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Bitching about Medieval LiteratureBro!To wrap up the podcast, this episode celebrates the wonderful work of translators, in particular, the wonderful work of Maria Devana Headley in 'Beowulf: A New Translation'. With a mixture of poetry extracts and prose summaries, we tell the story of Beowulf, AND nerd out about translation, all in under an hour.
WARNINGS: Some gore in the various monster fights2021-07-2249 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureThe Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, Part 2: The Women Deserve Better (Again)The final episode of the Mabinogion has everything: curses, magical disguises, trickery, women made out of flowers, secret love affairs, betrayal, poetry, hero children, shoemaking, riddles, gory revenge, and of course, misogyny. Join us, for the second last time, as we wrap up the Fourth Branch.
WARNINGS: A woman is publically asked to undergo a magical virginity check, which reveals she is not a virgin by causing her to instantly 'drop' a healthy baby and a 'small something'. 2021-07-1541 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureThe Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, Part 1: The King's FootholderThis week, we have the first half of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, in which we meet the ruling family of Gwynedd, in the north. One of the king's nephews is wasting away for love of the king's footholder (no, literally, that's her job), so the king's OTHER nephew starts a war to get the king out of town. When the king comes back and uncovers the whole story, he demonstrates why you shouldn't piss off magic users and assault their household.
WARNINGS: Rape. The plot of this episode revolves around making it...2021-07-0828 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureThe Third Branch of the Mabinogi: You're so WEIRD, ManawydanPryderi and his wife are hanging out with Rhiannon and her second husband, Manawydan, when suddenly all the people, domesticated animals, and signs of civilisation disappear from Dyfed. They proceed to do not very much about it for several years, until Manawydan gets cranky about his wheat disappearing and decides to take revenge on a mouse.
WARNING: Animal cruelty. Protagonist intends to (but does not actually) hang a mouse. Like, from a mini-gallows.2021-07-0138 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureThe Second Branch of the Mabinogi: What the f*ck, EfnysienIn this story, the king of Ireland comes to visit the king of Britain to ask for his sister's hand in marriage. This would have been fine, except the king's half-brother Efnysien exists. There's no happy ending for this one - by the end of the story, almost all of the named characters are dead.
WARNINGS. Animal cruelty: A character maims a large number of horses - I give verbal warning before this happens. Horrifying execution methods: in a story told by Matholowch, a group of people are trapped in an iron house which...2021-06-2444 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureThe First Branch of the Mabinogi, Part 2: Depressing Baby NamesWe return to the adventures of Pwyll and Rhiannon: how their firstborn child mysteriously disappeared, Rhiannon got framed for it, and a random nobleman eventually worked out that his mysterious foundling might be Pwyll's kid.
WARNINGS. Animal cruelty, gaslighting, innocent people getting punished, weird punishments: When the baby goes missing, the women who were supposed to be watching him and Rhiannon decide to kill a puppy and make it look like Rhiannon ate the baby. They insist to Rhiannon that she DID kill the child, and frame her for the crime. Rhiannon is punished...2021-06-1025 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureThe First Branch of the Mabinogi: Pwyll Pendefic DyfedThe prince of Dyfed pisses off the king of the otherworld and swaps places with him to earn his forgiveness. It also teaches him a few lessons about kingship. Later, he decides to go to a place where mysterious things happen, a mysterious woman shows up, and he manages to almost completely ruin things before she salvages the situation on his behalf.
