Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World

Latest Episodes:

Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 6: There and Back Again Feb 08, 2021

Show notes

The Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo story reaches its conclusion, and so does that of Timur aka Tamerlane.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus.

Sources:

Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.
Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.
Ahmad ibn 'Arabshah. Tamerlane or Timur the Great Amir, translated by J. H. Sanders. Luzac & Co., 1936.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Marozzi, Justin. Islamic Empires: Fifteen Cities that Define a Civilization. Penguin, 2019.
Rubiés, Joan-Pau. "Late Medieval Ambassadors And The Practice Of Cross-Cultural Encounters 1250–1450," in The ‘Book’ of Travels: Genre, Ethnology, and Pilgrimage, 1250-1700, edited by Palmira Brummett.

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Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 5: A Season of Feasting at Samarkand Jan 24, 2021

Show notes

Our travellers from early 15th century Spain arrive at the outskirts of Samarkand and meet with their host Timur.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus.

Sources:

Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.
Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Rubiés, Joan-Pau. "Late Medieval Ambassadors And The Practice Of Cross-Cultural Encounters 1250–1450," in The ‘Book’ of Travels: Genre, Ethnology, and Pilgrimage, 1250-1700, edited by Palmira Brummett.

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Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 4: Sickness & Heat, Melons & Meat Dec 23, 2020

Show notes

Clavijo and his Castilian fellow travellers continue the journey toward Timur, cutting across northern Iran and dealing with sickness and heat. On the upside, there will be melons and a great deal of wine. There will also be visit with Timur's potentially problematic son.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus.

Sources:

Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.
Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran. Cambridge University Press, 2007.

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Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 3: Of the Water and the Mountains Dec 02, 2020

Show notes

In search of Timur, the Castilian ambassadors leave Constantinople and travel east over the Black Sea and into the mountains beyond.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus.

Sources:

Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.
Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.
King, Charles. The Black Sea: A History. Oxford University Press, 2005.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.

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Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 2: Sacred Objects in the Imperial City Nov 17, 2020

Show notes

In their journey to see Timur, Clavijo and the other envoys stop in at Constantinople where we visit artifacts and sacred objects.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, my website is www.humancircuspodcast.com, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus.

Sources:

Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.
Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.
Lee, A.D. From Rome to Byzantium AD 363 to 565. Edinburgh University Press, 2013.
Majesca, George P. Russian Travelers to Constantinople in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Dumbarton Oaks, 1984.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Necipoğlu, Nevra. Byzantium Between the Ottomans and the Latins: Politics and Society in the Late Empire. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Norwich, John Julius. The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean. Knopf Doubleday Publishing, 2007.
Norwich, John Julius. A History of Venice. Penguin, 2003.
Stephenson, Paul. The Serpent Column: A Cultural Biography. Oxford University Press, 2016.
Zarinebaf, Fariba. Mediterranean Encounters: Trade and Pluralism in Early Modern Galata. University of California Press, 2018.

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Halloween Mini Episode: The Trouble at Froda Oct 29, 2020

Show notes

It's a quick break from the Clavijo storyline for some Halloween material. Specifically, this is a story from the Icelandic Eyrbyggja, the Saga of the People of Eyri. In it, a stranger comes to Froda, blood rains down, and the dead rise up.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, my website is www.humancircuspodcast.com, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus.

Sources:

Gisli Sursson's Saga and the Saga of the People of Eyri, translated by Judy Quinn & Martin S. Regal. Penguin, 2003.
Joynes, Andrew. Medieval Ghost Stories: An Anthology of Miracles, Marvels, and Prodigies. Boydell, 2006.

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Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 1: Byzantine Entanglements Oct 23, 2020

Show notes

In 1403, Henry III of Castile sent ambassadors to Timur (Tamerlane), among them a man named Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo. In this episode, we cover the context and depart from port near Cadiz, travel the length of the Mediterranean, and visit Lesbos where we spend time with the ruling family and their involvements in Byzantine imperial politics.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, my website is www.humancircuspodcast.com, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus.

Sources:

Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.
Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Necipoğlu, Nevra. Byzantium Between the Ottomans and the Latins: Politics and Society in the Late Empire. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Rubiés, Joan-Pau. "Late Medieval Ambassadors and the Practice of Cross Cultural Encounters" 1250-1450," in The 'Book' of Travels: Genre, Ethnology, and Pilgrimage, 1250-1700, edited by Palmira Johnson Brummett. BRILL, 2009.
Wright, Christopher. The Gattilusio Lordships and the Aegean World 1355-1462. BRILL, 2014.

