As the year comes to a close, holidays abound! Join us for our newest episode in our series about history that ties to these festive times.

Hosts: Christine, Kristin, Josh

When England's King Henry I died in 1135, his nephew Stephen usurped the throne. Had Stephen's reign been an accepted success, his son Eustace would have been recognized as the next in line to become king, but that did not come to pass. Here, Christine recounts Eustace's story, from growing up during a period called 'The Anarchy' to the aftermath of learning he would never wear the crown.

Host: Christine

Hundreds of years before Dante took us on a tour through the afterlife, there was Thurkill, an English peasant from the 13th century, who described his journey into hell and the edge of paradise. What was it like and what can we learn from his story? Come on a vision quest with Kristin, in this episode of Footnoting History! 

Host: Kristin​

Spooky season is here again! To celebrate we have another selection of historical frights just for you.

Hosts: Christine, Kristin, and Lucy

Not everyone who received the death penalty in medieval England was actually killed. Picking up where she left off in our last episode, Samantha explores two more methods of avoiding execution: gaining sanctuary and buying pardons.
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Host: Samantha

In medieval England, just because you received the death penalty for your crimes doesn't mean you necessarily had to actually die. Here, Samantha looks at two methods of avoiding having your sentence carried out: benefit of clergy and turning to outlawry.

Host: Samantha

Oh no, you’ve been shot by an invisible arrow and now you’re sick. What’s a person to do? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered this week with cures for those times when you’ve been elfshot, this week on Footnoting History. 

Host: Kristin

In 1812, while France’s Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was on a military campaign in Russia, he learned of trouble back home: General Claude-François de Malet and several co-conspirators had tried to take control of Paris and the government. Part of their plan centered around telling people that Napoleon had died - except, of course, he hadn’t. Learn all about the attempted coup from Christine in this episode.

​Host: Christine

In 1527, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca set off as a part of the Narvàez Expedition to conquer Florida. The expedition ended in disaster for the Spanish after several encounters with Native Americans defending their lands. Using makeshift boats, Cabeza de Vaca and a handful of other survivors drifted across the Gulf of Mexico before landing near modern day Galveston, TX. Cabeza de Vaca and three other men would spend the next 8 years wandering what is now the Southwestern United States. Come learn about their voyages on this episode of Footnoting History.

​Host: Josh

Who were medieval midwives and what did they do? As imagined in novels and films, the medical expertise of such women might be secret, mystical, persecuted, or some combination of all three. In the archives, traces of their activities can be tantalizingly hard to find. This podcast looks not only at the history of midwives in medieval Europe, but at the history of how scholars have tried to recover and reconstruct that history.

Host: Lucy

Since the Middle Ages, the Tower of London has fulfilled many roles including hosting the Crown Jewels. It has, more infamously, also been a prison for many who were viewed as threats or criminals–leading to no shortage of fascinating stories tied to this property. In this episode, Christine and Kristin each share one of their favorite stories about riveting historical figures who found themselves captive in the Tower: Gruffudd ap Llywelyn (son of a Welsh prince) and Ranulf Flambard (the Bishop of Durham).

​Hosts: Christine and Kristin

Historians rely a lot on primary source evidence to interpret the past. But what do you do when multiple sources tell a different story of what happened? Learn about the many accounts of the execution of Anne Boleyn and consider what they tell us about a major moment in English history with Kristin in this week’s episode of Footnoting History! 

​Host: Kristin

Alfred, or sometimes Alferd Packer, is one of the most infamous villains in Colorado history. As the story goes, Packer, a trail guide, led his party into disaster and then killed them one by one before consuming their bodies in order to survive. He was arrested, tried, convicted, and then escaped. Once reprehended Packer changed his story once again. And now more recent evidence has emerged that seems to have exonerated him. We’ll try to sort of this out on this week’s episode of Footnoting History.

Host: Josh

In the late 1800s, a dog called Owney became a star as he won over the hearts of postal workers across the United States and sometimes, even, beyond. This episode is all about Owney, his adventures, the souvenirs he collected, and his revered place in postal history.

Host: Christine

If you've watched any significant number of crime dramas you've almost certainly come across a coroner who was probably presented as an experienced medical examiner who, if the hero is lucky, has unearthed a key piece of evidence to solve the case. But did you know that coroners have been investigating death since the end of the twelfth century? Learn more right now on Footnoting History.

Host: Samantha

Clothes and hair are among the most famous things about Marie Antoinette. But who were the designers behind the drama and what happened to them after the Revolution? And how did anyone actually wear – or afford – their creations? Find out this week on Footnoting History!  

Host: Kristin

How much is it impossible to know about an icon? This episode investigates Tadeusz Kościuszko’s place in historical memory. From the early 19th century onwards, myths coalesced around him and his role in the Polish struggle for independence. Paradoxically, his contemporary fame can make it harder for historians to find facts. As a disabled war veteran who fought for racial and religious equality, moreover, Kościuszko is a figure more complex than the heroic narratives that have often formed around him.

Host: Lucy ​

Tadeusz Kościuszko was a leader in the Age of Revolutions, lending strategic expertise to the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and trying on no fewer than three occasions to secure lasting independence for his native Poland. He also managed to personally offend Napoleon. This podcast gets into lost love, international politics, peasants with pitchforks, the anti-slavery movement, and why Kościuszko crossed the Atlantic so many times.

Host: Lucy

When someone says "Washington" and "revolution" in the same sentence, George immediately comes to mind. But there's another Washington that we should know, one that George Washington enslaved. Harry Washington escaped from his enslavement, fought for the British in during the American Revolution, and eventually fought in his own revolution in Sierra Leone. Let's take another look at the American Revolution in this episode of Footnoting History.

​Host: Josh

In 1884, a yacht called Mignonette left England for Australia but never reached its destination. After it was lost, those aboard were adrift at sea for weeks, resorting to desperate measures for survival. Here, Christine covers the ill-fated voyage, the murder trial it sparked, and how the story lives on in pop culture. 

Host: Christine