WARNINGS: Risk of sex by deception. A character in disguise does NOT sleep with the wife of the guy he's impersonating, which surprises both the guy and his wife when they find...2021-06-0340 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureRhonabwy's DreamIn which a dude called Rhonabwy has a weird dream.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Unhygenic environment: the protagonist takes shelter in a hut where the floor is covered in cow droppings and urine, which is described in more detail than necessary. Gore/Violence: a battle between people and ravens where both are described getting injured, dismembered, killed in a fair amount of detail.2021-05-2037 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureGeraint, Part 3: Fast and FuriousIn the final part of Geraint's adventures, he defeats a few more people, nearly gets killed by some giants, and then realises he's been an ass when he hears Elen's distress at his injury. He doesn't apologise, though.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Gore, in the various combat scenes. Also, when Elen thinks Geraint is almost dead, a dude gets frustrated and hits her. Geraint is generally not much of a shit to Elen in this episode, but he also doesn't apologise.2021-05-1328 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureGeraint, Part 2: Why the hell is she putting up with thisGeraint's dad calls him home to take over his kingdom, and after a few years of glorious tournaments, Geraint runs out of people to fight and slips into a life of decadent idleness. When Enid mourns this change in him, Geraint completely misinterprets her, decides she's cheating on him, and starts a new quest out of spite.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Controlling relationship. Geraint decides (without evidence) that Enid is unfaithful, makes her go on a quest with him into the wilderness with basically no supplies, orders her to be silent, berates her when she isn't, p...2021-05-0632 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureGeraint, Part 1: A Tale of Many AdjectivesIn this episode, we begin the story of Geraint, who sleeps in on the morning of a hunt, and thus happens to be with Gwenhwyfar when she is seriously insulted by the attendant of a strange knight. He goes on a quest to confront the knight and avenge the insult...as soon he can borrow some armour.
CONTENT WARNINGS: A character (who is unpleasant and rude) is described only as 'the dwarf' and is otherwise unnamed. Violence & Gore. Two characters approach a stranger to ask a question, and each are struck in the face w...2021-04-2937 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureBitching in a Park, Part 2And now, for the second half of our live session! In our first story, from Sermones Feriales et Communes (a collection of fables from the sermons of a 12th century Frenchman), a monkey demonstrates its powers of discernment. In the second, from Il Trecentonovelle (14th century Italian), a disgruntled painter's apprentice tricks his master into thinking he is beset by demons in order to get a good night's sleep. In the third, also from Il Trecentonovelle, a painter makes a visual pun to mock a client who thinks too much of himself. In the fourth, from Gesta Romanorum (a...2021-04-2242 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureBitching in a Park, Part 1We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for a bonus LIVE episode, recorded with a group of friends to celebrate the anniversary of the podcast. Today's stories are from "Medieval Tales and Stories" a collection edited and translated by Stanley Appelbaum. The first, from the 14th century Italian collection Il Trecentonovelle, features a man whose glorious dreams were followed the next morning by an odiferous reality. The second, from Disciplina Clericalis, an 11th century Spanish collection of stories from Arabic sources, has a clever peasant out-tricking his travelling companions. In the third, from a 14th century Spanish collection named El...2021-04-1523 minBitching about Medieval LiteraturePeredur Part 3: The Fortress of Side-QuestsIn this, the final part of the tale of Peredur, a strange woman comes to Arthur's court, insults Peredur, and sends him on a quest. In the process, a lot of things happen that are left completely unexplained, but it seems to end well?
CONTENT WARNINGS: The story begins with description of a woman of monstrous appearance, which dwells on her having black skin, being fat, and having various physical differences (e.g. 'back like a crutch'). Her appearance is never mentioned again, and she's not an evil character.
Gore. Near the e...2021-04-0926 minBitching about Medieval LiteraturePeredur Part 2: The Women He Loves BestIn this episode, Peredur finally gets his vengeance on Cai, joins Arthur's court, and immediately disappears on another quest. As usual, he defeats hundreds of knights (as well as two different monstrous serpents), assists many ladies, and rights many wrongs.
