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Medieval Punishments
Historian Matt Lewis explains the worst medieval torture techniques.
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History Ranked: Medieval Weapons
Historian Matt Lewis ranks weapons from the medieval period.
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Treason
Treason is a word we all know, but how did treason law develop in England? Over the centuries, those linked with some of the most audacious attacks on the establishment have been branded traitors. If treason failed, it usually led to the most gruesome of death penalties. Some of those convicted w...
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Real Fake History: The Alternate Battle of Bosworth
In this episode of Real Fake History, Dan Snow is joined by historians Matt Lewis, Nathen Amin, and Tracy Borman to discuss the hypothetical scenario: what if Richard III had won the Battle of Bosworth?
On the 22nd of August 1485, the future of England was decided on the fields of Bosworth. Rich...
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Battle of Bosworth - Battlefield Detective
Matt Lewis travels to the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre in Leicestershire to meet Richard Mackinder, an archaeologist who has spent the last two decades scouring the earth around the site where King Richard III and Henry Tudor clashed in one of the most famous battles in English history.
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Castles That Made Britain - Bamburgh Castle
Castles have loomed over the landscape of Britain for centuries. They hold the keys to unlocking some of the greatest stories of our past.
Join History Hit's medieval expert, Matt Lewis, in this new series as he explores some of Britain’s most iconic castles. It is a spectacular journey to some...
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Castles That Made Britain - Ludlow Castle
In episode two of our series ‘Castles that Made Britain’, we join Matt Lewis at his favourite fortress in the whole of Britain, Ludlow Castle. Built as a frontier fortress, Ludlow stands proud on what was the harsh wild western frontier between England and Wales. One of the first to be rebuilt in...
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Castles That Made Britain - Conwy Castle
In the final episode of the first series of ‘The Castles that Made Britain’, Matt Lewis explores the fascinating history of Conwy Castle on the coast of North Wales.
Towards the end of the turbulent and blood-soaked 13th century, King Edward I of England sought to impose his rule on the rest of ...
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The Most Daring Escapes From The Tower of London
For more than 900 years, the Tower of London has occupied its place at the heart of English life. At various times a royal citadel, palace, menagerie, observatory, public records office, mint, arsenal and, even to this day, the home of the crown jewels of England, since 1100 it has famously serve...
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Britain's Wild West: Discovering Hay Castle
The peaceful South Wales town of Hay-on-Wye offers few clues today of its brutal past on a violent frontier. A monument to this history can be found in Hay Castle. Once right on the border between England and Wales, it sits in a region densely packed with castles that saw border skirmishes and bi...
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Peasants' Revolt - Part Two: London's Burning
In part two we investigate the fiery and frenetic days following 13th June 1381. With huge numbers of peasants having gathered around London... things were about to turn violent.
We follow their footsteps as they cross London Bridge and enter the city. Destruction starts quickly as they begin t...
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Peasants' Revolt - Part One: Rise of the Rebels
The 14th Century is often called the worst century in the whole of British history - plague, war and famine! And amidst all this chaos, the first recorded act of public rebellion in English history sent revolutionary ripples across the entire medieval world. This uprising is remembered as the “Pe...
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Life In The Middle Ages
What did medieval people eat? Were medieval knights jacked? Why was medieval torture so cruel? Medieval historian and co-host of the Gone Medieval Podcast Matt Lewis answers Google's most searched questions about the medieval world.
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The Princes in the Tower: The Mystery of the Brothers York
Wars of the Roses historian Matt Lewis visits the Tower of London to talk through one of the building’s greatest mysteries: the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower. He talks through the possibility that the two young boys were not murdered on King Richard III's orders, but in fact survived ...
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The Battle of Towton: What Was Battle Like for an Ordinary Soldier?
The Battle of Towton in 1461 has long held the distinction of being the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil. A decisive moment in the Wars of the Roses, it saw the Yorkist Edward IV defeat his Lancastrian rival Henry VI and claim the English throne. But what made this so battle so unique...
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The Battle of Towton: Was It Really the Bloodiest in English History?
The Battle of Towton in 1461 has long held the distinction of being the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil. A decisive moment in the Wars of the Roses, it saw the Yorkist Edward IV defeat his Lancastrian rival Henry VI and claim the English throne. But are claims that the number of deat...
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King Arthur: Legend and Legacy
The familiar medieval Arthurian myths of a noble King ruling over his kingdom from camelot, supported by his Round Table of loyal and brave knights who seek for the Holy Grail and slay dragons, is a legend that has been engaged with by English kings ever since the 13th Century. By the 14th Centur...
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The First Crusade
The Massive Logistical Challenges Of The First Crusade (With Crusader Kings III)
In this video medieval historian Matt Lewis explores the numerous logistical challenges faced by the leaders of the First Crusade, and how each was overcome. How was such a diverse military force brought together? H...
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History Hit Book Club with Cat Jarman | River Kings
Matt Lewis is joined by his Gone Medieval co-host Cat Jarman, author of River Kings: the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads.
Told as a riveting story of the Vikings and the methods we use to understand them, River Kings is a major reassessment of the fierce, often-mythologised voyagers ...
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Richard Duke of York: Marcher Lord
Matthew Lewis, an author and historian who specialises in the 15th century, provides a fascinating talk about Richard Duke of York as a Marcher Lord. He explains this powerful noble's close relationship with the Mortimer family and how this further emboldened him to strive for the English Throne.