This episode takes a bird’s eye view of the global medieval world, following the trade and giving of arctic gyrfalcons across vast distances. Caitlin, Sam, Bjørn, and Ragnar discuss the capture and keeping of these rare birds in Scandinavia and their cultural significance in Europe, China and the Islamic world.

For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

In this episode of The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast, the editors of the recent volume Towards an Accessible Academy discuss disability, academia, and medieval studies with several of the authors. Combining interviews with chapter readings, Dr. Alex R. A. Lee and Dr. Hope Doherty-Harrison break down key concepts and consider how they as disabled medievalists do their work, and how we can make the academy better for everyone.

Content notes: This episode contains mentions of suicide (22:50–22:55, 23:33–22:50, 24:03–25:28) and of surgery/surgical wounds (28:34–28:36, 30:40–32:00, 36:42–36:54).

For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

In this episode, Dr. Polina Ignatova deconstructs the spectrum of diverse roles of St. Christopher in the contemporary societal discourses in Russia. She argues that the public knowledge about St. Christopher is sporadic and unsystematized, resulting in the saint’s image being used by both oppressors and oppressed.

For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.