Medieval Humour at Christmas

Gone Medieval

History Hit

History

4.6 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2023

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Just like us, medieval people loved a bit of entertainment at Christmas. But what did they consider funny? How did humorous stories spread in a world where most people could neither read nor write?

In this episode of Gone Medieval, Dr. Eleanor Janega finds out more from Kleio Pethainou, who specialises in medieval comedy and storytelling, and also offers an authentic and bizarre Christmas Day story from the middle ages.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

For more about Kleio Pethainou, her podcast The Court Jester and books, visit: https://kleiopethainou.com/

**WARNING: This episode contains examples of medieval humour that some may find challenging to modern-day sensibilities**

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Everyone leaves a legacy.
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0:50.8	forward slash gifts.
0:53.0	As we edge closer to Christmas, you like me, might be starting to feel pretty festive.
1:08.0	Now, of course, we have our own Christmas traditions that include decorating trees indoors, watching
1:14.4	Christmas films and making mold wine, and of course listening to wham songs.
1:18.8	But how did medieval people mark their own Christmas festivities?
1:24.0	Well, the answer is they liked a bit of entertainment,
1:27.2	just like we do, and we're quite fond of a Christmas comedy themselves.
1:32.2	I'm Dr. Eleanor Yaneckaneka and today I'll be speaking with
1:34.8	Cleopethano, a historian specializing in medieval comedy and storytelling to find out
1:40.2	what the medieval equivalent of love actually was. We'll think about what comedy actually is.
1:47.1	Consider the ways that medieval people circulated and traded comedic stories. Think about the idea of
	...

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