CONTENT WARNINGS: In Peredur's fight with Cai, Cai is thrown from his horse and breaks his arm and collarbone. (He's fine.)2021-04-0139 minBitching about Medieval LiteraturePeredur Part 1: Tell Him I Sent YouThis episode, we begin another tale of an Arthurian knight - although this episode precedes his knighthood. Peredur, son of Efrog, is raised without knowledge of war or fighting, decides to become a knight, and proceeds to defeat absolutely everyone he encounters.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Gore. In several fights, injuries are graphically described. Two characters are consistently referred to as 'the dwarf and she-dwarf', and there is implication they 'belonged' in some way to the protagonists father. 2021-03-2539 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureOwain Part 2: No, literally a lionAfter three years happily married to the Lady of the Well, Owain is sought out by the knights of King Arthur, almost all of whom he defeats handily. Then, after another three year interlude, he descends into wildness, and gradually redeems himself through a series of vaguely connected adventures in which his ego trips him up, and an inexplicably devoted lion makes sure he survives.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Gore. In various combat scenes there are vivid descriptions of serious injuries, including head wounds and disembowelment. Violence against women. One woman is imprisoned and scheduled to...2021-03-1830 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureOwain Part 1: You just killed her husband, dudeToday, we begin a new story, featuring Owain, one of King Arthur's knights. After a friend tells Owain how he went looking for an ass-kicking and got his ass kicked, Owain decides to try it for himself.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Gore. When Owain summons the knight of the well and fights him, he gets him in the head with a sword, and it is described in great detail. Shortly after, he pursues the knight on horseback to a castle, and the portcullis coming down cuts Owain's horse in half. 2021-03-1132 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureCulhwch and Olwen Part 3: Too Many NamesIn this episode, the members of Arthur's court continue to work on the impossible tasks set by Ysbaddaden Bencawr as a condition of Culhwch's marriage to Olwen - most notably, the hunt for the great boar Twrch Trwyth, which takes them all over the British Isles and involves an enormous number of previously unmentioned characters, most of whom die immediately. (After the end of the episode proper, there is a bonus fifteen minutes of me reciting a list of names that I courteously excised from the middle of part 1.)
CONTENT WARNINGS: Various mentions of...2021-03-0442 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureCulhwch and Olwen Part 2: Impossible TasksYsbaddaden Bencawr gives our hero Culhwch a list of forty impossible (or highly improbable) tasks he must complete before he will be allowed to marry Olwen. This takes the first fifteen minutes of the episode. After that, Culhwch's companions slay a giant to steal his sword, and get advice from a series of ancient animals to solve a missing persons case.
CONTENT WARNINGS: A sub character was kidnapped as a newborn and is found by the protagonists, having been imprisoned his whole life.2021-02-2529 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureCulhwch and Olwen Part 1: The Set UpThis episode is the first of three parts telling the story of Culhwch, King Arthur's nephew, who is cursed to marry no-one other than Olwen, daughter of the great and terrible giant Ysbaddaden Bencawr. In this part, we hear Culhwch's backstory, his request for assistance from King Arthur, and meet various characters with weird superpowers that are never explained or returned to.
WARNINGS: A lot of weird shit happens in this story. Culhwch's mother goes mad for the duration of the pregnancy, his stepmother is violently abducted and her previous husband killed, Culhwch threatens to shout so...2021-02-1830 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureLludd and LlefelysIn today's story, Britain is afflicted with three plagues: an invasion by enemies who can hear whatever is spoken where the wind blows; a horrible scream every year that damages everyone's health; and the mysterious disappearance each night of all prepared food and drink in the king's court. The king, Lludd, consults his brother Llefelys, and with his advice, is able to remove these three oppressions from his kingdom.
WARNINGS: The injuries caused by the horrible scream include spontaneous miscarriages.2021-02-1124 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureThe Dream of Macsen WledigWelcome to Bitching about the Mabinogion! This season, we will be reading a set of approximately 12th to 14th century Welsh stories, with much more of a fairy tale vibe than the Decameron. In today's episode, we hear about an emperor of Rome, Macsen Wledig, who was inspired by a dream to seek out and marry Elen, a noble lady of northern Wales.
CONTENT WARNING: Brief mention of genocide/mutilation. Near the end of the episode, two characters are taking a conquering army all over Europe. It is briefly explained (with very little build...2021-02-0431 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureHere Ends The DecameronThis is the longest and last episode of Bitching About The Decameron - but fear not! There will be a second season, with new stories to tell. This episode begins with some information about what's coming next, then has the last (and most fucked up) story of the Decameron (10.10), before concluding with the end of the frame tale and Giovanni's commentary on how anyone who doesn't like his work is welcome to skip it. If you do not want to listen to story 10.10 (and I don't blame you), I recommend skipping from 6:40 to 31:45.
WARNINGS: (specifically for story 10.10, t...2021-01-1946 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureF*ck You, GiovanniIn this, the penultimate episode of Bitching About the Decameron, I summarise all of the stories I skipped, and why I skipped them, and discuss what that means for how we approach the text.
