Who was the very worst of all the Medieval monarchs? No spoilers but we've got monarchs driven psychopathic by love, terrible sadists, and egos that straddled a continent. They were the worst of the worst, but who was the worst of all?

Our guest today is Dr Eleanor Janega, co-host of Gone Medieval from History Hit - if you are a fan of the medieval world, you need to be listening!

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

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With the nights closing in, what better time to re-visit a favourite episode of ours.

In 1727, Janet Horne of the Highland community of Dornoch became the last person in Britain to be tried and executed for witchcraft.

As the poet Edwin Morgan put it; They tarred her and feathered her, bound her and barrelled her burning in the peat-smoke, while the good folk of Dornoch paused briefly for a look.

But maybe the events aren’t quite as black and white as they seem?

Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the story this week.

Written by Maddy Pelling. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For Medieval Europe, the Apocalypse wasn’t just a metaphor - it was very real and very imminent.

We are talking about the four horsemen, locusts the size of horses, the beast of the abyss, the Whore of Babylon, and, obviously, the anti-christ.

We’re going to go through the medieval apocalypse blow-by-blow to see how this obsession with the end led to bizarre real-world cults like the Flagellants, who abandoned all norms for group sex in the woods.

Our guest today is Dr Eleanor Janega, co-host of Gone Medieval with Matt Lewis.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.