Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World
D Field
A narrative history podcast following the journeys of medieval travellers and their roles in larger historical events. Telling great stories, showing the interconnected nature of the medieval world, and meeting Mongols, Ottomans, Franciscans, merchants, ambassadors, and adventurers along the way.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 7, 2026 • 42min
A 12th-Century Pilgrim's Guide 2: The Camino de Santiago
A medieval guide to the still-popular pilgrimage, our source covers the dangerous waters and malicious boatmen, the notable saints and sites along the way, and the writer's very open dislike of virtually everyone they would meet.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.
I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, and I have some things on Redbubble.
Sources:
The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago de Compostela, with translation and introduction by William Melczer. Italica Press, 1993.
The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago de Compostela, with translation and introduction by Annie Shaver-Crandell, Paula Gerson, and the assistance of Alison Stones. Harvey Miller Publishers, 1995.
Cunningham, Bernadette. Medieval Irish Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. Four Courts Press, 2018.
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Feb 19, 2026 • 35min
A 12th-Century Pilgrim's Guide 1: The Source and the Way
The 12th-century text The Pilgrim's Guide to Compostela provided advice for travellers from France on the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrimage route which is still/again very popular today.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.
I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, and I have some things on Redbubble.
Sources:
The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago de Compostela, with translation and introduction by William Melczer. Italica Press, 1993.
The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago de Compostela, with translation and introduction by Annie Shaver-Crandell, Paula Gerson, and the assistance of Alison Stones. Harvey Miller Publishers, 1995.
Alighieri, Dante. La Vita Nuova, translated by Andrew Frisardi. https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/text/library/la-vita-nuova-frisardi/
Martin, Craig. "How Long Does it Take to Walk the Camino de Santiago? A Beginner's Guide to This and More." Outside. https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/destinations/europe/walking-camino-de-santiago-beginners-guide/
Muñoz-Alonso, Lorena. "Spanish Electrician Who Stole Priceless Manuscript and €2.4 Million from Santiago Cathedral Gets 10 Years." Artnet. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/spanish-electrician-who-stole-priceless-manuscript-and-eur24-million-from-santiago-cathedral-gets-10-years-260703
Schrire, Dani. "The Camino de Santiago: The Interplay of European Heritage and New Traditions." Ethnologia Europaea. 36.2 (2006).
"Thirty Years of the Camino as the First European Cultural Route." El Camino con Correos, 2025. https://www.elcaminoconcorreos.com/en/blog/thirty-yearsfirts-cultural-route
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Dec 24, 2025 • 25min
Medieval Lives 13: A Christmas Coronation
It's Christmas Day in 1066, and a new king is to be crowned. There will be all sorts of festive events: arrows in the eye, fires outside the church, and just a little holiday looting too.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.
I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, and I have some things on Redbubble.
Sources:
Guy Bishop of Amiens. The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio. Edited and translated by Frank Barlow. Oxford University Press, 1999.
Lawson, M.K. The Battle of Hastings 1066. Tempus, 2002.
Orderic Vitalis. The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, Volume 1. Translated by Thomas Forester. H.G. Bohn, 1853.
William of Poitiers. The Deeds of William. Oxford University Press, 1998.
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Dec 22, 2025 • 43min
Medieval Lives 12: Two Saints and a Sinner
Marcellinus and Peter died in the early 4th century, but the saints would still be active and on the move in the 9th. This is about their journey. It is also about Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, the man who wrote about that journey and set it into motion.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.
I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, and I have some things on Redbubble.
Sources:
Charlemagne's Courtier: The Complete Einhard. Edited and translated by Paul Edward Dutton. University of Toronto Press, 1998.
Charlemagne and Louis the Pious. Lives by Einhard, Notker, Ermoldus, Thegan, and the Astronomer. Translated with introductions and annotations by Thomas F.X. Noble. Penn State Press, 2009.
Medieval Travel and Travellers: A Reader. Edited by John F. Romano. University of Toronto Press, 2020.
A Short Reader of Medieval Saints. Edited by Mary-Ann Stouck. University of Toronto Press, 2009.
Einhard. The History of the Translation of the Blessed Martyrs of Christ, Marcellinus and Peter. Harvard University Press, 1926.
Lapidge, Michael. The Roman Martyrs: Introduction, Translations, and Commentary. Oxford University Press, 2018.
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Nov 2, 2025 • 40min
Afanasy Nikitin 2: Return from India
The 15th-century Russian merchant and traveller journeys back from India.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.
I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble.
Sources:
Afanasy Nikitin's Voyage Beyond The Three Seas, 1466–1472. Geografgiz, 1960.