WARNINGS: Mentions of domestic violence, violence against children, cruelty to animals, violence and physical assault in general, various kinds of non-violent rape (through deception, exploitation of power, etc), exploitation of trust, mention of slurs about the intellectually disabled. All of the above are mentioned, not described in detail. 2021-01-1224 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureQuality MerchandiseToday's story (10.9) is a lovely (if long) tale of chivalrous munificence, in which Saladin tours Europe disguised as a merchant, and encounters an incredibly generous and courteous knight. Later, when the same knight is captured in the crusades, Saladin recognises him and repays his generosity several times over. The lines between knightly brotherhood and courtly love are...a little blurred.2021-01-0541 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureChivalry and PhilosophyAfter skipping 10.6, this episode continues with two more stories on the theme of generosity. In 10.7, an apothecary's daughter falls in love with a king, and though she has no hope of requital, the king treats her kindly and honourably. In 10.8, set in the distant past of ancient Rome and Athens, a man falls in love with his best friend's betrothed, and the friend decides to help him marry her instead (not that they tell her about that). Much later, the strength of their friendship is once again tested, and the pair form a joint household.
WARNINGS: In...2020-12-2942 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureEntitlementIn this episode, two men decide not to demand sex from women they have power over, and are inexplicably praised for it. I get VERY bitchy about all this. In 10.4, a man goes to steal a kiss from the corpse of a woman who didn't requite his love, and discovers she is alive. In 10.5, a woman says she will sleep with a man if he does something impossible for her, and he actually manages it.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Fortunately, not actual rape. However...
In 10.4, intended kissing and groping of a corpse. Keeping a w...2020-12-2232 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureTake My Whole Life TooIn the first story (10.2), a genteel highwayman captures an abbot, cures him of his illness, and lets him have his goods back when it's time to leave. In return, the abbot leaves the highwayman most of his goods, and puts in a good word for him with the pope. In the second story (10.3), a man seeking a reputation for generosity is stymied by the even more generous Nathan. When he goes to meet Nathan, he discovers that his generosity is even greater than the man's reputation suggested.2020-12-1528 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureEditorial DiscretionThis episode sets a new record for stories NOT told. Skipping stories 9.5 (abuse of trust), 9.7 (gore), 9.8 (violence without cause), 9.9 (domestic violence), and 9.10 (too explicit), I tell only story 9.6 before moving on to day 10. In 9.6, four people in one tiny bedroom give a new meaning to bed-hopping. In 10.1, a worthy nobleman is offered a generous gift, only to be thwarted by his own bad luck. 2020-12-0829 minBitching about Medieval Literature'Tie up your bonnet'Day nine, without any specific theme, begins with a story (9.1) about a lady who saw off two unwanted lovers by giving them some highly unpalatable tasks. After skipping 9.2, we resume with a tale (9.3) of a nun who was caught with a lover, then got out of trouble by providing evidence that the abbess had a lover of her own. Finally, in story 9.4, we hear of a man who gambled away his friend's money, then managed to get hold of his clothes and horse as well.
CONTENT WARNINGS: In the first story, two men continue...2020-12-0134 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureTurn About Is Fair PlayFor the last story of day eight (8.10), Dioneo tells us about an unscrupulous lady who made her living by seducing merchants and tricking them out of their goods, a merchant she swindled, and the way the merchant swindled her back.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Discussion of slavery in the period2020-11-2432 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureCountess of CesspoolToday's episode has one short story (8.8) and one long one (8.9). In the first, a man discovers his wife has been cheating on him with his best friend. So he decides to take some extremely proportionate revenge. In the second, Bruno and Buffalmaco (two tricksters we've met before), fool a stupid doctor into applying to join a highly implausible fraternity, then dump him in a ditch full of manure on his way there.
CONTENT WARNINGS: In the first story, the protagonist walks in on his wife cheating on him. He threatens her so that she assists him in...2020-11-1744 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureCaught With His Pants DownToday's episode is all about tricks and deception, justified or otherwise. In our first story (8.4), the protagonist tricks a priest who just won't take no for answer into sleeping with her maid, and getting caught doing it. In the second (8.5), an ill-dressed judge gets his breeches pulled down in the middle of court. In the third (8.6), a man's 'friends' decide to steal a pig from him, frame him for the theft, and extort some chickens from him into the bargain.