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Ibn Fadlan 4: Communal Hygiene and the Viking Funeral Sep 19, 2020

Show notes

In the conclusion the Ahmad ibn Fadlan series, ibn Fadlan encounters the Rusiyyah, recounts the famous Viking funeral, and is disgusted by a communal wash basin. I also talk about the text itself.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, my website is www.humancircuspodcast.com, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus.

Sources:

Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Mission to the Volga, translated by James E. Montgomery. New York University Press, 2017.
Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North, translated and with an introduction by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. Penguin, 2012.
Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, edited by Josef W. Meri. Routledge, 2005.
Bukharaev, Ravil. Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons. Routledge, 2014.
Frye, R.N. and Blake, R.P. "Notes on the Risala of Ibn Fadlan," in The Turks in the Early Islamic World, edited by C. Edmund Bosworth. Routledge, 2017.
Hansen, Valerie. The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World and Globalization Began. Simon and Schuster, 2020.
Korpela, Jukka Jari. Slaves from the North: Finns and Karelians in the East European Slave Trade, 900 - 1600. BRILL, 2018.
Kratchkovsky, I.Y. Among Arabic Manuscripts: Memories of Libraries and Men. BRILL, 2016.
Mako, Gerald. The Islamization of the Volga Bulghars: A Question Reconsidered. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2011.
Montgomery, James E. "Ibn Fadlan’s ‘Mission to the Volga’: An Extraordinary Narrative by a Not-so-extraordinary Writer," an interview with ArabLit.
Peacock, A.C.S. The Great Seljuk Empire. Edinburgh University Press, 2015.
Romano, John F. Medieval Travel and Travelers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020.
Vernadsky, George. Kievan Russia. Yale University Press, 1973.
Wladyslaw, Duczko. Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe. BRILL, 2004.
Wilson, Joe. Black Banner and White Nights: The 10th-Century Travel Account of Ibn Fadlan. James Madison University, 2014.

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Ibn Fadlan 3: Bulgar Discomforts & Jinn Warfare Aug 29, 2020

Show notes

Our 10th century traveller, Ahmad ibn Fadlan, settles in among the Bulgars, develops a distaste for their fish-oil based food, and is terrified by events in the sky.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, my website is www.humancircuspodcast.com, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus.

Sources:

Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Mission to the Volga, translated by James E. Montgomery. New York University Press, 2017.
Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North, translated and with an introduction by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. Penguin, 2012.
Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, edited by Josef W. Meri. Routledge, 2005.
Bukharaev, Ravil. Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons. Routledge, 2014.
Hansen, Valerie. The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World and Globalization Began. Simon and Schuster, 2020.
Korpela, Jukka Jari. Slaves from the North: Finns and Karelians in the East European Slave Trade, 900 - 1600. BRILL, 2018.
Mako, Gerald. The Islamization of the Volga Bulghars: A Question Reconsidered. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2011.
Romano, John F. Medieval Travel and Travelers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020.
Vernadsky, George. Kievan Russia. Yale University Press, 1973.
Wilson, Joe. Black Banner and White Nights: The 10th-Century Travel Account of Ibn Fadlan. James Madison University, 2014.

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Ibn Fadlan 2: A Letter from the Caliph Aug 13, 2020

Show notes

Ahmad ibn Fadlan carries on to his cash-poor appointment with the Volga Bulgars. There's talk of funerals, cultural differences, and threats of death. 10th century diplomacy could be hard.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, my website is www.humancircuspodcast.com, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus.

Sources:

Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Mission to the Volga, translated by James E. Montgomery. New York University Press, 2017.
Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North, translated and with an introduction by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. Penguin, 2012.
Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, edited by Josef W. Meri. Routledge, 2005.
Bukharaev, Ravil. Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons. Routledge, 2014.
Curta, Florin. Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250. Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Hansen, Valerie. The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World and Globalization Began. Simon and Schuster, 2020.
Le Strange, Guy. The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate: Mesopotamia, Persia, and Central Asia from the Moslem Conquest to the Time of Timur. Cosimo Classics, 2010.
Romano, John F. Medieval Travel and Travelers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020.
Vernadsky, George. Kievan Russia. Yale University Press, 1973.

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