Episodes

France has existed for over a millenia; how many governments has it had in that time?

Philippe I "The Amorous" shows that all is fair in love in war.

Henri I is known as the French monarchy's lowest point. But was he such a bad king?

The completed series on the Norman Conquest of the Mediterranean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wherein we recount the incredible impact that Normans had upon the medieval Mediterranean world.

Most 11th-12th century Norman adventurers went to Italy, but some went south to Iberia to join the Reconquista.

Guillaume II dies, plunging Sicily into chaos. Norman rule gives way to German overlordship. The great kingdom declines but survives.

Norman Sicily enters its golden age and becomes one of the greatest kingdoms in medieval Europe.

Queen Marguerite of Navarre rules the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, but she faces constant conspiracies that threaten to overthrow the realm.

The Normans conquer north-central Africa and create a new kingdom. But can it last?

The Normans create a kingdom in Sicily and rule as 'baptized sultans.'

Bohemond, the giant from Apulia, leads the armies of Christ eastward. But is it for God or his own glory for which he fights?

The Normans invade Byzantium as Robert Guiscard wants to leave his son Bohemond with an empire.

Norman mercenaries serve the Eastern Roman Empire against the Turks, but will they be Byzantium's salvation or its worst enemy?

The Normans conquer Southern Italy and Sicily, creating a new country.

The Hauteville family conquers southern Italy, defying princes, popes and emperors.

Celine Mitchell explores how modern Algerian-French rappers recreate memory of the Algerian War and connect with France's youth.

Norman mercenaries travel to Italy for a better life. Soon they turn from swords-for-hire to conquerors who would rule states across the Mediterranean World.

Ben of Battle Royale: French Monarchs joins the podcast to rank the Carolingians.

A Halloween episode about a lethal dance mania in Strasbourg.

The Duke of Normandy dreams of a crown. When chaos engulfs England he seizes his chance with blood and iron.

Dr. Christina Carroll explains the ideological underpinnings behind the Second French Empire.

Dr. Emma Kavanagh reads Olympe de Gouges' 'The Declaration of the Rights of Woman (September 1791),' a classic feminist document and critique of the RIghts of Man and of the Citizen.

A dramatic reading of one of the most important documents in modern European history.