CONTENT WARNINGS: In the first story, sexual harrassment, sex by deception, semi-public exposure of sexual behaviour. A...2020-11-1035 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureTwo Bros, A Reliable German, And An Amorous PriestOur episode begins with skipping stories 7.8 and 7.9, for violence against women and against animals, respectively. Instead, we conclude day seven with Dioneo's tale (7.10) of a man returning from the dead to reassure his friend about the sins that are and are not punished in Purgatory. This is followed by two stories (8.1, 8.2) about men who found ways to retrieve the payment they had offered to women in exchange for their attentions.
CONTENT WARNING: Prejudice against sex work. A repeated theme in the discussion around the second and third stories is that adultery for love is a...2020-11-0334 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureBait and SwitchIn story 7.5, a highly controlling jealous husband decides to pretend to be a priest so he can hear what his wife has to confess. She recognises him, and tricks him into lying in wait near the door while her lover comes in by the roof. In our second tale (7.7, after skipping 7.6), a nobleman-turned-servant arranges an assignation with his master's wife, only for her to wake her husband up when he gets to the bedroom. In the end, though, she and her lover enjoy themselves thoroughly, and her husband gets the worst of it.
CONTENT...2020-10-2731 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureDeceitThe second day continues with three stories about wives who get away with their lies and their lovers. In the first (7.2), a lover's presence is explained as a potential purchaser of a tub. In the second (7.3), the wife explains her lover's presence as him curing her child of a deadly illness. And in the third (7.4), a husband's plan to catch his wife out is turned on its head, and he gets caught out instead.
CONTENT WARNINGS: In general, deceit and infidelity (obviously). In the second story, a toddler is in the same room as...2020-10-2026 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureWarding Off 'Werewolves'It's the start of the seventh day, and Dioneo is in charge, with the theme: 'women playing tricks on their husbands. After the group has decamped to the unrealistically picturesque Valley of the Ladies, the stories begin with a tale (7.1) of a woman who warns her lover that her husband is at home with an informative 'exorcism' of the 'werewolf' she assures her husband has been tapping at the door.2020-10-1324 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureRelics of Dubious OriginsThis episode covers the rest of the sixth day, beginning with a story (6.6) joking about the ancient origins of a family known for their ugliness; then the ingenious legal defence of an adulterous woman (6.7); a quick tale (6.8) about a haughty young woman who didn't recognise an insult; and another (6.9) about a rather convoluted retort made by a scholarly young man to a group of foolish ones. Finally, Dioneo tells a story (6.10) about a particularly unscrupulous friar and the showmanship with which he persuaded a group of townsfolk that an ordinary lump of coal was a holy relic.
...2020-10-0636 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureMoving Briskly AlongDay 6 begins with an argument between servants about whether or not a woman they know came to her wedding bed a virgin. After arbitration by the queen of the day (with advice from Dioneo), our storytellers share several brief tales about witty comebacks. In the first (6.1), a woman gently advises a very poor storyteller to stop trying; in the second (6.2), a baker with very fine wines censures a servant trying to fetch some in too large a keg; in the third (6.4 - having skipped 6.3), a hapless cook makes excuses for the roast crane he served having only one leg...2020-09-2926 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureIf You Can't Beat Them, Join ThemThis episode marks the halfway mark of the Decameron, with a story told by Dioneo (5.10) which starts with a gay man failing to sexually satisfy his wife, and ends with a threesome.
