Gwerful Mechain’s ‘Ode to the Vagina’
For the final episode of their series in search of the medieval sense of humour Irina and Mary look at one of the most remarkable women authors of the Middle Ages, Gwerful Mechain, who lived in Powys ...
19 Dec 202410min
'Tales of Count Lucanor' by Juan Manuel
If you’re looking for advice on sustaining a marriage, or robbing a grave, or performing liver surgery, then a series of self-help stories by a 14th-century Spanish prince is a good place to start. Ta...
18 Nov 202414min
Boccaccio’s ‘Decameron’: Part Two
Mary and Irina resume their discussion of Boccaccio’s Decameron, focusing on three stories of female agency, deception and desire. Alibech, an aspiring hermitess, is tricked into indulging her powerfu...
18 Okt 202414min
Boccaccio's 'Decameron': Part One
In the preface to the Decameron Boccaccio describes Florentine society laid waste by bubonic plague in the mid-14th century. But before he gets to that he has a confession for the reader: he has been ...
18 Sep 202445min
Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle
The character of Gawain, one of King Arthur’s leading knights, recurs throughout medieval literature, but the way he’s presented underwent a curious development during the period, moving closer and cl...
18 Aug 202412min
Solomon and Marcolf
The foul-mouthed, mean-spirited peasant Marcolf was one of the most well-known literary characters in late medieval Europe. He appears in many poetic works from the 9th century onwards, but it’s in th...
18 Juli 202411min
The Second Shepherds' Pageant
In their quest for the medieval sense of humour Mary and Irina come to The Second Shepherds’ Pageant, a 15th-century reimagining of the nativity as domestic comedy that’s less about the birth of Jesus...
18 Juni 202411min
Dame Syrith
As Mary and Irina discussed in the previous episode of Medieval LOLs, fabliaux had an enormous influence on Chaucer, but outside of his work, only one survives in Middle English. Dame Syrith, a story ...
31 Maj 202411min
