Medieval Archives

13/10/2026

Medieval Mythbusting: Mud, Misery and Other Medieval Myths

Did medieval people think the Earth was flat, never bathe, and die at 30? We examine eight persistent myths about life in the Middle Ages.

13/10/2026

If medieval movies are to be believed, everyone in the Middle Ages was covered in mud, five-foot-two, drunk and dead by 30.

So how much of that is actually true?

The new Medieval Archives Podcast is out now:

Medieval Mythbusting: Mud, Misery and Other Medieval Myths

We’re taking on eight persistent ideas about medieval life:

• Medieval women had no rights
• Medieval people thought the Earth was flat
• The Church was against science
• The Middle Ages were a Dark Age
• Everyone died at 30
• Medieval people never bathed
• Medieval food was terrible
• Peasants were basically slaves

Then we finish with a lightning round featuring bad water, Vikings, witch burnings, knights in armor, chastity belts and a few more.

Some myths are easy to bust.

Others contain just enough truth to survive.

🎧 Listen now: https://medievalarchives.com/98

09/10/2026

Medieval News Weekly: Rare Silver, Little England and Medieval Plumbing

Explore a lost monastery in Scotland, a rare medieval heating system, Glasgow Cathedral’s restoration, and discoveries beneath Pamplona.

02/10/2026

Medieval News Weekly: Scottish Monastery, Cathedral Spire, Medieval Heating and Pamplona’s Hidden Gate

Explore a lost monastery in Scotland, a rare medieval heating system, Glasgow Cathedral’s restoration, and discoveries beneath Pamplona.

30/09/2026

I picked 10.

Now tell me what I got wrong.

What medieval movie based on a true story should have made the list?

Bonus points if it's something most people haven't seen.

29/09/2026

If you've never seen Medieval (2022), here's your excuse.

Ben Foster plays Jan Žižka, one of the greatest military commanders of the late Middle Ages.

The interesting part?

The movie doesn't focus on the famous Hussite commander. It imagines the poorly documented years before Žižka became a legend.

He's #3 on my list of 10 Medieval Movies Based on True Stories.

https://medievalarchives.com/2026/09/25/10-medieval-movies-based-on-true-stories/

28/09/2026

You get ONE medieval movie tonight.

🏹 Braveheart
⚔️ The Last Duel
👑 Outlaw King
🏰 Kingdom of Heaven

What are you watching?

And yes, the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven counts. 😄

27/09/2026

A king takes the English throne.

A Norman invasion begins.

An emperor is excommunicated.

And Jerusalem falls after 88 years of Crusader rule.

This week’s Weekly Herald covers Henry IV, William the Conqueror, Frederick II, Saladin, and more from the medieval world.

Subscribe free and get the next issue delivered straight to your inbox:

https://medievalarchives.com/subscribe/

27/09/2026

The Balian of Ibelin you meet in Kingdom of Heaven is a French blacksmith who discovers he's the illegitimate son of a crusader nobleman.

The real Balian?

Already a member of one of the most powerful noble families in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

And in 1187, he really did organize the defense of Jerusalem against Saladin.

Sometimes the history Hollywood changes is actually more interesting than the story they invented.

https://medievalarchives.com/2026/09/25/10-medieval-movies-based-on-true-stories/

26/09/2026

Braveheart is a fantastic movie.

It is also a fantastic way to annoy a medieval historian.

No blue-painted William Wallace.
No affair with Princess Isabella.
No Robert the Bruce betraying Wallace at Falkirk.

And somehow the Battle of Stirling Bridge doesn't have a bridge.

So here's the question:

How historically inaccurate can a historical movie be and still be a great historical movie