The story is followed by some reflection on the last six months of the podcast, and my thanks to Amanda Martel, my producer, and to all of you for listening.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Homophobic language: A gay man in this story is repeatedly described in the narration as 'perverse', 'unnatural', etc - however he is not punished by what happens in the story or...2020-09-2225 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureTwo Fine BirdsToday's episode marks six months of the podcast, and thanks to a record number of skipped stories in a row, also brings us almost to the halfway point of the Decameron! In our first story (5.4), a young man manages to sneak into his beloved's house for some quality time...only to be caught by her parents in the morning. There follows a brief synopsis of the stories I am skipping (5.5-5.8), due to the violence and coercion of women they contain. Finally, we hear a tragic tale (5.9) of a man whose unrequited love led him into poverty, and then...2020-09-1531 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureThe Kindness of StrangersToday's stories feature impulsive young lovers, separated by misfortune, and reunited by kindly strangers. In the first (5.2), a man rejected by his lover's family turns to piracy to make his fortune, only to be captured and imprisoned in Tunis. His lady, believing him to be dead, attempts suicide, but instead washes up on a foreign shore, and with the help of several people she meets there, is eventually reunited with him. In our second story (5.3), two young idiots elope, take a wrong turn, get lost in the woods, and are reunited at the house of a friend after a...2020-09-0829 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureIn Love With A MacGuffinDay five begins, on the theme of love that ended happily. However, our tale today (5.1) can only be said to end happily for the men, as the women are treated by the characters and the narrative as if they have no opinions or preferences of their own. The protagonist is inspired by the sight of his love to a serious self-improvement project, then when he is unable to negotiate a betrothal, decides to kidnap her on the way to her husband. The first kidnap attempt is temporarily successful; the second, with the aid of another man in love, is...2020-09-0133 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureThank God That's OverThis episode brings our fourth day and its gloomy theme (love that ended unhappily) to a close, with a gory and miserable narrative by the monarch of the day (4.9), followed by Dioneo blithely ignoring the day's theme to tell a comic tale instead (4.10). In Philostrato's story, a cuckolded husband takes gruesome revenge on his wife and her lover. (Please feel free to skip ahead to the end of the story at 8:40, if you'd rather only hear the funny one). In Dioneo's tale, a doctor's wife brings her lover into the house, only for him to drink an anaesthetic by...2020-08-2531 minBitching about Medieval Literature...SUDDEN DEATHOur narrators return to Florence and some new working class characters, in two stories that attempt to be tragic and come out farcical instead. In one (4.7), an attempt at medieval forensics sees a woman die in exactly the same implausible way her lover did. In the other (4.8), a spurned would-be lover stubborns himself to death, and is inexplicably joined by the woman who rejected him.
CONTENT WARNINGS: In the second story, there is a guy who REALLY doesn't know when to accept 'she's not into you'. He spends time outside a woman's house, attempts to persuade her on several occasions...2020-08-1829 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureBad OmensIn today's stories of unhappy love, we have two examples of visions in a dream. In the first (4.5) a woman's lover is murdered by her brothers, and he appears to her in a dream to help her find his body. In the second (4.6) a man dismisses the ominous dreams of himself and his wife (who he married secretly), then dies suddenly and leaves her with the challenge of explaining the whole thing.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Gore. In story one, after finding her lover's body, the protagonist cuts off his head and takes it home with her, where she...2020-08-1129 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureWhen Love Really, Really Doesn't Conquer AllIn today's episode, our storytellers continue to try to tell a story miserable enough for Filostrato, who has demanded tales of love that ended unhappily. After skipping story 4.2, 4.3 describes three pairs of teenagers who run away together, but whose happy ending turns to disaster after the eldest of the young men can't keep his eyes off the pretty locals. In story 4.4, two lovers learn of each other through rumour, fall in love based on reputation, and begin a relationship through letters. Before they can ever meet, the woman's marriage is arranged to another, and the man turns to piracy...2020-08-0432 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureF*ck the HatersDay four begins with an authorial digression, in which Giovanni explains and disputes the criticism he has been receiving. From there, we launch into our first story of unhappy love (4.1): a true tragedy in which a woman's lover is murdered by her father and she kills herself in response.
CONTENT WARNING: Obviously, strong warning for suicide. It's fairly specifically described in the text, but I do give a verbal warning and summary before the grisly bits, and there's nothing important you'll miss by skipping the rest of the episode after that. Also gore: the...2020-07-2849 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureSatisfying the Terms and ConditionsSkipping stories 3.8 and 3.10, in this episode we bring the third day to its conclusion with a tale (3.9) about a clever and determined woman, who neatly outmaneuvers her husband so that he is forced to acknowledge her worth and give her the respect she is due.
