'tis but a scratch: fact and fiction about the middle ages by Richard Abels
Last Updated: November 26, 2025
Talking about popular conceptions of the Middle Ages and their historical realities. Join Richard Abels to learn about Vikings, knights and chivalry, movies set in the Middle Ages, and much more about the medieval world.
Halloween special: Three Medieval Ghost Stories and My One Encounter with a Ghost
Crusader Jerusalem in the Twelfth Century (with Dr. John Hosler)
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In this episode, my very special guest Dr. John Hosler draws upon the research he undertook for his book Jerusalem Falls: Seven Centuries of War and Peace (Yale University Press, 2022) to discuss what Jerusalem meant in the thought and imagination of Christians and Muslims in the twelfth century, and the role the city played in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. As John is a professor at the Army's Command and General Staff College, we also chat a bit about teaching military history to military officers.
"The finest knight in all the world": the practical chivalry of William Marshal, part 1
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The life of Sir William Marshal reads like a medieval story book. Starting out as a landless squire whose only possession was family connections, Marshal rose from household knight to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful nobles in early thirteenth century England. Ultimately, he was chosen by his peers to be the guardian and regent of a boy king, during a French invasion abetted by a baronial revolt. William Marshal's remarkable rise was due to the qualities that made him, in the words of both friends and foes, “the finest knight in all the world,” his p...
"The finest knight in all the world": the practical chivalry of Sir William Marshal
"The finest knight in all the world": the practical chivalry of Sir William Marshal
Published:
The life of Sir William Marshal reads like a medieval story book. Starting out as a landless squire whose only possession was family connections, Marshal rose from household knight to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful nobles in early thirteenth century England. Ultimately, he was chosen by his peers to be the guardian and regent of a boy king, during a French invasion abetted by a baronial revolt. William Marshal's remarkable rise was due to the qualities that made him, in the words of both friends and foes, “the finest knight in all the world,” his...
There is more truth in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" than you might think
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The title of our podcast ‘Tis But a Scratch: Fact and Fiction about the Middle Ages” is a tribute to one of Richard’s favorite “medieval” movies, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” Richard was incredulous when Carol told him that she had never seen the movie. After she watched it, she was incredulous that he actually used parts of it in his medieval history classes. In this episode Richard explains how there is more historical truth in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” than anyone would think—probably including the Monty Python troupe—and how he used it in his classes. Among t...
There is more truth in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” than you might think (remastered sound)