Alam, Muzaffar and Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. Indo-Persian Travels in the Age of Discoveries, 1400-1800. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Belkov, Gregory. The Journey Beyond Three Seas of Afanasij Nikitin in A.D. 1466-1472 : Establishment of Text, Translation and Commentary. University of British Columbia, 1950.
Paulau, Stanislau. “Embodying the World beyond Three Seas: India in the Imagination of the Mediaeval Rus," in Body, Emotion and Mind. ‛Embodying’ the Experiences in Indo-European Encounters, edited by Martin Tamcke and Gladson Jathanna. LIT Verlag, 2013.
Romano, John. Medieval Travel and Travellers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020.
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Oct 29, 2025 • 33min
Afanasy Nikitin 1: Journey Beyond the Three Seas
Afanasy Nikitin, a 15th-century Russian merchant, sets out from Tver and immediately runs into trouble before travelling to India.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.
I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble.
Sources:
Afanasy Nikitin's Voyage Beyond The Three Seas, 1466–1472. Geografgiz, 1960.
Alam, Muzaffar and Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. Indo-Persian Travels in the Age of Discoveries, 1400-1800. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Belkov, Gregory. The Journey Beyond Three Seas of Afanasij Nikitin in A.D. 1466-1472 : Establishment of Text, Translation and Commentary. University of British Columbia, 1950.
Paulau, Stanislau. “Embodying the World beyond Three Seas: India in the Imagination of the Mediaeval Rus," in Body, Emotion and Mind. ‛Embodying’ the Experiences in Indo-European Encounters, edited by Martin Tamcke and Gladson Jathanna. LIT Verlag, 2013.
Romano, John. Medieval Travel and Travellers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020.
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Oct 28, 2025 • 46min
Osman of Timisoara 5: Osman's Great Escape
Osman flees Vienna and reaches freedom, with success and suffering on the other side.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.
I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble.
Sources:
Osman Aga of Timisoara. Prisoner of the Infidels. Edited, translated, and introduced by Giancarlo Casale. University of California Press, 2021.
Olin, Timothy. The Banat of Temesvar: Borderland Colonization in the Habsburg Monarchy. Stanford University Press, 2025.
Yaycıoğlu, Ali. "On the Ottoman Arguments during the Congress of Karlowitz (1699)," in Territorial Imaginaries: Beyond the Sovereign Map, edited by Kären Wigen. University of Chicago Press, 2025.
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Jul 31, 2025 • 41min
Osman of Timisoara 4: Imperial Pastry Prep and Tavern Brawls
Osman's time in the city of Vienna is punctuated by violent misadventure, an unlikely career in sweets, and an ethical failing.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.
I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble.
Sources:
Osman Aga of Timisoara. Prisoner of the Infidels. Edited, translated, and introduced by Giancarlo Casale. University of California Press, 2021.
An Ottoman Traveller: Selections from the Book of Travels of Evliya Çelebi. Translation and commentary by Robert Dankoff and Sooyong Kim. Eland, 2010.
Finkel, Caroline. Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. Basic Books, 2005.
Robertson, Angus. The Crossroads of Civilization: A History of Vienna. Simon and Schuster, 2022.
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Jul 27, 2025 • 40min
Osman of Timisoara 3: Hunger, Illness, and Intimacy
The story of Osman of Timisoara continues, and on this episode we follow him out of his initial adventures in captivity and into the years that came after, years of "toil and misery," he would say, along with hunger and sickness, but also of surprising moments of friendship and intimacy.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.
I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble.
Sources:
Osman Aga of Timisoara. Prisoner of the Infidels. Edited, translated, and introduced by Giancarlo Casale. University of California Press, 2021.
Büsching, Anton Friedrich. A New System of Geography, Volume 4. A. Millar, 1762.
Finkel, Caroline. Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. Basic Books, 2005.
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Jul 25, 2025 • 36min
Osman of Timisoara 2: Ransom, Boats, and Bandits
In a fit of extreme absentmindedness, I forgot to upload this episode after recording it and then did the same thing for part 3 in the series! Osman of Timisoara 3 and 4 will follow this over the next few days.
Within the larger life-travels of Osman's book, this is going to be a relatively short journey, but as you'll hear, it will still be quite a stressful one. Osman needed to get to Timisoara, collect the payment for his freedom, and then bring that money back to his captor. You will not be shocked to learn that there would be misadventures along the way.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.
I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble.
Sources:
Osman Agha of Timisoara. Prisoner of the Infidels. Edited, translated, and introduced by Giancarlo Casale. University of California Press, 2021.
Finkel, Caroline. Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. Basic Books, 2005.
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