CONTENT WARNING: Sex by deceit. The protagonist disguises herself as someone else to trick her husband into consummating their marriage. 2020-07-2133 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureHooray! The dead guy's someone we don't care about!In this episode, a particularly long story (3.7) is skimmed, summarised, and bitched at. The protagonist, having been blanked by his lover, disappears for seven years, and comes back to find that he has apparently been recently murdered, and his lover's husband has been convicted of the deed. Rather than clear things up immediately, he takes the opportunity to manipulate everyone involved.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Manipulative behaviour. The protagonist (in disguise) convinces his lover that he is God's representative and spends a long time berating her for abandoning him in the first place, implying that she had no right...2020-07-1430 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureA Better Ride Than A PalfreyToday's stories (3.4 and 3.5) both feature men who managed to arrange liasons with married women under their husbands noses. In the first, the husband is preoccupied by prayer in the next room; in the second, the lover carries on both parts of the conversation himself.2020-07-0733 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureArranging Assignations by AccusationIn today's story (3.3), a woman decides she wants to have an affair with a particular gentleman. So she informs his friend, a friar, very specifically of all the things he really shouldn't do to such a respectable lady! (The gentleman gets the hint; the friar doesn't.)
CONTENT WARNING: False accusations of sexual harassment, relying on the fact that the one who is told won't take direct action. 2020-06-3030 minBitching about Medieval Literature'Whoever it was that did it, don't do it again!'Day 3 begins with two stories about men who satisfied their desires through deception, and got away with it. In the first (3.1), a labourer pretends to be deaf-mute in order to get hired by a nunnery, and quickly gets co-opted by the nuns to see to more than the garden. In the second (3.2), a groom disguises himself in order to sleep with a queen, and despite the king realising what happened almost immediately afterwards, remains unidentified thanks to his quick wits.
CONTENT WARNINGS: In the first story, dismissive language around the protagonist because he appears to be deaf...2020-06-2332 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureEuphemismsIn this story (2.10), a young woman is kidnapped from her old and unsatisfactory husband by a pirate, who proves to be far more satisfactory. Repeatedly, and at considerable length. When her husband arrives and tries to reclaim her, she informs him of that fact. Repeatedly, and at considerable length.2020-06-1625 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureWhen She's Really, Really Too Good For YouIn today's story (2.9), locker room talk turns into a boast, then into a bet, then sneaking into someone's bedroom, stealing their stuff, and accusing them of adultery, which is followed by attempted murder, a secret escape, living in disguise, dramatic revelations, and a gruesome punishment for...ONE of the guys responsible? Unsurprisingly, this is accompanied by a lot of bitching.
CONTENT WARNINGS:
Locker room talk, throughout.
Sexual harrassment: a character sneaks into a woman's room and examines her body while she's sleeping, takes some of her stuff, and uses that...2020-06-0934 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureAn Excess of Deus Ex MachinaAfter skipping story 2.7 (due to intolerable values clash), this episode picks up with story 2.8, a truly Shakespearian plot of deceit, hidden identities, convenient illnesses, and dramatic revelations at the very end. 2020-06-0234 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureAn Abundance of Maternal AffectionIn today's story (2.6), a family is split up by war, shipwreck, and piracy, and experiences increasingly implausible adventures in the decade and a half before they are all reunited. 2020-05-2634 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureOut of the Cesspit, Into the TombIn our first story (2.4), a failed merchant turns pirate, gets captured by other pirates, gets shipwrecked, and quits the trading life altogether once he makes it home. In our second (2.5), a well-meaning but foolish young man has a hell of a night in Naples, but loses no more than he gains. 2020-05-1937 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureTropes Galore!In this episode, in a single story (2.3), we encounter:
Fair and clever young gentleman thrown into poverty;
There was only one bed;
Woman disguised as a man;
[redacted];
Secret marriage;
Secret royalty;
God/fortune brought me the perfect husband;
Maids when you're young never wed an old man;
Rags to riches;
Moneylender makes good;
Inherently noble protagonist becomes king; and
Happy ending!
There's also an unusually large amount of historical commentary, on the investiture controversy, interest rates, and a rising class consciousness that created the Renaissance. 2020-05-1229 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureIn those clothes, you look just like my dead husband!In this episode, we embark upon the second day of the Decameron, which has the theme of 'people who get into trouble, then have an unexpected stroke of good fortune'. Our two stories (2.1, 2.2) describe a guy who pretends to be paralysed, gets the shit beaten of him, and then gets out of trouble because a rich guy thinks he's funny; and a guy who gets robbed and left for dead on a snowy night, before a widow takes mercy on him and gives him a hot bath, a good supper, and a 'satisfying' night.
