This course will explore the remarkable medieval survivor that is the Exeter Book, a thousand-year-old, scarred manuscript that contains the only known copies of the so-called Old English Elegies. The speakers in these poems express each in their own way feelings of being alone in a world breaking apart. Through these poems, we will introduce the formal features and cultural context of Old English poetry (in translation, but with reference to the original language). We will consider their apocalyptic anxieties alongside those of later medieval mystics, modern poets, a third-generation clone from 200 years in the future, and, of course, ourselves.
The course fee is $495 (fees reductions are negotiable with Enclosure Academy).
Oh no, it’s Valentine’s Day, and you forgot to get any valentines to hand out! Never fear, here are some free Medieval Death Trip valentines you can use. Just download the PDF, print, cut, and address on the back! Or visit us on Instagram (@medievaldeathtrip) to DM digital versions to your online valentines.
The playlist features both authentic medieval tunes as well as pieces that feel medieval in spirit.
Note: I have actually curated and organized the playlist as a sequence, which helps avoid repeats. Shuffle it at your own risk (of hearing “Coventry Carol” five times in a row).
Image: detail of two hurdy-gurdy players from El Escorial Ms. T.j.I, f.160.
Listeners! This weekend (Feb. 9-10) I’ll be updating many of the descriptions and tags on old episodes in our podcast RSS feed. There is a possibility that some podcast manager apps (especially iTunes) will interpret these changes as a whole lot of new episodes being posted and may try to download them all.
As a precaution to save bandwidth, you might go to your settings for this podcast in your podcast listening app and set it to download only the most recent episodes so that you don’t end up getting duplicates of the whole back catalogue.
You can now help support Medieval Death Trip through becoming a patron of us on Patreon. For as little as $1 (U.S.) a month, you’ll not only be helping to make the show possible, but you’ll also get an audiobook copy of the Mirabilia Descripta, or Wonders of the East by Jordanus, the 14th-century bishop of Columbum in India (and translated by Col. Henry Yule, whose extensive footnotes provide a whole second historical text providing a 19th-century British perspective on India).
Episode 9 of Medieval Death Trip is currently still baking — it’s still a bit gooey in the middle, but it will be out of the oven and on your podcast player very soon!
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