Villains and Virgins History Podcast Podcast By Eva Schubert cover art

Villains and Virgins History Podcast

Villains and Virgins History Podcast

By: Eva Schubert
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About this listen

A history podcast with a focus on violence, religion, and gripping stories, created by Eva Schubert, history nerd, college instructor, and jazz aficionado.Eva Schubert 2020 Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • The First Crusade Ep 2: Siege of Antioch
    Jun 30 2025

    As Western knights and nobles ride toward Jerusalem, there are many other cities they must take along the way. Their first battlefield encounter with the Turks leaves a lasting impression on both sides, but they are soon occupied with besieging fortified cities. Heads are brandished on spears and bodies hang on display from the ramparts. The siege of Antioch comes close to ending the entire crusade on more that one occasion, with starvation, desertion, and enemy armies of much larger size. Heroic feats, cannibalism, and nearly miraculous escapes are all part of this gripping story.

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    1 hr and 32 mins
  • The First Crusade: Call to Arms
    Jun 16 2025

    The First Crusade became the stuff of legend soon after it finished. Western knights headed to Constantinople and ultimately to Jerusalem, to rescue pilgrimage sites from the control of Muslim invaders. The crusade involved close to 100,000 people from Western Europe heading east, in a journey that would cover thousands of miles, mostly on foot. It’s often told as a struggle of East vs. West, and Christianity against Islam. The history is more complicated. What set so many knights off on this journey to the east? Why did so many ordinary people make the crusade? Find out in this episode.

    Related episodes include:

    The Great Schism

    The Normans in Italy

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    1 hr and 29 mins
  • Knights, Jousts, and Courtly Love
    Jun 2 2025
    The image of the knight in shining armour has had a very long shadow in Western culture, from King Arthur to Monty Python. The reality of life for medieval knights, obsessed with honour and reputation is the subject of this episode. We meet a real Spanish knight, Suero de Quinones, who wore an iron collar and broke hundreds of lances for the love of a lady. What was courtly love and how did it work? How were jousting matches organised? Enter the world of a medieval knight!

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    1 hr and 12 mins
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