C...2020-05-0530 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureUnjustified Deduction From LeeksIn this episode, we bring Day 1 of The Decameron to its conclusion with stories 1.8, 1.9, and 1.10. Hear about a miser shamed into virtuous wall-art, a cowardly king turned vengeful by a noblewoman's bitching, and an old dude who justified his crush with an argument about the best way to eat a leek. You can also hear about fourteenth century gift culture, changing attitudes to tolerant rulers, courtly love, and my impatience with Pampinea as she (once again) is a mouthpiece for Giovanni's bad attitude to women.2020-04-2829 minBitching about Medieval Literature"A Sitting Target of Evil"This episode features a record-setting FOUR stories (1.4-1.7), with hypocritical abbots, lecherous kings, miserly friars, and uncharacteristically parsimonious princes all being set in their place by appropriately deployed wit. Also misogyny, and a weird bit of dialogue about chickens...
CONTENT WARNING: The first story in this episode (running from 1:30-9:40) has some issues with sexual coercion (not that Giovanni seems to notice). A character who agrees to sex with one guy gets trapped with another guy, there are also power imbalance things going on. According to the narrator she's perfectly willing, but that's because...2020-04-2133 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureFrom the Mouths of JewsIn the second and third stories from Day 1, Boccaccio uses learned and virtuous Jews as mouthpieces for controversial statements about religion: first, that the entire Papal Court is full of shitbags, and second, that Jews, Muslims, and Christians all have equal reason to think they've got the right of it. Meanwhile, I drop in a lot of comments with remembered tidbits from my time studying medieval history at uni, and my cat makes her presence known.2020-04-1422 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureMister Little-HatAt last, we hear our first story: how an utterly reprehensible person lied so thoroughly in his last confession that an entire town became convinced he was a saint.2020-04-0728 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureA Plot Device Appears!In this episode, we meet the protagonists of our frame tale: seven young women and three young men, who decide to hide out from the plague in a palace outside the city. The organisation of this venture, for some reason, requires several lengthy speeches that don't so much 'betray' Giovanni's misogyny as 'parade' it...and after a while, I quite lost patience with him.2020-03-3116 minBitching about Medieval LiteratureThe PrologueIn which Giovanni Boccaccio tells us why he is writing this story, that the beginning is going to be miserable but worth it, and regales us with details of the Black Death in Florence that cannot possibly be omitted (in his opinion).
Meanwhile, we complain about his attitudes towards women and his miserable beginning.2020-03-2415 min
The Knowne World BardcastSeason 4: Episode 10: Lochac! Songs from Across the Far Sea
PlaylistMy Lady, My Land - Performed by Mistress Finn, Written by Cilian an Sealgairof Blessed MemoryUther and Portia - Mistress Margie of Glen More (the first Bard of Lochac) Songs of The West- Baron Karl Faustus von Aachen (also known as Eric The Fruitbat)Always a Fire in Mordenvale - Lady Runa Hundardottir (a previous Bard of Lochac)Blue Rose - Lady Gwen Verch David Two Sonnets by Baron Hrolf Herjolfssen (backing track by Master Johann Von Solothurn of Atlantia...2019-07-3100 minThe Knowne World BardcastSeason 4: Episode 2: Bardic Pride!I (Revision)
We had to adjust some levels and add a new song and a new testimonial :)Enjoy!Bryng Us Home Good Ale- Lord Geoffrey of ExeterSir Gawain’s Lovers-Lady Gwen verch DavidWillow and the Rose- The Honorable Lady Milisandia filia Willelmi filii Roberti on lead vocals. Gentle Robbin Bowring on harmony. Lady Colette la trouvere on instrumentals. Eriskay Love Lilt-Master Piaras Mac Toirdhealbhaigh on lead vocals. Gentle Robbin Bowring, Lady Colette la trouvere (Colette the Bard), and Milisandia on harmoniesThe Princess and The Dragon-Lord Silenus of...2019-03-0400 min