.You can see the site of many other historical murders like this by going to the Medieval Murder Map website Medieval Murders is the podcast that delves into the world of violent crimes in Medieval England.Join criminologist Manuel Eisner and h
Town & Gown Riots in Medieval Oxford
Today we turn to Oxford, one of the three cities on the Medieval Murder Map. Alongside its academic excellence and religious contemplation, Oxford was also a hotspot of violence, with murder rates higher than those of almost any city in the modern world. You can see the site of many other historical murders like this by going to the Medieval Murder Map website Medieval Murders is the podcast that
Medieval Road Rage: Chivalry and Fury
In this episode, we learn how road rage also existed in Medieval England.You can see the site of many other historical murders like this by going to the Medieval Murder Map website Medieval Murders is the podcast that delves into the world of violent crimes in Medieval England.Join criminologist Manuel Eisner and host Nora Eisner as they bring history’s forgotten crimes to life—one murder at a tim
Medieval Insults: Humiliation and Revenge
In this episode, we explore how the slinging of insults can lead to murder.And, as a warning, this episode by its very nature has strong language.You can see the site of many other historical murders like this by going to the Medieval Murder Map website Medieval Murders is the podcast that delves into the world of violent crimes in Medieval England.Join criminologist Manuel Eisner and host Nora Ei
Aristocratic Violence: The Conspiracy To Assassinate a Priest
In this episode, we solve an exceptional murder case that went cold 680 years ago.It was a cold-blooded mafia-style assassination of John Ford, a man of god – it involved a gang of hitmen who cunningly used another priest to approach the victim in plain daylight – it sheds light on sin and sex, moral zeal, and double standards — it is likely shrouded in corruption and class justice — and, remarkab
A Bystander Intervenes: The Death of a Thief
In this episode, we explore the case of Copin King. Together with a companion he accosted a street vendor for his costard apples on a cold February night in 1301. Thomas Brewer, who happens to there, intervenes in defence of the street vendor — an argument escalates and Thomas Brewer eventually kills Copin with his long fighting staff known as Balgstaff.But why do humans – today as well as in the
Introducing Medieval Murders
Welcome to Medieval Murders, the podcast that delves into the world of violent crimes in fourteenth century London.
In each episode, we tell the story of a single murder case written on a small piece of parchment by the clerk of the coroner of London over six hundred years ago.
We’ll explore cold cases, examine how people in this time and place tried to keep the peace and show that wha
